“The detail on these houses is incredible, Lumen.” He looked up from the gingerbread post office. “I mean, I knew you were cooking something up, you know, since I’m the one delivering your groceries, but I never imagined this! It’s all edible?”
“Every piece! Although it might not taste good. Gingerbread houses aren’t exactly made to be the best thing you have all Christmas. If you want something tasty, try one of these.” I went to the counter and grabbed the tray of no bakes. He took one and took a bite.
“Oh, wow. This is delicious. I haven’t had one of these in ages.” He walked around the kitchen, continuing to admire the spread.
“I have cocoa too. I have lots of things to add to it. Marshmallows, syrups, whipped creams, even some adult adding. Just take your pick.” I motioned with a sweep of my arm at the counter covered in sweet treats and mini bottles of liquor. Billy nodded appreciatively and then paused.
“Is this your house?” He pointed to a gingerbread house. I joined him at the island.
“It is. Was it the faulty Christmas lights that gave it away?” I laughed.
“The detail is uncanny.” He shook his head. “Well, everything but these.” He pointed to the thick, oversized candy canes sharpened to a point that surrounded the perimeter of the property. “I don’t remember seeing these.”
I tried to laugh it off, but failed miserably. “It’s to keep the gingerbread bears at bay.”
Billy grew quiet, and his happy face fell into one of sympathy.
“Lumen...”
I looked away. “I know, it’s silly. It just… it made me feel better.” We both knew that the candy cane spikes were a representation of the walls I built up around myself. “I know there’s no gingerbread monsters here.”
“There’s no human ones here either,” he whispered. I raised my head and saw Billy smiling softly at me. He reached forward, cupping my cheek. I jumped but forced myself to relax. “You’re safe with me.”
Politely, I pulled away and went to the cocoa station. “Let’s get our treats and start our movie marathon.” I picked up a tiny bottle of peppermint vodka and shook it excitedly, drawing his attention from my ominous gingerbread house.
“Now that’s my favorite kind of ingredient for cocoa,” Billy said. I offered him a large tray and took a matching one for myself. We filled them with cookies, cakes, cheese, crackers, brownies, and other treats, and then made our cocoa and went to the living room. I set a bunch of pillows on the floor and we plopped down, and I grabbed the remote, turning the TV up. We settled in just in time to see Ralphie’s mother warning him that he’ll shoot his eye out if he got the Red Ryder BB gun he wanted. We watched silently for about twenty minutes, until Billy turned to me, propping his head on his elbow.
“So, Lumen. I’ve seen you every day for the better part of this year, and I feel like I hardly know you.”
My heart tightened, and I gulped. “What do you want to know?”
“Well... what’s your favorite movie?”
All of this anxiety felt so absurd. Since the moment he got here, my alarms have been going up, only to be instantly dropped.
“Ooh, that’s a hard one. MaybeWest Side Story?”
“The new one?”
“Hardly.” I rolled my eyes. “Rita Moreno supremacy. I was kind of a theater nerd growing up.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me about it.” He took a sip of his laced cocoa and offered me a mini bottle of the caramel-flavored vodka. I hadn’t had alcohol in a long time. I’d only bought it for Billy. But...
I took it and emptied it into my hot cup. Bravely, I took a sip. And then another.
“Well, it started withGrease. I was obsessed with Rizzo. I used to put on my mom’s shirts and stuff a pillow under it and pretend I was her.”
We spent the rest of the movie getting to know each other. Billy had gone to school for computers, but dropped out to help take care of his aging grandparents. He had a DnD group he met with every Sunday night and played with for hours and hours. And his last relationship didn’t exactly end great.
“She left me for a musician. I was too boring for her.” He shrugged.
“Well, I think you’re great,” I said, my words running together. We’d both had more than one cup of adult cocoa. Mini liquor bottles were strewn across the floor. “And she thinks you’re boring? Hell, I’m still a virgin.”
“What?” Billy blinked rapidly.
Just then, we heard a sharp shattering sound come from the other room, and I leaped up. “Was that a window?” I swayed, trying to catch my balance.
“It was.” Billy stood and snatched my wrist, clamping down on it so tight I gasped. “Merry Christmas, bitch.”
