“Uh-oh,” Josie said, glancing down at her phone.
“What now?” Davis groaned. “Am I really going on Intervention or—?”
Josie nudged him in the ribs, then turned to Julian and said, “Nah. It just looks like this party is going to be a little bigger than we expected.”
“What do you mean, bigger?” Julian asked. “I thought Kent’s girlfriend and maybe some of Hannah’s friends were coming?”
“Yeah, well, you weren’t at school for it, but we decided to do a Facebook invite. Just to get a better sense, especially for Hannah’s friends. But this has now spiraled out of control, and we definitely can’t have this at our place anymore. Not even close.” Josie handed Julian her phone with the Facebook page set up. He saw that his old profile had been invited, but he hadn’t logged on there since making his new one. Next to his old profile was a list of all the people that had planned on going. From their small, intimate group of less than ten people, twenty were now listed as attending. Not a lot, but enough to make Julian uncomfortable.
“Oh no. How is this even going to happen?”
Josie shrugged. She scrolled down the Facebook page and noticed a post from Maria. Stop, stop everyone! I can’t have all these people. You are not orphans and this is not a Christmas Special. We’re gonna need some security for the door, so only if you’re vetted can you get inside.
“What does she mean?” Davis asked. “Vetted? I’m not taking a test for this.”
“You won’t, don’t worry. But you,” Josie said, turning to Julian. “You’re her copilot in all of this.”
“I’m what now?”
Josie smirked. “She likes you, so she’s going to need your help. She doesn’t ask for much, J, but she’s going to need you here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Maria doesn’t want a lot, but the things she does, she needs help saying them sometimes. And I can’t always translate.”
Julian nodded, understanding the best he could. He picked up his phone and logged into his old Facebook account. Maria had messaged him there instead of text, along with the invite.
Oh no, Maria wrote. Have you seen that thread I just invited you to? Bizarre. Too many people now, but if we swing this at one of my mom’s hotels, then maybe it’ll work. You okay with a bigger party? I know you’re still working stuff out, but…. Let me know.
I’m good, he wrote back. Told everyone else in our group to use my name and new pronouns. But I don’t know if I can come out to all these people in time.
Oh, sweetheart. You just leave that to me.
Julian’s immediate response was to cry Stop. To tell her No, no, let me slip into the sidelines again. But instead he turned to Josie and Davis. They were back on the slide, going down it as Josie sat in his lap, laughing hysterically. Julian felt a pang from inside his chest and knew he wanted that. Again. With Maria.
Okay, he wrote back. I trust you. I’m your copilot. But I want to see you before the big party. And everyone else. That’s my only condition.
Then, dear, Maria wrote, consider it done.
When Julian went back to the Facebook group, he noticed the start time had been changed from seven to eight at night so that an hour could be kept for all six of them to exchange gifts first. Then, on the event description, Maria had added one last note.
In order for you to come to our party, you need to be cool with two things: 1) bringing your own food because I can’t feed that many of you, and 2) treating Julian Gibson with respect. Either of these things are violated, then you’re gone. Hasta la vista, and no Merry Christmas cheer for you.
Julian stared at the words for a long, long time. Then he accepted the invitation.
Chapter Twenty-Four
THE HOTEL wasn’t the same one they had played spin the bottle in, but a bigger, higher-end place near the edge of downtown. Julian had to get a ride with Hannah in order to make it there on time. Hannah wore a green sweater with red baubles sewn onto it, which jangled as she opened the car door for Julian to get inside. The guy driving—Hannah’s brother, most likely—waved them in and then sped off without saying much.
“Was this supposed to be an ‘ugly sweater’ party?” Julian asked. He looked down at the collared shirt he had grabbed from the back of his closet. He hadn’t worn it since picture day and was sad to realize how tight it was across his chest. He’d needed to put on two sports bras before it looked okay, and Maria would lecture him about his circulation if she found out he had done that. Now he was worried he was already violating some dress code that was planned without him. “Did I miss the memo?”
“Nah, this is just hideous, and I love it.” Hannah pulled the sweater tight, revealing her black T-shirt underneath. “And I have a feeling someone’s gotten me some clothing or something for the Secret Santa, so I wanted something I could swap out easily. Maybe give to Maria later.”
Julian nodded, noting Hannah’s bright gold gift-wrapped present next to her in the backseat. Julian held the wrapped mix CD and another present he had gotten for Maria earlier that day. When Hannah mentioned the caroling she had planned on doing over the break, Julian snapped back into the conversation.
“Do you still need me to go?”
“Nah, it’s okay, J. I think Kent wants to come with his girlfriend.”
“You sure?”
Hannah smiled. “Of course. You have your own stuff to worry about.”
“But next year?” Julian asked.
“Sure. Sounds good.”
Hannah held up her fist for him to bump, and though it felt a little odd and corny, he did it anyway. Her brother snickered at them as he waited at a red light, but Hannah didn’t let it register. She just went back to informing Julian about all the music choices she had for tonight—including punk covers of Christmas songs so it didn’t get too heavy or overwhelming—on her laptop.
By the time they arrived at the hotel, the parking lot was already filled with cabs for the drunken patrons in the front lobby. Julian had spent so much time indoors this week that he’d almost forgotten everyone else celebrated around this time of year. As Hannah’s brother dropped them off, he promised to be back by ten at night to get her again. The two of them stepped into the lobby, bypassing most people, until Julian’s eyes zeroed in on Maria right away. She wore a red dress with black tights, her hair curled by her ears. Josie stood with her, wearing a garish sweater and her normal blue jeans. When Maria waved them over, her green-and-red nail polish shimmered.
“Hola, chicos,” Maria said.
“Hey,” Josie said. “I’m still a girl.”
“I know. But if one boy is present, all the endings change. You should know this.”
Josie shrugged. Her family was half-white, only her dad being Latino. She’d never had the language really drilled into her the way Maria had.
Maria tsk-tsked from the side of her mouth. “You need to learn so we can talk to one another and no one will know. Our secret language.”
“That most people in our high school are learning anyway. In a few years, it won’t be that secret.”
“Pfft. Always giving me issues,” Maria joked, then turned to greet Hannah and Julian with a wider smile, lingering on Julian the longest. “And how are you tonight?”
“Good,” Hannah said. “I have the music.”
“Great. Kent’s already inside—you should go and find him to set up. We’re only waiting on a few more people.”
“Is this really going to happen?” Julian asked, glancing around the lobby. There seemed to be way too many people in order for this to actually happen. “I mean, is your mom okay with this?”
“Oh yeah. Half of it was her idea.” Maria smiled. “And the conference room is the smallest one, all the way on the other side. No one will care if we’re here, especially while other events are going on. We will blend right in. Is that all you’re worried about, mi novio?”
Julian blinked under the sudden attention. He wrung his hands around his gift, then shrugge
d.
“Well, you’ll be fine. Now go. I’ll be there soon.”
“You’re not coming?” Julian asked. Hannah was already following Josie as she led her down the long hallway past the elevators. Maria shook her head.
“I’m the security, at least until Davis arrives. But don’t worry.” Maria took a step closer and wrapped Julian in a hug. She kissed his cheek just before she whispered in his ear. “I’ll be there soon, and I want to talk to you.”
“Okay,” Julian said. He sensed no hint of an urgent confession that would soon follow her “I want to talk to you” remark. Maria just wanted to have a conversation. Simple, easy. Julian could be into that. As he pulled away, he kissed her cheek.
“Okay, okay, later,” Maria said, pushing him away playfully. “I’ll see you soon.”
The conference room was easily twice the size of the one in the other hotel. And this is the smallest here? Julian sighed, his eyes going wide as he took in the oak table set up with food, along with green and red garlands around the window. Hannah set up her computer in a corner and put on some vaguely Christmas-sounding song, while Josie gathered Kent’s gifts and her own in a small pile next to a large bowl of red punch. As Julian dropped off his present, he eyed the red liquid with vague suspicion.
“Don’t worry. Maria’s got it handled. No one is spiking this, and nothing that’s going to get us in trouble is going to happen,” Josie said. “In fact, I think this will probably be one of her most low-key parties, but the most adventurous for this group.”
“I’m into low-key things. I’m just excited to be leaving the house.”
Josie nodded. “No luck with your parents yet?”
Julian sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t want to disappoint them twice during the holidays, you know? I’ll come out after. I just… want to have fun for the night.” He braced to hear Josie’s nit-picking, but all she did was nod.
“I get that. I’m happy for you, though.”
“Oh yeah?” Julian smiled. When he saw the mop of Davis’s hair and his red cheeks enter the conference room, Julian waved him over to where he and Josie stood. “And I’m happy for you.”
Josie smiled wide and bright when she saw Davis, who enveloped her small body in a giant hug. Julian’s heart panged, missing Maria. When she walked into the room next, shutting the door behind her, Julian knew they were about to begin.
“Hey, everyone,” she said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “We have one hour before people start to show up. So let’s make it count.”
“Let’s make it count,” Kent echoed.
He grabbed the first gift from the table, the gold one wrapped up by Hannah, and handed it to Davis. While he opened it, Maria slid close to Julian. She linked their hands together, squeezing him with a wordless hello.
“Hey,” Julian whispered. “I’ve really missed you.”
“You too. You look good tonight.”
“So do you.”
Davis unwrapped a bunch of socks with fun patterns on them, including some from South Park and Adventure Time. He immediately took off his shoes and his old socks (full of holes, Julian noted) and slipped the ones with Kenny over his feet.
“Nice, nice,” he cheered.
Then Josie went next, opening up a present from Kent. This continued with the same amount of surprise and exclamations of delight from each person until Julian finally heard his name being called.
“And Julian!” Kent said, handing over the present.
Julian took a step forward, grabbing the small box from Kent’s hands. He knew this wasn’t from Kent—he had had Josie. In his mind, Julian did the quick math. The only person this could be from was either himself or Maria. By his side, she slid a hand over his lower back as if to confirm.
“Go on,” she encouraged. “What are you waiting for? We have, like, ten minutes. Open it.”
Julian swallowed. His name was written out in Maria’s crooked handwriting. If not for this fact, he would have been worried that such a small box would have contained jewelry—like a bracelet or earrings. But he knew better now. Everyone knew. He slipped off the blue bow and then peeled back the silver paper. The package clinked—clearly something metal—and opened up to reveal cuff links. Small and kind of cheap (with a limit of fifteen dollars, what could he expect?), but they were beautiful.
“You like them?” Maria asked when Julian had been quiet a long time.
“Yes. I’ve never owned something like this before.”
“That’s what I thought. So even if you don’t like them or they’re not your style, I figured if they were your first, you’d never forget them.”
“They’re perfect.” When Julian looked closer at their designs, he realized they weren’t quite small intersecting circles—but gears. The cuff links were made to look like small gears on his wrists.
“I figured they’d make you look like a robot,” Maria explained. “I asked Josie for help, so you really should give her some credit too.”
Julian glanced up to see Josie’s grin widen across her face.
“See? I pay attention.”
“Thank you. Thank you both.” Julian turned to hug Maria, who snatched him just as close to her body. He rocked into her as she rubbed his back. They stayed like that for a while.
“As much as I like this,” Kent said. “I think we have to hurry, right? I keep getting texts from people who want to come inside.”
“Tell them to shove it,” Maria said. “I’m still having a moment.”
Julian wanted to hold her longer and have her help him put on the cuff links, but Kent was right. Julian put the cuff links on himself and whispered in Maria’s ear, “I need to give you your present.”
“Spoiler alert. You just ruined the surprise, Julian.”
“You’re bad at math,” Josie said, handing over the last present in the pile to Maria. “But not that bad. Julian was clearly your Secret Santa.”
“Pfft. Fine.” Maria wiped a hand quickly under her eye to fix her makeup before she clutched the present. “Two parts? Hmmm,” she mumbled as she slid her fingers along the tape wrapping up the mix CD. When she took it out of its wrapping, she made small noises of delight as she went over each song.
“So cool!”
There was a knock on the conference room door before Julian could respond.
“Just a minute!” Maria shouted, then moved on to the next present. Her festive nails dashed over the paper, making vicious scratching noises until the paper tore away. When she pulled out a small necklace box, her eyes narrowed until she took the top off. Inside were two small turtledoves on a chain facing one another.
“Oh, wow,” she said, touching the small doves. “This looks expensive.”
“It wasn’t. Not really.” Julian rocked on his heels. Okay, he had gone a little over the budget. But this was Maria. He wanted to give her something a little more, because this was Maria. Of all people. “Do you like it?”
“Duh. Help me put it on.”
Maria handed Julian the box and spun around. She held her hair up over the back of her neck, allowing Julian to move the chain around and link it together. He squeezed her shoulders to let her know he was done, and she turned around. The doves dangled just above the neckline of her shirt and shimmered as she breathed. Julian tore his eyes away from her chest, then smiled up at her.
“Good?”
“More than good. You’re wonderful.” She gave him another hug, then whispered, “The doves are for connection, right? That’s what you were saying?”
“Yeah, and God. But turtledoves mean friendship. Strong friendship.”
“Oh, Julian. I certainly hope we’re more than friends.”
Maria’s breath on the shell of his ear made his bones feel as if they were turning to jelly. He ran his fingers over her bare arms, then down to her waist. He wanted to kiss her so, so badly like they had before. He wanted to do so many more things with her now that he wasn’t half as afraid. But as their lips drew together, ther
e was yet another knock on the door.
Maria sighed in his arms. “Can someone get that?”
“On it. I guess we’re starting?” Kent said, already running across the room, no longer waiting for an answer.
It was already eight, Julian could see on the wall clock, and time to begin.
Hannah sat behind her computer once again, changing up her random Christmas playlist for something a bit more fun. When “This Is Gospel” came on, Julian remembered the words from before. He liked how the song started with the beating of a heart, which turned into the beginning of the chorus like an explosion. Maria still hadn’t moved from his arms. Kent was letting people in, like Aisha and a couple of friends that Julian didn’t know. Davis and Josie were holding hands, Davis dragging her to the food table before everyone else could get there and take what he wanted, but Josie was laughing along with him. Even as the room filled with people, Maria kept her arms around Julian.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked. “I really want to and may do it anyway.”
Maria laughed. “Please. You’d be a bad boyfriend if you didn’t.”
Julian grinned. Boyfriend. Mi novio. And Julian. This is the best Christmas ever. He kissed Maria and didn’t stop until the song ended.
Chapter Twenty-Five
THERE WERE a lot of people. Julian gave up counting after fifteen, not including his own friends. Maria had capped the party at twenty-five online, but she stood by the door to the hotel conference room to be sure nothing got too out of hand. When Julian hung around with her, casually trying to play security guard, she rolled her eyes.
“Go and enjoy the party.”
“But you’ll be by yourself.”
“Not forever. Just for a little while. I’ll come find you then. But for now, consider this a good gauge of who you can count on as a friend or at least an ally.”
The Santa Hoax Page 21