There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

When it was finally time to land, Alyssa was ready to just get her stuff and find a connecting flight. But of course, Mike was having none of that. He took his sweet time getting up, so Alyssa just sat in her seat and waited. She watched him reach up to the overhead compartment to grab their bags, and she couldn’t help but notice his defined v-cut as his shirt rode up. She couldn’t deny that he was a very attractive man, and she supposed she should be flattered that he made up a lame excuse to talk to her.

But she still couldn’t get over the overwhelming urge to punch him in the balls, which was limiting how attracted she was to him.

He had grabbed everything, once again leaving Alyssa with only her purse, and she followed him as he walked off the plane. He walked over to an information desk, and waited until she caught up to begin talking.

“Hi, she needs a flight to Chicago, and we were wondering where she should go in order to-”

“I’m sorry, unfortunately all flights to Chicago have been cancelled,” the woman said.

“But when we called earlier we heard you guys were still flying out there,” he responded.

“The last flight went out about an hour ago,” the woman said. “We had to stop other flights because the storm we thought was going to pass hasn’t.”

“Do you have any idea when flights to Chicago will resume?” Alyssa asked.

“Well I would assume that the storm would be gone by tomorrow, but New York is supposed to get it’s own storm tomorrow. There might be a window where a few flights would get out, but we can’t say for sure,” she informed.

Alyssa groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Alright, thank you,” Mike said to the woman. He turned to Alyssa, who was still standing there with her hand over her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said to her.

“It’s not your fault,” she sighed. “Thanks for trying.” She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before beginning to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Mike called out, falling into step behind her.

“I don’t know, to find a hotel I guess,” she shrugged. Mike grabbed the strap to her duffel and lifted it, pulling it on to his own shoulder.

“Have you been to New York before?” He asked. Alyssa shook her head no.

“I was just going to get a cab and go to the nearest Hilton or something,” she said.

“And then?”

“And then get here super early tomorrow and try to stand by on some flights,” Alyssa told him.

“Do you think you’ll get anything?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “But I don’t know what other option I have.”

“You can stay at my house so you don’t have to pay for a hotel at least,” he offered. “I live a half hour to an hour away, depending on traffic, so I can drive you back here early tomorrow.”

“Listen, I appreciate that and everything, but I don’t even know you. For all I know you could be some serial-”

“Mikey!!” A feminine voice screamed out. Alyssa and Mike both stopped, and Alyssa looked on in awe as Mike caught the petite woman in his arms while still having both their duffel bags on his shoulders.

Hell, he even spun her around a bit.

“I missed you so much,” she murmured into his shoulder after he set her down. An older man approached a few moments later, smiling at the scene.

“Michael,” he said with a nod. Mike detached himself from the young woman and went over to the older man, and they engulfed each other in a hug. The man, who was facing Alyssa, locked eyes with her and stepped back with a cough. Mike pulled back also, looking over to where his dad nodded.

“Oh, dad, Joanne, this is Alyssa. Lyss, this is my dad, Roman, and my sister, Joanne,” he introduced. Alyssa raised her eyebrow at Mike’s nickname for her, but she didn’t comment on it.

“Nice to meet you,” they all said while they shook each other’s hands. Then Mike threw an arm around his dad and sister and began walking away. Alyssa was about to call out that she was going to go get a cab, but then Mike turned and looked at her.

“Are you coming?” He called out. Alyssa mulled it over for a moment, and once she decided that they seemed nice enough, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to stay the night with them. Besides, he was still carrying her bag.

She nodded and followed them outside to where Mike’s dad parked his car. Joanne sat in the passenger seat while Roman drove, and Alyssa sat in the back with Mike. He was leaned forward in between the passenger and driver’s seat, catching up with his family while Alyssa remained quiet.

She leaned her head up against the window and looked out, taking in the sights. She had never been to New York, and she definitely wasn’t expecting to be here now.

“Alyssa. Lyss,” Mike said softly, nudging her a bit. Alyssa’s eyes fluttered open, and she blinked rapidly.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, sitting up.

“Don’t apologize for being tired,” he grinned. “Come on, we’re home. I mean, we’re at my home. Er, my family’s home. Well, we’re here.”

Alyssa smiled and took Mike’s outstretched hand as he led her out of the car and up the steps of the house. His sister and dad were already inside, and his dad reached out to Alyssa to take her coat. After Mike set the bags aside and took off his own coat, he led Alyssa into the kitchen.

“I’m making hot cocoa, would you like some?” Joanne asked.

“You know it,” Mike smiled.

“I wasn’t asking you, dork,” Joanne teased. “Alyssa, did you want some hot cocoa?”

“I’d love some, thank you,” Alyssa nodded, wanting to be polite. Mike and Joanne made small talk while she heated the water, and soon Roman came to join them.

“So Alyssa, Mike,” Roman started. “How do you know each other?”

“I picked her up at the airport,” Mike answered. Roman and Joanne froze and looked at him incredulously. “She needed to get back to Chicago, and you told me there were still flights from here.”

“That’s why you called, huh?”

“I didn’t call for me,” Mike laughed. “Anyways, by the time we landed they stopped flying out to Chicago, and I didn’t want her to have to spend money on a hotel, so I invited her here. Don’t worry, she’s not a murderer or anything. She’s got her priorities out of whack, but other than that…”

“Excuse me?” Alyssa remarked. Joanne and Roman both backed out of the room slowly, not wanting to intrude on their conversation.

“Don’t pretend like it’s not true,” Mike responded. “The only reason you want to get home is so you can get Christmas over with, grab your presents and get back to your own place.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to,” Mike shook his head. “I can tell. Listen, I’m no bible hugger or anything, and I’m not going to preach religious shit to you. Because Christmas isn’t only about that, and it doesn’t have to be about that. It’s about spending time with friends and family and being grateful for their company, not about what they buy you.”

Mike stalked out of the kitchen after that, leaving Alyssa to sigh to herself. A few minutes later she walked out into the living room to grab her bag, but she noticed it was gone.

“Mike took it upstairs with him,” Roman said from his spot on the couch. Alyssa turned around towards him and smiled.

“Thanks,” she said. “Where’s Joanne?”

“Upstairs, talking to him,” Roman answered. Alyssa nodded and looked around the living room, which was filled with framed hockey posters and pictures.

Most of them, she noted, were of the Montreal Canadiens, but there were a few Toronto Maple Leaf ones as well. Alyssa loved hockey when she was younger, but her new job didn’t leave room for watching it. It must have been ten years since she watched a game.

Still, she knew enough that New York had three NHL teams to choose from, and this guy had Canadian teams on his walls.

“Not a fan of New York?” She smiled, motioning to the posters.

“I am, actually,” he corrected, standing up and walking next to her. They stood in front of a rather large poster of a Canadiens player with a number eight on his sleeve. “But I’m a bigger fan of my son.”

Alyssa looked over at him, and he nodded at the name plate at the bottom of the frame of the poster.

Mike Komisarek, Montreal Canadiens

Alyssa’s eyes traveled from poster to poster, frame to frame, reading Mike’s name and seeing his picture over and over. She suddenly felt like an idiot, but she wasn’t sure why. It’s not like she was supposed to know or anything.

“I’m from Poland, in case you couldn’t tell by the accent,” Roman laughed. Alyssa turned to him, listening to his story. “I moved here when I was twenty four. I had to leave my wife in Poland until things were stable over here. We had an okay life in Poland, but…Kathy, my wife, she and I both knew our children would have more opportunities in America.”

Before Alyssa could respond, Joanne came down the stairs.

“You really know how to get under his skin,” she smiled.

“I haven’t even done anything,” Alyssa groaned.

“He’s just sensitive around the holidays. Don’t pay any attention to him,” Joanne said. “You must be tired though. You did fall asleep in the car,” she laughed. “Why don’t you head upstairs to bed?”

Alyssa nodded and thanked the two of them for their hospitality before heading up the stairs. She had no idea where she was headed, and suddenly a shirtless Mike came out of one of the doors.

“Oh, hi,” Alyssa waved, trying not to stare at his naked chest. Slowly but surely, his attractiveness was overpowering her dislike for him.

“Uh, hi,” he grunted out. “The bathroom is in there,” he pointed to the door he just came out of, and then pointed to another room before muttering, “And we are in there.”

“We?”

“Yeah, we. As in you and me. Sharing. Is there a problem?” He asked.

Alyssa wanted to rebuke him for his snappy tone, but then her eyes traveled down to his abs.

“No, no problem,” she said, walking into the bedroom to rummage through her bag. She grabbed what she needed and then went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She walked back into the room a few minutes later, immediately tripping over a large lump on the floor.

“Jesus,” Mike groaned in pain, clutching his ribs where Alyssa had kicked him. He looked over and saw her on the floor next to him, their legs still entangled from the trip. He pushed himself up a little and rolled over, hovering over her a bit. “Shit, are you okay?” He brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked at her head for any signs of a concussion.

“What the fuck were you doing on the floor?” She breathed out.

“Getting ready to sleep,” he said, causing her to look around. He had indeed, set up a makeshift sleeping area on the floor out of pillows and blankets. Alyssa suddenly burst into laughter, causing Mike to relax and begin to laugh himself.

“Why were you so close to the door?” She gasped.

“I guess I could have moved over a bit,” he agreed, chuckling.

“Maybe just a bit,” she nodded, biting her lip. Mike looked down at her and cleared his throat, rolling off of her once he realized he was practically on top of her body.

“Uh, well. We should get to bed, we have an early day tomorrow,” he coughed out. Alyssa nodded and got up, making her way over to her bag and putting her belongings in it before walking back over to the bed.

“Goodnight,” she said softly.

“Goodnight,” Mike replied, watching her turn the bedside lamp off. The room was immersed in darkness, but neither found that they were tired.

“Why didn’t you tell me you played hockey?” Alyssa called out into the darkness.

“I dunno,” he shrugged, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “It’s not like I go around introducing myself like ‘Hi, I’m Mike Komisarek, defensemen for the Toronto Maple Leafs’.”

“Well you should,” Alyssa chuckled. “It makes you seem cooler.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No problem. I know some of us need all the help we can get.”

Mike grinned into the darkness, wondering why he was becoming more and more attracted to Alyssa with each passing second. Yeah, he had thought she was beautiful when he first saw her, but her personality turned him off quite a bit. But now, it was her personality that was becoming more and more seductive. Her teasing and kidding, her laugh, it was all making Mike’s head spin.

He knew it wasn’t her fault that she had become so jaded, and he was determined to make her realize the value of the little things in life.

The next morning, Mike woke up to his set alarm. He momentarily forgot why he was on the floor, but when he remembered he hopped up and pulled the blinds down a little to look outside.

“Shit,” he muttered.

“That’s not something I want to hear when I am hoping for a flight to Chicago,” Alyssa moaned groggily.

“Yeah, I don’t think the any planes are flying out of JFK today,” Mike said, causing Alyssa to sit up. “I don’t even think we’re going to get down the fucking street.”

Alyssa got up and he pulled back the blinds, letting her look out into the white blizzard.

“Son of a bitch,” she whispered. She trudged back over to her bag, grabbing her phone to dial her home number. Mike decided to give her some privacy, so he went downstairs to where his dad and sister were in the kitchen.

“I hope you two don’t think you’re getting anywhere in this weather,” Roman said authoritatively.

“Don’t worry, we’re not leaving,” Mike said, downing a cup of orange juice. Joanne smiled from her place near the stove where she was making breakfast.

“Is she upset she won’t be home for Christmas?” Joanne asked.

“I don’t know,” Mike shrugged. “I don’t know her life.”

“And yet, you seem able to judge me about it all the time,” Alyssa smirked, coming into the room. Without even thinking about her actions, Alyssa greeted Roman and Joanne with a kiss on the cheek, causing Mike to raise his eyebrows. She smiled as she leaned on the counter next to him, showing Mike she wasn’t angry.

“Yeah, sorry,” he grinned sheepishly. Alyssa just smiled at him before helping Joanne with the breakfast. As Mike watched Alyssa move about the kitchen with ease, he wondered where the sudden urge to find out everything about her was coming from.