Page 60 of Faking the Book Boyfriend

She wiggles her eyebrows. “Maybe I am.”

“I missed you the past few days.”

“I missed you too. How was Connecticut?”

“It was great. My niece and nephew are the cutest kids in the world. He mimics everything my sister says, both the good and bad.” I chuckle. “He may have dropped a few F-bombs.”

She giggles. “Wow. I can’t imagine. And you’ll go back up there for Christmas, right?”

I nod. “Yes. My sister and her wife close their restaurant after lunch on Christmas Eve. We exchange a few gifts then, and again in the morning. We make a huge Christmas brunch together in their kitchen. It’s our tradition. Even though my sister is the professional chef of the family, we all know our way around the kitchen.”

She rubs my arm. “You cook?”

I nod.

“Ooh. Another checkmark in being a top-quality book boyfriend.”

I smile. “I suppose.”

“Will you see your parents?”

“Definitely. My mother is flying in. She mentioned that my father might come too.”

“Together?”

“They’re not coming together, but we can still celebrate as a family. They share kids and grandkids. As rough as the years leading up to the divorce were, it was for the better. They’re friends now.”

“Oh, wow. That’s so nice. Especially for your sister with the little ones. My parents struggle to be in the same room. They haven’t seen each other in years. I split holidays for my last few years of high school. Then my father moved abroad, so I just visit when I can. Frankly, I prefer holidays with my grandmother over either of them.”

“Ahh, the one and only Grammy Jane. Did she interrogate you after I left the other morning?”

She has a guilty look on her face. “I haven’t spoken with her. I’ll fill her in on us when I fly down.”

“What will you guys do down there?”

Her whole face lights up. “It’s hard to explain. She and her friends are in their final quarter of life. They’ve achieved this inner peace with a general mantra ofI don’t give a fuck. They’lldo and say whatever they want. They don’t worry about hitting the gym, getting their work done, paying mortgages, driving carpool, paying for college, and regular life stuff like that. They’re having an unapologetically good time because they simply don’t know what tomorrow will bring. YOLO may be a millennial term, but it's the baby boomers who truly embody it.”

I squeeze her hand. “What a refreshing perspective.”

She nods. “It is. I let all real-world stress slip away when I’m there and get a kick out of watching these people live their best lives…and say whatever comes to their minds.”

“What do you do on Christmas Day? Any traditions?”

“Not like yours, but since my grandmother moved to her place in Florida, it’s been the same. We eat ourselves into a junk food coma on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is a huge margarita and musical festival at their pool. They dance and drink all day. Like I said, simply living their best life.”

“And you stay for a week?”

“I do. If I have New Year’s Eve plans, I’ll come home on the thirty-first. If not, I’m equally happy to spend it with them, though most of them are usually snoring by the time the ball drops.”

I place my hand on her exposed thigh. “I’m going to need to get my fill of you for the next two weeks to tide me over.”

She leans over and nuzzles her nose along my cheek. “I like the sound of that.”

“Tell me what other tropes interest you.”

She smiles. “You’re very into the tropes.”

“I’m very into you and your pleasure.”

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