Mistletoe Kiss

by Niki Contreras

5.Shopping Trip

  The first thing that I was consciously aware of was that I felt sea sick which made absolutely no sense because the closest thing to water for miles around was snow. I peeled my sleepy eyes open and saw my sister’s large blue eyes and smiling face bobbing up and down. Her bouncing was what was giving me the boat-rocking sensation that was making me sick but she didn’t stop even with the death glare I gave her. “Wake up! It’s Christmas Eve, eve!”

  “Thank you for that, Eloise,” I growled, “but some of us enjoy sleep. What the hell time is it anyway?”

  “It’s 8:30. The party’s at nine tonight and I want to go shopping with you like we used to. You’re going to buy me a new dress to wear.”

  “What kind of dress are we talking about here?”

  Her eyes got a dreamy look to them as she spoke. “I want something that celebrities wear on the red carpet. I want you to make me look like those models that you boss around on the runways.”

  “You want a brand new dress for a party thrown by a bunch of ranchers?”

  Her full lips turned down in a pout. “Look, Baylee, I know this might not seem like a big deal to you but it is to me. I’m finally 21 and I’m not just Bobby Cooper’s baby sister that he’s always looking out for. I want to make an impression this year and I need your help. Please.”

  I let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. I can tell that there’s a guy you want to impress so I guess I’ll help you. But Jared’s coming too because I can’t ditch him again; it wouldn’t be fair.”

  Amber rolled her eyes but gave me a tight hug. “That’s fine, Bay. I’m just glad we get to have some sister time. You know, I haven’t gotten to hang out with you since I was 14.”

  I froze in her enthusiastic embrace. I couldn’t believe that it had been so long since I’d spent any real time with my little sister. I’d been so busy with my own life that I’d missed out on so much of hers. “Of course, Amber,” I said through the lump in my throat. “I’ll get you any dress you want. Let’s go get some breakfast and then afterwards we’ll get ready and we can go.”

  “Good morning, girls,” Mom sang when we walked in as she flipped pancakes on the stove. “Would either of you happen to know why Christian’s truck is in the driveway?”

  I couldn’t help the blush that crept into my cheeks. “I couldn’t sleep so I rode Rugrat over to their house last night. I didn’t leave until really late so I just took the car.”

  Amber burst out laughing. “You were breaking and entering and then you stole Christy’s truck? That explains why you have so much nice stuff.”

  My dark eyes narrowed at her lighter ones. “It wasn’t breaking and entering if I used the key. And I resent you saying that I had to steal stuff to get what I have. I am very successful on my own, thank you very much. I just didn’t want Becca to have to worry about anything when she got home.”

  My mom silenced Amber with one look. “I’m sure that she and Stan will appreciate it. I’ll have your dad take the truck back and get Rugrat later. Now why don’t we start eating? Oh, good morning, Jared,” she added.

  I spun around so quickly that I got dizzy. Jared was in the doorway glaring down at me. My family didn’t see the hateful look in my boyfriend’s eyes but I knew him well enough to know that he was pissed. I shot him a dazzling smile and skipped over to his side. “Hey, babe. Can we talk in the other room for a second?” I cooed.

  “Sure,” he grunted. I wanted to roll my eyes at his caveman response.

  The second we were alone I turned off my bullshit happiness. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like I ruined one of your cameras?”

  “You were over at his house at night?”

  My jaw locked together to keep from bitching him out. “The house was completely empty. Christian is in Cheyenne with my brother, remember? It’s not like I went over to pay him a late night visit. I just went to pull Christmas boxes out of storage.”

  “Did you ever go over for late night visits?”

  “Yes,” I retorted sarcastically before I could stop myself. “I used to go all the time to screw Christy while his parents slept on the other side of the wall. Forget the fact that they were like extended family to me or that they could have easily told my mom and dad.”

  “Dammit, Baylee. I’m being serious here so you don’t have to be a smartass. I want the truth.”

  “I have never slept with Christian. And even if I had, it would have been before I knew you. I’m not the kind of girl that would ever cheat on you, Jared. We’re leaving in three days so can we please try to have some fun while we’re here.”

  He sighed heavily. “Fine. What did you have planned?”

  I smiled, the first genuine one I’d given him since the airport. “Amber wants me to take her shopping and I want you to come with us.”

  He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him. “Now that sounds like a good idea. Much better than being stuck on this stupid farm all day again.”

  I pursed my lips but stood on my toes to press my mouth to his. “Thank you,” I said quietly. “I haven’t gotten to spend any real time with my sister in a while and it will be nice to get to spoil her for a bit. And I haven’t gotten any time with you since we’ve been here. It’ll be nice to show her a bit of our world for a while.”

  “Mh-mm,” he agreed as he wrapped his arms around me. “And maybe we can stop by a lingerie store to get something that I can unwrap for Christmas.”

  I smirked. “Oh, that does sound nice. But what about my present?”

  “Don’t worry about that, Baylee. You’ll get yours once I open mine.”

  I giggled a little and pressed myself more firmly against his body. Want for him coursed through my body but I was surprised that my need for Jared wasn’t as strong as it usually was. You’d think that sleeping alone for three nights that my body would be begging for him but I didn’t really care. I mean, sure, it would have been nice to have some alone time with my boyfriend but I wasn’t really hot for him like I should have been. Not even the idea of lingerie shopping was getting my blood pumping.

  “That’d be great,” I said without much enthusiasm. “Now let’s get back into the kitchen and have some breakfast so we can go shopping. If I remember correctly, Newcastle’s got some pretty decent shopping.”

  “Sure.”

  Breakfast was pretty polite but felt like I was at one of those formal gatherings I went to with designers to discuss runways. It wasn’t as fun as I would have liked but at least it didn’t have any of the tension that had been present the last few days when the boys had been there. I was walking on eggshells trying not to say something that pissed off Jared so I mostly just talked to my sister about our upcoming shopping trip.

  “Oh, hey, Mom?” she said suddenly between bites of French toast. “When are the boys getting back? I hope we’ll be back in time.”

  Mom took a drink of her orange juice to clear her throat before she answered. “I just talked to Christian a little bit ago. They’re at the hospital with Becca now getting things situated. He said that they want to leave at around nine so they should be here by about one.”

  I swallowed back my eggs and felt my cheeks turn a little pink although I had no clue why I was suddenly turning self-conscious. I was dying to see Becca again so it would only be natural for me to be excited for them to get back. But the truth was that I was thinking about Christy getting back, too. No, stop it, Baylee. What the hell is wrong with your head today? Becca’s the important one, I scolded myself.

  “That’s great,” I managed to say easily. “We should be back in plenty of time.”

  Mom smiled. “Well I’d hope so. Becca’s suffering four hours in the car with Bobby and Christian for you. Lord knows those boys are wild.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Road trips with those two were definitely an experience that could drive anyone insane. “We’ll be here when she gets home,” I promised. “And if you talk to the boys again tell them that t
hey’d better not annoy her or they’ll answer to me.”

  She got up and kissed my forehead before she started collecting dishes. “I will. Now you three have fun on your little adventure.”

  My expensive clothes that I’d brought with me from L.A. were finally being put to good use. I wasn’t stuck around the house so I went all out with my wardrobe. My long brown hair was curled in loose spirals that I let fall around my face. I had a long white coat closed over my long-sleeved, green blouse with a wide black belt highlighting my trim waist. I wore a pair of black leggings under some dark jeans that were tucked into my black Payless boots that I’d worn for my ride the night before. I only added a little bit of makeup, some pink lip gloss and purple eye shadow. I looked great and I felt like I could take on the world.

  “Whoa. You look hot,” my sister complimented when I met up with her in the living room.

  I smiled. My outfit wasn’t exactly something that would get me noticed back home (other than by people thinking I was crazy for wearing a coat in L.A.) so I really enjoyed the accolade. “Thanks. You look pretty good, too.”

  It wasn’t a lie. She looked simple but cute with her brown winter coat zipped up, faded jeans, and light brown winter boots that were hidden under her pants. Her blonde hair was pulled up away from her face and her eyeliner and mascara made her blue eyes pop.

  Amber, Jared, and I piled into her black Tracker and drove downtown to where all of the shops were nestled. The snow had become brown slush on the road and in the parking lot near one of the larger dress shops where Amber parked her car. The snowy mush made a wet sopping sound beneath my boots. My sister started toward Ragtag, a small store where we usually bought dressy clothes, including my prom dress, but I put my hand on her arm and stopped her. “Not today, Sis. Today we’re going to Perfect Passion.”

  My sister’s eyes widened. Everyone and their mom went to browse around Perfect Passion but hardly anyone could afford the exquisite clothes. It was an amazing little boutique that I’d always wanted to shop at but never had the money for. But now that I was a success with plenty of cash to burn I was going to live out my fantasy with my little sister.

  Amber’s jaw was slack as she gazed around hopefully at all of the gorgeous dresses. It was a lot like many of the boutiques I frequented back in California so I wasn’t as impressed as my sister but it was still nice to be able to hang out and shop at a store that used to be off limits for my budget. She giggled as she yanked me after her to examine all of the racks of dresses. She loaded up her arms with everything that she liked in her size and looked like a kid in a toy store.

  “So what’s this big party?” Jared asked me when Amber took her first load into the dressing room.

  I kept my focus on the pink strapless dress and ran my fingers over the smooth material. “It’s just this thing that all of the ranching families put on at the church down the road from my house. Everyone dresses up and comes out for food and dancing and stuff. It’s sort of like the country version of a ball but with a lot more horse talk.”

  “So like a black tie thing?”

  I pressed a green spaghetti-strap dress to myself and smiled up at him. “Exactly. And I’m telling you now that you’ll be the hottest guy there.”

  He shrugged. “It’s not exactly a gala but I guess it’ll do.”

  I managed to keep a tight smile in place as I shooed him toward the men’s section.

  I grabbed a couple of dresses and went to join my sister in the changing room. She stepped out of her stall and spun around in a black knee-length dress. “Well what do you think?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Too homecoming. This is the biggest party that the horse ranchers in Newcastle throw and you want to look spectacular. Try for a little more prom in your dress.”

  She nodded and skipped back into her room as I went into the one right next to her. I slipped out of my winter clothes and stepped the pink strapless dress. I zipped the back as high as I could then stepped out of my dressing room to show Amber. “Zip me up?” I asked.

  “Oh, that one’s pretty,” she gushed when I was zipped and turned to show her. “You’d definitely need a different bra, though.”

  I smiled and tugged at the straps clearly visible above the sleeveless dress. “Oh, really? And I thought this one would go perfectly.”

  She laughed. “No. You really do need a different one. But what do you think of this dress?” Her dress was a dark green with a halter top that only showed a small portion of cleavage and hugged her frame perfectly. The dress loosened up at her hips and flowed down to the floor so she could move easily.

  “I like it,” I assured her. “It’s very Christmas-y. You could put your hair up with red ribbon.”

  “It’s not too much?” She didn’t sound so sure of herself now that I was encouraging her to get the expensive dress.

  “Of course it is. Those cowboys’ll eat their hearts out. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  “Well yeah. But I don’t know if it’ll be worth it. The dress is $195.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry about the price. If you like it then you should get it.”

  She agreed and we changed back into our street clothes to meet up with Jared by the registers. We paid for the dresses and Jared’s new suit then I ordered him to the coffee shop so that my sister and I could go to Sweet Nothings Lingerie. Amber blushed like crazy when I pulled her into the little shop. “You have to get something,” I told her, “because I highly doubt that you have any bras that will work with that dress. It doesn’t have to be anything racy if you don’t want, just something that won’t be sticking out of the dress.”

  “Fine,” she conceded. I had her try on a couple of strapless bras with her dress before we found a beige one that wouldn’t be noticeable with the halter top.

  Then it was my turn to shop. I quickly found a bra and some panties that would work with my dress and then started going through the skimpy, sexy stuff. My sister’s face was beat red as I examined a panty set that was designed to be like a slutty Christmas elf. I thought that she would die when I took the little outfit up to the counter with the rest of our purchases.

  “Holy crap, Bay,” she whispered. “You’re a skank.”

  I rolled my dark eyes. “No I’m not. I’m just comfortable enough in myself to wear that kind of stuff.”

  Her eyes were round. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to wear that for a guy.”

  I frowned. “It’s not just for him. I like that it makes me feel pretty.”

  “You know, Christy always thought you were pretty even in sweats.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at her. I didn’t like the way that my heart stuttered in my chest from her comment and I hated that my face was starting to heat up just a bit. It was Christian we were talking about so I shouldn’t have let her remark affect me at all but it had more impact than even she knew.