The Mistletoe Bet

by Maren Moore

your curves. You know, you are such a beautiful girl, and if you only lost a few…" Aunt Polly leans in and whispers, not so quietly, on the other side of her hand, "pounds, you would be so breathtaking.”

I'm only the ‘pretty’ fat girl. The ‘you have such a lovely face,’ but ‘you would be so much prettier if only you were a little thinner’ girl.

happened?" I grew up and realized that life changes in the blink of an eye. That’s what happened.

My love life consists of sporadic Tinder hookups, and that one guy from my building that keeps texting me “you up?” in the middle of the night. Definitely no fairy-tale romance.

Before I can even respond, he pulls me to him, sealing his lips over mine and silencing my protest. Parker Grant is kissing me. Parker Grant is kissing me!

“You know what, Quinn?” Parker says, closing the space he just put between us. “I bet you, right here, right now, that if you give me these seven days you’re home, I can make you fall in love with Christmas all over again.”

“I know you, Quinn Scott, and I know that somewhere in there is the girl that used to wake up with me in the middle of the night, just to see if we could catch Santa. I know that your old Christmas spirit is there, and if you give me a week, just the seven days that you’re home, I can make you love those things all over again. Love being home again. And if I can’t, then I’ll take your spot in the Christmas musical your mom has told the entire town you're performing in.”

“Has anyone ever told you that mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble, Quinn?”

“Fuck it,” he murmurs, bringing his hands to my jaw and cradling it before dipping down to brush his lips against mine. “I’ve wanted to do this for so goddamn long, Quinn Scott. You have no idea.”

“I’m not skinny, Parker. I’ve seen the women you date. Well, at least the women you used to date, and I want to make it clear that under this sweater, there isn’t a firm tummy or pointy hip bones.”

“You are fucking perfect, Quinn. You have always

been perfect. I love every single goddamn inch of your curves. You hear me?” His eyes hold mine,

“If you only knew how many times I’ve fantasized about this. Fuck, every time I came as a teenager, it was your name on my lips. This is not new for me, love. I’ve wanted you since we were kids.”

“Sorry, Quinny, I’ll buy you another pair. A whole fucking drawer as long as you let me rip them off of you again.” He grins, the tone of his voice betraying that he’s not really sorry at all.

“Look, if you want to pretend it never happened, I’m fine with it and won’t be hurt whatsoever. I don't want to make things weird or awkward between us, especially since you’re Owen’s best friend. People have one-night stands all the time, and we could be those people. Bang and never talk about it ever again,” I say, simply.

“That’s not what I want, Quinn. And quite frankly, it pisses me off that you’re so willing to brush last night off as if it’s nothing.” His jaw clenches and his throat bobs as he averts his gaze out to the darkness in front of us that’s illuminated by the headlights.

“Last night was not just a random hook-up for me, Quinn.”

“I’m okay. Just a bump. I won’t break, Parker.” I laugh. “Although, I’m pretty sure the day I broke my arm here in third grade, you cried more than I did.” Parker blanches, pulling back with wide eyes. “You said you would never bring that up ever again, Quinn Scott. You fucking swore it.” I shrug. “It was a Christmas I will never forget. I’m pretty sure you felt so bad the entire time I had a cast on that you would bring me endless hot cocoas with whipped cream and sprinkles.” “You were hurt, and I was worried about you. I would’ve done anything you asked that month. Remember what I got you for Christmas?” he asks. Like I could ever forget.

“Next time I hear you talk badly about yourself, I’m going to put you over my knee and spank the fuck out of your ass.”

“They’re obviously engaging in sexual relations and you’re making this very awkward for your sister.” This is the worst moment of my life. I’m fairly certain, at least. I wish the floor would actually open up and swallow me whole. Put me out of my misery. Please. “Would you both stop,” I screech, covering my face. “First of all, even if I was sleeping with someone, I don’t need to discuss it with anyone, and definitely not over Christmas lunch! Second, there is nothing going on with Parker. We’re friends, we’ve always been friends since we were kids.” “Actually, that’s not true.” I whip my head to look at Parker, my jaw now hanging open. What in the hell is happening? “Owen, I like your sister, and even though I’m pretty sure she’s going to give me a black eye for saying it out loud, I’m going to pursue her, and I hope you’ll be okay with it because it’s not changing.” Groaning, I drop my head back as I mutter, “Parker!” “What?” He shrugs, his shoulder dipping slightly in his old hoodie. “It’s true, and hiding things never gets anyone anywhere.”

I whirl toward him. “This is not a conversation that we should be having at the table with my family, when it’s certainly not one we’ve had in private.” The man

“Oh, shut it, Owen. If I want to have sex with Parker, I will, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Sometimes you forget that I’m not sixteen anymore and I don't need you or anyone else telling me how to live my life.”

“There’s nothing familial about how I feel about your sister,” Parker adds.

“I’m sorry that I said something back there when you weren’t ready, and I’m sorry that I didn’t say it to you privately first. But I’m not sorry for how I feel, Quinn.” My lower

“Why does it have to be complicated? I know you feel how I do, Quinn. Hell, the same thing I’ve felt for years, only now, it’s not something that I can ignore. It’s not something that I’m just willing to let you walk away from,” he whispers, turning my head toward him by grasping my chin. Our eyes lock. Steady. Intense. All-consuming. “The last week with you has been incredible, Quinn, and I know you feel the same. It feels natural as any relationship should. I’m not saying that it will be easy, and I don’t even know how we would do it, I’m just asking you to try.”

“No, I don’t know that. I just know that I’m standing outside in the fucking freezing cold, trying to convince a girl I’m crazy about that we’re worth giving it a shot. Try with me, Quinn, and if it doesn’t work, then we walk away, but at least we can say we gave it our all. We tried.”

lifetime of learning, baby. Mistakes are always going to happen, but if you follow your heart, it’ll guide you home. Wherever that may be.” Mom rubs my back as she talks, reassuring

“We’ll do whatever it takes. There are planes, trains, and automobiles…and FaceTime. We can meet in the middle. We’ll figure it out. We can figure out anything together.” I laugh and the tears that welled in the corner of my eyes now wet my cheeks. He reaches out, swiping away a tear gently. “I just know that I want this, Quinn. I want you, and I’m not letting you get on that plane without being mine. Be mine. Fuck, just, I need you to be mine.” There’s no hesitation. There’s no doubt

back against a hard, warm body. The voice of the man who stole my heart when I never expected it. The man who swooped back into my life and changed every single second of it after he did. The man who has made the last year of my life, the happiest it’s ever been.