‘Twas the Love Before Christmas

22. Noah

Chapter twenty-two

Noah

A s Tiffany cuddled up to me, I was in a bit of shock. How had she known where I was going to be tonight? Had she intentionally done this? My eyes followed Catherine as she walked right back to the refreshments table. She didn’t even turn to look at us once she had gotten her lemonade, and it stung. I couldn’t deny that.

Especially because she looked so gorgeous. Catherine’s red dress did wonders for her dark red hair. It stood out even more in the crowd against that red, and I was upset that Tiffany had implied that there was something between us. Upon hearing how Tiffany had worded her request for a dance with me, I could see how the light practically left Catherine's eyes. Couldn’t she have waited until the song was over? Until after Catherine had pulled away from me, even?

“What brings you into town, Tiffany?” I asked, finally pulling my attention away from Catherine when I realized she had her hand on my cheek.

“I got stranded for a night thanks to a redirected flight,” Tiffany said. “It’s the perfect time to come see you again. After all, it’s been a while. And I’ve never been able to get you off my mind.”

I barely held back a groan. Tiffany had been the woman I had rebounded with after Rose and I broke up. The relationship hadn’t lasted long because I found her too bold for my tastes. Tonight stood out as a good example of why. Her long hair was pulled into a braid that fell along her back. I could feel some rhinestone-decorated hair accessories as I kept a hand on her waist, firmly up where it belonged, despite her pressing closer to me, implicitly asking for more.

She had decided to wear a dark blue jean skirt – with good sense to make sure that it was a floor-length skirt – and a red crop top with glitter all over it. I couldn’t tell what shoes she was wearing, but she hadn’t come with luggage for a Christmas dance based on what she had decided to wear. Perhaps it was the best she could do.

“You don’t seem too excited to see me. Have I shown up at a bad time?”

“Tiffany, it’s over between us. I don’t get how you can’t understand that. It’s been over between us for a while now. I haven’t answered your texts or calls because I don’t want to.”

She giggled. “Oh, you silly goose.”

Her playful tone made me feel like she was trying to talk down to me. But she wasn’t succeeding; if she was going to condescend to me, she’d have to try harder.

“Tiffany. I’m not playing around. I am not getting back together with you.”

The song ended, and I took Tiffany off to the side so we wouldn’t make a giant spectacle on the dance floor. She giggled as I took her out to the hallway as if we were going to be doing something that we shouldn’t be doing in church. I refused to give her that satisfaction. Instead, we simply stood slightly to the side of the door so that others could get in and out if they needed to.

“She’s clearly not into you, Noah,” Tiffany said. “I could see how awkward she was when I cut in. You cornered her to dance with you because I wasn’t here, clearly.”

“ Tiffany, if you say anything bad about Catherine, then I’m going to make sure you regret it,” I said. “She is one of my closest, oldest friends.”

“Then, why didn’t she know about me?”

“Because not everyone has to know about every relationship I get into. Besides, I love Catherine,” I told her. “And I won’t be getting back with you because I want to be with Catherine. There is nothing you can do to stop it.”

“Oh, Noah, you’re being delusional again. I knew you were upset over Rose leaving you, but this is pathetic,” she said. “Isn’t Catherine the woman you used to tell me about that you dated in high school? Noah, get serious. High school relationships just don’t work. You’re in a different phase of your life; whatever you remember of her, it’s not there. She’s grown up, just as you have.”

“She may have grown up, but that doesn’t mean you know her. I don’t even know everything about her anymore.” But I wanted to. “Tiffany, you’re an amazing woman, yes. But you’re not the one for me. I didn’t like the way you would push other women out of my life when we were together, and I refuse to allow you to push Catherine out of my life now that I’ve realized what a mistake letting her go in college was – even if it was the right thing at the time. We’re both single, and now what I want is for you to stay away from me. Get into a relationship with anyone else. Just leave me alone. All right?”

I had been planning to take Catherine on a walk down to the footbridge, where we had shared a kiss after the Winter Ball our senior year of high school. I'd have to rethink my plans with Tiffany coming in to swoop me away, mainly because it didn’t sound like Tiffany would be giving up on the relationship with me any time soon.

Tiffany patted my cheek as if soothing an infant’s feelings.

It made my stomach sink. I remembered her doing this in our relationship, and every time, it made me feel like a child. That was the last thing I wanted to feel in a relationship. If she wanted to mother someone, she needed to either have a baby or find a job that would allow her to care for young children. She could not do that to me just because she was delusional enough to believe that I would take her back after simply showing up.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? To know that she won’t give you the time of day now?” Tiffany asked. “You see, Noah, when you broke up with me, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I vowed that I was going to get you back at my side. And I’m doing just that.”

Stranded. Sure. If she hadn’t purposefully gotten a flight that would redirect her here, I’d eat my own hair. This was exactly the kind of move I’d expect her to make when we were in a relationship. Now that we were no longer together, her boldness sickened me. Couldn’t she see that I didn’t want this any longer?

“How did you know where to find me?” I changed the topic, hoping that if I talked to her for a bit, she would calm down enough to finally see reason.

“Your sister told me where you’d be tonight. Isn’t Mary the sweetest? Too bad she couldn’t come,” Tiffany said. “She’s a sweetheart. I couldn’t believe she remembered me. We didn’t date for that long, after all. But it was long enough for my heart to latch onto you.”

She took my hand in hers. I pulled away. Whatever she had planned to do while she was here, I was going to make sure it didn’t succeed. Besides, it sounded as if her plan had mainly been to come to town and show up whoever I was trying to get together with. It didn’t sit right with me that she had made Catherine feel so uncomfortable, but until I could get it through to her that I wasn’t going to get back together with her, I didn’t think I could go to see Catherine.

“Don’t be like that, Noah,” she said as she took my hand in a firmer grip.

Thankfully, I was able to also pull my hand out of that grip. Instead of leaving my hands at my sides where she could get to them, I shoved them into my jacket pockets. That would prevent her from trying to take my hands for a little bit.

“I knew you were bold, but I didn’t think you were this pushy, Tiffany,” I stated. “I don’t care what you came into town with the intention of doing. However, if you came with the intention of getting back together with me, only one woman will get that distinction, and it is not you. Go find someone else who matches the boldness you bring to life or at least doesn’t mind it.” I shook my head. “You deserve that much.”

I didn’t know if that would work, but I distinctly remembered that she loved being told that she was bold. Though I wasn’t sure that admitting she was too bold for me would work directly, I hoped this roundabout manner would knock some sense into her.

She did reach to take my arm as I spoke, but she stopped as she marinated on my words.

“Bold? I’m too bold for you?”

It finally seemed to sink in. We went around the conversation twice more, as it would take time for it to really sink in that I just didn’t want to be with her.

“I’m sorry that you’ve come all this way when you had nothing else to do because you’ve been redirected, but I do not want to get back together with you,” I stated firmly. “You deserve someone you can shine with. And I’m not that man.”

She sighed.

“I guess that’s something I hadn’t considered before,” she admitted.

Suddenly, I was thankful that I hadn’t officially announced my retirement yet. As far as she was aware, I would be playing next season. That was probably going to work to my advantage.

“Why don’t you go back to the hotel you’re staying in and just relax for the night? You’re not precisely dressed for this event, and I don’t know that you’ll find many other men willing to dance with you tonight. I think Indigo Lake just isn’t the place for you,” I said.

She laughed a little.

“How did you know no one else had danced with me while I looked for you?”

“Call it a lucky guess. Do you understand my stance better now?”

She nodded. With that, she walked out of the church doors. I waited ten minutes in the hallway to be sure that she wouldn’t come back in. Whatever had gotten into Tiffany, I was glad that I had been able to talk her out of trying to get back together with me. There was no need for her to feel that I would be the last desirable man on earth.

I finally entered the dance again, immediately looking for Catherine so that I could explain what had happened. Perplexingly, I couldn’t find her. But I did see her parents.

I walked over to their table.

“Do you know where Catherine wandered off to?” I asked.

They shook their heads.

“She got up and walked out when the song ended,” Sara stated. “I wish I could tell you where she went.”

“She’ll be back,” Michael added. “I know that much. She didn’t ask for the keys.”

I nodded slowly. Instead of waiting at the table for her like a lunatic, I decided that I was going to go to the refreshments table. I then popped my head out each of the four doors to the auditorium we were in, but I didn’t see her. By the time I returned to her parents’ table, they were gone.

I frowned. That was odd… but I supposed Catherine had come to get them when she had noticed I was not in the room. How could I make it up to her now that she had left for the night? And by the time I got to her home, it would be far too late to really talk.

I sighed. I had a sinking feeling in my heart.