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Jo laughed and nodded as she sat back down on her couch. Piper placed the items on the table in front of them. The table that was actually an old bookshelf lying face down on the floor.

“So, is it a you need to talk about it, not talk about it, or vent and let off steam kind of thing?”

Jo still couldn’t find the words, so instead she picked up her phone, opened it to the texts and handed it over to Piper. Jo’s legs bounced up and down, her fingers picked at her nails, and her teeth gnawed her bottom lip while she waited for Piper to say something. How long did it take to read three small messages? What could Piper be pondering that took this much time before she responded?

“Mandy? Isn’t she the one who ran off with that one-hit wonder from Chicago?” Piper asked as she gently placed the phone between the box of donuts and the plastic bag of goodies on the bookshelf–turned–coffee table.

“That would be the one.” Jo’s laugh came out in a more hysterical tone than she felt comfortable with.

“Well, I guess the first question…” Piper leaned forward, flipped open the box of donuts and asked, “Is it donuts first orice cream? If it’s donuts, we better put the ice cream in your freezer.”

Jo laughed, and she threw her head back. When she brought her head forward again, she noticed Piper sticking the tip of her pink tongue out and gliding it over her lips as though she hadn’t had a drink in years. Had Piper been staring at her neck?

Jo’s cheeks heated at the very idea.

Piper was gorgeous, no doubt about it, but they had only been having some fun. A little Christmas fling while they dove into the thing they both loved. Which, in this case, was singing.

“I’m half tempted to put the ice cream on top of the donut just to get the full effect.” Jo jumped up, relieved to have something to do with her hands. Instead of sitting down after opening the donuts and handing Piper a drink without meeting her eyes, Jo grabbed the ice cream and walked away from the couch. “I’ll pop this in the freezer for later.”

“I mean, we could stack it. It sounds interesting.” Piper’s voice was soft and a little raspy. Jo turned to her. When their eyes met, the dust storm of confusion in Jo’s head whipped itself up into another frenzy.

“Just be a second.” With her head inside the freezer, Jo decided to keep that last detail to herself. And she did indeed follow the tub of ice cream into the almost empty top freezer.

By the time she came back out to her living room, Piper was sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, her knees bent, and her now bare feet tapping out a rhythm on the couch cushion.

Jo took the time unnoticed to really look at Piper. It was obvious to just about anyone with a pulse that Piper was stunning. Her lankiness just seemed to add to her charm, especially when she danced. She had reminded Jo of Danny Kaye the first time they’d danced together.

“Ice cream has been rescued just in the nick of time.” Jo forced herself to step out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

“Excellent. Nothing is worse than comfort ice cream turning into soup. Though I think I want to try the ice cream on the donut thing at some point.”

“Agreed,” Jo said as she took the other end of the couch and mirrored Piper’s position. “Also, I’m crazy, aren’t I? For even letting these stupid texts get to me.”

Piper leaned to her side and reached for a donut, picking a chocolate covered mousse filled variety. Jo’s favorite as well. “I think that depends.”

“On what?” Jo leaned over and picked up a plain glazed one for herself.

“On whether you want to get back together with Mandy.” As soon as Piper had spoken, she took a big mouthful of the donut. Mousse spurted out the sides and landed on Piper’s chest. “Oh shit,” Piper mumbled around her full mouth.

Jo laughed and squirmed a little more into the couch, though she asked. “Do you need some help? Tissues or something?”

“Nope.” Piper’s grin made Jo’s stomach tighten. All right, it was a considerable distance lower than her stomach. “I’ve got it.”

Jo gulped and swallowed audibly when Piper used two fingers to scoop up the first and then the second splat of whipped mousse.

Putting both fingers in her mouth, Piper looked up to see Jo staring. Her eyes widened, and she pulled her fingers out quickly.

“Sorry, I’m a slob. But can’t waste the mousse. It’s the best part.” Piper’s cheeks pinked as her words filled Jo’s home. Jo laughed, and Piper shook her head, laughing along. “You’re a bad influence.”

“I know. I know.”

For a while, they sipped their drinks and ate their donuts in a silence Jo had never known before. It wasn’t awkward or tense. It just was.

“So, do you?”

“What?” Jo looked up at Piper’s question. Had she missed something? Had the silence only been in her head?

“Mandy.” Piper smiled, but it wasn’t the same infectious smile Jo had gotten to know. “Do you want to get back together with Mandy?”