My December Darling: A Holiday Novella

I swore to avoid Luke as much as possible after him not showing up, but then he texted me and explained his situation. Once he opened up to me about losing his patient, I couldn’t hold his absence against him.

He brings out my sensitive side. A side that I’ve been cautious about exploring because I’m afraid of what I might uncover.

Terrified is more like it.

Despite my fears, I decide to hang out with Luke in his apartment anyway, obliterating my self-imposed vow to only see him at wedding events until I move away. I tell myself I’m only doing this out of pity, but deep down, I know it’s more than that, although I refuse to acknowledge it.

We spend the first hour working on my speech while eating dinner before moving to the living room to work on the LEGO set. Aiden popped in to say goodbye before his shift at the hospital and didn’t bat an eye at the two of us hanging out, which makes me feel better about the situation.

Or as good as I can feel about being interested in a guy who I plan on leaving.

Spending time together feels like the most natural thing in the world, although it becomes progressively more difficult to ignore the growing sexual tension between us. My breath seems to hitch whenever I catch Luke looking at me, and there is a comfortable tingle that rushes down my spine whenever our hands graze.

The reactions are uncontrollable, and they aren’t anything I should feel embarrassed over, but that isn’t my problem. It’s the fact I’m already looking forward to the next time we can hang out, even if it’s us meeting up in the break room at the hospital for some coffee.

Luke’s eyes drop to my mouth for the third time in the last five minutes, and I wipe at the corners self-consciously. His brows pull together before he looks away.

“What?” I stupidly ask.

“Nothing.”

“Sure about that?”

“Yes.” A muscle in his jaw ticks.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

“I made a promise,” he says with a low voice.

“Oh.” My mouth falls open.

He wants to kiss you.

My heart thuds in my chest, the beats quickening as I remember the kiss we shared two nights ago.

“Disappointed?” he asks.

“Nope.” I look away.

He leans in and presses his mouth against my ear. “I might have made a promise, but no one said you can’t kiss me.”

I shudder. “We shouldn’t.”

The tips of his fingers brush across my cheek before he tucks them beneath my chin. “Why are you fighting this?”

Because I’m scared.

Our eyes lock, and it seems like he reads my mind when he asks, “Is there anything I can do to make it easier?”

I exhale a shaky breath. “Just…give me time.”

He drops a kiss on the top of my head before pulling away. “I can do that.” He exhales. “Even if it might kill me in the process.”

“Good thing I know CPR.”

“Now that’s one way to get you to kiss me.”

We both break out into laughter, and I feel lighter because of it as we continue building the LEGO set. I ignore the yearning that builds inside me with every touch of our hands, which proves to be a difficult feat in itself.

Accepting we have a physical and emotional connection is one thing, but acting on it?

A mistake waiting to happen.

My mom enlisted the town’s event coordinator, Josefina Lopez, to help her with planning the parranda. Josefina was excited by the idea, especially since my mom hasn’t done one since before my dad’s mom, who always planned them, passed away. Gabriela isn’t able to help because she is in full-on wedding mode, so I’m in charge of choosing songs for the event since my mom is busy helping coordinate everything else with Josefina.

The bus we rented stops in front of my parents’ house, and the crowd of parranderos on the lawn heads toward the doors opening in a rush. Josefina shuffles her grandson, Nicolas Lopez, onto the bus, who she entrusted to help play the cuatro with my dad.

“Ready?” Mami asks me while holding out a tambourine.

“Yup.” I scan the crowd in search of one person who said he would be here.

I don’t spot Luke’s tall frame anywhere. Gabriela and Aiden are standing in line to get on the bus, but I don’t see him beside them, so maybe he isn’t showing up after all.

When I texted him earlier to remind him about the time and meet-up location, he answered with a “sounds good.” If we didn’t have an amazing time building his LEGO set last night, I would’ve spent the day overthinking his two-word reply, but maybe I should have.

“Cata!” my sister shouts from the front of the bus. “Let’s go!”

With one last parting glance toward the empty front yard, I head to the bus.

As the doors begin to shut behind me, someone knocks against the glass.

“Hey.”

The doors part with a whoosh, and Luke steps onto the bus dressed in a unzipped black jacket that reveals a green sweater that complements his pale skin and a smile that draws out one of my own.

“You made it.”

“I told you I would.”

“Luke! Took you long enough!” Aiden calls from the back of the bus, where he and Gabriela saved us two seats.

“Did you really think I’d miss out on this?” He presses the palm of his hand against the small of my back and gently directs me down the aisle.

“When I didn’t see you outside, I assumed something came up.” I peek over my shoulder to find him grinning.

“Is that Catalina code for you missed me?”

I scoff at his comment.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you,” he whispers in my ear, and my heart soars into dangerous, delusional territory.

I swore I’d be more careful around Luke and not get overly invested, especially now that I have a job lined up, but it’s difficult when he says the sweetest comments and looks at me like I’m special. Like I mean something to him, even if I’m dead set on making sure I don’t feel the same way about him.

Maybe Luke will get bored of the push and pull happening between us and give up, or maybe he really is determined to show me that letting someone like him into my life isn’t such a bad thing, so long as I’m willing to let my guard down and give him a real chance.