Page 38 of Holiday Vibes

Nic stares at me, eyes wide, as I wipe snow out of my face and shake it out of my hair.

He laughs.

“Oh, fuck this,” I mutter. I’d rather get slaughtered than make my last stand in this fort with him, so I run for it, leaving him to his fate.

Chapter twelve

Nic

December Twenty-second

“LookslikethePicassoof Peens has entered her blue phase,” William says, taking a sip of his coffee as he stares out the dining room window the next morning.

My blood turns to ice and I glance up, expecting everyone to know, to be looking at me, watching for my reaction. Instead, William’s still looking out at the snow-covered lawn. Celia’s cooking the waffles I mixed up.

Jessie’s sitting at the table. Even with her back to me, I can feel her anger.

Most people build snowmen. Jessie builds snow dicks. I have no idea how she turned the enormous balls flanking it blue, but I know she built it sometime before the sun came up, and I know it’s for me.

I’ve replayed that moment in the snow fort a hundred times. I don’t know if I kissed her first or if she kissed me. With how quickly it escalated and how abruptly I ended it…I can’t blame her for being pissed. This thing between us is a problem and she can make a hundred snow dicks and glare at me all she wants. I’m still going to ignore until it goes away.

I pick up my coffee, blow on it, and set it down again. Still too hot.

“I’m guessing I’m out of blue food coloring.” Celia looks out the kitchen window with a grin. “Impressive though. Suppose our Picasso needs to get some D?”

“Mother!” Amanda gasps, walking into the kitchen and quickly trying to earmuff Evie, who races to the window.

“Looks like it.” William cedes the window to Evie, mussing her hair. He passes me on his way out of the kitchen, clapping a hand on my shoulder and chuckling as he goes by.

His nose is nearly always in a book. No way has he noticed anything between me and Jessie.

Or has he?

“Breakfast is ready.” Celia adds the final waffle to the tray keeping warm in the oven.

“What is that?” Evie asks, tugging on Amanda’s sleeve while pointing out the window. “Is that a D? What’s a D?”

Amanda sighs, defeated. “It’s a penis.”

Evie’s button nose wrinkles. “Why? Penis starts with aP.”

“There’s another word for a penis that starts with aD, and it’s a word you don’t get to say. Your auntie is a perv. She’s going to stop making snow d—penises.”

Jessie gets up, and the moment she heads my way, I look at my phone.

“It’s vaginas from now until Christmas,” she announces.

I snicker and out of the corner of my eye, I catch her glaring at me as she gives the whipped cream a violent shake. I pretend to go back to my phone, but I’m keeping an eye on her until she puts the whipped cream down.

“Grow up,” Amanda says, stomping to the island and grabbing a plate.

Jessie points the dispenser at her. “Says the woman who tackled me for anXin Scrabble.”

She sticks her tongue out, but Jessie’s quick with the whipped cream dispenser, and before Amanda can flinch away, Jessie fills her mouth.

Amanda runs to the sink to spit it out before turning on Jessie. “You’re dead, J.”

Jessie takes a step backward. Amanda takes one forward.

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