My Holiday Hook-Up

Chapter 2: Good For You

I was hiding. Not in the cute, peekaboo-I’m-shy way, but in the if-I-have-to-listen-to-one-more-conversation-about-early-bird-specials-I-might-explode way. Grandma, being the social whirlwind she was, had cozied up with just about everyone at the dinner party. I, on the other hand, had decided I could be perfectly happy disappearing into the depths of this labyrinthian castle forever.

"Make some friends, Josie," she'd said earlier with a wink.

Sure, because bonding over denture recommendations and tax-free IRA accounts was exactly how I envisioned my winter break.

So, I slipped away after dessert— a heavenly chocolate mousse, by the way— and started wandering the halls. The place was a museum of eccentric wealth, with portraits of disapproving ancestors glaring down at me. One particularly stern-looking man seemed like he wanted to lecture me about running in the corridors.

A quiet sigh left my lungs as I regarded the room around me. There was hardly anyone around. Everyone had retreated from dinner and gone to one of the saloons to converse and dance. I didn't want to do either, so I purposely led my way away from all the fuss and ruckus. Who knew a bunch of old people could be so loud?

I turned a corner and nearly tripped over a suit of armor. It clanged, startling me so much I slapped it like it was alive. “What is your deal?” I muttered at the lifeless knight, then realized I was speaking to furniture.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Yvonne's name flashed on the screen. Good—an escape from my own misery. "Hey, Von—"

"Please just listen to me," an unwelcome voice pleaded. I gritted my teeth. So Stefan had gone to my friends after I refused to take his calls. I briefly wondered how he had gotten Yvonne to agree to let him use her phone to call me. Maybe he was f*****g her too. The mere thought made me sick, but I had to take all options into consideration. I had finally learned my lesson: you can't trust anyone.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I growled, gripping the phone like I could strangle him through it.

"Look, I know you’re mad—"

"Mad? Stefan, I’d call it something closer to 'I-hope-you-step-on-Legos-every-day-for-the-rest-of-your-life.'”

"Okay, I deserve that," he mumbled. "Just hear me out."

"Why would I? We don't have anything to talk about," I snapped. I had half a mind to stop the call there, but I was still angry and wanted to yell at him some more for ruining everything. Again.

"Yes, we do. Look, I know I f****d up. You don't have to believe me, but I didn't sleep with Eliza, I swear I didn't. I've done stuff in the past that I'm not proud of but this time I wanted to do it right."

"Oh, you swear? Right. Like that means something anymore. How about you carry on f*****g her and stop calling me?" I said with venom. I should have just ended the call, but I found myself craving the fight.

"I didn't mean for it to end like this. I wanted to talk things through but you... you caught me off guard."

I nearly laughed out loud. "I caught you, you got that much right," I hissed. "And now you can go and have a nice f*****g life without me interrupting your fun."

I heard him sigh. "Don't be like that, Jo. I was hoping we could be friends."

I let out an incredulous huff before telling him to do something anatomically impossible and ended the call. I stared at the majestic statues carved on the walls and felt myself shrinking. It shouldn't hurt this much. After all, the first time Stefan had been unfaithful I had known that I couldn't trust him. But I stayed with him because he seemed genuinely apologetic and swore it would never happen again. If I could, I would go back in time and slap myself for believing him I would. I had gotten myself into this mess, so I shouldn't be crying now that something I had known all along turned out to be true.

“You look like someone just canceled Christmas,” came a voice beside me. I jumped so hard I almost slid off the couch. It was him. Stefan’s not-really-a-friend-but-close-enough-to-be-annoying friend. What was his name again? Mark? No. That wasn’t it.

I shook my head and tried to look as unapproachable as possible so he'd leave as quickly as he came around. “We don’t know each other,” I lied, trying to shut him down.

"You used to date someone," he said, ignoring my little freakout. "Which one was it?"

The last thing I needed was a living, breathing reminder of what a colossal mistake I had made dating Stefan. "Just go."

“You dated Stefan. I recognize the exasperated look. He has that effect on people.”

I scowled. “Well, congratulations on your observational skills. Now go away.”

“Wow. Someone's got claws.” He grinned, completely unfazed. “So, Stefan’s ex, huh? That makes this more fun. Want to hook up?”

I blinked at him, utterly dumbfounded. “Excuse me?”

“You know. Hook up. Have some fun. What else are we supposed to do in this place? Play shuffleboard?”

Was this guy for real? “You’ve known me for two seconds, and this is your idea of small talk?”

“Hey, I’m direct. Saves time,” he said with a shrug. “Plus, you’re cute, and I’m very cute. It’s logical.”

“I’m sorry, did you just rank yourself as very cute?”

“Well, yeah. Modesty isn’t really my thing.”

I almost laughed, but instead, I rolled my eyes so hard they could’ve fallen out.

"Also, you've got that good girl vibe going on about you that, for some reason or another, turns me on."

My face turned to a shade of crimson. No one had ever said something like that to me, especially after only two minutes of talking. No one had just spoken their mind, as if the consequences for such action didn't scare him one bit, as he had. He was like a breath of cool winter air to a stuffy dusty room.

There was something about this guy. It was like he demanded my full attention. He was really confident in himself but not obnoxious. I wanted to go to my room and cry over my relationship going down the drain, but I stayed put. He was kind of... alluring.

What the hell am I thinking? I only broke up with my boyfriend a few hours ago.

He leaned back against the couch like he’d already won. “Listen, Stefan’s not really my ‘bro,’ if that’s what’s holding you back. He’s more like… the guy you keep around because he gets good discounts on beer.”

“Oh, that’s reassuring,” I deadpanned.

“So, what do you say?” he asked. “We’ve got nothing better to do, and I promise I’m a good time.”

I stared at him, utterly baffled by his audacity. It wasn’t the worst line of reasoning I’d ever heard, but that wasn’t saying much.

“How do I know this isn’t some elaborate prank? Maybe you’re recording this to send to Stefan and laugh at me later. You are probably trying to make me look equally bad, so Stefan can turn him being a shitty boyfriend into a fault of mine. Well, too bad it's not going to happen.”

He let out a low whistle. “Wow, you’ve got serious trust issues, huh?” He smirked. “I mean, I get it— Stefan’s a human red flag— but still. Not everything’s a conspiracy.”

“You’re really not selling yourself here,” I muttered.

“I don’t have to sell myself. I am the product. High-quality, limited edition,” he teased.

I couldn’t help it; a small smile tugged at my lips. He noticed immediately. “Ah, there it is. Knew I’d c***k you eventually.”

“Don’t get used to it,” I warned.

“Listen, I am not trying to play any games. I hate drama and people who like to cause it. I'm just trying to have some fun."

I huffed incredulously. "Fun?" I repeated.

He wasn't fazed one bit. "Yes. You want to look it up in a dictionary together? I have a feeling you have never heard of it", he said, teasing.

I blinked, suddenly feeling flustered. "Maybe I just have a different definition of fun than you do."

The boy chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure you do. What I'm offering is getting a glimpse of what my definition of fun is like."

"I am not sleeping with you," I flat-out told him.

He gave me a wicked smile. "Who said anything about sleeping?"

He leaned in just enough to make my pulse quicken. “You’ll think about it,” he whispered, his voice low and confident. Then, without waiting for a response, he stood up and walked away, leaving me sitting there with my thoughts in complete chaos.