Page 12 of Another Christmas from Hell

“I really wouldn’t,”came the heartfelt sigh from the bastard that was going to pay for this.

“You followed me to school every day,” Bryce said, folding his obscenely large arms over his chest while he glared at her, daring her to argue with him.

“We went to the same school. How the hell was I supposed to get there?” Cayley asked with a helpless shrug.

“You were always trying to hold my hand,” he bit out between clenched teeth.

“Yeah, when I was six and wasn’t allowed to cross the street by myself.”

“You always made it a point of sitting next to me at dinner.”

“Because that was the only empty chair at the table?” Cayley said, reaching up to rub her temple as she felt a headache coming on.

“Why did you show up at every job site I went to after school?” Bryce demanded.

“Because your annoying little brother threatened to put snakes in my bed if I didn’t bring him baked goods from my aunt’s bakery every day,” Cayley snapped, deciding that she was going to need caffeine to get through this asinine conversation.

“I really did,”Sean murmured, sounding quite pleased with the direction this conversation was headed while Cayley began searching through her refrigerator for a Coke.

“Then explain why you’re renting the apartment across from me and why we’re now working at the same job,” came the demand as Cayley frantically searched through her fridge for her much-needed caffeine fix only to resign herself to making another trip to the store.

“Because the jerk face that I’m really wondering why I’m friends with got me evicted over an order of chicken tenders and got me fired on the same day because he can’t keep his dirty little hands to himself and left me with no choice but to beg your brother-in-law for a job and a place to stay,” Cayley snapped as she closed the refrigerator door.

There was a heartfelt sigh, and then Sean was mumbling,“Memories.”

Grumbling, and really wondering why she was friends with the big jerk that was making her life a living hell and couldn’t keep his greedy little hands off her Coke, Cayley grabbed a pen off the counter and made her way back to her kitchen island, where she wrote “Find a new BFF” on her to-do list.

“You better not have done why I think you just did,”came the warning that had her smiling.

“Oh, but I really did,” Cayley said, angrily slamming the pen down on the kitchen island and-

Suddenly found herself cornered by a very large and very angry James brother.

“You’re in love with me,” Bryce said, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her and caged her in as he glared down at her.

Blinking, Cayley asked, “How are you getting that from what I just said?”

“Because he’s crazy,”came the murmured whisper in her ear that had her rolling her eyes.

Keeping his eyes locked on her, Bryce plucked the phone out of her hand and ended the call before placing the phone on the counter.

“You’re always watching me,” Bryce bit out.

“Because you’re always glaring at me,” Cayley pointed out.

“You-” he started to say, but honestly, she’d had enough for one day.

“You know what I think?” Cayley asked, cutting him off. “I think that you’re in love with me.”

When Bryce frowned down at her, she kept going. “How else would you explain your obsession with me?

“I’m not obsessed with you,” Bryce said as his eyes narrowed dangerously on her.

“Really? Because it sure sounds that way. In fact, it really wouldn’t surprise me if you knew everything about me, from my favorite candy bar to my favorite movie,” Cayley said, knowing that she was right when she saw him swallow hard.

“What are they?” she asked, stepping away from the counter and gave him no other choice but to step back.

When he didn’t answer, she kept going. “How often do you think about me?

---