Page 31 of Under The Meh-stletoe

He pulled back from the kiss. "Let me take you home, before I do more here in the middle of the road."

"I can't do more. Not tonight."

He nodded and let me go. His arms still surrounded me, but he didn't hold me tight to him anymore. I fixed my glasses.

He searched my eyes. "If you still want to kiss me next time we meet, when you're not half-way drunk, then…"

"I said I wouldn't do this."

"I thought I didn't want it." His lips tilted in an ironic smile. "To be honest, I'm not sure what this means or where it'll go, but I can't say that I'm upset about it, after that kiss."

"Maybe it's a Christmas miracle— or karma. That, or the ghost of seasons past is haunting us."

"Let them. I'm not scared."

December 20

Daniel

Lessthanaweekleft before Christmas, and it was finally time for the last outside event. With the car parade about to start, we only had the big community party at the hall left. In a few days, I’d be free from the committee forever.

Vehicles decorated with colorful strings of lights and painted cardboard lined up around a street corner, hidden from the horde around the square. The onlookers packed both sides of the road, waiting to see the display; there were probably four times as many people as we'd had for the cookie competition. A speaker blasted music for everyone to enjoy, with a mix of merengue, salsa, rock and pop Latino, and rock classics from the US and the UK.

I moved through the line of cars, talking to the teams and making sure everything was in order. The procession would start with the elementary school submission and end with the volunteer one. Our decorated vehicle would carry Santa and wouldn't get a score, but I ensured the volunteer team was happy with it regardless. After double checking everything was set up to go right on time, I left them all idling and waiting for seven p.m. to hit.

Night had fallen a while ago and it grew cold fast. I made my way through the people waiting for the show; everyone wore thick jackets and chatted with each other. Several of them waved at me or said hi, completely ignoring the fact I didn't smile back and only nodded. Perhaps that was the real holiday spirit. They accepted me as I was. Something told me it would last throughout the new year, too. It wouldn't be exclusive to the season.

I reached the jury platform, placed next to the community hall entrance in front of the tree. My eyes found Ale as if drawn by her magnetism. A now-familiar flutter took over my stomach; I hadn't stopped thinking about our kiss two days before. We'd been too busy putting out fires for the groups participating in the car decoration competition to spend any time together, much less getting to chat about anything significant. In other words, I hadn't had a chance to gauge whether she still wanted to kiss me. I knew I wanted to kiss her, despite the persistent hesitation about it leading anywhere.

Several people gathered around the jury platform, a confusing cluster at the center. I elbowed my way into it as politely as I could.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Ale stood at the center of the cluster, holding Renata, and trying to help her sit on a cushioned armchair. Without giving it much thought, I joined and helped Renata down.

"Where did this chair come from?" I asked.

"Home," Ale said.

"She insisted." Renata huffed. "She's coddling me."

"You need to be coddled, I've heard." I let Renata hold on to my arm and settle down.

Ale and I exchanged a look. Butterflies took flight again.

"Okay, I'm set.” Renata frowned. “Stop smothering me."

Ale didn't stop; she wrapped Renata in a couple of blankets. I retreated and smiled down at them. They looked so alike and yet so different; beyond aesthetic differences with how they styled their hair and chose their clothing, or how much fuller Ale’s face and body were, details set them apart. The way Ale’s mouth quirked at the corner, and even a certain difference in energy. No wonder Renata had never drawn me the same way. They were their own people, of course, and there had never been a click with her.

"Sooo… Renata couldn't miss this event?" I crossed my arms.

"I'm right here," Renata complained.

Ale straightened and addressed me, anyway. "She was missing out on all the Christmas fun she so loves. If she couldn't come to the happy, I'd bring her to the happy."

Renata stared up at her sister. "To promptly ignore me and talk about me to someone in front of me. Wow. Just because he kissed you."

She mumbled the last few words, but it seemed both Ale and I had understood.