Page 40 of The Christmas Mistake

“Thanks,” I garble as she thrusts the glass into my hands. I’m still so overwhelmed by all the effort she’s put into this evening. Somehow, she knew I was going to ask her out. She knew that she would have to get this all ready for me.

“I wanted to give you a real Christmas party,” she says. “More than just that cheesy stuff at work. A real proper one to make up for all the lost years and Christmases you’ve had.”

She’s doing this because of what I told her the other night about my parents. She wants to make Christmas special again for me.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper to her.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just enjoy. Which reminds me, I better check on the food. Oh, crap.”

Chastity has no reason to fear. It turns out that the Christmas dinner she’s cooked for me is perfection. I devour it in front of her without a care for how greedy I appear.

“Good?” she asks me, trepidatious.

“More than good, Chastity. This is amazing.”

We cheer with our glasses and finish the rest of the meal as Christmas songs play on her speaker.

“This definitely feels like Christmas,” I say, and her face lights up.

“Thank you. I’m glad you’re liking it.”

“It was a surprise, that’s for sure.”

“Have you got time for one more surprise?” she asks me conspiratorially.

“Oh, no. What is it?”

Chastity ducks under her perfect tree and lifts up a small present. It’s square.

“Open this,” she tells me.

“What is it, Chastity?”

“Open it and have a look.”

I smile and begin to unwrap the present. I can tell straight away it’s a DVD case even before I open it.

“The Grinch?” I ask her when I see the movie title. “You got me a copy of the Grinch?”

I can’t hold back my laughter.

“Well, he is you. I thought it was pretty fitting.”

“Where on earth did you find a DVD in this day and age? When did you even have the time to get it?”

“On my lunch break yesterday,” she says. “It was pretty hard to get, but there is a place in the mall still selling DVDs. I saw it and immediately knew I had to get it for you.”

“You’re hilarious, Chastity.”

“Okay, I lied earlier,” she tells me. “I have another surprise for you.”

“Another one?”

She bites her lip and nods seductively. “I think you’re going to like this one. Really like it.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She leans forward towards me and puts her hands secretly around her back.