Page 16 of You Can't Ruin Christmas

Chapter Eight

After the phone call with Eve, I immediately purchase my plane ticket online. I save my work and upload it to the cloud so I can edit it later. Then I head to my room to start packing. I try to replace the worried thoughts of my parents with amused thoughts about Adam and Eve. My sister is a really wonderful person, in my totally unbiased opinion, and she deserves to find someone. I think we all just assumed she would remain single forever, because of her isolated location and lack of a social life. Clara was saying that we should set her up on some dates when she came to Minnesota for Christmas.

But a plane crash in her backyard? That sounds like a super romantic way to meet someone. As long as she doesn’t get murdered, of course.

Fingers crossed.

There is a bit of a silly smile on my face as I rush around my bedroom, grabbing various items and stuffing them into my suitcase. I did not realize I had left my door ajar, and Sven has entered the room.

“Are you going somewhere?” he asks me.

“Yeah,” I respond, without looking up from my packing.

“To see my brother?” he asks, and his voice sounds sad.

“What? No.” I pause to look over at his face. “My dad is having trouble with his memory. Is that what you’re concerned about? That I’m not over Sebastian? You think I would jump on a plane to see him at a moment’s notice, if he asked? After he dumped me?”

“I don’t know,” he answers with a shrug. “You guys were together a really long time. You haven’t gotten rid of his things.”

“I’ve just been busy! Busy working, and busy working out with you, in case you didn’t notice. I also don’t really care about his stuff. I mean, it’s annoying that it takes up space, but my belongings are already organized. Why should I have to immediately waste more time reorganizing my life because he decided he doesn’t want to be a part of it anymore?”

“I’m sorry,” Sven says. “I just didn’t know—”

“My life is fine as it is. My life works. Despite it being imperfect, despite me being less successful than my siblings. Despite having to share my apartment withroommatesinstead of owning hundreds of acres of Christmas trees or magical arctic tundra where men fall from the sky, I like my life.”

“Christmas trees?” Sven repeats. “Magical arctic tundra?”

“My parents have a farm, and my sister—it’s not important. I just shouldn’t have to drop everything to spend hours going through every drawer and cleaning out my closet to prove to you that I’m over Sebastian!”

“I’m really sorry, Mary. It just happened so recently, and people get back together all the time after breakups, after all kinds of terrible things. I just wanted to be sure…”

“You are not areplacement!” I nearly shout at him. “I’m not so desperate and pathetic that I would latch onto the nearest thing with a penis!

“Thing with a penis?” he asks with surprise.

“What about you?” I accuse. “How do I knowyou’reover Sebastian? You said you liked working out with me because you missed working outwith him!How do I know that you don’t just see me as a sibling, as a stand-in. You spent all that time thinking of me as your future sister-in-law, maybe that’s still how you see me.”

“Mary, I don’t put my hands all over my brother like that when we work out.”

“Oh, yeah? I don’t believe you. You barely touched me.”

“I also never had to change into baggy shorts in the middle of a workout with him.”

“Whydidyou change your shorts?” I ask him.

“You know why,” he answers gruffly.

“I want to hear you say it, Sven.”

“Fine. It’s because I’m insanely attracted to you and staring at you in those tight pants makes me so rock hard that I can barely function, and I spend every waking moment thinking about doing things to you that would make you scream my name and forget my brother ever existed. And after we kissed yesterday, I had to jerk off so hard that I’m surprised it’s even still attached to me. Happy?”

I sit down abruptly on the bed as my cheeks turn red. “Very.”

“Good,” he says, moving over to sit beside me. “Good talk,” he says with a chuckle, reaching over and taking my hand. “I think that was our first fight.”

I lean against his shoulder with a sigh. “We shouldn’t let stupid Sebastian make us fight and ruin the holidays even worse than he already has.”

“We won’t,” he assures me, eyeing my suitcase. “When are you leaving?”

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