I groaned out loud. This was the reason I didn’t get involved with girls. There were always too many hang-ups related to them.
“Could you maybe drop me off somewhere and come back to pick me up?”
“Are you going to hang out with Sara?” Again with that sappy, excited, high voice.
“Yes, Mom. Will you take me or not?” I asked, sliding down to a sitting position next to the doorframe. A bit dramatic, but I was already tired after a long day and my legs weren’t going to hold me up for too much longer during these negotiations.
She smiled. “Yep, I can do that. Just a minute and I’ll get my purse.” She turned her attention back to her computer and kept typing as though I hadn’t just talked to her for the past five minutes.
“Do you have much left? I can wait in the car.” I checked the time on my watch and my insides tightened. I hated being late and I was sure that growing up as the daughter of a baseball coach, Sara was probably used to punctuality as well.
“I just had to finish up that post so I could get it scheduled. Okay, let’s head out.” She glanced at me, taking in the yellow polo shirt and khaki shorts I’d put on after a quick shower. “You look handsome. Make sure you treat her like a gentleman would.”
I gave her a forced smile and waited by the door, hoping she would hurry up. At least Nate hadn’t come down after his shower or he probably would have asked to come with me. I thought about his bet and every part felt wrong to me now. I would have to call it off tomorrow morning before practice.
We got into the compact car and I plugged in a GPS address of the hotel where Sara was staying for the duration of the camp, grateful it wasn’t too far away. We drove about ten minutes, close enough to the end marker that I knew I could walk the rest of the way.
“Right here, Mom.” I pointed to the curb and practically hopped out of the car before she came to a complete stop. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll call you when we’re done.”
She gave me a bewildered look and said, “Really? You want to be dropped off here? Am I that embarrassing?” I could hear the slight tease in her voice as she leaned over the console to look at me.
“I love you, Mom. I just don’t want a chauffeur while I hang out with a...friend.”
“Be safe and have fun,” she said, waving. “Call me if you run into any trouble.”
I waited until she drove away before I walked into the hotel and texted Sara.
I waited several minutes, checking my phone every so often when I thought I heard the sound of my messages. Nothing. I had told her I’d be at the hotel between seven and seven-thirty. Had she forgotten?
A text message came through and I was excited about it until I saw it was from Nate.
Man, you’re wracking up the money here. I’ll give you another hundred dollars if you kiss her tonight.
Something clenched my stomach more than before. I never should have bet on another person’s feelings. Now I was here, wanting to be with her and hoping we would have a fun time and I’d probably keep thinking about Nate’s dumb text message.
I tapped the box to reply, ready to tell him it was over.
“Are you ready to go?” Sara asked from behind me. I jumped, slipping my phone into my pocket hoping she wouldn’t see what Nate had sent.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, turning to see her fully. She was dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a shirt that said, “Reading is my superpower.”
“I like your shirt,” I said, pointing toward the door as we walked.
Sara glanced down and then looked back up at me, grinning. “Yeah, my mom got it for me for my birthday a while back. It is way more true than it should be. Sometimes it’s easier to deal with books than people, you know?”
The vulnerability in her eyes hit me, and I was curious what she’d been through to say something like that.
I reached down, surprising myself by taking her hand in mine and leading her out of the hotel. I glanced down both sections of the street, trying to find my bearings in this unfamiliar place. There were plenty of lights and fake snow showing through the windows of the shops, giving it more of a tropical Christmas feel.
I turned to Sara, feeling more embarrassed than I wanted to on a fun first date. “So, I looked up an ice cream shop close to here, but now I can’t remember which way to go. Any ideas?”
Sara grinned and said, “Just down a block or two. I’ve been there a few times in the past and they’ve always got good flavors.”
We walked several steps in silence before she spoke again. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I thought that over for several seconds, trying to decide if she was the person I could share my secret with. Starting off more serious than I’d expected.
“Are there any stipulations?” I asked, ducking my head to avoid a low hanging light from the building to my left.
She shook her head. “As long as you know you’d be happy doing it.”
“I’ve always wanted to be a professional baseball player. I know, you of all people know that chances are slim and few make it to that level. But it’s just always been there, you know. Something deep down that I’ve always thought I could do but just haven’t had the guts to tell anyone.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. It felt good confiding in someone besides my parents, because they were always going for the practical excuses. “What would you do about a family?” “That’s a long time to be on the road for very little pay,” and so on. I was ready to face those challenges, but it would be nice to have someone who believed in me either by my side or cheering me on from afar.
“I think you could pull it off,” Sara said, shyly. “I’ve seen some of the plays you’ve made during the camp so far and it’s pretty impressive.”
It was hard to wipe the grin off my face. She’d been paying attention to my skills. Had her dad? And with that thought, the puffed up ego from her compliment deflated back to normal.
“You didn’t talk to your dad about us going out, did you?” A sudden panic took over, and I just hoped that I hadn’t ruined things between her or my chance at baseball. Such a fine line to walk here.
She frowned, the line deep in her forehead. I turned, stopping her from walking forward.
“Sorry, I just, well, I didn’t ask you out to suck up to him, or to get you to talk to him for me. I don’t want you to get that impression.”
The sad cloud over her face lifted and she laughed. “I appreciate that. I’ve gone through a lot of that over the years. Two years ago, in fact.”
“At camp?” I asked, tugging her forward gently as we moved down the block.
She nodded, her lips in tight lines. “He was a nice kid, or so I thought, one of those that oozes confidence, and he had some good baseball skills. But I think he just worried that wouldn’t be enough, you know. It was my year to be with my dad for Christmas, and I was filling in for one of the people who couldn’t make it. Steve kind of latched on.”
She breathed out and I could hear a little warble in it. “I’m not the cheerleader or most popular at my school or anything, so I was all for the possibility that this guy could like me. And then it turned out once the camp was over, I never heard from him again. I guess he’s not playing baseball anywhere right now, and that makes me feel happy.” She paused and then said, “Great. You’re going to think I’m horrible for that.”
I gave her a sad smile and shook my head. “It’s hard to get over someone who you thought you could trust.”
Sara’s eyes went wide and she shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m over him. Sophie, one of my dad’s assistants, pretends she’s helping by keeping up with him.”
I swallowed, feeling slightly guilty about even thinking I could take money to date this girl. She was the epitome of a good, wholesome girl, and even a small bet would crush her.
“What did you do? I mean, were you okay after all of it?”
She nodded, staring at our feet as we walked. “Yeah. It took some time to get over the
feeling of being used, but I’m more cautious now.”
I felt a surge of pride at those words. “And you went out with me because?” I gave her a quick grin, trying to make it more playful even though I wanted to know why she’d accepted my offer after all that.
“I don’t know. I had a good feeling about you. And what are the odds you’d be on my flight and at the camp my dad coaches at?”
We chuckled at that, but her comment about having a good feeling about me caused bile to rise up in my throat. Nothing like karma laying the guilt on thick. I shook off those thoughts and let Sara lead, strolling down the warm Florida night and to the ice cream shop.
Once we each picked out our choices, her a mint chocolate chip cone and me cookies and cream, we strolled along the sidewalk and she said, “I want to show you this really cool place.”
I took the last bite of my cone when she stopped in front of a store that was a sheer explosion of Christmas. Decorations were all around the outside of the door and from a brief glance inside, I could see shelves and shelves of red, green, and silver.
“This is one of my favorite stores whenever I come visit my dad.” Sara beamed, looking like she’d just stumbled on the best secret in southeast Florida.
“This, this place is your favorite?” I asked, trying to figure out what that meant. At least she’d trusted me enough to bring me here. I guess I was more assuming a bookstore would be at the top of her list.
Sara chuckled. “Yeah, it’s like what I imagine Christmas to be. The house all decked out with lights and smells, presents and trees. It’s been a long time since we’ve really celebrated Christmas like this and I miss it.” She paused and tossed the last bit of her cone into her mouth. Once she’d swallowed, I opened the door for her and she said, “I mean, at least my dad tried this year and hung some lights. But I want something like this when I have a place of my own.”
“Does your dad not do a tree or anything?” I asked, stepping closer to her when I saw a crazy elf staring at me.
“Does a Charlie Brown tree count?” She looked up, semi-laughing and semi-curious.
“I’m not one to judge Christmas decorations. I leave that for my mom to decide. She didn’t go all out, kept saying she was so busy with work. But now I understand why. It was because we were coming here,” I said, watching as she picked up a small crystal tree, turning it over in her hands several times. “I think Christmas is what you make of it, what you want it to be and to be in the same area as the people you love.”
We walked through the store, her picking up things here and there until we heard the owner ask if we needed any help.
“We’re just looking. Thank you,” Sara said, smiling at the woman.
“Okay, we’ll be closing in about fifteen minutes.” The woman shuffled out of sight and left us to see what other “treasures” as Sara called them, were around the store.
Sara pointed out funny things, cute things, and everything in between. We laughed about some things that were hard to tell what they were or ugly things, wondering how people had thought that would be something that would sell.
My gaze caught on something hanging over my head near the back of the store. My eyes widened as I realized it was mistletoe. I glanced down, curious to see if Sara had seen it. She was still bent down, inspecting stockings she’d seen a few times around the store in different styles.
I wanted to kiss her, not just because there was mistletoe above us, but because I’d had the most fun tonight than I’d had in way too long. As I thought about it more though, the text message from Nate was like a floating beacon in my brain that trying anything right now could be disastrous.
She stood up and frowned at me. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Just um, thinking about, uh, the camp.”
“Oh, you should probably get home, right? I mean, I don’t want you to be awful tomorrow because I kept you out too late.” She slid her hand into mine and leaned her head on my upper arm, a whiff of vanilla hitting my nose from the movement.
I widened my eyes and said, “What do you mean awful?” I pulled her closer to me and saw her breath hitch. Mine did the same and my eyes involuntarily raised to the ceiling. When I glanced back, her eyes went there too, dropping back to mine in surprise.
“Is that why you went stiff as a board? Because of the mistletoe?” She pointed to it, her gaze shifting from my face to the ceiling and back again.
I rolled my lips in, not sure how to respond to that. It had been so long since I’d kissed a girl, I was more nervous than I should be.
She looked up at me with those deep brown eyes and for a split second, I wondered what she was thinking.
I leaned in, wrapping one arm around her waist and pressed my lips to hers, feeling a rush of emotions sparking through my face. I hadn’t kissed many girls, but there was something about this one that zipped up my spine and flooded my upper body. We were in that moment for what seemed like forever when the bell over the door sounded and she pulled back, her eyes wide and her gaze darting around the room.
“We should, uh, go.” She turned and took off for the exit, and I had to run to catch up.
Once we were outside the shop and back to the mugginess of the Florida night, I grabbed her arm lightly and pulled her to a stop.
“Sara, are you okay? I mean, I’m sorry if you didn’t want to kiss me—”
She held up a finger to stop me from speaking. “It’s, you’re good. I just haven’t kissed anyone in a while. Okay, ever. And well, I kind of liked it. I’ve always wanted to kiss someone under mistletoe.”
I grinned. “Consider that one crossed off your bucket list then.”
We headed back to the hotel, hand in hand, and I was sure that my life had just changed unalterably. I’d never met someone like Sara and I wanted to keep dating her, hoped we could continue seeing her once we got back to Texas. I was her first kiss, and something about that made me want to protect her for as long as I could.
Call me sentimental or some hormonal boy, but I hadn’t felt this alive in, well, never.
I wanted to kiss her again once I dropped her off, but there were a ton of people milling about and it just didn’t feel right. I bent down and gave Sara a hug before watching her walk off down the hall.
I was nearing an edge I’d never been close to before, and I’d have to take things one day at a time.
Chapter 10
Sara
When I got back to the hotel, I leaned up against the door to our room for several moments before finally tapping my key card over the reader and pressing down on the lever to open the door.
I was in trouble. I was falling fast for one of the campers, something I’d sworn never to do again after Steve Thornton. I took a breath, trying to steady the flood of pain that seeped into my bones. He’d ruined my perception of all campers—and all guys, really.
But Isaac was different, had always been different since the moment I’d tapped him on the shoulder on the plane. I just needed to take my time and not rush into anything. That way I’d be able to accept whatever happened without wanting to blame myself if things went south.
For the first time, I realized that my little crush on him could turn into something more than just a holiday fling, and I let myself think about what would happen when we went back to Texas. But would he want the same thing? Or was I just someone to pass the time with, to flirt with when girls were scarce at the camp?
“Did you have a good night?” my dad asked from his bed. The television was on, playing the day’s sports highlights, and I jumped because I hadn’t expected him to be awake.
I froze, not sure how to answer his question. When I’d left, I’d told him I was going to hang out with a friend from back home who’d texted me, making it as believable as possible. Not a complete lie, which was the only reason I hadn’t blurted out the whole thing. And that I didn’t want Isaac to get into trouble with my dad just a couple days away from the end of camp tournament.
“It was, um, good. Really good. We got some ice cream and chatted about life.” All true things, just not with a girl, like he assumed.
My dad yawned and nodded. “That’s good. Better get to sleep. We’ve got another long day ahead of us.”
I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. His eyes were closed and as I watched him, I realized how much he did for me, even though I was only at his house a couple times a year. He worked hard, trying to be the best dad he could be even when I wasn’t around, and a stab of guilt over my lie made me wonder if I should tell him the truth right now. But then again, he still hadn’t talked about his feelings for Eliza, and as stubborn as he could be, I’d noticed him watch her a few times.
Once the tournament was over, I’d tell him how I felt about Isaac. That way I would know whether things could continue once we got back home or not. And I wouldn’t be jeopardizing Isaac’s future.
Chapter 11
Isaac
I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss throughout the next day, stealing glances over at Sara near the snack table in the process. It had been fun to get to know her better, to see her in a different light and learn more about why she’d been so cautious when we’d first met.
We took a break for lunch and I smiled at her from a table next to her, eating close enough that we could chat every once in a while, but that her father wouldn’t get suspicious.
Nate, of course, was bouncing all around, asking me questions about the night and even trying to engage Sara in some of the conversation.
“Stop it,” I hissed between my teeth. I didn’t want to deal with his puppy-like ability to annoy and pester. I just wanted to keep everything a secret between Sara and I.
I glanced at my phone, sending a quick text to Sara.
Sorry about him. He’s my cousin and a little immature.
'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set Page 74