#anssc

If you asked me, impulsivity was not a common trait among my people. I was Southern by blood, Southern by raisin’, Southern by livin’ and I wasn’t prone to rush anything and I enjoyed tradition as Southerners do. I picked at a hangnail with my teeth and resisted the urge to ruin the most expensive manicure I had ever had in my life.

A tinny version of Jingle Bells played in the terminal and I was tempted to turn tail and run home. My momma went hog wild for the holidays and our house usually looked like something right out of a Thomas Kinkaid painting. White fluff and tiny villages covered every surface, anything that could be wrapped in lights and garland was adorned and Daddy made sure you could see our house from space. It didn’t matter if it was 30 degrees or 80 on Christmas day (being Alabama, both were possible) we were having a baked ham with all the fixin’s.

There seemed to be two types of women in the South: Southern Belles with white gloves, pearls, and eyelashes that could bat for anyone, or TomBoys dressed in camo and boots. Any woman that fell into the inbetween was pigeonholed into one or the other. Despite the fact that I was 5’10” and closer to 200lbs than 150lbs, my momma always tried to turn me into a belle. Gymnastics, ballet, cloggin’, modern dance, pageants, cotillion of all things, were on my resume for a proper Southern Belle.

If I had let my mother dress me I would have been in a Chanel suit, tottering close to six foot in matching pumps, and a string of pearls around my neck. Dixiecrats were nothing if not predictable in their fashion sense. My own personal style was more “post menopausal writer” in leggin’s, drapey sweaters, and sensible flats (if I had to wear shoes at all).

Considering all I had as I sped away from the church was the suitcase I had packed for the honeymoon, I was looking festive in darkwash jeans, a sensible red blazer I had found in a consignment store over a green teeshirt from the Wal-Mart, and pair of comfortable silver flats that I had found at Payless Shoes for $12. My Christmas light earrings actually lit up with the push of a small button and I looked like Santa Claus’ long lost granddaughter. You know… if she had run away from her wedding and slept in an airport.

I had my hair up in a messy bun after leaving a small mountain of bobby pins in the back of the limousine, but the bangs that were last year’s bad decision didn’t quite make it and they fell around my face in unkempt waves.

My knees were currently jammed into the seat in front of me and I was pressed against the window trying to make myself as small as possible. My fear of the window falling out and being sucked out of the plane was now secondary to making sure I did not touch the sweaty, leering, overweight man who had jammed himself in the seat next to me and might have actually drooled when he blatantly stared at my breasts.

I was saved by the captain’s voice coming over the loudspeaker, “Good morning y’all, there’s a big ol’ storm comin’ down that’s gonna be coverin’ the better part of the Eastern half of the country, but we should be getting you into Charlotte on time to catch your connecting flights before she hits.”

My family was poor, but we weren’t rich either. My daddy owned the family hardware store in a small town outside of Tuscaloosa and my Momma was a professional homemaker that would have made Paula Deen and Martha Stewart weep with envy. We had enough to go on day trips, to pay for my sister and I to do all of our extracurriculars, but I had never been on a plane in my entire life and I was about to spend the next 57 minutes with my knees jammed to my chest while being squashed by the fattest, reddest, sweatiest man on the planet and I would bet my life savings he was some sort of shoe salesman, or a judge, or a small town sheriff or something.

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When we landed in Charlotte, I sent a little prayer to the Universe for allowing me to live and for the one millionth time since climbing into that big car I thought about just going home. But that was what sensible me would have done and I was always sensible.

As we taxied to the terminal, I turned on my phone and the family group text started blowing up my phone.

Little Sister: Addie are you there yet? Did you live? Did the plane crash? I didn’t see anythin on Twitter.

Momma: Adelaide, I don’t understand dear, why are you leaving for Christmas? It was different When you and Daniel were going on your honeymoon and starting your own traditions. This is insane. Text us when you land. Adele said she didn’t see anythin’ on the Twitter App. I know this weddin’ didn’t go quite the way you were hopin’ but just come home.

Daddy: Girl, call us when you land and Canes won!

My phone was to my ear as the plane came to a stop and all 40 something passengers tried to stand at the same time with the exception of Chubby McPervert who didn’t move a muscle and fell asleep with his massive jowl to his chest.

“Hi Daddy, I landed. Yes, I’m going to catch my next flight. No, this one wasn’t bad.” It had in fact been horrible, but I wasn’t about to tell him about Chubby McPervert and his leering eyes. “I love y’all too. I’ll call y’all when I make it to Toronto, it will be really late. No it won’t cost a fortune, remember Adele and I taught you how to facetime using the WiFi. Yes, Daddy, we have to use that newfangled thingamabobber. I love you too.”

I hung up as people were starting to file off the place and Chubby McPervert still hadn’t gotten out of his seat and I needed to grab my carry on from the overhead bin. I swung my purse onto my other shoulder making sure it whipped right across his sleeping face and I put a look of abject horror on mine, “Oh mah gosh! I am SO sorry, This purse was a present from my Daddy so I can carry all my stuff and I just have not gotten used to this big ol’ thing!”

He grunted and finally got up. He apparently didn’t have a carry on and I stuck out my tongue at his retreating back to the amusement of the little boy seated behind me. Stepping into the narrow aisle and grabbing my little roller bag that contained all my toiletries and a few changes of clothes in case the airline lost my suitcase, I rolled after everyone else exiting the plane and entered the indoor city that was (to me) a large international airport.

The hustle and bustle of an airport right before Christmas was overwhelming and I looked for a place where I could get out of the way and get my bearings.

I found a pillar in front of a bank of screens framed in cheap tinsel garland that had a list of all the flights coming and going. To my dismay, it looked like a lot were already being cancelled due to the weather. When I finally found my flight, I was dismayed to see it was already delayed. I looked around the terminal for signs of where the gate might be and figured waiting there was as good as any place.

It took what felt like an hour to traverse the bustling airport and I was pretty sure I had walked to the next county.

The poor gal behind the counter looked harried as people checked into the flight and a lot of grumpy faces seemed to be aware of the delay. I waited patiently in line for my turn as she tried to find accommodations for people who needed to make connecting flights. Much to my chagrin, Chubby McPervert huffed up behind me and spent the next 20 minutes grumbling under his breath. When I finally got to the counter I set my giant purse on it, “Y’all look like y’all’ve had a DAY.”

She took a breath before answering, “I’m new, this is my first holiday.”

“Well take a breath, a drink of water, I gotta find my ticket on my phone anyway.”

She shot me a grateful look as Chubby McPervert made impatient huffy noises behind me. She clicked around on her computer and after a good minute I held out my phone feigning stupidity, “This is for this flight right?”

She smiled, “Yes it is.”

Chubby McPervert made another impatient huff. I wanted to tell him he sounded like the draft horses in the log pull at the county fair, but I didn’t, I just turned on the Southern Charm, “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry, am I going too slow? I bet you’re in a big ol’ hurry to board a flight that’s been delayed.”

Turning back around, I made a note of the name etched on the little brass name tag as I reached over the counter with my hand and hoped the gal would follow my lead, “Bethany dear, how IS your momma doin’? I sent her a Christmas card last year and it was returned! Did she move?”

Bethany tried to hide her smirk as she caught onto my game, “You know we had to move her in with my brother last year, I’ll text you her new address.”

I made a sympathetic face, “Aw I am so sorry to hear that.”

She shook her head, “No, it’s good, after Daddy died she just couldn’t keep the farm all by herself. She fell and broke her hip, but she is doing great now. The grandkids can barely keep up with her!

She let go of my hand and passed my phone back to me, I gave her a wink and turned around with my cheeriest smile, “Bless your big ol’ heart for waiting while I caught up with my friend. I’m sure she will be happy to help you now!”

As I grabbed my purse, Bethany mouthed, “Thank you,” and I ventured into the waiting area to take a seat and wait for my delayed plane.

I was deep into a meditation podcast when I felt a tap on my shoulder, Bethany was bent over me, “Ms. Thibodeaux? Can I have you come up to the counter please?”

“Absolutely,” I answered, pulling my earphones out of my ears as I stood.

Setting my purse on top of my rolling carry on, I followed her to the counter. When she was back behind the computer she made a few taps, “Unfortunately, the gentleman behind you in line had to find an alternate flight, so we now have a first class seat available, would you like a free upgrade?”

A free upgrade into first class? I didn’t even know there was such a thing.

Bethany seemed to sense my hesitation, “There’s more legroom? You get to drink?”

She knew exactly what I needed. Bethany was like my secret Santa, “Well in that case, how can I say no?”

She gave me an updated paper ticket, “Your flight is about an hour out, enjoy!”

It was her turn to give me a wink and I was suddenly very grateful for my parents who taught me to treat everyone with respect and patience.

Returning to my seat to wait, I watched people exit a freshly landed plane, watched the cleaning crew get on, the switching of the pilots and attendants, the waiting area emptied as they started to board the plane like a herd of grumpy cattle and eventually it taxied away from the gate.

There was a duty free store across from where I was sitting and I idly wondered how many of those little gin bottles it would take to fill my water bottle and more importantly, how much it would cost. I finally decided, “Way too damn much,” and I was saved from a potentially bad decision by the loudspeaker announcing my flight. I blinked and noticed the waiting area had filled up again with weary holiday travelers and the flight was going to be very full as cancellations meant everyone was trying to get somewhere before the storm covered most of the US.

I got up, shrugging my purse onto my shoulder and grabbing the handle of my bag. I turned to walk around the bank of seats I was sitting in to avoid the gaggle of teenagers that had settled on the floors to take turns with the one available charging outlet, but was stopped as I smacked into a solid wall that I did not remember sitting next to.

Rebounding off the slab of granite, I tried to step back but the back of my knees hit my carry-on and they buckled. I felt myself losing my balance, before two large hands wrapped around my arms to steady me.

I would be the first to admit it was tough to date men when a woman happened to be nearly six feet tall and could be generously described as “curvy.” Dan had been almost two inches shorter than I was, and was one of the very few men who didn’t seem bothered by the fact I was bigger in every sense of the word. That is what I had believed, anyway, until I found him balls deep in our wedding planner who was all of five foot and 100lbs soaking wet.

The man I ran into, however, was much taller than Dan -- much taller than I was-- and it was a weird experience looking up into a man’s eyes instead of down. Not that I was complaining.

I felt my mouth open before I told it to and I knew stupid was going to come out, “Oh mah goodness you are handsome.” My drawl became more pronounced when I was nervous and I had a feeling I just went full ‘back in the holler down by the crick’ Southern.

He blushed, murmuring what had to be a thanks and let go of my arms, gesturing for me to walk in front of him. When I turned around the aisle between the banks of metal framed seats had cleared like a combine gone through a wheatfield.

Making my way to the gate, I could feel the man’s huge presence behind me and I realized for the first time, I was unsettled because he made me feel almost small. Adelaide Thibodeaux don’t you dare trip or make a fool of yourself more than you already have.

I scanned my ticket with my new seat assignment and headed down the gangway to a thankfully, much larger airplane than the first one. First class looked like having a king sized bed to myself after flying on what was essentially a deflating balloon next to the world’s sweatiest man. The seats were in pairs on either side of the aisle and even economy, which had three seats on either side, looked roomy comparatively.

My seat was smack in the middle of first class and I was by a window. I stopped and pushed the extendable handle down on my carry-on and before I could pick it up the man I had crashed into basically palmed the thing like it weighed no more than a feather and lifted it into the overhead bin, before putting in his own bag and laying his very nice coat on top of both of them.

I felt a flush the exact color of my blazer creep up my neck and into my cheeks. “Um thanks! Polite and handsome, my momma would love you.”

Adelaide Thibodeaux, what the actual flying fuck are the words coming out of your mouth?

I took my seat near the window and looked out at the workers throwing the luggage onto the plane, hoping the very tall, very handsome man would keep going and I would never see him again. Which would be disappointing, but quite alright since I apparently couldn’t control the verbal diarrhea around him and I wanted to sink directly through the plane to the ground below.

I was not that lucky; God didn’t seem to want to grant me any favors to avoid paralyzing embarrassment this day and I glanced up at the man who was about to sit next to me. From a different angle and finally focusing on his face, I immediately recognized him and I turned my face toward the window again to have a minor meltdown. I was about to spend the entire flight next to a Carolina Hurricane and I did not want to find out what incredibly stupid things could come out of my mouth in six whole hours.

When I looked back over and swallowed he gave me a funny look, suddenly the plane seemed even smaller than the one I arrived on. There may have been at least four inches between our arms, but it felt like nothing and I swear I could feel the heat of his body coming through his stylish sweater. The awkward silence stretched tight like a bungee cord and I knew when it finally snapped I was going to feel the lash.

He held out his hand, “Joel, and I’m sorry about putting my hands all over you, but I don’t make a habit of letting beautiful women fall to the floor.” His smile indicated he was anything but sorry.

In that moment, I wished his hands had been all over me. I cleared my throat and willed myself to say something normal, “Adelaide, and it’s no problem, hot hockey players catch me in airports all the time.”

I winced internally at the flood that escaped my lips, but he just chuckled, “First time flying?”

“What? No! Excuse you sir, I fly all the time.” I had an intelligent, stubborn, impulsive little sister, I could razz with the best of them.

He grinned, and looking at him was like looking directly into the sun, he was so hot, “Are we making up stories? I’m going to win the Norris this season.”

The teasing was enough to release that awkward tension and I smacked his bicep playfully, “Shut UP I am not that obvious!” I don’t know what bayou I was suddenly born in but the Southern just jumped right out and I sounded like I should be noodling catfish and not flying to another country.

“Just when I think I’ve gotten used to the southern accent, you sound a little different than people in North Carolina,” his smile was infectious and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Well Mr. Edmundson, you are acquirin’ quite the ear. I have a ‘bama accent not a Carolinan one.”

He squinted his eyes in thought for a moment, “Alabama?”

“The Sweet Home one, yes.”

The gorgeous pea coat he had been wearing was in the overhead bin, leaving him in just a burgundy cashmere sweater and soft jeans that hugged the muscles in his thighs. “How did an Alabama girl start watching hockey?”

This was a story that had been told more than once in our house during the holidays because Alabama was definitely football country. “Back in 2017 Bama lost a game to Auburn and at one point Daddy screamed at the TV, ‘If you let that dumbass team beat you I am never watchin’ football again!’ Auburn beat us 27 to 14 and my daddy is a stubborn southern man and hasn’t watched a single pass since. We all thought it would last a week tops but here we are 2 years later and now we’re all Canes fans.”

“When you say… us?” He had an eyebrow raised.

I realized I probably sounded like one of those fans that thinks they are on the team, “Oh! Alabama football, Roll-Tide! If you’re from Alabama you’re a Bama fan or an Auburn fan. We are a ‘Bama family and I am a ‘Bama alumni.”

He grinned and shook his head, “I know you’re speaking English, but I’ll be damned if I understood a single word, but you sure look cute saying it.”

The heat flooding my cheeks could have probably cooked a holiday turkey and I was certain my face was the same color as my blazer. It almost felt like I was being hit on. Clearing my throat, I fiddled with my phone, opening and closing apps hoping my brain was going to restart soon because it needed to tell my heart to stop beating a million times a minute.

The silence stretched like some eldritch being between us until he broke it again, “So you’re obviously from around here…ish. What is taking you to Winnipeg?”

He was almost too handsome to look at directly, “I am actually going to Toronto for the holidays.”

A perplexed look crossed his face, “are you on the right plane?”

I sighed, “Yes, my ‘travel agent,’” I made air quotes, “is a cousin on my momma’s side, honestly, the whole side of the family is a lost cause.”

He replied with a knowing nod, “Gotcha, so do you have family up there? Meeting family? Friends?”

I nervously fiddled with the end of the seatbelt, “Uh no, I’m going by myself.”

He didn’t say anything and the silence began to stretch and grow like an organic being and I felt myself rushing to fill it, “It was actually supposed to be my honeymoon, until I caught my fiance having a one on one meetin’ with my wedding planner, naked, in the bridal suite of the church.

A big breath of air whooshed out of him, “Wow that kept getting worse.”

I offered a shrug, “It was not my finest moment. But the trip was non-refundable and I needed to leave, you know?”

His long strong fingers traced the edge of the armrest and he cleared his throat, “You know that Toronto is like a two hour flight from here and you’re about to fly six hours in the wrong direction.”

A humorless laugh escaped my throat, “Ha, well yes, my cousin is not really gifted in any way. The good lord didn’t see fit to give her smarts or looks, so here I am flying in the wrong direction because she dropped out of school at 14.”

He gave my hand a cursory pat and it was probably wishful thinking that he let his fingertips linger ever so slightly, “Well Adelaide, I’m very happy my mom convinced me to fly out last minute and that your cousin is terrible at geography.”

As the last few passengers filed onto the plane, the crew pulled the door shut, and the pilot came over the loudspeaker, “Sorry folks, but there is a mechanical problem with the fueling truck, it will be a few minutes longer.” There was a collective groan from everyone.

The thought of the plane going down in a snowstorm made me shiver. If the crash and subsequent explosion didn’t kill me then hypothermia would and at least I’d die next to Joel Edmundson.

He glanced at the fancy black watch on his right wrist, “I wonder if it's too late to disappoint my mother and be back to my apartment before the evening news.”

I scoffed, “You couldn’t let me fall on the ground, but you’ll let me die in a fiery plane crash by myself? AND disappoint you mother? Some gentleman you are, Mr. Edmundson.”

His grin was wide and white, “Fair enough, I can’t be disappointing my mom.”

The flight attendants were starting to make their way down the plane with the drinks cart while we waited. His fingertips were still on the back of my hands and he gave it a pat, “First drink is on me, what is your order?”

I resisted the urge to move my hand away, not because I didn’t want him touching me--I did, I wanted him to touch me all over so when I died on this death trap, I didn’t have a single regret--but the sensation was also overwheming because the Sex on a Stick that was Joel Edmundson had been caressing my hand like a lover and it was all too much.

“Lady?”

That snapped me out of my own head, “Lady?”

I don’t know what face I made but he was quick to backpedal, “No not like ‘Hey Lady!’ But L-A-I-D-I-E Like Adelaidie. Sorry, it’s a hockey thing. Nicknames.”

“Uh, my sister just calls me Addie.”

He shook his head, “Can’t have Eddy and Addie, that’s too cute.”

This was a completely surreal conversation and I wondered if the gangway to planes was like a portal to another dimension, “So Lady and Eddy is better?”

He nodded like this was a completely normal thing to talk about 5 minutes after meeting someone, “Yeah like Eddy and his lady.”

I just blinked and answered his original question in case I hallucinated this entirely ridiculous exchange. “Gin and Tonic please.”

He snickered, “Such a Lady thing to order.”

How many concussions had this man suffered?

He took our drinks and surreptitiously slipped a couple of dollars into the flight attendant's hand, then passed over my G&T, heavy on the T. I suspected I’d have to drink 20 to even feel anything close to tipsy.

As she helped the row behind us, I leaned over and Joel leaned in and now our faces were close together and it was difficult for me to focus, “Was that enough money?”

He looked confused a moment before his face softened, “Lady, drinks are free. This is first class, that was just a tip.”

I had a feeling I just showed my Alabama roots. “Oh.”

He patted my hand again and left his fingers on top of mine. Was it hot in here? It felt hot. I desperately wanted to move my hand because touching him was summer in Phoenix, completely fine in small doses and completely overwhelming after 30 seconds.

Finally, I was saved by the buzzer as my phone notified me of a text message. I regretted losing the contact of his touch immediately as I slid my hand out from under his and pulled the phone out of my purse.

Little Sister: Are you THERE YET?

No. My flight was delayed but I did get upgraded to First Class and you will NEVER GUESS WHO I AM SITTING NEXT TO.

Little Sister: TAYLOR SWIFT.

Why would Taylor Swift be flyin to Winnipeg also I’m pretty sure she owns her own plane.

Little Sister: Well then I don’t know.

Joel Edmundson

Little Sister: … Fake… Take a picture.

I AM NOT TAKING A PICTURE

Little Sister: Then you are obviously lying. It’s probably some stinky old rich guy.

I sighed as only an older sister could sigh and Joel looked over at me, “What’s up Lady?”

“My little sister is a pain in the ass,” I said as I set my phone face down on my thigh.

His smile was large and genuine. “As the little brother, I take offense.”

I offered an eye roll, “Yeah, but I bet you don’t drive your older brother crazy.”

He laughed, “I’m pretty sure he still wants to strangle me on a regular basis.”

“Well then, maybe I should introduce you to my little sister, and you can introduce me to your brother,” I said, shaking my head.

He lowered his voice, “only if she’s as gorgeous as you,”

This time I know my face matched the color of my blazer. “She got the same build as my mom. Small and petite ”

Joel sucked air through his teeth, “Sorry not interested. Petite has never been my thing.”

I almost barked and covered my mouth with my hand, “Liar. Petite is every man’s thing.”

He took a sip of his vodka soda and shook his head. “Nah”

Turning in my seat to face him I rolled my eyes, “Ok mister mysterious. What is your type?”

He stayed silent but his eyes traveled slowly down my body before he looked forward again and took another sip of his drink with a smirk.

The temperature in the cabin seemed to jump 500 degrees. I pulled the safety card out of the pocket of the seat in front of me and pretended to read it for a moment before I just started using it as a fan. “Is it hot? I feel like it’s hot.”

He just grinned to himself and took another sip of his drink.

Eventually I started babbling to fill the silence that once again stretched and started to come to life, “So Daddy said y’all won today. I couldn’t watch the game because I was flying from Birmingham to Charlotte on a plane the size of a tic tac. But, congrats.”

He just smirked. “Thanks. I was feeling good, probably why my mom was able to convince me to get on a plane last minute.”

Then something hit me out of the blue. “Shouldn’t you be flying outta Raleigh?”

His answer was punctuated by a nod, “This was the last flight to Winnipeg I could find this afternoon before the storm hit.”

“Oh that’s right we’re flying directly into a storm.” I downed the rest of my drink and resisted the urge to crush the little plastic cup in my hands.

He just arched his brow, “You’ll be fine.”

My answer was bitchier than it should have been and I grimaced as I said it, “Oh really, are you a pilot?”

“I spend hundreds of hours on a plane every year.” The look on his face was kind.

I shrunk down in my seat, thinking I was toilet scum, “Oh. I suppose that’s true.”

I glanced at my phone, my sister was still relentlessly texting and finally she called. Even though my voice was low there was no mistaking the tone when I hissed, “What Adele?”

Joel gave me another sideways glance and he seemed to have the smirk permanently etched on his face.

“No! I’m not puttin’ him on the phone. Why? Because he’s flyin’ home for Christmas, not partaking in a meet and greet with my crazy little sister. You are SO crazy. Oh my goodness gracious, put Daddy on the phone I can’t with you right now,” I growled, “Why are you like this? I swear.”

Before I knew what was happening, my phone had been snatched from my ear and his giant hands dwarfed the device. “This is Joel Edmundson and you are?”

I couldn’t hear her side of the conversation any more but I did hear her shriek and I covered my face with my hands. This poor man...and I was going to have to sit next to him for six hours and stew in my embarrassment or he’d have me moved back to economy or something.

I did my best not to listen to the conversation because I knew I was going to melt into a gooey puddle of embarrassment if I did; fortunately it was fairly easy because, true to form, my sister wasn’t letting the hockey player get a word in edgewise.

After 84 years she seemed to stop talking. “Well, Adele, It’s lovely to make your acquaintance and I’ll get your address from your sister and send you some swag. Yes, I’m sure she’ll give me your address. I can be very charming ma’am.” There was a long pause, “Well, yes she does seem immune to my charm though…”

My head whipped around at his words, but he ignored me and continued. “Well, I’ve tried to be very obvious, but she’s not picking up the cues, oh she’s dumb that way?”

His eyes met mine and he winked, he was joking. Everything was fine. He was just kidding. Of course Joel Edmundson wasn’t interested in me, imagining that could be true would be a special kind of brain trauma. I probably was dumb like my braniac sister always said.

“She IS gorgeous, I’m glad you agree, legs for days and that hair! So tell me about this loser she dumped on her wedding day… uh huh… uh huh… What a bastard. Your daddy never liked him huh? I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but would your daddy like me? Uh huh… I can definitely work on not turning over the puck on the blueline. Is that his only complaint? Of course I’d treat her like a queen. Have you seen her?”

My mouth was hanging open so wide that my chin was somewhere around the vicinity of my boobs. Who in tarnation was this man?

“Look, Adele, I’m going to have to let you go, I think your sister might be going into shock, but add me on Instagram, okay? Great! I look forward to it, have a wonderful holiday.”

His hand had barely lifted from his ear before I heard my Daddy’s baritone, “Son?”

Joel put the phone back to his ear. “Yes, sir?”

This conversation was easier to follow because my father was a simple and forthright man, “I also think it’s crazy she’s going all the way to Toronto by herself. Uh huh…. Yessir. Well, I’d love to accompany her to Toronto, but I’m afraid I promised my mom I’d be home this Christmas. Uh huh…. Uh huh. We always love the holidays. My mom’s been baking for weeks.” He gave me a sideways glance as my father’s voice rumbled, “I can’t imagine she will like this idea.”

He covered the phone with his hand and I wondered if I had somehow been transported to a different timeline; maybe parallel universes did exist. “Your dad says I either have to go with you to Toronto or you have to come to Brandon with me.”

“He did NOT say that,” I said, furrowing my brow. I leaned forward and he held the phone out, “Daddy did Eddy take a hit to the head today?” I could barely hear him, “Because I think he might have a concussion.” Our faces were inches apart and this close I could definitely smell his soap or a hint of cologne mixing with his natural scent and it was panty dropping for sure.

He brought the phone back to his ear, “OK sir, I’ll do my best to change her mind. I have her as my captive audience for six hours. Yes sir, thank you sir. Have a great evening.”

The call was over when he handed the phone back to me and I gladly put that fucker in Airplane Mode and slid it into my purse before studying the safety placard with great interest. Eventually, the air felt extremely heavy to my left and when I glanced over Joel had turned in his seat to watch me with great interest. I gave him a dry look, “What?”

“You don’t seem interested by that phone call.”

“What phone call, that was clearly a hallucination and you are a figment of my imagination. My fear of flying is clearly manifesting into,” I gestured at his big body, “you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, your dad said if I don’t go with you to Toronto or convince you to come home with me he knows a witch and he’s gonna curse me.”

I chuckled through my nose, “My daddy wouldn’t know what a witch looked like and he sure as heck doesn’t know one. But I’m pretty sure my Auntie practices Hoodoo. But that’s just speculation. Anyway, I’m staying out of these cockamamie shenanigans.”

He looked perplexed, “You mean VooDoo?”

I rolled my eyes, “I said what I said Mr. Edmundson, Google is free.”

His eye brows hit his hairline and he made a serious face, “Okay Ms. Witchcraft Know-it-All.” Facing forward he made a sad noise, “Man, my mom is going to be so disappointed that I’m going to Toronto.”

“I think we both know that you aren’t following me to Toronto and I’m not actually invited to Christmas at your house, so don’t even try and make me feel guilty. Also, it’s weird, we met like 5 minutes ago.”

He just looked at me, deadpan, while he picked up his phone to hold it to his ear. While it rang, he spoke, “It’s been like half an hour and it IS weird, because I never let my brother meet girls I’m interested in, “Hi mom, yes, I’m on the plane. No, it’s delayed again. Yes, I will be home in time for Christmas. Listen, I’ve met this lovely woman, Adelaide, she is flying to Toronto. Yes, she knows she’s on a plane to Winnipeg. There were scheduling problems. Anyway, she’s going to Toronto, on her honeymoon, BY HERSELF. Yeah, I know that’s terrible. The asshole cheated on her, ON HER WEDDING DAY, can you believe?”

I shushed him and waved my hand indicating he should lower his voice, leaving me slightly mortified that not only did his mother know what a loser I was, but so did everyone on this plane.

“Yeah she’s sitting right here. No you can’t talk to her. No, Mom. No.” He held his phone out, “My mom wants to talk to you.”

This was the most surreal experience I had ever had and I was 100% sure this was some kind of dream. I was probably the lone survivor of the plane crashing and I was pinned by piles of twisted metal and I was hallucinating as I died from blood loss. Tentatively I took his phone and held it lightly to my ear, “Umm, hello Mrs. Edmundson. Umm no ma’am I can’t call you by your first name. Southern raisin’ and all. Well, I’ve never been out of the country before and the trip was already paid for so I figured ‘why not.’ No ma’am we celebrate Christmas. My house lights up the whole block. Yeah my Daddy does displays at our house every year. My mama bakes a ham every Christmas. Yes ma’am, it’s a big deal at our house. You and my mama would get along real well Mrs. Edmundson, she asked me the same thing before I left. Mmmhmm. Yes ma’am.” I handed the phone back to Joel and sighed, “She says I’m invited for Christmas.”

He gave me a smug look, “Yeah, mom. I don’t know if Dad should bring the SUV to pick me up, I don’t know if it will be an us. Yes, I will ask her. Yes, I know. Ok. Love you, bye.”

It was his turn to down his drink and he turned to face me again. “My mom says if you won’t come to Christmas, then I have to go to Toronto with you and while that will make her sad, your safety is important.”

Was everyone in this dream crazy except me? Or maybe I was the crazy one and this was normal behavior. “I am not crashing your family’s Christmas because your mother feels a moral obligation to some sad sack you met on an airplane and because my family is trying some weird matchmaking thing.”

He sighed. “Man, my mom is going to be so disappointed. Do you have a bunch of couples stuff planned in Toronto? Are we going to get a sensual couples massage? Couples yoga? A romantic carriage ride?”

I hit the call button above my seat. “We are not getting anything. You are going home to your mother and I am going to Toronto to enjoy my solo vacation.”

The flight attendant interrupted Joel’s retort, “Can I assist you?”

I held up my empty glass. “I have a newly developed fear of flying and this man might be insane. May I have another gin and tonic, heavy on the gin, light on the tonic.”

She was ever the professional but her mask slipped as she eyed the 6’4” defenceman and her look said “Girl, look at this tall drink of water you get to sit next to for six hours, what is wrong with you?”

She didn’t actually say any of that though instead she said, “Of course, just one moment.”

Ignoring the man next to me, I impatiently tried to push my failed bangs back, They immediately fell forward again and I stared dejectedly out the window. I almost missed Joel lifting his phone, the telltale shutter sound, and him swiping his finger across the screen and the swoop of a text being sent.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “What did you just do?”

He lifted his butt off the seat and slid the phone back into his front pocket. “Sent a picture of you to my mom.”

The audacity of this man. There was a replying bing that was followed by a second bing. “Aren’t you going to check that? It’s your mom telling you not to bring Shrek to Christmas.”

He shook his head, “Don’t need to. The first one is my mom saying you look nice and it’s about time I date a nice girl and the second one is my brother asking how serious we are and if he has a shot.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are such a fibber.”

He snorted, “A ‘fibber’?”

“Yes, you know, someone who is a liar.” My drawl drug that 'i' out to pasture and the 'r' was soft and barely pronounced.

“Oh I know what it means, Lady, I just haven’t heard that word used in this decade.”

I swatted his bicep again, “Are you always this annoying or is this just for me?”

He rubbed his arm and faked a wince. “Am I going to have to tell Rod the Bod I can’t play because I was abused by a girl on an airplane?”

I countered his question with one of his own, “You call your coach ‘Rod the Bod?’”

Joel dropped his arm to the rest again. “Not to his face, because I value living, but have you seen the man?”

He had a valid point. Rod Brind’Amour was jacked in all the right ways. “Of course I’ve seen him, I have eyes for goodness sake.”

The flight attendant returned with my happy juice in a much larger glass and waved away the few dollars I tried to give her and her eyes darted to the man next to me before she gave me a pointed glance.

I took a sip and I didn’t think there was a drop of tonic water in it. I just had a straight up highball glass full of gin. “I do believe that woman is trying to get you into the mile high club Mr. Edmundson.”

He snorted, “Baby I’m already in the club, but I’d be more than happy to provide your initiation.”

I didn’t know what to say to that so I just sipped my gin and my face was once again just as red as my blazer.

She gave me a withering glare, and she looked so cute that I couldn’t help but smile, which made her glare harder and the entire thing was just a circle of me being amused and her getting more furious. It was fantastic.

Poking around on the screen, a call connected and started to ring as she brought the phone to her ear. I could hear her mother’s voice on the other end of the line. “Hi Momma, is everyone there? Put me on speaker.”

I was thankful it was a regular voice call and not a facetime, because I knew her father would pinpoint the “I just fucked your daughter nasty" vibes wafting off of me from four states away.

“No, Adele, I'm not putting Eddy on speaker.” She sighed and dropped her phone to her lap, hitting the speaker button with her thumb. “FINE. Is everyone here?”

“Adelaide why are you in a car, it sounds like you’re in a car.”

She transferred the phone to her opposite hand as I stretched my arm across the seat and intertwined our fingers. “Eddy and I are going to the airport Mama, our flight leaves at one.”

Her father’s rich baritone chimed in, “I guess there’s a first time for everything, one of my daughters not being stubborn? I better buy a lottery ticket.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes, “Daddy.”

“Eddy, son she IS going with you, correct?”

I cleared my throat, “Yessir, she agreed.”

“Good. Finally. Adele you’re next.”

Adelaide mouthed “I’m sorry” at me.

The conversation devolved from there. “What does that mean Daddy?” Adele sounded irritated.

“It means you need to stop being so stubborn and accept help and maybe find a good man.”

An argument started between the two of them, with Dottie interjecting at random times. There was something about college and Adele getting her Masters while working. Adelaide looked bored, like she had heard this argument before. She started massaging the palm of my hand with her thumb and staring out the window as her family argued.

Finally, Adele’s voice cut through the nonsense, “Addie and Eddy’s hotel room only had one bed!”

I caught the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror and I don’t think he felt at all sorry for my impending death.

Adelaide’s attention was suddenly diverted back to her phone, “ADELE! Daddy, there was one bed, but I slept on the couch.”

Her sister wasn’t to be swayed from her current path of turning the attention to Adelaide, “Daddy, I looked at photos of the suite, the couch was too small for anyone to sleep on.”

He sounded displeased, I was suddenly very aware the man owned a hardware store and all murdering/disposing bodies things were readily available and no one would blink twice at him having any of them. “Eddy made you sleep on the couch?”

Adele sounded breathless, “THEY WERE CUDDLING THIS MORNING.”

Adelaide started making sounds into the phone, “Can't…. tunnel… losing…. service…” She hit the end button and heaved a sigh, “Well that was a fucking disaster.”

I squeezed her fingers. “Am I safe from your father in a different country?”

She squeezed back. “Probably.”

Her phone started vibrating and she sent the call to voicemail and the next three calls after that before opening Instagram and scrolling through her notifications.

She frowned thoughtfully, “I probably should have gone private before you posted that picture. In our little bubble I forget you’re a famous heartthrob.”

“What? Why? Are people being mean?” I released her hand and snatched the phone from her. Totally ignoring the famous part, because honestly I forgot sometimes too. Someone had gone through every photo of her just commenting “fat” or “whore.”

I took the liberty of blocking them. She had 100 new followers and a number of DMs. “Do you want me to go through the DMs?” She didn’t answer so I took the liberty.

A lot of them were the same as the comments, a few from women I had slept with claiming I was their boyfriend, a lot of marriage proposals from men, those all got deleted. And finally, there were some messages from my teammates' wives, and at least three from my horny teammates trying to hit on Adelaide. She would see right through them, so I left those for her to laugh at later. I set her profile to private and handed her back her phone. “Cleansed. But Svech proposed, you should probably let him down easy.”

She smirked. “I don’t know...he’s heading for a big contract and I’ve become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Besides I’m dying to find out what else his nimble hands can do.”

My jaw dropped, “You minx. He’s 12.”

“Oh so we should add stamina to the pro list then,” she said looking teasingly thoughtful.

The SUV pulled up to the terminal and I reached over to unbuckle her seatbelt and haul her against my side, lips finding hers. “Svech probably doesn’t even know what the clit is. You’re better off with me, beautiful.”

As the driver put the vehicle in park and went around the back to get our bags, I stepped out of the backseat and offered Adelaide my hand, which she took, gracefully stepping out of the SUV. I could easily picture her stepping onto the red carpet at any awards show.

There were a lot of perks of flying first class and the priority lane through security and the lounge were two of them.

Adelaide was sipping on a double cappuccino she snuck off to buy herself and staring around the lounge. “I’m suddenly regretting working in Human Resources instead of being a bajillionaire.”

We were sitting on a plush leather loveseat and I put my arm around her and tugged her against my body. “Bajillionaires own their own planes. They don’t fly with the unwashed masses.”

“Eddy, I’m the only woman in this lounge and everyone’s shoes cost more than my entire outfit.”

I kissed her temple. “Except I know you’re not unwashed because I was in the shower with you, doing the washing.”

Little Eddy twitched thinking about the shower, soap cascading down her body and dripping off her tits while I fucked her against the shower wall.

She blushed and hid her face in my shoulder. “Eddy! Shh, someone might hear you.”

I didn’t tell her the guy a few seats down definitely heard me and looked her up and down. I had never been possessive before. It was a new feeling and I didn’t want some overdressed schmuck making eyes at my girl.

With her tucked into my side, head under the side of my jaw, she let the coffee cup she was holding rest on top of my thigh. A few minutes later it started to slide out of her fingers and I took it with my free hand and sipped while she made little kitten snores into my neck.

She was wearing an oversized cream colored fisherman’s sweater, sleeves rolled up, over black leggings with practical fur lined boots. The knit hung from her shoulders making her appear way more petite than she was and according to her, was premium comfort.

I just thought she looked cute and I had only thought about bending her over the back of the loveseat, pulling her leggings down just below her ass and fucking her hard until we both came, twice… maybe three times.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I lifted my hips slightly to get my hand in there and pull it out. I rejected the call and sent my mom a text in reply.

At the airport, Adelaide is sleeping.

Mom: She’s coming?!

Yeah… she’s coming. We’re gonna land about 5, and it will probably take an hour or so to get through customs and get her checked bag. You should have dad bring the dolly. Her luggage was huge before we went shopping.

Mom: Ooh a heavy packer. I’ll have Dad pick you up around 6 then. You and Jesse will have to share the bunk beds. The guest room is full of storage stuff.

It’s all presents for you guys and her family. We spent 6 hours in department stores and boutiques and I don’t think she bought a single thing for herself. I am not sleeping in a bunk bed.

Mom: She didn’t have to get us anything! What a dear. Well I’m not making our guest sleep in a bunk bed with your brother.

I told her that. She didn’t listen. Something about hostesses and Southern women. Mom, my suite at the Thompson only had one bed.

Mom: Oh… OH.

Yeah.

Mom: So when are you proposing?

You’re ridiculous.

Mom: You’re bringing home a woman that you are sleeping with which has never happened in the history of EVER. Even when you dated that one girl for almost a year.

I met her two days ago, she was just left at the altar and cheated on. Give me some time.

Mom: But you’re planning on it.

I’m currently trying to convince her to let me take her somewhere tropical for the break. Besides, she could go full exorcist at any time. I literally know nothing about this woman.

Mom: Whatever. You’ll marry her. A mom knows these things. She’s been through a trauma and still scurried around to buy people she’s never met gifts.

I shoved the phone in my pocket. I knew my mom was going to make a huge deal about this thing. I sat in the quiet lounge, staring out the window as the storm clouds began to clear and chilly sunshine started to glint off of the snow and ice, sipping on Adelaide’s cappuccino while she snored gently into my neck.

Finally, our flight was announced and I turned my head to kiss her forehead. “Lady, our flight is boarding in 10 minutes.”

She stirred and pressed a kiss to my neck before sitting up and stretching. “Mm. Okay handsome.”

I grinned, “Handsome?”

She took the now empty coffee cup from my hand and frowned. “Well yeah, you call me ‘Beautiful’ so can’t I return the favor?”

Taking her free hand I pulled her to her feet and grabbed our carry-ons, “Of course you can.” I brushed her hair from her face and gave her a chaste kiss, “You’re adorable when you sleep by the way.”

“Oh my god, did I drool or snore?” she said, rolling her eyes.

“No drooling and only soft little cat snores. Adorable.”

The airport was absolutely packed and bustling outside of the first class lounge and instinctively she stepped into my body and I put a protective arm around her as we made our way to the gate.

When we got to our seats, I let Adelaide take the window. I tended to prefer the aisle anyway. Leaning over, I took her hand. “Do you still have a fear of flying?”

She squeezed my fingers. “I’m still nervous, but it’s like an excited nervous. But I don’t think I can fly economy ever again.”

I squeezed back, “Stick with me Lady and you’ll never have to.”

Her bright genuine smile made my stomach jump. Oh no.

It was amazing watching her reactions: well rested, well fucked, and without the stress of getting left at the altar, she was able to actually enjoy all the minute things about flying that frequent travellers lost. I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face as she treated take off like a roller coaster, saying a whispered “wheeee” to herself as she watched a winter laden Chicago get smaller and smaller.

She was still staring out the window, her nose practically pressed to it like a child waiting for Santa when the drink cart came by and I got her a G&T. “Lady, I got you a drink,” I said, nudging her elbow.

Settling back into her seat she took the drink, “Thank you Eddy.”

I grabbed her free hand with mine and brought her fingers to my lips, “You’re welcome, Lady.”

We sat in silence, she occasionally glanced out the window, but we had ascended above the clouds and there wasn’t much to see. At least I didn’t think so, but I was wrong.

“I bet this is what heaven looks like… but less cold.”

I choked down my drink, “What?”

“It’s just a big fluffy blanket that goes on forever. Like a foam pit but without all the gross kiddy germs.”

Suddenly, I saw the appeal of economy; sure there was less leg room, but the armrests lifted. I hated the six inches of extra space that separated our bodies. I leaned an elbow on it, “Lady.”

“Hmm?” She continued staring out the window.

“Lady, come here and kiss me.”

Turning her head, she mimicked my position and pressed her lips to mine. “Thank you Eddy.”

I wrapped a lock of her hair around my finger and tugged her closer to kiss her again, “For what?”

“The destination and the man are different, better even, but this feeling I have? That’s exactly as I planned it. I feel… I don’t know, safe, cared for.”

I kissed her again before pressing our foreheads together. “Good. I want to give you everything you want for Christmas this year. Dan is a fucking idiot.”

“You’re making a shitty holiday better than I ever could have imagined.”

Pressing my lips to hers again I wove my fingers through hers, “We have about 5 hours in the air now, want to tell me about your dad?”

She sighed and tugged our hands into her body and laid her head on my arm. “My real dad is a congressman now. Has been. He knows I exist but,” she shrugged, “he doesn’t care. My mom was raised by a family that was trying to climb the social ladder and my grandmother actually encouraged her when he started making advances even though he was with someone else. My mother didn’t know it but he had gotten engaged to that other woman when she had gotten pregnant with me. He chose the other woman who was from a better family. My mom got thrown out of her house because she refused to get an abortion. So she was 20, pregnant, and basically had zero life skills other than knowing what fork to use for what course.”

She paused and took a sip of her drink. “My dad had just taken over the hardware store from its previous owner. Papa Glenn was white, widowed, and his kids had zero intention of taking over the store. It had been an institution in our town for over 50 years and they wanted to sell the building and the business. So Papa Glenn left it to my Daddy who had worked for the man since he was just a poor teenager. He started as someone who swept and tidied. I don’t think he even needed help, just saw a boy who needed a purpose in life and gave him one. I started calling him Papa Glenn when I was a little girl, but he passed quite a few years ago. ANYWAY, he had just given Daddy the store. His kids vandalized it. Threw bricks through the windows, tried to burn it down, graffitied horrible things on the walls. Daddy almost lost the store before he even got a chance to run it.”

I squeezed her hand as she continued, “So, he’s sweepin’ up all the broken glass and my mom, who is about six months pregnant at this point, comes up and starts clucking about crime and hooligans. Just treated him like any other person. He’s cleaning up and this pregnant white lady is standing in the street giving him the what-for all while picking up merchandise that can be salvaged and putting it in a box. Finally, he just looks at her and asks where her husband is, she says she doesn’t have one, he tells her to go home, she says she doesn’t have one of those either. She ended up living in the space above the store managing the books until Daddy convinced her to marry him a couple years later. When they got married someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the big front window. This time though, half the town pitched in to help. What happened to my mom made the rounds in a small town and you don’t just throw bombs in the windows of men who take in pregnant ladies and provide for them. You just don’t, anyway, Adele was born a year later. Mama became president of the PTA and Daddy’s store sponsored sports. Other than the occasional asshole, life was pretty good. And that is how I ended up with a dad that is Black.”

I rubbed her knuckles with my fingertips. “Did you ever try to contact your real dad?”

Her voice was firm. “George Thibodeaux is my real dad. But I know what you’re saying, I sent him a letter once in high school. He basically sent a cease and desist back. I didn’t care after that. I had a father that provided for me in all the ways that were important. Who loved me as his own. He never treated Adele and I differently.”

I kissed her temple, “It’s a beautiful story. I look forward to meeting your dad one day, when he doesn’t want to bury me in concrete.”

She downed the rest of her drink and put it in the trash as the flight attendant walked by. The seatbelt sign had long been turned off and I reclined my seat and reached over to unclip Adelaide’s seat belt. I hauled her over the armrest and she made a small squeak as I settled her on top of my body and pulled a blanket over us. Her voice was quiet, “What the fuck Joel?”

I sighed, “I really hate it when you call me Joel. Nothing ever good happens when you call me Joel. Now, just settle. I need a nap and I can't nap when you’re all the way over there.”

She settled her head on my chest with a sigh and muttered, “Whatever.”

My last thought before I fell asleep was to wonder if I could bring her on the team plane. I was insanely comfortable and warm.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I woke, I felt like half my face was plastered to whatever I was using as a pillow. It was the type of nap when you wake up and you don’t know what year it is. My pillow was rumbling and there was an arm around my waist. Yawning, I lifted my head and reality slowly resumed. Joel was snoring softly and the plane was filled with a muted orange glow like we were flying directly into the sunset. It was oddly romantic. Before I had time to absorb it the captain’s voice came over the intercom announcing our descent into Winnipeg and the seatbelt light came back on.

I tried to roll off of him gracefully and back into my own seat. I knew I failed when he let out a soft grunt and removed my elbow from his spleen. I grimaced, “Sorry.”

He yawned and adjusted his seat upright. “Don’t be, that was the best damn nap I’ve had in awhile. It was like 3 hours.”

His hair was tousled from running his hands through it and his face was still slack with sleep as he picked up my hand and kissed it with a groggy smile. My heart did a free fall out of my chest and for the first time since I crashed into Joel I realized he had more power to break my heart than Dan ever did and it had been less than three days.

Taking a shuddering breath and an anemic smile he misread whatever vibe I was putting off, “Scared of landing?”

In a metaphorical way it fit, because I was afraid of landing after going back to the real world after this fairy tale, so I nodded and he let go of my hand and settled his palm behind my head, his fingers rubbing the back of my neck.

This revelation was kicking my ass and I realized this was a HUGE mistake, going home with him to his family, but backing out now would be so incredibly rude.

The sun was quickly setting and I looked out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Winnipeg before it was too dark to see anything properly.

Joel let his hand drop and started playing on his phone. As I settled back into the seat he leaned over holding his phone out, “Can I post this to close friends on Instagram?”

The photo was before I had put his sweatshirt on, it was clear I was wearing a Christmas themed pajama set that bordered on lingerie. I was smiling and looking at the camera, Elf hat at a rakish angle on my head, hair falling perfectly and Joel, Joel was looking at me in the photo. Looking at me like nothing else in the world existed. I felt a small flame of hope ignite in my belly. “That’s a good picture, post it wherever you want.”

He looked at me apprehensively. “You’re not worried about your family?”

I gave a wry laugh, “My mama is going to be plannin’ another wedding when she sees that. When we can afford another one that is.”

He linked his arm through mine and started tapping on his phone again. “Your mom will have to fight my mom for that right.”

The little flame of hope glittered a little brighter as the plane made a controlled descent into Winnipeg.

It took the better part of an hour for the plane to land and for us to make it through customs and get our bags. Joel had his bag over his shoulder and was dragging my big suitcase as he followed me with my smaller carry-on. The bells I attached to the zippers jingled everytime the bags bounced over a bump.

Bob Edmundson had texted his son to let him know he was circling the airport and would meet us out front as soon as we got our bags. I stopped in the middle of the sliding doors as the icy blast hit my face and I made an about-face running into Joel.

His arms came around me protectively, “Where’s the fire, Lady?”

“Cold,” I answered, giving a shiver.

His laugh rumbled in his chest, “It’s Manitoba.”

“This is not Alabama cold, this is not Chicago cold. This is Arctic cold and I AM FROM ALABAMA. It’s 65 degrees in Alabama!

He used his body to herd me out the door and I was suddenly seeing a disadvantage of being the small person in a relationship. “This isn’t bad, it’s probably like negative ten.”

My voice was a little louder than I anticipated and my Southern was coming out a little more than I liked, “Negative Ten?! It’s colder than a witch’s tit out here!”

A dark SUV pulled up to the curb and Joel had the audacity to chortle, “Negative ten Celcius. That’s like fifteen degrees Fahrenheit.”

I suddenly felt chilled to the bone. “That information does not in fact make it better, Joel. If it’s below freezing the entire South just shuts down until it defrosts.”

He grinned again and grabbed my head to press a kiss to my temple. “I know Princess, I won’t let you freeze.” As he rounded the back of the SUV with our bags a gentleman about my height rounded the hood and his smile was identical to his son’s.

He opened the front door of the vehicle and held out his hand, “I’m Bob Edmundson, you must be Adelaide, let’s get you in the car before you freeze.”

I gripped his hand, surprised to find it warm and I looked at it in surprise, “Mr. Edmundson, it’s a pleasure. Does everyone in your family run hot? I feel like my hands are turning to icicles.”

“Hop in, the seat heaters are warm, and please call me Bob,” he said, gesturing to the front seat. The well worn leather was already warm and the heater was going full blast as he closed the door and I turned in my seat to watch the men do the forearm grab/back slap hug all men seemed to do. Masculine affection was weird.

There was a muted argument between the two that was short-lived and ended with Eddy sliding into the back seat while his dad slid into the driver's seat, both muttering about stubborn assholes.

I cleared my throat apprehensively. “I can sit in the back seat, there’s probably more room for Eddy’s legs up here.”

The answers were simultaneous with Bob looking at Joel in the rearview mirror and Joel staring back at his father.

“You make her call you Eddy?”

“The old boat only has seat heaters in the front. Because my parents are too stubborn to let me buy them a new one.”

I sat in the front seat as the SUV pulled away from the curb, hand folded in my lap trying not to smile as the men practically yelled at each other.

“Your mother and I don’t need a new Land Rover.”, he held up a finger as Joel opened his mouth, “OR a Gwagon or BMW whatever.”

The six foot four, two hundred and thirty pound man that had literally been inside me less than 12 hours ago, pouted like a petulant toddler in the back seat muttering under his breath, “Stubborn old coot.”

Bob frowned and reached over and patted my knee in a comforting manner, like my own father might do. “I’m sorry, we’re not this dysfunctional usually. But lately Joel and his brother have gotten it into their heads that I’m some infirm old man.”

I smiled and patted his hand. “If you’re ever blessed with a speaker phone chat with my family you will understand why I find this perfectly comforting. Thank you Mr. Edmundson.”

“You can call me Bob, Adelaide.”

“I will certainly try Mr. Edmundson, I mean Bob.”

I bent over to dig through my purse trying to find my phone so I could call the family and let them know we landed. I turned off the data roaming and various notifications started to pop up. A long arm appeared from the backseat, “Use mine Lady, the international charges will be outrageous.”

Bob frowned as he piloted the SUV toward the highway. “You call her Lady?”

“Yeah, Dad. Like ‘Adelaidie.’”

I got a sideways glance from Bob and I put a hand on his arm. “It’s fine. He’s not being disrespectful, I promise. At least he doesn’t insist on calling me Addie like my sister. She calls me that because she knows I hate it.”

Joel shook his phone at me again, “Lady.”

I took his phone and threw it back at him where it hit his chest and fell in his lap. “I have an international plan, Dorkface.”

Bob coughed and kept looking at the icy highway in front of us, while his son looked shocked and then continued pouting in the backseat, “Did you just call me ‘Dorkface?’”

Dialing the phone I held it to my ear. “I did.”

The man to my left was now openly smiling and trying not to laugh.

“Hi Mama! I made it! Put me on speaker. Hi Daddy! No Adele, I’m not speaking to you. Yeah, Eddy’s dad picked us up from the airport. Brandon is about two and a half hours from Winnipeg?” I looked at Joel for confirmation, “Maybe three with all the snow and ice and stuff. No. I’m not putting you on speaker. I just wanted to let y’all know I got here and I’ll send you a text when we get there. No, I’m not inflictin’ you on Bob while he’s drivin’. Momma he told me to call him Bob. Not calling him Bob is rude. Ugh… Momma!”

Joel and his father shared a smile and meaningful look in the rearview mirror that I didn’t have the extra brain cells to process at that moment. “Ok. The plane landed. I’m safe. I’ll send y’all a text when we get to the house. Bye.”

There was a comfortable silence after I hung up and inspite of the three hour nap on the plane, I felt the day catching up to me.

Joel yawned and stretched in the back seat. “Hey Dad, pull over and hit that Timmies.”

I perked up slightly. “Timmies? Like Tim Horton’s?”

He grinned, “You can’t get the authentic Canadian experience without going to Timmies.”

The big SUV pulled up to the drive-thru and we sat behind a couple of other cars as I stared out the window looking at the lights of Winnipeg. Something moved in the bushes by the drive-thru and squinted trying to see what it was before Bob asked me a question.

“Pardon?” I shook my head slightly and blinked a few times. I must have been more tired than I felt.

Bob repeated his question, “What would you like, Adelaide?”

I answered with a small smile, “Oh just some herbal tea for me.”

“You don’t want a Timmy’s coffee?” Bob Edmundson was the epitome of a father and I was beginning to think Eddy and I had similar childhoods.

“I do, I just had a good nap on the plane and if I drink coffee at this time in the evenin’ I will never sleep.”

“Oh Dad, get Timbits!” Eddy piped up from the back seat.

Any guard Joel might have up was completely gone as he sat in the back seat of the older SUV. He was just a big kid in the back seat of the family vehicle and I wondered if his family had taken him to hockey practice in this car. His buddies and teammates and all their hockey gear piled in the big Tahoe and I wondered if our kids would play hockey. What the fuck? I turned back to the window so any expression I might have about my intrusive thought was hidden.

Something moved in the darkness again and I strained to see what it was , blinking trying to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness as Joel and his father had a conversation like I wasn’t even there, which is what my parents did when Adele and I were annoying.

“Will she eat Timbits?”

“Yes, Dad she eats anything, it’s fantastic.”

I was distracted when I interjected, still trying to develop superhuman night vision. “I actually hate broccoli unless it’s smothered in Velveeta.”

I had no idea the look that passed between the men in the rearview mirror, but Joel replied excitedly, “I told you!”

As we pulled forward to the speaker box I could see what I had been looking at was just a bag of trash moving with the wind.

Bob was in the middle of ordering when the bag moved again and this time there was no breeze to speak of. I unhooked my seatbelt and opened the door, the cold hitting me like a freight train.

Joel leaned forward in his seat as his father gave me a sideways glance, “Lady?”

I wrapped my arms around my body, “That bag of trash keeps moving, I just want to make sure there’s not a possum or something stuck in it.”

“Lady, it’s just some varmint. It probably has rabies or something,” Joel’s voice was tinged with a combination of amusements and exasperation.

“Then, we will call animal control or whatever to put it down humanely and not let it suffocate in a trash bag,” I answered matter-of-factly.

Slamming the door I tiptoed through the bushes next to the drive-thru, the Manitoba winter cutting through the knit of my sweater with ease, and as I got closer, the bag moved more and whimpered. Feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the cold I jumped back to the Tahoe and threw open the door to the back seat, “Eddy give me your coat.”

He held the wool to his chest. “What? Why? Adelaide this is a Tom Ford, I’m not letting you wrap a raccoon in a four thousand dollar coat.”

My jaw dropped, “Why do you OWN a four thousand dollar coat!? That’s just ostentatious!” Slamming the door I pulled my arms through the sleeves of my oversized sweater and slid it off, leaving me in leggings and a cami and I ripped a hole in the trash bag with frozen fingers. The puppy inside the plastic gave a tired cry and I gently wrapped it up in my sweater before cradling it to my chest.

Joel jumped out of the back of the SUV. “Adelaide, what the fuck it is freezing outside!”

Suddenly, filled with a white hot rage, it was directed at him in that moment, “It’s not a raccoon, you asshole! It’s a puppy!”

He settled his coat around my shoulders and helped me back into the SUV. I wasn’t sure who was shivering harder, me or the puppy now cradled against my body. I pulled the four thousand dollar coat around me, trying to create a pocket of heat for the little creature. I hugged it a little tighter and it gave a sharp cry with whatever energy it had left. I felt helpless, “Eddy!”

“I’m looking for an emergency vet right now, Lady.”

Bob pulled forward in the drive-thru line and looking between his son and me and the puppy before pulling his cellphone out of his pocket. I guess the Tahoe was old enough not to have bluetooth and therefore could have been the car that Joel and his brother got carted around to hockey practice.

“Hi honey, we are going to be a little later than planned. Joel insisted on Timmies and Adelaide found a puppy and I think we need to drop it off at a vet.” There was a pause that was obvious confusion before he continued, “You’re going to love her. She found the poor pup in a trash bag. I’ll give you a call when we are on our way again. Ok. Bye dear.”

We sat in silence, trapped in the drive-thru. I carefully tried to tuck my sweater around the dog as Joel spoke, “There’s an emergency vet about five minutes across the highway. I’m going to call them.”

The SUV inched forward, pulling up to the window and Bob handed his credit card over and silently distributed drinks and a cardboard box with a handle. “Hi, yes, my, uh, girlfriend just found a puppy in a trash bag. It’s cold and we think it’s hurt.” He paused and I just blinked at the word “girlfriend.” I supposed it was faster than “girl I bumped into in the airport and fucked” and probably would result in fewer questions. But he could have also said friend in a pinch, travel companion, literally anything other than the G word.

Bob regarded me through the conversation. I was never adept at hiding any thought that crossed my mind and I knew he read my face like a book.

“I understand it’s close to Christmas and you’re full, but this is an emergency. Yes, fine we accept financial responsibility. It’s an animal that needs care.” He hung up and pointed between the front seats, “Dad, take a left out of the parking lot.”

I held the cup of tea inside the coat, hoping the hot cup and steam would produce some radiant heat to help warm the puppy and myself.

Joel wasn’t kidding when he said the emergency vet was close and we pulled in just a few minutes later. It was one of those little miracles that happen especially around Christmas. The smell of disinfectant made my nose wrinkle, but the office was warm and I was thankful for that.

The girl behind the desk seemed friendly enough in holiday themed scrubs, “Hi, welcome.”

I almost surprised myself when I spoke first, “Hi, yes my boy… my boyfriend just called. This is the puppy I found.” It was harder than I thought, saying that word.

She frowned, “The one you found in a trash bag? Let me take it back immediately. We’ll assess the poor dear and let you know what needs to be done.”

I tried to wrap my sweater around the puppy more securely before I handed it over across the desk. She took the bundle and cooed as she walked to the back, “Aren’t you darling? We’ll get you all fixed up.”

Joel and his father had taken up residence in the three empty seats, leaving the middle one for me and I pulled the peacoat closer around my body as I plopped in the plastic chair. “I can’t believe you own a four thousand dollar coat, Eddy. I can’t believe I am WEARING a four thousand dollar coat; four thousand dollars is like a year’s worth of car payments for me.”

He put his arm around me and kissed my temple, “Lady, I’m in a tax bracket that’s just a little higher than yours.”

“A year’s worth of car payments, Joel… A YEAR.” It was clear that I was going to be stuck on the coat for while.

“No offense Princess but it sounds like you need a new car.” HIs big hand rubbed my arm, trying to create friction and warmth.

Bob gave his son a dry look over my head, “Don’t let him bully you into buying a new car Adelaide.”

Joel started rubbing the back of my neck, which was becoming a habit. “Don’t you work for Mercedes?”

I scoffed, “In HR. And why would I spend half my paycheck on a stupid expensive car that is even more expensive to maintain. Just to get like a 10% discount?”

He made a face. “Really? Your company discount is that low?”

“You probably get a better deal as a professional athlete than I do as an actual employee,” I sighed.

The receptionist came back out front and looked at me, “Are you taking responsibility for the puppy?”

I stood and went to the desk. “Yes. What do I need to do?”

She slid a clipboard towards me, “Just fill this out and we will get started on her.”

“Her!? It’s a her! Is she ok?”

I received a warm smile, “Yes, she’s lucky you found her. She’s malnourished and dehydrated, suffering some hypothermia and probably some other things, but for being found in a trash sack and separated from her mom at such a young age she should be just fine. She will probably have some pretty bad diarrhea for a few days.”

“Is she really young? I thought she was pretty big.”

“She’s barely six weeks, if that. She’s gonna be a big girl. Probably some sort of LGD and malamute, husky, german shepherd. Something like that. We’ll send you home with some puppy food.”

I looked over the form in front of me, only half paying attention to it, “What’s an LGD? How big will she get?”

“Livestock Guardian Dog like a Great Pyranees or Anatolian Shepherd. She will probably be around 70lbs.”

I sighed, “Of course I couldn’t find a Chihuahua in a trash bag.”

“Go ahead and fill out that paperwork to the best of your ability, she is just old enough to get the first round of distemper and parvo, do you want to do that?”

I nodded, “Yeah I mean, I guess just do everything you need to.”

Both men were buried in their phones when I plopped back into my seat. “I think I have a puppy,” I said it to no one in particular, but a thought occurred to me, “Oh my god, Bob. I’m so sorry. We can find a shelter or something to take her to, if she can go.”

He patted my knee and didn’t reply, just asked me a question, “What’s her name?”

I answered before I even knew the question had an answer, “Tinsel.”

“Why don’t you stay here and wait for Tinsel and Joel and I will go across the highway, I’m pretty sure we passed a Pet Valu. Just text Joel anything you need.”

“Ok, let me get my emergency credit card,” I said as I dug around in my giant purse trying to find it. Joel gave me a dry look and I sighed, “If I check this later there won’t be a charge on here will there?”

He shook his head.

Bob just looked at us with a big grin on his face. “Best Christmas ever.”

The photo was of Dan with the wedding planner. They had gotten married. They had gotten married with my bouquet. They had eaten the cake I chose. Everything except for my dress was featured.

Up to this point, I had been angry, I had been ambivalent, I had been so focused on running away to Toronto that I hadn’t actually dealt with any of it. After spending the day completely in the moment with Eddy, the past few days hit me like the proverbial falling piano. I managed to swallow the sob, but there wasn’t anything I could do with the tears that suddenly welled in my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. I swallowed again and turned my face more to the window so I could be alone in my humiliation.

Joel was either too perceptive or I wasn’t hiding it well at all because suddenly I was hauled across the back seat of the taxi and he lifted my hand holding the phone so he could see what had made me so upset.

Wordlessly, he let my hand fall. Instead of speaking, he just tucked me against his body and kissed my temple. We listened to the Crooners sing holiday songs and watched the lights as we crawled back to The Thompson.

I was filled with a complete juxtaposition of emotions then: simultaneously mourning what my life should have been, could have been, contrasted with the present that felt too good to be true. In only a couple of days I'd gone from a short pudgy dentist that obviously took me for granted in every way possible because his mother spent too much time telling him how special he was, to a man that was the epitome of the male sex and told me I was beautiful and treated me like he meant it. It was completely overwhelming. For the 100th time I realized I didn’t even really miss Dan, I was mourning the idea of the life we were going to build together. I was mourning the wedding I poured so much energy into. I was mourning a simple life that wasn’t meant to be. If I wasn’t meant for a simple life what was I meant for?

When we pulled up in front of the hotel, he kissed my temple again. “Just go up to the room, I’ll bring all the bags up after I speak to the concierge. Okay?”

I was the human equivalent of pins and needles. Like my entire existence had become numb and feeling was starting to creep into my life. I couldn’t do anything except nod as he helped me out of the cab and nudged me toward the elevators.

I hit the suite door with enough force that it rebounded off the entry wall and almost slammed right back in my face. Dropping my purse I started shedding clothes, leaving them on the floor where they fell. I was naked by the time I hit the bathroom and I snagged the robe off the hook. I was going to have a pity shower, cry, exist in this moment of sadness, let myself feel the emotions I felt to the nth degree and let the hot water wash it all away. Then I was going to move on with my life. Dan and his perfect petite little bride didn’t deserve to make me sad forever but I was entitled to mourn and feel the emotions as they came. I deserved that. I deserved to mourn the life I thought I was moving toward. Mourn the small fortune my family and I spent on that wedding, mourn the life I thought I was going to have, mourn the house I was never going to move into. I was allowed to mourn all those things and wallow for a short time in that misery.

As I turned the shower knob to ‘hot’ and waited for the water to actually be hot, I decided I was going to go to Brandon with Joel. I was going to crash his family Christmas because I wanted to. He made me feel beautiful and strong and I wanted to feel that way as much as possible. I was going to be selfish and take as much of that as I could get and be a gracious guest as my Southern roots dictated and hopefully they didn’t regret it. I liked being with Joel, a whole lot if I was being honest with myself. He was a nice thing and I deserved nice things. I could go back to my quiet mediocre life and face reality after the holiday. For now I was going to let go, as much as I knew how to, and see where my own personal Hallmark movie took me.

Having come to that resolution, I stepped under the glorious spray and I waited for the sobs I had swallowed in the cab to resurface. I waited for the tears so the hot water could wash them away. I waited for the overwhelming sadness but it never came. My new plan to enjoy the moment and say yes to good things had chased the morose feelings away and the more I thought about it, the more I realized God had done me a huge favor in that church. There were insufferable parts of Dan that I was realizing now I had just refused to see. Our life together would have been fine, we would have lived in a traditional house, with the traditional 2-3 kids, the white picket fence. I would have made it work, but he probably would have slept with his receptionist or dental assistant or something and the façade I had built of Dan and our life together was stripped away under the hot water. All that was left was the stark reality that eventually life would have been awful.

I don’t know how long I spent in there, but when my fingers were pruny, my hair was washed, and my legs were shaved, I exited the shower only to be greeted by a wall of steam because I had forgotten to turn on the fan. Wrapping my body in the robe and my hair in a towel I opened the door to the bathroom and the steam preceded me into the suite. Joel didn’t say anything, just arched an expressive eyebrow. I noticed he had picked up everything I had dropped on the floor, neatly folding and placing the clothing on a chair, including my bra and panties. Grimacing internally, I sent a little prayer up, thankful that my mother would never have to know about this.

He was reclining on the bed in joggers, long legs crossed at the ankle as he flicked through the tv channels. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. The sight made me miss a step and I stumbled slightly before flopping on the bed like an elephant seal.

The image of his bare chest, with the smattering of hair that followed the length of his torso and ended in a happy trail that disappeared into his pants was forever etched in my memory.

I tried to sort myself as elegantly as possible but I had a feeling the effect was less hot mermaid and more beached whale.

“You ok there, Lady?”

I cleared my throat, “Yeah, fine.”

Muting the infomercial he landed on, he turned his head to look at me and I realized he was not referring to my complete lack of grace, but to the blog. Smiling softly, I repeated, “Yes, completely fine. I realized without intervention from the universe, instead of being in this suite in Chicago with you, I would be draggin’ Dan ‘round Toronto while he complained the entire time.”

I let out an undignified squeak as I was dragged across the huge bed and under Eddy’s arm. With a grin I curled into his bare torso and slid a hand through the hair on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and resumed his channel surfing. “Full offense to Dear Old Dan, but I am way better company than him.”

“Ugh. He was literally the most boring man ever,” I groaned.

Eddy let out a “hmmm” in response, but before he could say anything else I slapped a hand over his, knocking the remote from his grasp. He arched a brow and looked down at me, “What?”

I sat up a little more and pulled his arm around me a little tighter. “Stop, I love this one!”

“Lady, this is the Hallmark Channel.”

“Yeah and in this one her parents die and leave her the family inn in Vermont and she doesn’t know how in debt they are and she has to sell so this big time businessman comes from New York and falls in love with her and Christmas and instead of mowing it down to become condos or whatever, they start a Christmas Tree co-op and he quits his job. It’s so cheesy and great, I love it.”

He coughed and cleared his throat. “Lady, no businessman is leaving New York for a woman he just met to start Christmas Tree co-op.”

I shrugged, “You invited me to your family’s Christmas like two seconds after you ran into me. So maybe don’t discount Christmas Magic.”

“That’s different,” he scoffed.

“Oh really? How?”

“It just is!” he argued before deflating a bit. “If I agree with you, are you still going to make me watch this?”

I just pried the remote from his fingers and he let me ‘cause Lord knows if he wanted to stop me he could have. I hit the guide and almost did a happy dance, “There’s an encore right after this!”

Eddy’s head against the wooden headboard made a *thunk* and he reached for his phone on the nightstand, “If you’re gonna make me watch this one and a half times, I am going to order some food and a lot of alcohol. Do you want anything?”

I started to scootch off the bed and his arm tightened around me. “Lady?”

“I’ll eat just about anything.”

“Drink?”

“Same. Just get a wine that goes with whatever you order.” His arm still didn’t loosen. “Eddy?”

He started nosing my ear and placed a kiss on the sensitive spot behind it that made me shiver. When he spoke his voice was low, “If you’re gonna make me watch this can you put on that little red number from last night?”

I cleared my throat, “You… saw that?”

“I did and I snuck a peek under the covers this morning and it’s been haunting me all day. And I know you have a Santa hat in that suitcase.”

A smile that couldn’t be stopped stretched across my face. “You know that huh?”

“Yes, Little Miss Christmas.”

“Well you’re wrong, I have light up reindeer antlers and an elf hat.”

His words gave me spasms when he spoke them low into my ear, “If I wear the antlers will you ride me until you cum?” He pressed his lips to my skin again and let me go while he called room service.

It took me a moment to regain my composure before I scooted off the bed, raided my suitcase and shut myself in the bathroom to dry my hair. I set the lingerie set on the giant vanity and stared at it while I went through the motions with a giant roller brush and a hair dryer.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For once, I was glad that women took so long in the bathroom and used all kinds of appliances that made noise in there.

It took every single bit of self control I possessed as a professional athlete not to throw her phone out the taxi window when I saw the text. That fool had not only let Adelaide go, he had used the wedding she had meticulously planned to marry the twat he fucked in her dressing room.

I had, admittedly, gone through a manwhore phase that lasted the better part of a decade, and I’m sure I had broken some hearts, but this was pretty low. Even manwhores have standards and basic respect.

The TV was on mute and I was staring at this movie Adelaide wanted to watch without registering a single thing that was happening on the screen, lost in my angry thoughts when my phone vibrated on the nightstand.

I snatched it up to answer it, “Hey Mom.”

“Hi honey, what are you doing?” Her voice echoed and I could tell she had put me on speaker and was rattling around in the kitchen.

I sighed and rolled my left wrist, it had been bothering me a little lately. “Oh not much.”

“What do you mean not much? Where’s Adelaide?”

I heard deeper voices in the background and I knew I was the topic of conversation between my brother and father. “She just took a shower, she’s doing her girl thing in the bathroom.”

“Is she coming?”

“Maybe? I think so. Probably.” my attention was split between that stupid text, the conversation with my mom, and the muted TV.

My mom paused before she replied, “You don’t sound happy about that.”

“She just found out that her ex actually married that twat he cheated on Adelaide with or whatever. They used the wedding she planned right down to the bouquet.”

There was feverish whispering on the other end of the line before I got a reply, “Well that is awful! Is she okay?”

I started to get restless and stood up to stare at the blizzard outside. “She was pretty upset at first, but short of an asteroid ending all life on Earth, I don’t think there’s a whole lot that would derail her for long.”

“What do you mean?” I could practically hear my family exchanging looks from her tone.

“She’s just unstoppable, resilient, I think is the right word. No matter what is thrown at her she just absorbs it and keeps going.”

“Sounds like you like her.”

I thought about that moment in the cab where I knew I’d move heaven and earth to make this a perfect Christmas for her, right down to sending the concierge to get that snowglobe out of the Neiman Marcus window. “Yeah… I do like her.”

She replied with that telltale “hmm” all mothers are born with, “Sounds like you like her enough to date her.”

A wry chuckle I couldn’t stop escaped, “There are some geographical challenges Mom.”

“Well from how you describe her, geography doesn’t exactly sound like an asteroid that will end the Earth if she wants to date you.”

“I don’t know if she wants to date me.” The lights of Chicago were muted by the falling snow as I stared out the window.

“Well, do you want to date her?” The background noise had ceased and I knew she was probably sitting on one of the kitchen chairs to talk to me.

“Of course I want to date her,” I scoffed. “She’s beautiful and smart and practical with this obsession with Christmas. But she lives in Alabama and I currently live out of a suitcase.” I flopped back on the bed and ran a hand across my chest. I hadn’t missed the way Adelaide had stared earlier.

I could hear my mother rolling her eyes, “Well then it sounds like you’re already packed.”

“You’re impossible,” I replied with a sigh.

“I want grandkids before I’m 80.”

I pushed a hand through my hair and turned as Adelaide came out of the bathroom in that red silk number I wanted to rub my face on. “That is an entire line of carts before one sad, barely trained horse. Hey, mom, I gotta go. If the weather cooperates we are out of Chicago around 2PM tomorrow.”

Hitting the end button, I put the phone back on the nightstand and swallowed the grapefruit that was suddenly blocking my throat. I had caught glimpses of her in this as she rushed to put on a robe, but she was now openly wearing it around the suite as she moved things around in her suitcase.

I was definitely sporting a chub in my joggers when I got off the bed and slipped up behind her, hands gravitating toward her hips. “Look, I might be biased, but you look amazing in this and I think MY Christmas present from Santa was you attempting to go to Toronto solo.”

She didn’t even startle and I was fairly certain I didn’t imagine her rocking back into me a little. That’s all it took for me to go to painfully fullmast and I tugged her hips against me.

“Is that a banana in your pocket or are ya just happy to see me?” Her voice was a little muffled as she dug through her giant suitcase until she straightened and turned in my arms, face victorious. “I’ll kiss you if you wear these.” She held up a pair of antlers with little bulbs in them and I was positive they lit up somehow.

“Ma’am… I paraded around St. Louis in shirts cut off below my nipples. I simply can’t be embarrassed.”

I loved how tall she was, our bodies flush like this, barefoot; I didn’t have to break my back leaning down to kiss her. As my lips moved over hers I felt something slide over my head and she pushed down in the middle of the headband. Both of us broke away snorting as the antlers lit up and started playing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.

My fingers found hers and I tugged her toward the bed. “Come on Miss Christmas, your movie is about to start.”

Much like I did with my mother, I had a sixth sense of her rolling her eyes and her drawl came out thick, “Listen Mr. Edmundson, I may not be up on all them highfalutin’ titles, but I’m pretty sure you can’t be a MISS and a LADY.”

I flopped on the bed, “Two separate things. You’re A miss, but MY lady.”

The credits were rolling from the first showing of the movie as she reached for her phone before settling herself next to me and arranging the elf hat at a jaunty angle on her head. She held the phone up and nudged me with her elbow. I snatched the phone from her hand as she protested, “hey!”

“My arm is longer.”

Relenting, she shrugged, “The higher the better.”

Stretching my arm out I snapped a pic, me in the ridiculous blinking antlers that were still singing and her in that simple lace trimmed cami and her elf hat. It was clear she was wearing lingerie and that photo was going to be for my own memories.

“Lady, too high and everyone is going to look down that tank top thing.”

She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, I reached over to the chair near the bed and grabbed a Canes hoodie. It was one of the warm up ones with the logo on the front and my name and number on the back. “Here.”

“Eddy, that won’t fit me.”

I thought she was kidding, I was 6’4” and well over 200lbs. “Lady, just put on the sweater.”

“Joel… it won’t fit. I can never wear my boyfriend’s clothes. I'm not exactly a dainty petite little girl.”

She was being ridiculous. “Lady, put on the fucking sweatshirt.”

Slamming the elf hat down on the bed she petulantly started pulling the hoodie over her head, sticking her arms through and pulling the hem down with a lot of hostility. The logo stretched over her chest a lot more than it stretched over mine, but it did fit. She didn’t swim in it like I’m sure she would have preferred, but that didn’t matter to me.

“It fits,” she said a little incredulously.

“I told you. Now put on your cheesy hat and look like you’re happy.”

She gave me the same withering look all women in my life gave me with regularity and finger combed her hair before flipping the dark waterfall over her head and setting the hat down on top of it. I wondered briefly if women knew how much men loved it when they flipped their hair like that.

Stretching out her arms she looked at them as she moved around in the hoodie, straightening it a little more, “It really does fit.”

“Shocker, woman is not as fat as she thinks she is. News at 11.” I put my arm around her and held the camera out, capturing the second withering look she gave me. “Now look happy,”

After a few attempts we got one she was happy with and I immediately sent all of them to my own phone.

There was a knock as she set her own phone on the nightstand and I was downloading the photos from the text to my own. “That’s the food and alcohol, can you grab the door?”

She popped off of the bed with an exceptional amount of grace, “Sure, do I need to tip them?”

I pulled a $10 out of the pocket of my joggers and held it out to her, “This should do it.”

“I can get it,” she said with a wave of her hand.

I didn’t look up from my phone, “Just take the money, Adelaide.”

“No, I got it.” She dug around in her purse.

I balled the bill up out of frustration and threw it at her retreating back, which I immediately regretted. “You are too stubborn for your own good.”

“Ugh you are a CHILD,” she said practically stomping to the door. Watching her retreating back in those red silk shorts with the white lace trim topped off by my sweatshirt name and number on her back and everything; I felt the satisfaction of a caveman dragging a woman to his cave. Clarity smacked me in the face like a stocking full of coal and I realized I DID want to date this woman. I would do whatever she wanted to try and make it work. Fuck, Mom was going to have a hayday with this. I could never hide my emotions from my mom and she would lock onto this the minute we walked in the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He literally threw money at me, like I was a stripper or something. The poor employee that was standing at the door looked a little frightened when I slapped a $20 into his hand and slammed the door in his face after hauling the cart inside. I pushed it to the middle of the room and swooped to pick up the crumpled bill and threw it back at him, “Don’t throw money at me like I’m a sex worker.”

He looked peeved, “For $10 you better be a good stripper and right now you’re a .50 stripper.”

I gasped and pointed my finger at him, “I will slap you again, because your mother obviously was too nice to you as a child.”

He sighed and got off the bed. I don’t know how he moved so fluidly, I was so tense I was probably moving like a rusty robot. He snagged me around the waist with one hand and dragged the cart over to the bed with the other.

Flopping down he dragged me over his body and I attempted to right myself and lean against the headboard as gracefully as possible. It was not graceful at all.

He poured the pre-opened bottle of wine into two glasses and handed me one. “I’m sorry. That was out of line. You know I think you’re gorgeous. You are also as stubborn as an old mule.”

I took a quiet sip of my wine and he hit unmute on the remote just as the movie started before handing me a warm plate.

It smelled heavenly as only noodles, cheese, and bacon could smell, and I decided to let the old mule comment slide, because he wasn’t wrong. “Bacon mac and cheese?!”

He smirked and leaned over to kiss my cheek, but he didn’t retreat, “Kiss me, Lady.”

I obliged and scooted my hip closer to him, giving his lips a chaste kiss.

-----------

My belly was full of bacon macaroni and cheese and wine, I was nursing my second glass and we were well into the second extensive commercial break when my phone started vibrating.

Joel muted the TV. “Ma’am, this is a movie theatre, please silence your cell phone.”

He lifted the arm he had put around me as soon as we had finished eating, so I could reach over and grab my phone. There were about a million Instagram notifications, Adele had tried to text me twice, and I had a missed facetime call from my parents.

Sighing, I put down my phone. “Eddy, what did you do?”

His eyebrows hit his hairline, “Why am I getting blamed for your lack of movie theatre phone courtesy?”

“Because in literally ALL my life my phone has not blown up like this and Adele sent me a text that is literally just 100 thumbs up emojis and heart eyes.”

He put his arm around me again and hauled me in close, unmuting the TV as the movie started again. I settled for leaning into his hard body as I scrolled through all the notifications and it was clear he had posted something on Instagram.

I had about 50 new followers, including him and Momma who had apparently made an instagram, and several professional hockey players. With anxiety’s fist around my heart, I opened the app. He had posted that photo of us in our festive headwear. The caption “Apparently, I was a very good boy this year. Santa dropped this adorable elf right in my lap.”

It was actually a really cute picture. Most of the responses from the professional hockey players were silly. Either heart eyes or questioning how *he* landed a “10.” Marty just posted the engagement ring emoji with eyes and I snorted.

Joel leaned over and kissed my temple, “Did I overstep?”

I shrugged. “It IS a cute picture, I don't know how I feel being virtually marked in front of all your forty three thousand followers and my… four hundred followers. This just feels really fast”

“Lady, you’re a catch. Dan is an idiot and I happen to know a diamond when I see one.” He rubbed his hand over his face as he mumbled, “And if Dumb Dan sees it then he will know you moved on to someone wayyy better.

My face turned the same color as the sweatshirt, “You’re a smooth talker Mr. Edmundson, if not a little full of yourself.”

“It’s not lip service Adelaide, it’s true. You are amazing, and I’m hotter and worth way more money than Dan the Dentist. Now stop talking, I’m invested in this bed and breakfast or Christmas tree farm or whatever. I haven’t figured out exactly what it is.”

Closing the app, I brought up Adele’s texts that were just emoji nonsense.

You’re an idiot

Little Sister: I’m happy for my sister who is celebrating the biggest dodged bullet by getting worshiped by a professional athlete who is apparently already in love with you.

Do you have a concussion?

Little Sister: He basically declared y’all a couple in front of the world and God and you met him YESTERDAY. You know professional athletes don’t just post pictures of women willy-nilly.

Whatever. Tell Daddy I’ll call him back after we are done watching this movie. Also thanks for the heads up that Dan married that swamp slut.

Little Sister: Damnit. Who told you? Everyone agreed not to say anything until you got home.

It was a private number.

Little Sister: >:(

It’s fine. I AM going to ask him for all the money back I spent on the wedding though since IT WASN’T MINE.

Little Sister: YAS.

Now leave me alone.

I turned off my phone and put it back on the table before snuggling back into Joel. He put his arm around me and pulled me even closer as he kissed my temple. The day had been a roller coaster. There was another commercial break as I was rolling the day’s events around in my head and I sighed, “I’m glad you talked me into getting all the presents wrapped at the stores. I wouldn’t have had the energy to do it tonight after everything.”

He muted the commercial for some jeweler and rubbed my back. “I told you. Also my wrapping skills lack anything desirable. So it was really self-serving.”

Yet another commercial about diamonds came on right after the first. Joel’s hand slipped up the back of the sweatshirt, his hand warm on my skin. I wanted to flinch every time he encountered a fat roll, but the man seemed to know what he wanted and that was me. My mind drifted off before he spoke again, “Are you ok with everything that happened today?”

I lifted a shoulder. “It’s a lot to process and I don’t think I will fully be able to do that until I’m home, so I’ve decided to just enjoy this as it comes and forever long it lasts.”

His chest rumbled beneath me, “Am I wearing you down with my charm?”

I shrugged again. “If a wealthy, hot, hockey player from my favorite team wants to take me home for Christmas, well, there are worse ways to spend a holiday. Like being alone in a city in a different country.”

He chuckled once more and kissed the top of my head, “You decided to stop being stubborn.”

“I suppose.”

He unmuted the TV as the movie started again. I rolled thoughts through my head as I stared at the familiar images on the screen as he trailed his fingers up and down my spine. I didn’t make it to the end of the movie.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I felt her drift off to sleep as every bit of tension leaked out of her body. It wasn’t the ending to the day I would have chosen, but somehow this was more intimate.

I knew she was planning on this being a fling, that we would enjoy the holiday. Maybe expected tickets to a game or two, a few texts, an awkward phone call, and I would continue on with my life and then move on, date a model and she would be that random girl I brought home for Christmas one time. And maybe that’s how it started for me too, but now, now it was different.

I didn’t know exactly how this was going to play out, but I probably needed to buy my mom a new car for convincing me to get on a plane last minute because that was the ball that set this avalanche in motion.

Part of me wondered if it was tacky to send Dan a thank you card. Thanks for fucking your wedding planner. I got the best Christmas Present ever. I figured Miss Manners laying on top of me might have something to say to that.

The movie paused for the final commercial break and I picked up my phone and scrolled through the Instagram comments with one hand. Most of them were positive and any jealous fan girls and guys got deleted and blocked. My mom texted me the emoji with heart eyes. I didn’t even know she knew how to use emojis, but there it was.

I flicked through my camera roll finding that photo of her snuggled next to me in that cami top. I wondered if setting this picture as a close friends story on Instagram would give her an aneurysm. I put my phone back on the side table to watch the end of the movie. I’d ask her tomorrow.

As the movie ended and the credits rolled, I slipped out from underneath Adelaide and padded around the suite, turning off lights. When that was done and nothing but the muted lights of the city were illuminating the room, I stepped out of my joggers and did my best to tug the covers from under her body before I slid into bed and arranged her on my chest as she was before and pulled the duvet over both of us.