The Holly Dates

by Brittainy C. Cherry

Cassie shook her head. “Are you working the day of your wedding?” She chuckled. “Mere minutes before you walk down the aisle?” “What can I say? I’m passionate about what I do.”

“Let’s just say sometimes books are better than reality.”

I wondered what it was like in a head that didn’t deal with anxiety. That sounded relaxing.

Your only job is to be yourself. That’s all that matters. It’s his job to impress you. You’re already good enough. You have nothing to prove.”

Compliments from him versus other men felt different. They felt more authentic because I knew Kai never said anything he didn’t mean.

“I like how your brain works.”

“Don’t do that, Holly,” I whispered, lacing my hands together in my lap. “Don’t do what?” “Read the parts of my book that I don’t share with people.” “It’s a good book, Kai. I wish you’d let me read it all.”

now understood why they called them crushes—because they crushed your soul repeatedly.

As we finished drinking the full specialty cocktail menu, Holly and I walked arm in arm out of the restaurant. We swayed back and forth, and she talked to me about squirrels, the moon, and the snowflakes falling over our heads. Everything she said made no sense, but everything she said mattered. I drunkenly listened to her every word, too.