'Tis the Season

Chapter 31: 3, 2, 1...

Chapter Thirty-One: 3, 2, 1...

Scanning the floor for Connor, I can't find him easily. I start to head over to the snack table since, statistically speaking, it seems like the most logical place to find him.

I spot Everleigh and Madeline by some chocolate covered strawberries, and Ryan and Emilia are laughing with the Sanderses by a soda fountain, but Connor is still nowhere to be found.

"Hey, have you two seen Connor anywhere?" I ask, approaching my sister and Eve. They both shake their heads no, so I grab a strawberry and keep pushing through the crowd, eyes peeled.

I'm just about to circle back when I finally spot him- and the way I do makes me smile.

Connor is surprisingly on the dance floor, laughing and twirling around a beautiful blonde haired girl who's looking up at him with a look similar to the one I tend to give Carson.

Speak of the devil, Carson swoops in from behind me, scaring me a bit as he kisses me on the cheek. "Did you ever find him?"

I nod and point in his direction. "Yes, and look!"

Carson wraps his arms around me from behind, pulling my back into his front as we watch Connor and the girl finish their dance.

"Oh, wow. That actually looks promising, he looks happier than he has in the past few months," Carson observes, his lips brushing against my ear.

I turn to face him, lifting a hand to his cheek and smiling. As he gives me a kiss on my nose, Connor comes up from the side of us.

"Hey, can I steal you for that dance now?"

I nod, a little jolted by his sudden presence since I hadn't noticed the song ending.

"Of course," I give Carson one last kiss and squeeze his hand before allowing Connor to lead me onto the dance floor.

"So, are you going to tell me who that girl was?" I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively and he rolls his eyes but I see the hint of a smile tug on the corner of his lips.

"That's Beverly. Her family comes every year for the holidays and somehow, for the past four years, at least, we always end up sharing more than a few dances together and usually end up drunk in the same room by the two in the morning," he admits.

I don't push him too much, unsure of if he'll scare easily but I give him an approving smile. "Well, she is gorgeous. I loved what she did with her hair, and that dress is perfect for her," I say, trying to subtly encourage whatever is going on between them.

"Yeah," Connor says, looking somewhere over my shoulder with a glimmer in his eyes before coughing awkwardly and focusing his attention back on me.

"So, I won't take up too much of your time, I know Carson will probably kill me if I try and take away more than one of your dances from him, but I feel like I needed to apologize for all the, uh... drama, that I guess I've caused. I truly do have feelings for you Naomi, but I don't want you to worry about them. I'm not interested in going after someone who's uninterested in me, and you made it clear that you only have eyes for Carson."

I look down a little awkwardly. "Connor, I don't want you to be sorry for having or expressing your feelings. Everything worked out fine, and I'm glad that you aren't trying to bottle everything up. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you if I did anything to lead you on, and also for the way I handled that whole talk thing your mom had? I was in panic mode, I was focused solely on Carson and his feelings and by doing that I don't think I let you down in the most... gentle way. I never wanted to hurt you because I do care for you just as much as I do for him, it's just in more of a brotherly way."