Hostile for the Holidays

6. Jasper

SIX

JASPER

I’m driving to the post office to mail packages for my mom when Liam, my best friend from college and current business partner, calls.

“You make it home okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, flight was easy.”

“Still don’t know why you didn’t take the company jet. I mean flying commercial during the holidays? And not even first class. That’s disturbing.”

“You know why.”

“Yeah, and it’s fucking sad to watch my best friend desperately in love with a woman who doesn’t see how great he is.”

Liam knows how I feel about Stella. He used to give me shit in college for not trying with women. The fact is, I did try to get over Stella. I thought college would be a fresh start, a way to move on and meet someone new. But there wasn’t another woman like Stella.

Yes, she’s gorgeous, nonetheless it’s not only the fact she’s stunning and lights up a room, but there’s an energy about her that pulls me in while simultaneously driving me crazy. Even as kids, she pushed me to be bolder, sharper, and it’s partly because of that drive to compete and push myself that helped me achieve success in my field and start my own company.

All these years later, there still hasn’t been anyone who challenges me and meets me head on like she does.

In fact, with the success of my company, it’s been even harder to date. A good number of women are enamored with the idea of dating a wealthy man. Whereas my success hasn’t changed Stella’s opinion about me, and while I want to make amends with her and stop this decades long fight, I appreciate that about her.

In my college years, if I was dating someone before the holidays, I would break things off with them before going home. Liam thought it was because I was cheap and didn’t want to buy them a Christmas present, but it was because I didn’t want to be dating anyone when I went home. Stella was the force that drew me back home every year, clinging to the hope that things between us would be different.

Spoiler: it never mattered. Stella was determined to keep me at a distance, so I did the only thing I knew and continued to fight with her.

But things are going to be different this year.

“Stella and I are dating,” I announce, smugness oozing from my tone.

“Are you bloody serious? Is she an amnesiac? Did she hit her head and forget that she hates you? Worse yet, did you hit her on the head? Was that part of your plan?” Liam sighs, his British accent making it even more dramatic. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to be an accomplice in this scheme. God damn it, Jas, the company is on track to have the best fiscal year yet and now you’re going to ruin it all with a lawsuit and felony charges.”

“Cool your jets, L. I didn’t hit anyone over the head. Stella and I are fake dating.”

There’s a long pause before another sigh from Liam. “Okay, I know you’ve been working long hours, mate, but maybe it is time to follow that mental health program we brought on for all the employees. Burn out is a real thing.”

I ignore his insinuation that I’ve lost my mind.

“Stella needed a fake boyfriend for the holidays. A past hookup she wanted to avoid is staying with her family, so she asked me to run interference.”

“Now I’m worried about that felony charge again. Tell me the other guy is still in one piece.”

Daniel’s harmless, but that hasn’t prevented me from feeling a surge of jealousy when I’ve thought of him and Stella together. The fact that she has no interest in him, and is going to great lengths, by fake dating me, to hold him at a distance is keeping him safe.

“He’s still in one piece.”

“This whole set up is making me nervous. Do I need to come out there and check on you?”

I chuckle. “Is that your way of saying you miss me?”

“It’s my way of saying I need you not to lose your head over this woman. There’s no reason anyone should lose their head over a woman.”

That’s Liam. His charming smile and accent make him popular with the ladies in LA, but he’s in no rush to settle down.

“If you want small mountain town charm, you know where to find me.”

We hang up and I think about what Liam said. I haven’t lost my head over Stella, but my heart is a different matter.

I’m on my way back from the post office, passing by the Frosty Fir Tree Farm, when a flash of pink among the trees catches my eye, so I slow down on the road. A woman is aggressively hacking at the base of a tree. I can’t imagine that style of chopping is going to get her very far. I can make out the blonde hair trickling out from under the stocking hat. Even from this distance, I know it’s Stella.

I pull into the parking lot, then make my way through the rows of trees. For a moment I think I’ve lost her, but then I spot her pink hat with a large fuzzy pompom on it bobbing around near the base of a giant spruce. The tree must be eight feet tall.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

She pops her head out to look at me.

“Come on, Jensen. It’s a Christmas tree farm. Use your brain.”

“I know what you’re doing. Why are you doing it by yourself?” I glance around, confirming she is alone. “Where are your parents? Where’s Sadie and Tom?”

“They’re at the final menu tasting for the reception dinner,” she says before moving around the tree to find a better angle.

“You didn’t want to go?”

“No, I’m busy setting up Christmas.”

When I arrived home yesterday evening, I’d noticed there weren’t any Christmas lights on the St. James’ house. One thing I learned about Stella in the fourth grade is she’s obsessed with Christmas light displays. Her family has always gone big on Christmas, but it seems that with Sadie’s wedding in a couple weeks, things like outdoor lights and from the looks of it, even putting up a Christmas tree has been put aside.

She taps the earbud fitted in her ear. “Now leave me in peace so I can listen to Taylor Swift’s ‘Christmas Tree Farm’ on repeat while I cut this bad boy down.” She turns her back to me and continues chopping at the tree.

“You know, they have people to help with this part.”

“What’s a matter, city boy? You can’t chop down your own tree?”

She’s goading me and fuck if she’s not damn good at it.

“All right, give me the axe and I’ll take a turn.”

“You think I’m going to give you an axe?” She waves it around, laughing maniacally, which is ironic since she’s the one inferring I could be an axe murderer.

“Really, Stella? You think I’d murder you out here?” I motion to the families wandering around. “There are too many witnesses.”

“You’re so funny, Jasper.” She quirks those perfect lips at me. “Funny looking .”

“That line was played out in middle school. Surely, you’ve got something better by now.”

“I like it just fine. Besides, no one tailors their insults at the request of their nemesis.”

“Nemesis? Have I been upgraded from rival?”

A couple passes us, walking hand and hand in search for their tree. They look happy and in love. It could be their first Christmas together. It could be their tenth.

I think about all the holidays I watched Stella with her family across the street. How each time I’ve returned to our sleepy mountain town, I’ve been hopeful that things would be different. I realize now how much time I’ve wasted waiting for Stella to wake up to the fact that we’re not kids anymore and I don’t want to compete with her. I want to stroll through a field of pine trees to pick out a Christmas tree with her. Then go home and set it up together, using a mix of ornaments from her childhood and mine to fill the tree, alongside some we’ve collected as a couple. Then, with the glow of the fireplace at our side, I’d drown in her sweet pussy before fucking her so good, she leaves scratch marks down my back. Or something like that. I haven’t given it much thought.

That’s not reality…yet. Right now, I’m her fake boyfriend, one she despises at that. But fake dating has to be better than being friend-zoned, so I’ll take it.

“Come on, Stell, let me give it a shot. How can I earn my fake boyfriend credentials if I don’t do something rugged and masculine for you?”

“No. Get your own tree.”

She takes a swing but the tree trunk doesn’t give at all.

She’s holding it wrong, both hands gripping the end like a baseball bat.

“I was looking forward to Christmas with my family. All of my childhood traditions.”

Another swing, this one angrier than the next.

Thwack.

“Baking gingerbread houses.”

Thwack.

“Driving around to see the light displays. Nobody has time for anything but planning a fucking wedding. Not even a tree.” She laughs but it’s the sound of defeat. “They put up a tiny fake tree on a table in the foyer.” She sniffs. “It’s so small it fits on a table, Jasper.”

Her eyes lift to meet mine. The cloudy afternoon sky makes for the perfect lighting to see every single one of Stella’s freckles. Her skin is fair except the tip of her nose that is pinkened from the cold air.

That’s when I realize she’s not mad at me, she’s upset at the situation. Sadie’s wedding is throwing off the holidays for their family and it’s upsetting for Stella, the girl who lives for Christmas.

I move toward her, which is quite brave seeing that Stella is wielding an axe and she’s hostile. But this time when I reach out a hand for the axe, she relents.

The second it’s in my hand I notice something odd. There’s not much weight to it and upon further inspection the edge isn’t even sharp.

“Stella, where did you get this axe?” I ask.

“I brought it from home. It was in the garage with some of the Halloween supplies.”

“Gotcha.”

It’s a fake axe. A Halloween prop.

In the past, I would have used her gaffe to tease her relentlessly, but even if Stella doesn’t know it, this is a pivotal moment for us. Sure, a couple can tease each other about silly mistakes and laugh about it, but Stella’s still on the defense with me. She needs to feel safe making mistakes and know I won’t go for the jugular and make her feel judged.

It’s baby steps with her.

So now I’ll need to distract her while I cut the tree down with the saw the tree farm is providing.

“It seems like you need a break. How about I cut down your tree while you go peruse The Cozy Cabin Craft Shop?”

She dusts off her mittens. “I guess I could look around.”

“Get anything you want. It’s my treat.”

She eyes me suspiciously, before turning in the direction of the shop.

“You sure? I have a penchant for holiday gnomes and chunky crocheted scarves I’m never going to wear.”

I smile at her warning. “I’m sure. I’m your wealthy boyfriend after all.”

She points her finger and gives me a stern look.

“Wealthy fake boyfriend.”

For now.

“Stella?” I call.

“Yeah?”

“Will you pick me out something, too? Something you think I’d like.”

Her face lights up and the wicked gleam of excitement flashes through her eyes.

“Of course, Snowflake,” she says a little too sweetly, before turning to make her way to the craft shop.

Seeing the playfulness return to Stella’s face is worth every penny of the junk she’s going to pick out for me.

I was right. Stella picked out a bunch of random shit for me at the holiday craft shop.

Naughty or nice socks, Santa’s lump of coal soap, a “festive farts” candle, and a reindeer butt bottle stopper. Oh, and an ugly holiday sweater. It’s green with glittery tinsel adorning the front and cross-stitched Christmas lights sewn across it.

It’s nice to know she was thinking about me.

For herself, she picked out one handmade gnome figure. I was surprised she hadn’t cleaned out their entire stock, but knowing Stella she probably hated the idea of owing me for anything.

After I got the tree cut and the tree farm worker helped me bag it, I secured it to the top of my rental SUV—incidental scratch charges be damned—because rideless and determined, Stella had walked to the tree farm thinking they could deliver the tree later. That is not a service the mom-and-pop tree farm offers.

When we pull up to her house, Stella motions to the curb.

“You can pull up here and I’ll jump out.”

“With an eight-foot tree?” I quip. “I’m going to pull in your driveway and unload it like a normal person would.”

“You’re always making things more difficult than they have to be.”

“Right back at ya, Sparky.”

Stella ignores me and starts to untie the tree from the roof. A normal couple could navigate this easily. The tree isn’t that heavy, it’s just long and awkward to hold. But Stella and I are legendary for our ability to argue about anything. How to get this tree inside her house will be no exception.

After some maneuvering and a few choice words from Stella, the tree along with a ton of loose pine needles is in her family’s living room. We work together to get it set up in the tree stand, and arrange it in front of the large picture window.

“It’s perfect,” she announces, staring at the tree while I keep my eyes fixed on her.

“Yeah.”

“Now, I’ve got to decorate it.” She rubs her hands together in anticipation.

“I can help you.”

She stares at me a moment, those eyes of hers contemplative, but then she nods her head.

The wool sweater I’m wearing doesn’t lend itself to being pressed up against the pine needles, not to mention the patch of sap that is clinging to my arm after carrying it in.

“I’m going to run home and change my shirt.”

“Fine by me.” She waves me off.

I rush out the door, anxious to get back before she changes her mind.