Chapter 4
The guys start drinking as soon as we get back from the resort, and by the time eight o’clock rolls around, they’re ready to kick it up a notch. The liquor bottles come down and more people fill the already-cramped living area.
I’m sitting with Teddy and one of his and Felix’s teammates, Garrison, who lives nearby and drove up for the night, watching them play something on the Xbox.
The rest of the guys have set up beer pong on the dining room table.
The other couch is taken by a group of girls the guys met the first night—Tricia and Anna, and a couple more I haven’t been introduced to yet, and in the kitchen are more people I don’t know.
Stella is hiding in the bedroom talking to Beau, so I’m doing my best to blend in until she’s done.
“Do you need another drink?” Teddy asks as he gets up from the couch. Tonight, he’s wearing a white Valley U football hat and his dark blond hair curls around his ears.
The hard seltzer in my hand is nearly full, but I say, “Sure. Thanks.”
Anna rushes to take his spot. Her hair is long and blonde, and she smells like cotton candy. “Is he your boyfriend?”
“Teddy?” I ask, watching his back move to the fridge.
She quickly nods her head up and down like a bobblehead.
“No,” I say, and immediately regret it because her eyes gleam with excitement.
“I didn’t think so, but I wanted to be sure. Thank you!” She hurries back to her friends and tells them the good news.
I feel a prick of irritation and unease because I really don’t want to be stuck in the same house as my crush while he hooks up with another girl, but when Teddy comes back and hands me a cold can and falls into the seat next to me, I push away my annoyance and move an inch closer to him.
“Same game?” Teddy asks Garrison.
“I think I’m out. I need to move around.” Slowly, he moves his booted foot from the coffee table and grimaces.
Teddy leans back on the couch. “What’s the latest word from the doctor?”
Garrison was injured in a football game earlier in the season. It was a nasty hit, though they all look pretty brutal to me. I cringe every time Felix gets sacked, which thankfully isn’t that often.
“He thinks I can rehab it without surgery, but I have to wear this fucking boot for another week. I’m losing my mind.”
Teddy stays silent, but nods. “Sorry, man.”
“That stupid fucker Ricci is going down next year. He should have been ejected for that dirty hit.” He gets to his feet and grumbles, “I need a shot or twelve.”
“Is he okay?” I ask when he’s gone.
“Yeah. His foot will heal, but he’s gonna be pissed for a while.”
“What did he mean about it being a dirty hit? They all look awful to me.”
“It came late, after the play. Garrison was already out of bounds when Ricci took him down. It’s tough for refs to call.” Teddy continues, “Things out there happen so fast. Guys have a hard time stopping but sometimes it’s just dirty.” Teddy releases a breath and holds out the controller to me.
“I’ve never played this game,” I say, but take it and sit up to place both of my drinks on the table.
“We can play whatever you want.” He navigates back to the menu to show me the options.
“Have you ever been injured playing football? Aside from the thumb dislocation last year.”
“Good memory.” The smile he aims at me makes me dizzy. “Not like Garrison. No broken bones or injuries that have kept me sidelined, but I’ve had plenty of bumps and bruises. What about you?”
“Me?” I shake my head. “I was never into any sports, except swimming, and one summer I played softball with Stella.” I shudder at the memory.
“I bet you looked pretty cute in a baseball cap.” He takes the hat off his head and places it on mine, then leans back to get a better look at me. “Yep. I knew it.”
“We wore visors.” Frenetic energy courses through me. Being near Teddy, especially when I’m talking to him, has this weird effect on me, where I want to lean into the moment while simultaneously wishing I was invisible.
His smile widens. I leave on the hat. It’s too big, falling over my eyes, but I don’t care.
I place a hand to my cheek. “It’s kind of hot in here.”
He tilts his head to the door. “Want to step outside for a minute?”
I think the heat coursing through me is more from him being so close than the temperature in the cabin, but I nod. We abandon our spots on the couch and head for the front door. Teddy holds it open for me and I blush harder as I walk in front of him.
It hasn’t snowed any more, but the front porch is still partially covered. We stand at the railing, looking out toward the tree line to the right of the cabin.
Teddy groans and rolls his neck.
“You can take three-hundred-pound dudes pummeling into you, but you fall to the ground on your own and turn into a big ole’ baby,” I tease.
“Yeah, yeah.” He hits the brim of his hat, still on my head, and fights a smile. “I tried to keep up with your brother. That was a mistake. My ass is black and blue.”
I laugh softly. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He turns, so his back is against the railing, and looks over at me. “It’s so peaceful out here. Feels like we’re inside a Christmas movie.”
“Yeah, I guess it does a little.” I tip my head up to look at the stars. The cold is seeping in through my thin sweater and I hug myself for added warmth. “But we’d be the least festive house in the movie.”
A rough chuckle leaves his lips and hangs in a cloud of cool air.
“We’re totally festive. Felix is even wearing his Santa hat again.” He gives his head a shake. “I made fun of him for it, but the girls flock to him in that thing.”
“I’ll tell you a secret about my brother.” I lean closer. “Girls flocking to him might be a nice side effect, but he’s wearing that hat because he loves Christmas. It’s a Walters’ family tradition. Felix and Dad wear Santa hats the entire week leading up to Christmas. My mom buys them in bulk.”
“That’s right. I remember that from last year. Why aren’t you festive tonight? Did you run out of holiday sweaters?”
I brush my hair away from my ear and show him the dangly holly flower earrings. “And I have reindeer, Santa, Christmas trees . . . you get the picture.”
“You Walters are freaks.”
“We love the holidays. I’m having fun being up here, don’t get me wrong. I love the cabin and the snow, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas without being home.”
“What’s your favorite part?”
Some time while we were talking, we both angled our bodies to face each other. Teddy reaches out and takes my hands in his giant palms, then rubs lightly.
His touch throws me off for a second, and I think my brain short circuits.
“Picking out the tree and then decorating it with our old ornaments. But I love other things too. Like how Dad and Felix put up lights outside, and Mom wraps all our presents in special coordinating paper. It’s different every year, but the result is a work of art.
Stella and I always make a bunch of cookies and we watch the first two Home Alone movies together. ”
“They made more than two?”
“They shouldn’t have, but yes.”
“That all sounds amazing. I was honored to be a part of it last year.”
“I know it’s silly, but I really look forward to it.”
“That isn’t silly at all, it’s beautiful.”
I want to ask him what his family does every year, and if he misses going home for the holidays, but the way he’s looking at me makes speaking impossible. His gaze darts to my lips, and when it moves back up, there’s an intensity swirling in his stare that wasn’t there a second ago.
“There you are!” Stella says, opening the front door and peering out.
I’m slow to look, still too caught up in the guy in front of me. When I do, my sister steps out and then pauses when she takes in the scene in front of her. Teddy lets our hands drop.
“Am I interrupting?”
“No, I got too warm in there. Teddy stepped out with me for some cold air and then we got to talking.”
“Oh.” Stella’s smile says way more than that one word. “Well, that was nice of you, Theodore.”
He chuckles. “I better go reclaim my spot on the Xbox.”
His eyes briefly flick to me before he heads back inside.
“You and Teddy!” Stella screeches as soon as the door closes behind him.
“No.”
She hits the brim of the hat, his hat. I feel sort of silly wearing it now, so I take it off. “We were just talking.”
“If you say so.” Stella shivers. “It’s freezing out here. We really should have brought warmer clothes.”
I follow her inside to the kitchen. Stella grabs a bag of chips from the pantry and then an entire jar of salsa. “I thought we could watch a movie in bed? I’m exhausted. Unless you want to stay up and hang out.”
I look around the party in the living room. Teddy is flocked on either side by Anna and another girl.
“A movie sounds great.”
We watch Elf and eat the entire bag of chips and most of the salsa.
“I invited Beau to visit over break.”
“Here?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “After Christmas, before we go back to Valley. You’re going to love him.”
“That’s great, and Felix will be there in case he’s a total creeper in person.”
“Yeah. Felix can meet him too. But he isn’t a creeper. I met him in person, remember?” She laughs and falls back onto the bed. “I hope Felix is cool.”
“Why wouldn’t he be? He knows you date and make out with boys.” I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand.
The party has died down and only the faint sound of the guys talking drifts through the walls.
Stella’s quiet, only giving me a small smile. She’s already so nervous for us to meet him, which tells me exactly how much she really likes him. The three of us are close. It would be hard for any of us to date someone the others didn’t like.
“I can’t believe you met a guy at the airport. Only you. Guys basically fall into your lap.” I shove her foot lightly.
She sits up and grins at me. “It could be you if you’d actually talk to Teddy like you did tonight.”
“Shh!” I glance at the closed door.