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“Mm, yeah, I remember that, how quickly the snow went from magical to a nuisance for the city to cart away as fast as possible when I lived there. It’s one thing I like about moving back here.”
“Shoveling the walkway? I’m not looking forward to that, but Mom needs a clear path with her walker, to get to her appointments and stuff.”
“No, not shoveling. Snowball fights, obviously.” He’s grinning at me as he mimes packing and throwing a snowball, the mischief in his gaze leaves me with no doubt he still enjoys the childhood game. He’s adorable.
“Snowball fights, huh?” I grab his scarf and tug him in for a chaste kiss.
Carl tenses at first. When I make no move to cop a feel or take it beyond the sweet movement of his lips on mine, he relaxes into the kiss. I keep a firm grip on his scarf to remind my hands not to wander. Carl licks into my mouth and his tongue tastes like Christmas, spicy gingerbread, molasses, and the crisp cool snow. I pull back to smile at him.
“Yeah, snowball fights. Wow. I didn’t imagine it, huh?” Carl gazes into my eyes and I could get lost in him.
“Imagine what?” I lean in closer.
“That you’re an exquisite kisser.” Carl edges toward me.
“Mm? I wouldn’t object to reminding you, if you forget again.” I smile, inches from his face. Then I kiss the tip of his chilly nose and unwind his scarf to hang it next to his jacket.
“I promised Mom music, so we better not disappoint her. Come on, she’s in the living room.”
I turn to hide my erection and lead Carl down the hall. The thought of my mother waiting for us there is enough to quell my arousal. I might need to schedule time for some, uh, self-care before our next fake date, if this is how kissing him affects me. Taking it slow hasn’t been an issue with my recent boyfriends, but I’m appreciating the space it gives us to get to know each other beyond the superficial.
With other guys, sex always starts out exciting until it becomes yet another area where I don’t measure up to expectations. When I can only carve out so much time to be together, sex isn’t always my first priority for what little time I have to spend with my partner. It’s usually not worth the fighting to explain that I’d rather take care of that on my own. Especially if skipping sex means we have time for a nice dinner or to catch a show. It’s a relief that Carl’s rules about casual sex mean that won’t be an issue for us.
Carl follows me down the hall. He goes right up to my mom to kiss her cheek. Oh, right; I almost forgot that they know each other. It didn’t occur to me that he genuinely likes my mom. Weird. She almost never gets along with my boyfriends.
Mom hasn’t said anything negative about my past boyfriends, she’s just never this warm with them. Granted, I rarely bring them around and frequently can’t find the time to keep dinner dates, let alone leave town to visit her, so that might be on me. I might need to work on that in the new year. Make time for the people in my life before I end up completely alone. That’s a depressing thought, especially contrasted with the warm coziness of sitting in Mom’s living room while she has a genuinely nice time with my—albeit fake—boyfriend.
“Hey, there Miss Tina, you’re looking amazing! How are you feeling?” Carl smiles, giving her his full attention, like he really wants to know. I wish I had that kind of caring in my day-to-day life.
“Don’t try to flatter me.” Mom pats at her short perm self-consciously.
“I would never!” Carl clutches a hand to his chest in a ‘who me?’ gesture that brings a smile to my lips.
“I need to get my hair done, but Lucy says it won’t take after the anesthesia, so I need to wait a few more weeks. Something to do with the chemicals.” Mom waves away the information like it’s an annoying fly. “Dr. Felleh seems happy with my physiotherapy progress and the pain is manageable at least.”
“You listen to her, Dr. Felleh is one smart cookie.” Carl wags his finger at Mom playfully, and she laughs, clearly not in the least intimidated by his teasing admonition.
It warms my heart to watch them interacting. Carl really is Mom’s friend. She might not have been trying to set us up with all her hinting, but I’m certain she’d be thrilled if we dated for real. That gives me slight pause. But Mom doesn’t have to know we’re fake dating at all.
I’m only scheduled to be here for another two weeks, through the new year. This is just about having a fun holiday fling without all the messy entanglements, nothing serious.
“Bah, I’m fine, Carl. I’ll be back in the office before you know it,” Mom says airily. It will probably be a few more weeks to a month before that’s true, but I admire her determination. Dr. Felleh says that’s the biggest factor in recovery at her age. If so, she’ll be fine.
“As long as you aren’t overdoing it, we’ll be happy to have you back.” Carl nods.
“Speaking of cookies, where are my manners? Sit, make yourself at home. Nick, offer our guest refreshments.”
“I’m fine, Tina, really,” Carl protests.
“Here, sit,” Mom makes to stand and clear several finished gnomes from the seat nearest her.
“I’ll take care of that.” He eases her back into her seat and steps in to stack the finished crafts neatly in a plastic tote before settling in on the couch. “No need to serve me, I’m here to be the entertainment.”
“Nonsense. Nick, go get a plate of cookies. There should be some of the ones Beatrice left still in the kitchen.” Half the town has stopped by with food and to check in on Mom, I swear. I’m not entirely sure which dishes came from each of the sweet elder women who have been by the house. But I know Mom’s best friend, Beatrice, and I’m pretty sure she means the star-shaped sugar cookies decorated with enough icing to make a hockey fan cringe.
“Sure, of course. Coffee, Carl?” I’m reluctant to leave them, but Mom’s right that I’m slacking at the hosting duties, just standing there like a lump while they chat.
“Sure, I take it with a splash of cream, if you don’t mind? I’ll just get this tuned while you take care of that.” Carl hefts his guitar case onto his lap and unzips the fabric covering it.
