One More Time (Bremmy 1)

Chapterish 43

Brooks shows right on time. Somehow even in the heart of December he looks like a summer boy. Sure he's got the fitted black dress pants and white button-down with a wine skinny tie. OMG the skinny tie. I'm dead. His hair is all wavy and tucked back behind his ears. His skin glistens with a sunny glow. He could have just stepped off the beach.

I catch a whiff of his cologne when he hugs me at the door. Still, his suit –his hair –his smell –all of it is nothing compared to his smile when he sees me. His eyes light up at my dress. At the way my lips slightly part to kiss his, nice and slow.

Prom night all over again.

Not mad about it as long as we end up together.

Almost the entire car ride is silent. Us in the same spot about to spend an evening together speaks for itself. This isn't a fling anymore. We coat-checked fling at the door. Brooks squeezes my hand in his. HOLDING HANDS WHO ARE WE. We are excited. We are oddly calm. There's almost an unspoken recognition between us.

What started as a summer hook-up between exes became 'hey, let me fly to Seattle for a Thanksgiving quickie' and is now about to play out the age-old story of Baby It's Cold Outside.

It's become routine. A fucking cray routine. We are flat out swimming from the shallow end and not sure I can tread the deep end long-term. Not sure I want to.

My neck jerks back as Brooks slows the car. My mind is subsequently jerked back to the present. There is a line of taillights leading down the one-way street of the hotel. We slowly pull up and the valet ushers us out of the car and around the corner to the entrance across from the courtyard.

I step into the night with Brooks by my side.

"Look at this place. It's fucking wild. I hardly recognize it." Brooks says, staring out the window.

"Holy hell. Ladies and gentlemen, my mother. Not over-the-top at all." I laugh.

"It's so... bright. Shit ton of lights." Brooks starts across the cobblestones.

"It is the Light Festival to be fair."

"Thought it was a benefit," Brooks shrugs.

"It's both."

Still, I'm basically in the same awe that he is. The entire promenade, courtyard, and cobblestone square have all transformed. Picture the cheesiest scene from the most overdone chick-flickiest romance movie with a painstakingly predictable plot you never wanted. Now make it in Christmas land. That's the Light Festival Benefit.

TV Movie Starter Pack. It has all your basics: Crowded Cobblestone Main Street, Picturesque Town Square, Tree Lighting in the Center, Horse-Drawn Carriages, Light Festooned Gazebo, and Holly Garland crisscrossing from building to building.

The B&B is decorated in similar fashion. I cling to Brooks as we step inside. I'm aware that everyone seems to be looking at us. Kids, semi-adults, actual adults –parents. Mine to be exact. His mother. Really it feels like everyone is just looking at us as we walk into the main hall.

"Brooks, it's great to see you again! Look how old you got! Hello honey," my mom says, hugging both of us in the entrance.

"It's great to see you too," Brooks tells my mother. "Nice wreaths."

"Thank you," she laughs, shooting me an evil eye. I shrug.

"Anne, there you are! You wouldn't believe what they have back in the kitchen." A woman in a floor-length black gown appears at my mom's side.

"One second," my mother says to the woman before turning to us. "Please escort yourselves into the ballroom. I think Trix and Travis are already in there," my mother says. "Here, carry this in for me."