9. Let It Snow #2
Aniyah wrapped her hands around the glass of water the server had placed in front of her, letting the cool condensation steady the flutter in her chest. It was ridiculous that she felt nervous.
They had just navigated a room full of second graders, wrangled ghosts made of bedsheets and survived the chaos of a school play.
Still, sitting across from Trevor now, with nothing to distract her from the way his attention settled on her, made her aware of everything.
Trevor leaned back slightly in his chair, watching her with a quiet smile. “You didn’t look nervous directing a room full of second graders.”
“That’s because I know them,” she replied, glancing up from her glass. “Adults are unpredictable.”
His laugh was low and easy, the kind that warmed the space between them.
The server arrived with their food, and conversation slipped forward naturally after that.
They talked about the play first, replaying the moments that had made them both laugh—Christopher nearly flying across the stage in his ghost costume, Zara bowing like she’d just finished a Broadway run .
Trevor shook his head, smiling into his drink. “She’s going to be talking about that performance all week.”
“She should,” Aniyah said, cutting into her food. “She carried that scene.”
“She commits to everything with so much passion…it’s inspiring,” he replied, pride threading through his voice.
Aniyah noticed the softness there, the way his expression changed whenever Zara came up.
It was the same look she’d seen earlier when he crouched beside her backstage, listening to her explain ghost logistics like it was the most important conversation in the room.
The man loved that little girl with his whole chest.
For a moment the conversation quieted while they ate. The restaurant hummed around them, glasses clinking and low laughter drifting from nearby tables, but their corner of the room felt oddly still.
Aniyah set her fork down and tilted her head slightly. “Can I ask you something?”
Trevor didn’t hesitate. “You can ask me anything.”
She studied him for a moment before speaking. “What would it actually look like… if we were together?”
The question hung between them for a second. Trevor leaned back slightly, considering it, his fingers tracing the rim of his glass while he thought.
“I think it would look like showing up,” he said finally.
Aniyah lifted a brow. “That’s vague.”
He smiled faintly. “Not really. I could see us showing up and being there for each other in all aspects whether work or personal. We’d be there for each other in every season. It looks like being at peace, finally.”
She watched him carefully, the sincerity in his voice settling somewhere warm in her chest.
“And arguments about movies,” he added .
Aniyah laughed softly, “You started that.” Mentioning the night they went back and forth about which Sister Act movie was the best. Trevor thought the first one and Aniyah heavily disagreed.
“I was right.”
“You were not.”
Trevor chuckled, but the humor faded into something softer as he met her eyes again. “I think it will be steady,” he said after a moment. “Talking to you has given me a sense of peace that I didn’t know I was capable of experiencing”
His shoulders lifted in a small shrug like what he was saying wasn’t swoon worthy and continued, “we’re two people building something as they go.”
Aniyah leaned back slightly in her chair, absorbing that. The way he said it made the idea feel less like some distant possibility and more like something quietly unfolding already.
“What about Zara? When she spent the afternoon with me, we talked about getting manicures. I would like to take her, if that’s okay?” she asked.
“I would love that, and I know she would too. Tell me when and I will bring her to meet you.”
“Thank you. She is an amazing little girl that means a lot to me.”
Trevor didn’t hesitate in his response, “You already matter to her.”
The answer surprised her enough that she blinked.
“She talks about you,” he continued. “More than you probably realize.”
Aniyah glanced down at the table for a second, warmth creeping up the back of her neck.
“And I trust you with her,” he added gently.
Trevor exhaled slowly and rubbed the back of his neck like he was working through something out loud. “The truth is… I didn’t expect to feel like this again so soon.”
Her gaze lifted from her wine. Trevor met it without flinching.
“I’m falling for you, Aniyah.”
The words landed quietly, but their weight settled deep in her chest.
For a moment she just looked at him. Trevor gave a small, almost self-conscious smile. “I know it’s early. I know we’re still figuring this out.”
He lifted one shoulder slightly.
“But pretending it’s not happening feels dishonest.”
Aniyah let out a slow breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“I’m not pretending either,” she admitted softly.
“I tried so hard to. I enjoy my solitude and the peace it’s brought me to shut everyone out.
Now? I find myself day dreaming about you more often, wondering when we will spend time together again. I’m falling for you too, Trevor.”
Something in Trevor’s expression softened then, the tension easing out of his shoulders like he’d been bracing for something else entirely. Aniyah was happy their feelings were finally out in the open.
Dinner drifted forward after that in an easier rhythm, the kind that came when two people had said something important and were now letting it settle between them.
“You want some ice cream for dessert?” Trevor asked. Aniyah knew she shouldn’t have it, dairy was one of her triggers. But the night was beautiful and she hadn’t had ice cream in months. Her face lit up as she nodded.
When they finally stepped back outside, the night air felt colder than before. Trevor walked her to her car, the glow of Christmas lights reflecting off the pavement beneath their feet.
They stopped beside the driver’s door.
“You had fun tonight?” he asked .
Aniyah leaned lightly against the car and looked up at him, “I did.”
Trevor stepped closer, not enough to crowd her but enough that the space between them disappeared.
His hand brushed her waist as he leaned down.
The kiss started soft, almost careful. But when Aniyah’s hands slid up the front of his coat, Trevor pulled her a little closer and the warmth between them deepened quickly, the kind of kiss that blurred the street around them and made the cold air feel distant.
When they finally separated, they were smiling.
Trevor rested his forehead briefly against hers. “Come to Christmas dinner with my family.”
Aniyah blinked, surprised.
“My dad’s hosting this year,” he said quietly. “You should be there.”
The invitation carried more weight than the kiss.
She nodded slowly ignoring the voice at the back of her head telling her hell no , “Okay.”
Later that night, Aniyah stepped back into her condo and leaned against the door for a moment while the quiet wrapped around her again. Today had been amazing and that dinner with Trevor…everything she needed and more. She sent him a quick text to let him know she was inside.
Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Zara’s Daddy: Thank you for following directions.
Aniyah laughed softly and sent back a middle finger emoji before kicking off her boots. This was their routine if they weren’t talking on the phone.
A second later his reply appeared.
Zara’s Daddy: Goodnight, Roxanne .
Her cheeks warmed instantly.
She stared at the message for a moment longer than necessary before setting the phone down on the counter, shaking her head to herself.
She was falling for him too
“Girl, what is all this shit in your hand?!” Aniyah asked.
The next evening, her condo looked less like the carefully curated sanctuary she usually kept and more like what it became every year once Christmas break started. A place for her girls. A place where the three of them could slip back into the easy rhythm of being known.
Aniyah winced as she placed an ornament on her small Christmas tree. She knew she should’ve said no to ice cream the night prior, now she was dealing with a flare under her arm like she was a teenager again.
“I’ll get through this like I’ve gotten through everything else,” she thought to herself.
Mya arrived first, balancing two overnight bags on one shoulder while clutching a bottle of tequila in one hand and an alarming amount of snacks in the other.
Her faux locs were twisted into a high bun tonight, and she wore a long wool coat over the matching plaid pajamas she had bullied them into buying weeks ago.
“You preparing for the apocalypse?” Aniyah asked, stepping aside to let her in.
Mya dropped the bags onto the couch and kicked the door shut with her foot. “Please. If we get snowed in, you’ll thank me. Also, I refuse to experience emotional conversations without snacks.”
Aniyah laughed, taking the tequila from her and setting it on the counter.
Stephanie arrived twenty minutes later, hair already in a bonnet and carrying a paper bag high over her head like a victory flag. “If either one of y’all says you already ate,” she warned from the doorway, “I’m turning around and leaving with these tacos.”
Aniyah took the bag quickly. “Come inside before the sour cream gets soggy.”
“How are you feeling today boo?” Mya asked, setting all of her snacks out on the counter, “I know you had a flare. It’s been a minute since the last one right?”
Aniyah nodded, feeling a sense of comfort with the care displayed in Mya’s eyes.
“This one is not as bad as others I’ve had in the past. But it’s still painful. I think it had something to do with the ice cream I shared with Trevor last night, because waking up with a flare the size of a quarter under my arm was not on my bingo card for Christmas.”