Tis the Season

Kendall Stone tucked her hair behind her ear, as she forced a soft laugh out of her throat. In front of her, Jeremy smiled, happy that she thought his joke was funny. She hadn’t, not really, but she didn’t want him to feel bad, so she faked a small chuckle.

Their waiter approached them, check in hand, and passed the small paper to Jeremy. He slipped the man his credit card, and turned back to Kendall.

“You are really beautiful,” Jeremy said, smiling at her. “I’m so glad Jamie set us up.”

Laughing, Kendall took a sip of her iced tea. “Well, you’ll have to tell her thank you.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Jeremy took a drink of his own tea, before smiling up at her, with the very smile that had slowly begun to give her the creeps as the night went on.

The smile Jeremy gave her after the waiter brought back his card sent Kendall over the edge, and she knew she had to get away from him as soon as possible. When Jeremy slipped his card back into his wallet, Kendall took it as her cue to force the night to end.

“Thank you for dinner,” Kendall said, standing up from her seat.

Jeremy stood up, as well, and moved to her side. “I can walk you home.”

Shaking her head quickly, Kendall pushed in her chair. She paused for a moment, her mind racing to come up with a reason she didn’t need to be taken home. The truth was, it was dark outside, and she probably would have felt much safer if she had someone to walk her home, but she didn’t want that person to be Jeremy.

“That’s alright.” The pair began moving toward the door. “I’m headed to my friend’s place, and it’s right around the corner.”

Jeremy nodded his head, while still giving Kendall a small smile. He pushed the door open, and she stepped in front of him. Out of the corner of her eye, she managed to catch him eyeing her rear, which sent creepy chills down her spine.

When the December air hit them both, they shuddered and Jeremy took a step closer to her, as if to block the wind from hitting her. By the look in Jeremy’s eyes, Kendall just knew he was going to try to kiss her. Her head began its mental battle of figuring out a way to let him down easily, but before she could come up with something, he began leaning forward.

Kendall mentally kicked herself for not catching onto it sooner.

The tall boy’s face was just inches from hers, and she felt powerless to stop the kiss. She sucked up her pride and let his lips hit hers, but pulled away just seconds after.

“Well, thank you, again,” Kendall said, quickly turning away.

As Kendall stepped away, Jeremy called to her. “I’ll see you around.”

Without looking back to him, Kendall nodded her head. She was moving her feet quickly, walking at a much faster pace than she usually would have.

After just a few blocks, she approached the large, brick apartment building, without having to pass a single a person on the street. She pulled open the building’s doors and climbed the two flights of stairs.

When she reached the second floor, she tapped her fist lightly on the door labeled 204. She could hear him rustling in the room, and counted his footsteps until he reached the door. The doorknob turned quickly, and the door opened to reveal Liam standing in his pajama bottoms.

“Kendall,” Liam said, rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry, did we have plans?”

Kendall shook her head and gave him a soft smile. “My date went terrible, and I could really use some company.”

“Of course,” Liam said, motioning for her to step inside. “Just let me turn off Call of Duty.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Kendall said, taking her usual place on the sofa.

Liam took his seat next to her, and pressed the big round button on his controller that would power down his Xbox. When the screen went black, he turned to Kendall and smirked at her. “So, tell me about this terrible date.”

The smirk plastered on Liam’s face proved that Liam was going to get more enjoyment out of hearing this story than she was of telling it. By the time she was finished, Liam was practically falling off the sofa in his laughter.

“It was the best night of your life, then?” Liam asked, between laughs. “I’ll start making the wedding invitations.”

Kendall attempted to mask her large grin with a glare, but was extremely unsuccessful. Folding her arms across her chest, she leaned back on the sofa. Liam could never resist her pouting, so when she poked out her bottom lip, he stopped his laughter.

“You’re so mean,” Kendall said, attempting to push out a fake tear.

Holding his arms out to her, Liam puffed out his bottom lip. She fell into his chest and he squeezed her tightly. When her arms wrapped around him, he couldn’t stop the smile that replaced his pout. Kendall always felt so nice, better than most girls, and Liam loved having her in his arms, even if it was only for a moment.

When Kendall pulled away, Liam smiled at her. “I’ll quit being mean when you quit picking out terrible dates.”

Kendall placed one hand on her hip, and used the other to lightly punch his chest.

“Don’t blame me,” she said, “blame Jamie. She’s the one who set me up.”

After giving his eyes a slight roll, Liam smirked at her. “It’s always Jamie’s fault, isn’t it?”

Nodding her head, Kendall sunk back into the sofa. She kicked up her feet, and placed them gently on Liam’s coffee table. He moved beside her, and placed up his feet the same way she had.

“Would you like to play a game of CoD?” Liam asked, batting his eyelashes at her. “Would that make you feel better?”

Kendall turned to him and smiled, making her face look more beautiful than it already did. Laughing, Liam picked up the controllers off the floor. After he passed the white one to Kendall, he took his signature purple controller, and prepared for the massive beating Kendall was about to give him.