“Neither.” My mom’s tree is red and gold.
He sighs and walks away from the options. “My grandpa used to put candy canes on the tree,” he says wistfully.
“That’s a great idea.” I agree with him, and we pick out no less than fifty red and white striped candy canes. Then we walk casually through the aisles, joking about what we could cover the tree with. Kitchen utensils, toilet paper, loofahs.
“Wait.” I stop by the photo section and pick up some small frame ornaments. “I have an idea.”
Three years ago, my mom scanned all our childhood photos and saved them online. There are thousands. Tons of Christmas photos, but even better, they're photos no one wanted to be taken.
It’s almost nine by the time we get back to the house, ready to redecorate the tree with candy canes and embarrassing photos.
“Where should we put Sean’s broken nose from his first girlfriend?” I ask Grant.
“Front and center.”
Micheal’s headgear comes next, then the photo of mom when she tried to be brunette for the summer. Think regular Cheetos plus hot Cheetos.
“My favorite one,” Grant says, putting another picture ornament on the tree. I round the tree and look at it.
“I did not print that one!” I reach for the awful photo of myself, but Grant stops me.
“I added it to the cart when you weren’t looking.” He says and pins my arms against my sides when I try to grab it again.
“That is not going on the tree. It’s terrifying.” I try to wiggle free, but I’m firmly stuck against his chest. Guess I’m staying here forever. His evil plan backfired.
“I kind of liked your goth stage.” He laughs and points to the choker necklace I wore in the picture. “I think you look cute.”
My goth stage lasted exactly three days, but somehow there are over seventy pictures trying to prove otherwise.
“I was not cute.”
He spins me around in his arm until I’m pressed up against his chest. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful.”
Whoa… hold on. What?
“Me?” I squeak.
His smile isn’t teasing anymore. It’s serious. Has he ever looked at me like this before?
“Lennox?” he whispers.
“Yes?” I breathe.
“Are you still dating Noa?”
Noa who? Dating? These words don’t even make sense. How do I explain what Noa and I are? The party is tomorrow but I don’t know if I can hold out for one more day. I don’t know if I want to.
“What happened to my tree?” My mother asks, and Grant and I jump apart.
I tear my eyes away from him. Will he hate me after the work party tomorrow?
I force a smile for my mom. “We upgraded it.”
Chapter 17
Lennox
I tug on the front of my black dress and it becomes too revealing, so I pull it back. Now I’m a nun. What do I do with this weird cut-out neckline? Juliet helped me pick it out, just for tonight, but I’m already regretting it.
