Chapter Twenty-Six
Rick
This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” he said, licking marshmallow off his thumb, “but I don’t hate it.”
Kaylee laughed, adding more peppermint to her hot cocoa. “I’m telling you, bougie hot chocolate is my favorite thing about the holidays. You can find marshmallows in various shapes and flavors. It’s fun.” Kaylee paused for a beat before adding, “You know, Elasia is the one who started it.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, she saw a TikTok where this woman took her little coffee bar and turned it into a hot chocolate station. She had sprinkles, marshmallows, and a variety of other toppings, including syrups. Elasia wanted to do that, so she bought a little rolling island at a thrift store and put it against the wall in our dorm. And when I came back from class, she had it all set up with labeled bottles of syrup and several containers she’d gotten at the dollar store that was filled with Christmas tree marshmallows, sprinkles, and M&M’s.
Then she put on How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and we just curled up on our beanbags, watching the movie and drinking hot chocolate.
And she didn’t stop there, because we ended up doing the same thing for Valentine’s Day, only watching My Bloody Valentine instead.
During the fall and Halloween seasons, she would buy pumpkin-flavored marshmallows to pair with pumpkin-spice hot cocoa.
Her smile dimmed. “I still buy everything, but I keep it in the cupboard because doing it always brought back memories of her.”
“She sounds like a really great person. I probably would’ve liked her.”
“Yeah, you would’ve.” Kaylee’s expression was soft as she talked about her friend and Rick really wished he’d gotten to meet the woman who held such a large part of Kaylee’s heart.
“She would’ve flirted with you. She would also have talked you into doing things you didn’t want to do, because when you were around her, you just wanted to make her happy. ”
“Sounds like you were a pretty good friend, too.”
“I tried to be, but maybe I would’ve been a better friend if I hadn’t supported so many of her choices.”
Rick reached for her with his free hand, covering her knee and giving it a squeeze.
“You can’t force other people to do what you think they should.
You have to let them make their mistakes and their own choices because that’s what being there for someone is.
At least, until they become too toxic for you, and then you take a step back for your mental health, but I’m a firm believer in ‘we listen and we don’t judge. ’”
“I don’t know,” Kaylee said, grinning at him over the rim of her mug, “I seem to remember a lot of judging coming from you over the last few days.”
“Well, we weren’t friends then,” he said.
“Is that what we are? We’re friends now?”
“I’d like to be,” Rick said, setting his hot cocoa on the side table. He leaned over and brushed her mouth with his. “Maybe something more.”
“Something more, huh?” she said, setting her own cup down.
“Yeah.” He cupped her face, and they kissed again, ignoring the chattering from Pumpkin’s enclosure.
Rick finally pulled away, glaring at her pet. “Why do you have such a problem with me, pig?”
“Honestly, maybe it’s not you. Maybe it’s the fact that I usually let him out to run around and get some exercise, but because you’ve been here and I feared for your life, I haven’t let him out.”
“You let him just run around the house?”
“Yeah, it’s so he gets exercise, and he doesn’t get fat.”
“I don’t think you’re accomplishing your mission,” he said, studying the fluffy guinea pig.
Kaylee smacked his arm and then climbed to her feet. Rick watched warily as she opened the enclosure and picked Pumpkin up. He tried to escape at first, but she held him to her chest and took a seat next to Rick. “See, he just needed some snuggles.”
Rick reached out hesitantly and slowly petted the top of the guinea pig’s head with his finger. When Pumpkin pushed against his finger for more, he laughed.
“Do you have any pets?” she asked.
“No. I’d like to have a dog, but I travel so so much, it’s not fair. Not fair. Someday when I’m on a desk and have set hours, maybe.”
“Yeah, I didn’t get a cat or a dog in case I had to go quickly. It’s a little harder to pack a cat, and with a dog, you have to stop every few hours and let them go potty.”
“I get it.”
Kaylee set Pumpkin on the ground, and the guinea pig took off, toddling across the hardwood floor. He disappeared into the kitchen for a second and started making high-pitched chirping sounds.
“What is he doing?” Rick asked.
Kaylee sighed. “He’s standing in front of the refrigerator, begging for food.”
“He knows that the refrigerator is where his goods are?”
“Oh yes, I used to have his cage in there. He knows what it sounds like when I open the fridge, and that’s usually when he gets his lettuce, so once everything clicked into his brain, he started making that noise anytime he saw or heard the fridge.”
Rick chuckled. “Little piglet.”
“Yup.”
Rick pointed to the TV. “Does that thing work?”
“Of course it does.” She frowned, turning on the couch to face him. “Why would you think it wouldn’t work?”
“Because I’ve never seen you turn it on, and you didn’t offer to let me watch TV.”
Kaylee snorted. “I do not allow unauthorized users to access my streaming services.”
“Am I still unwanted?” he teased, waggling his brows.
She tilted her head like she was pondering this. “You have successfully become a not-unwanted guest.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I guess I’ll take it.” Rick reached out, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “Do you want to watch The Grinch with me?”
He knew that was the wrong thing to ask when she stiffened.
“Not tonight,” she said, getting up from the couch and grabbing her mug. “I think I’m tired and just wanna go to bed.”
Rick nodded, although he had no clue why the mood shifted. “Good night, then.”
She started to head toward the bedroom and stopped, turning with a small smile on her face. “Thank you for today. It was a lot of fun.”
“You’re welcome anytime.”
She laughed. “I’m actually surprised you’re not trying to take my bed again.”
He shook his head. “If you want me to sleep with you, Kaylee, you’re gonna have to ask me.”
Kaylee stood silently for a moment, and Rick thought she was going to say Come to bed, but instead, she just mumbled another good night and disappeared into the room.