Page 72 of Not Another Christmas Movie

“Let’s stock up on your iced coffee and some snacks so we can go back home. We probably shouldn’t be out in public much longer,” Nick said.

“Can we watch a movie?” Annie asked.

“Only if it’s the VHS copy of Meet Me in St. Louis.” Nick smirked.

“That’s the only thing I want to watch!” Annie beamed. Nick looked up, and his eyes caught what was hanging above them.

“Mistletoe,” he whispered and pulled Annie in for another kiss. A small jolt of happiness moved through Annie as she realized she now had someone to kiss beneath every sprig of mistletoe that crossed her path going forward. And she realized with profound clarity that Nick was the only one she wanted to meet there, year after year.

After ordering two of the largest iced coffees known to man (Annie had to make up for lost time, after all) and as many snacks as they could carry from Cumberland Farms, Annie and Nick raced back to the car to get home to enjoy another “moment” before settling in to watch a movie.

“What the hell is happening here?” Marsha gasped, walking in on Annie and Nick cuddled up on Annie’s couch a few hours and two more “moments” later. “Oh, my God, what’s going on? Annie, you freaked me out! I thought something had happened to you, and then I saw a selfie Nick posted of you guys with ‘Simsbury’ tagged as the location!”

“You posted that?” Annie asked Nick.

“I guess I did. Is that okay?” Nick asked.

“Of course, it’s a great picture—” Annie answered.

“Hello!” Marsha barked out. “What the hell is happening? And what the fuck is with that bloody chair next door?”

“Fake blood,” Nick and Annie answered together.

“Hey, is that a barber’s chair from Sweeney Todd?” Pete said as he jogged in.

“It is!” Nick grinned, standing up.

“Dude, it’s awesome, can I touch it?” Pete asked Nick. “I’m Pete, by the way.”

“Nick,” Nick offered, pointing to himself. “Do you want to see the trap door mechanism?”

“Oh, my God, yes!” Pete grinned excitedly as Nick led him back outside, explaining the engineering that went into easily “disposing of bodies” onstage.

Annie and Marsha watched affectionately

“Okay, that was really cute,” Annie said as Marsha moved to sit on the couch. When she had her best friend beside her, Annie turned to her with watery eyes. “Marsha, I missed you so much. More than you’ll ever know.”

“Annie, what’s going on? What did I walk in on?! I haven’t heard from you all day!” Marsha scolded.

“Honestly, I got so used to not having a working phone that I haven’t thought about checking it,” Annie explained.

“You got used to not having a phone for a few hours? What happened to you after you texted me last night?”

“Nick and I banged,” Annie admitted sheepishly.

“Are you serious?” Marsha asked, shaking her head in confusion. “Annie, no, that’s not funny. I told you to hook up with a high school crew team guy, not our childhood neighbor, stage crew guy … ew! He’s probably going to take you into his improv team’s lair,” Marsha shuddered.

“How dare you, he’s not a monster,” Annie recoiled.

“Blink twice if you’re okay,” Marsha whispered to Annie, eyeing the entrance in case Nick returned. “Okay, you guys have been home for a few hours, but now you’re what? Hooking up?”

“I’m in love,” Annie admitted.

“Annie!” Marsha gasped. “In love? In love?! I mean, I always suspected Nick had a little crush or whatever in high school, but Annie, yesterday you were, like, glum about that douchebag, Chris—”

“That spruce-bag,” Annie smiled before turning back to Marsha, “he’s dating Bailey, Nick’s high school girlfriend! And her parents own Yes, You Cannabis!” Annie squealed.

“Whoa, really?” Marsha asked, contemplating how this development might be able to benefit her.