Matchsticks and Candy Canes

by C. E. Wilson

  “It’s a surprise,” Carter said, smirking at the scene. Brynne. Nervous little Brynne was drunk at his aunt and uncle’s house and the party hadn’t even started yet. And his twin cousins were certainly taken by her.

  “Make a little room for me?” he asked, walking over to the couch so he could sit closer to her.

  “Oh!” Tyler jeered. “Far be it from me to get in the way of true love.”

  “Or true like,” Taylor said with a smile.

  They both slid around so Carter could take a seat on the couch. They shared a look, then drained their cups in unison.

  “I need another drink,” Tyler said, pushing himself off from the couch.

  “Me too,” Taylor chimed in, standing up. “Brynne? You want more punch?”

  “I’ll get it,” Tyler said.

  “No me,” Taylor shouted.

  “Calm down, frat brats,” Carter intervened. “She’s had enough to drink. Just get her water.”

  “No way!” Taylor jeered. “Punch!”

  “And punch for you too, Carter,” Tyler added. “It’s time to turn your frown upside down.”

  “Damn right,” Taylor said, slamming his fist into Carter’s shoulder. “And extra punch for you!”

  Carter rocked from the impact, trying to suppress the wince. His cousins – for all their cheeriness – were huge and as strong as Evan and Uncle Jeremy. Carter grimaced as they both laughed and ran into the kitchen, making loud demands for more punch and snacks. Their mother sighed and followed them out of the room, leaving Carter and Brynne alone.

  “Ouch?” Carter grumbled with a smirk, rubbing his sore shoulder. “They’re so happy that I sometimes forget how strong they are.” He smirked down at her. “So how you doing, pink cheeks? Having fun with my crazy cousins?”

  Brynne confirmed with a jubilant nod. “Your family is nice.” She grinned, then crawled over and started pulling herself into his lap.

  “Told you they would like you,” Carter said as she scaled him.

  “And there’s just one more right?”

  Carter nodded.

  “How is he?”

  “You don’t even need to worry about Shane. He’s the most easygoing out of all of us. He’s three years older than Taylor and Tyler, but—” He stopped as Brynne snuggled into him like a cat. Apparently the booze from Amy’s holiday punch had taken a toll on her. “You’re not gonna fall asleep on me, are you?” he asked with a smirk.

  “No, I’m awake. I’m glad you’re back. Stay, okay?” She jabbed a stern finger up towards him.

  He rolled his eyes with a smile on his lips. “You’re drunk.”

  “Am not,” she huffed. “I’m relaxed. I wanted to sit with you.”

  “Is that so?” Carter arched a brow, listening to Tyler and Taylor talk to his aunt Heather about what a ‘sweetie’ Carter’s little girlfriend was.

  They liked her.

  His cousins weren’t the type to put on airs.

  He lowered his chin and attention back to Brynne, dropping a hand over her back and rubbing between her shoulder blades with his thumb. “You’re in luck, pink cheeks. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me for the rest of the night. Try not to fall asleep on me, okay?”

  Brynne snuggled up closer, sighing loudly in happy relief. “No sleeping here. I’m wide awake! Just a little dizzy up here,” she said, tapping her temple. As she nested herself up to Carter, Brynne’s wandering hand found a space between the buttons on his flannel shirt. She slid her hand curiously in-between, finding a thin shirt underneath. She brushed his bellybutton and giggled.

  “Hammered,” Carter teased in a low voice.

  “Alright, round two!” Taylor burst into the living room with a huge mug of punch in his hand. Tyler was right behind, bearing an extra Dixie cup for Brynne.

  Carter nodded towards her and shook his head.

  “Flagged, huh? Too bad. You’ll have to pick up the slack, Carter,” Taylor laughed.

  Tyler stepped back and held the mug up to his eyes.

  “Maybe. Oh my God, you know what?”

  “What?”

  “She could probably fit inside my mug if she lets us try.” Tyler looked from his mug to the elf.

  “Oh God, she totally could!”

  “We should try!”

  “No,” Carter said firmly. “Seriously, guys, she’s not a toy.”

  Brynne giggled and rubbed her hand across him. “I like it when he gets bossy.”

  Carter felt himself growing red and fought to suppress the blush.

  “Aww come on, Carter! Don’t hog her!” Taylor grumbled, thudding heavily on the couch on one side of him.

  “Yeah, don’t hog! You get her all the time,” Taylor chortled, landing neatly on Carter’s other side.

  “We wanna see if she’ll fit,” Taylor said, holding out his large mug. “Please, Brynne?”

  “Yeah? Please?”

  “No,” Carter grumbled, placing a protective hand over her. “She’s too tall to fit in a mug, anyway.”

  “We could still try to make sure,” Taylor mumbled, holding it up to his face. “Hmmm, maybe you’re right.” He lowered it and took a long sip. “Another time.”

  “Another time for sure,” Tyler said.

  “Think of all the cool stuff you can do with her,” Taylor said.

  “Yeah, think about it, Carter,” Tyler said. “You can have all sorts of fun with this one. She’s so tiny...” his mind drifted. “You know, I never thought about it before.”

  “About what?” Taylor asked.

  “Having an elf as a girlfriend. It could be hard, but damn. It could also be a lot of fun. Every kiss, and every touch would be like nothing you’ve ever felt before.” He smiled for a moment then grimaced as his brother reached around behind Carter and punched him in the shoulder.

  “You’re lame,” he laughed.

  “Shut up,” Tyler said. “Like I said. I was just thinking about it.”

  As the twins fell silent, Brynne suddenly sat up and started trying to stand on Carter’s leg. Eyes widening at the distraction, the twins looked on like this was the best show they’d ever seen. Carter on the other hand, moved his hands around to catch the unsteady elf as she struggled to her feet. Sure enough, another dizzy spell hit her. She wavered where she stood, bouncing around his hands before slumping against his shirt, and it was there that a new idea struck her. She began scaling his torso like a mountaineer, using fistfuls of flannel and buttons to hoist her up.

  “Brynne, come on, cut it out,” Carter said, stifling a laugh as her feet dug into his stomach. “What in the world are you trying to accomplish?”

  “Trying to be bigger like you,” she grunted.

  “You don’t need to be bigger,” Carter said, looping gentle hands around either side of her waist to try and slow her down. But a drunken Brynne proved to be a bit of a daredevil, so she continued her climb with help.

  “Look at her go!” Tyler jeered.

  “Come on, Brynne!” Taylor snickered.

  “To the top of Mount Carter!”

  “Brynne, come on,” Carter said, ignoring his cousin’s laughter. “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “I want to be bigger,” she said. “I want to be on your level.” She started to pant with effort as her feet dug into his chest and she grabbed his collar.

  “She’s crazy!” Tyler jeered.

  “Go Brynne!” Taylor yelled.

  “Get it, girl!” Tyler tacked on with a wild grin.

  “You two are not helping,” Carter said. “That’s enough. Seriously, Brynne. You’re going to get hurt.” He tried to pull her back down to his lap, but she only gripped him more tightly, pulling herself up by his collar.

  “She’ll be fine,” Tyler said.

  “What’s the worst that could happen?” Taylor asked.

  “Yeah, Carter,” Brynne snickered, her gray eyes growing wide. “Are you seriously mad?”

  “Oh God,” Carter muttered, half irritated, half-
fondly. “You’re too cute for your own good.”

  One of the twins whistled as Brynne’s little cheeks grew pink.

  “A normal girlfriend could never scale you like that!” Tyler said with obvious approval. “Climb me next!”

  “So jealous,” Taylor teased. “If you climb Tyler, you’re climbing me too, Brynne.”

  “You two really aren’t helping,” Carter laughed again, finally getting a little embarrassed with Brynne’s drunken antics.

  With a triumphant squeal of delight, Brynne slid her foot into his pocket and pulled herself almost to eye level. She glowed triumphantly for a moment, gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, and then slumped tiredly with her head against his and her arms loosely around his neck.

  “I could stay up high here forever y’know,” she said with a soft, contented sigh.

  “Oh yeah?” Carter dared.

  “Yup.”

  “How long?” Taylor asked.

  “Yeah? How long, Brynne?” Tyler tacked on.

  Brynne snuggled deeply into his neck. “I could stay with Carter forever and ever.”

  Tyler and Taylor’s eyes widened when they caught the words.

  “Oh God, Carter,” Taylor uttered.

  “Oh God is right,” Tyler added.

  The twins looked at each other for a moment, but broke off as a small snore emanated from the area of Carter’s neck.

  Taylor nodded to himself. “You taking notes, bro?”

  “Sure am. Stud.”

  “Super-stud.”

  “Ladies man extraordinaire.”

  “Player, straight up player.”

  Carter stood up carefully, his cheeks red yet again.

  “I’m going to let her lay down for a few hours, guys.”

  “Sure thing, pimp,” Taylor laughed.

  “Yeah, Casanova. Whatever you want.”

  “What are you two going on about?” Carter whispered at them.

  “Dude, don’t you get it?” Tyler asked.

  “You seriously can’t be that stupid,” Taylor said.

  “Get what?” Carter asked.

  “Brynne,” Taylor said, smirking at his twin again.

  “She’s in love with you,” Tyler said. “Like for reals.”

  “Just like you wanted,” Taylor said.

  “Yeah. She’s basically in love with you.”

  Carter swallowed. “Don’t be stupid,” he grumbled.

  “Didn’t you hear her?” Tyler asked.

  “She said she wanted to be with you forever and ever.”

  “She’s drunk,” Carter stammered.

  “That’s when the truth tends to come out,” Taylor said with a smirk.

  “Seriously,” Tyler said. “Girls are always saying how they really feel after a few drinks. Would you believe that sober people find us annoying, while people with a few drinks in them find us witty and charming?”

  “You two are being annoying, she could never actually fall in love with me,” Carter said.

  “I wouldn’t be too sure,” Taylor said.

  Tyler elbowed his brother. “Yeah, man. I wouldn’t be too sure. She sounds like she’s pretty far gone.”

  “In more ways than one,” Taylor said.

  Carter turned away before his cousins could see his face grow hot. “You two are seriously annoying,” he said as he left the room.

  “They make a cure for that,” Taylor called after his retreating form, shaking his glass of punch.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Brynne moaned contentedly as she came to. She was so comfortable, waking up was more like an inconvenience than a necessity. But when a massive weight shifted behind her, her eyes snapped open. It was pure instinct that bade her whirl around and sit up.

  Where was she? How had she gotten here? She furiously blinked the sleep from her eyes and tried to recall what had happened last, but her mind was sluggish and fuzzy.

  “Hey there, pink cheeks,” a familiar voice rumbled overhead.

  She knew that voice. It was a voice of safety, a voice that cared. “Carter?” She slumped back against the soft bed as her eyes found his gently smiling face.

  “Morning,” he greeted her kindly.

  Brynne squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her hands. “Shhhhush. My head.”

  Carter grinned and stroked her arm.

  “Did you say morning?”

  Carter laughed. “Yes.”

  “What?”

  “I guess I should say good evening. You kinda slept most of the afternoon away.”

  “What time is it?” Brynne asked, groaning as she grabbed at Carter’s red and white striped holiday sweater and buried her face into it. “Ugh, and why do you smell good?”

  Carter flushed. “It’s a little past six in the evening on Christmas Eve, Brynne.”

  Brynne shot up with wide eyes – or as wide as her hungover eyes would allow. “Are you kidding? What the heck happened? And where are we?”

  “We’re in your room,” Carter said, smoothing his thumb on her forehead a few times. “Relax. You drank too much so I brought you back to your room to lie down. I told the others I would wake you up when it was time for the official ‘party’ to start. And here we are.” He smiled and brushed his fingertip down her back. “You, uh... you had quite a bit to drink earlier. I think the twins liked you. Said you’d fit right in at their fraternity.”

  Brynne smacked her lips together. That explained the taste in her mouth. She covered her face again. “I can’t remember anything, Carter. Not a thing!”

  “Heh, that would be Amy’s punch,” Carter said with a shake of his head. “You might want to stick to water or tea for the rest of the night.”

  “Oh, God, I didn’t embarrass you, did I?”

  “Amy’s booze creations can hit you hard.”

  “Carter, you didn’t answer me,” Brynne said.

  “I didn’t?” He looked down the hallway and listened to the sounds of laughter and merriment for a moment.

  “Carter!”

  “Hmmm, what?”

  “Did I do anything to embarrass you?” she asked in a pleading voice.

  “I wouldn’t say you embarrassed me,” Carter said slowly. “More like, you put on quite the show.”

  “A show? How?’

  “Heh, you were crawling up me on the couch.” He tried to laugh it off. “You kept talking about wanting to be bigger and on my level. Whatever that means.” His look softened. “And then you said some other stuff, but I think you were rambling.”

  “Ohh no.” Brynne put her face in her hands.

  “It’s okay, Brynne,” Carter assured her. “As far as drunks go, you’re harmless. Really cute, actually.”

  “But what did your family think?” She shook her head. “They won’t want to punish me or kick me out?”

  He smirked at her. “They think that you fit right in. Especially the twins and Amy – I think they’d get violent if someone tried to throw you out.”

  She gave him a tremulous smile, and he picked her up and hugged her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they held each for a minute.

  “Hey, before I forget. I got you something,” he announced.

  Brynne’s eyes widened. “Is it water?” she asked, her head pounding as he set her back on the bed.

  “Soon enough,” Carter said, falling to his knees so he could duck under the bed. The little package was neatly wrapped in gold and silver wrapping paper. “It’s Christmas so I got you something.” He pulled the box out from under the bed and crawled over so he could kneel in front of her.

  “You bought me a gift?” She remembered him saying something along those lines in her hazy punch memories.

  Carter laughed. “Man, you were drunk.”

  “I guess this means you told me already?”

  “Sure did.”

  “I’m sorry,” Brynne muttered. “I don’t remember.”

  “Since it’s Christmas, I’m willing to give you a free pass.”

>   “Carter, I didn’t get you anything! It’s not right!” Her cheeks grew hot.

  “Christmas is about a lot more than things wrapped in paper,” he said remembering her words before she fell asleep. How she wanted to be with him forever and ever. “You’ve given me more than you know,” he said with a smile. He gently set the package over her thighs and pinched the navy bow. “I think you’ll like this,” he said. “Or rather, I hope you do.”

  Brynne carefully wedged her fingers between his, following his lead in unraveling the bow. She folded it up and set it aside as if it were as precious as what was to follow. She pulled one side of the paper up and unfolded it. She stuck her head into the opening and gasped.

  Her hands shook as she drew out an ornate set of clothes. A finer outfit than she had ever owned – or even seen – in her life. The sweater and pants were thick and well-made, with appropriately sized buttons and cuffs. There was even a pair of lace-up black boots and a scarf and hat. And mittens. Santa’s Helpers, there were red and black plaid mittens that she could slide on to her hands in the cold.

  Brynne shot her gaze up to Carter, tears pricking her eyes. “It’s beautiful,” she croaked. She hastily wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, not daring to sully the fresh clothes with her tears of disbelief. “They look like something a duchess would wear.”

  “I’m glad you like them,” Carter said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I have to confess that they did come from a doll.” He winced for a moment, half expecting Brynne to be upset, and to his relief and surprise, Brynne hugged the clothing closer to her chest.

  “I don’t care,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful. It all is. Better than I deserve.” She lowered the clothing. “Should I go put it on now? You said the party is starting, didn’t you?”

  “You can wear whatever you want,” Carter said before something occurred to him. “Oh! There is one last thing,” he said, taking her little hand between his finger and thumb. “There’s something else in there. I want to see your face when you see it.” Pulling away from her hand, he gently picked up the wrapping paper and reached into it. After a moment, he pulled out a fine chain that sparkled in the soft bedroom light.

  “Oh gosh,” Brynne breathed, gaping at the delicate silver necklace with a snowflake charm. “Carter, is that...”