Page 131 of The Naughty List

In the one next to that is a picture of us after dinner when I thought she had left. We’re sitting by the ice rink with the Christmas lights in the background. He’s looking at me with a smile and I’m smiling back.

I look up at her with tears in my eyes.

“The point is, honey, that you two will fight and argue a million times through this life, but you love one another and forgiveness always comes. You just have to be patient with one another, forgive one another, and love one another just like you’ve always done. Whatever you’re going through right now, you’ll overcome it, just like you did when you were kids.”

I smile at her. “Thanks, Mom.” I lean in and she hugs me, smoothing down my hair.

After we clean up the paper, we both go to get ready for our dinner at Carson’s. I take my gifts to my room and place the picture frame on the bedside table. I sit on my bed and look at it. She might be right, but the only problem is that our problems today are nothing like the problems we had as kids. It can’t be fixed with an I’m sorry and a sucker.

I know that I will have to forgive him at some point. He’s my best friend and I can’t imagine living without him in my life. The question is: when? When will I be able to forgive him and look past this? And when I do, what will happen then? Will we go back to being just friends who have too much passion or will we pick up where we left off a couple days ago? Or will it be too late for that? What if he moves on and finds someone else? Someone like Gillian. Or what if he already did?

I push the thoughts from my mind and go to get ready. I can’t put it off any longer and the longer I wait, the less time I’ll have to look presentable and I want to make him drool. I pull on the tightest pair of skinny jeans I have. They’re light in color and have rips and tears in all the right places. I pair the jeans with a red sweater and a pair of high-heeled boots. I curl my hair and leave it hanging down my back, then I fix my makeup, making my lips shine as much as possible. I know how much that gets his attention. I remember him once saying that he couldn’t stop staring at my lips because they were so shiny. It made him want to kiss me, but that was long before we had actually kissed.

“Ready, hun?” Mom asks, poking her head in my room.

“Yep, ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, pulling on my coat and grabbing the gifts as I give myself one last look in the mirror.

16

CARSON

Someone knocks on the door and I get up from the couch and answer it. I pull the door open and Mrs. B is on the other side with Felicity right behind her. I pull her in for a hug. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” she replies, hugging me quickly before moving deeper into the room to greet my mom.

Felicity steps up to me and forces a smile. “Merry Christmas, Carson.”

I look her up and down; my body begs to touch hers, but I don’t. “Merry Christmas, Felicity.” I look around her. “Wow, it’s really coming down out there, huh?”

Her brows raise and she nods. “Yep, snow for Christmas. How original.” She passes me by and goes to greet my mom with a genuine smile.

Well, guess she’s still mad at me. I close the door and follow the women into the kitchen. “Mrs. B, did you make those cookies I like?” I ask, looking through the canisters she’s pulling out of her bag.

“I sure did.” She looks at Felicity. “Why don’t the two of you go put the gifts under the tree?”

Felicity turns her nose up at her mom for suggesting such a thing, but she hands one bag over to me and we walk into the living room together. We both kneel down at the tree and start unloading the gifts.

“Felicity,” I start, but she stops me.

“Carson, don’t.” She shakes her head.

“You know, sooner or later, you’re going to have to hear me out, right?”

“Nope,” she says, refusing to look at me.

“We’re best friends. Our parents live right next door to one another. You can’t avoid me forever.”

“Fine, let’s go to your room,” she says, tossing the empty bag aside and standing up.

I stand up and follow her back now that the adults are busy in the kitchen.

I close the door and walk toward her. “Look…”

“No, you look. What you said to me wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that you said it the way you said it or when you did. But I’m putting it behind me. What we had there for a few days was fun, but look at what it’s done to us, Carson. We’re not even the same people we were a week ago.”

“What are you saying?” I ask, taken aback.

She takes a deep breath and runs her hand through her hair. “I’m saying that…maybe you were right. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you. Maybe you shouldn’t have given in. Maybe we shouldn’t have done the things we did. It’s done nothing but confuse us and tear us apart. So, in the spirit of Christmas, I’m going to forgive you. I’m going to forget what you said and go back to how we were before.”

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