Page 32
Story: The Christmas Bet
Lacy loops her arm into mine. “Let’s go, girlie. Fried pickles are waiting for us.”
* * *
When we get to Legends, I walk into a completely different ambiance than I’m used to. Normally at this time of year, it would look like Christmas threw up in here. But right now, I have no idea what’s going on. Looking around, the bar is completely covered in twinkle lights and roses.
“What is going on here?” I turn to Lacy, who has backed off, her hands clasped in front of her face, failing to hide her smile as her eyes flick behind me. I turn and find Tommy standing in front of me. His arms behind him, his head bent down slightly.
Over the past year, the guys have done nothing but apologize for their childish actions. Also, when their significant others found out, they were in the doghouse for a long ass time. Trish made Jack sleep in the backyard in a tent, Beth made Roland write a thousand times ‘I won’t be an asshole’, and Erin packed Tommy a suitcase and made him go to his parents and tell them what he did. That did not go over well. But in the end, we have all become closer, and I eventually forgave the band of merry assholes. Also, I still call them that. They earned that name, so they’re stuck with it.
“Tommy? Hey! What’s going on?” My eyebrows pull together in confusion. I look back and forth between Tommy and Lacy, completely at a loss of words.
“Allison, please take this as an apology and a token of all that’s special about you.” Tommy brings his arms around and hands me a single rose.
“I don’t understand. An apology for what?” I reach out, taking the rose from him.
“From the moment he walked into the bar that day, you captivated him. Stopped him dead in his tracks. You make Conner a better man. What started out as a bet turned into a life-changing meeting. While I’ll forever be sorry that you met him over a bet, I’ll never be sorry that you and him found each other.”
My eyes start to sting with unshed tears. I’m totally lost on what’s going on, but this is incredibly sweet. “Tommy, I already forgave you. This is wonderful, but I don’t get what’s happening.”
Tommy smiles. “From here on out, you will be sent on a bit of trip down memory lane. For your next memory, you need to head to the place where you had your first date with Conner.”
My mouth drops open and I turn from Tommy to Lacy. “What’s going on?”
Lacy throws her arms out, “Memory lane, babe. Memory fucking lane. Ready for the trip of a lifetime?” When I don’t say anything, Lacy does for me. “Come on. Let’s hit the next spot!” She grabs my hand and leads me out of the bar, then hails a taxi. We hop in, letting the driver know we’re headed to The Bar. The site of our first date.
“Lacy …” I still can’t find my words, but my face must say it all.
“All will be revealed.” She waves her hand in front of her like she’s a magician. I shake my head with a rueful smile and blindly stare out the window.
My mind moves at the speed of light trying to process everything that just went down. Before I have a chance to ask any more questions, we pull up in front of the Baccarat Hotel.
Without saying a word, I get out and immediately walk inside and around to The Bar. Sitting at the table that Conner and I sat at on our first date is Jack. Slowly, I stroll up to the table and slide down on the bench against the wall, my heart beating rapidly.
“Hi, Allison.” Jack has a wide smile plastered on his face as he gives me a small nod. “This is for you.” He produces a rose and hands it to me. Taking it from him, I add it to the one that I’ve had a death grip on since Legends.
“Jack, what’s going on?”
“This was the first night he realized he needed to know more about you. He was so relieved that you actually came out to meet him. That you gave him a chance. Full disclosure, we actually had a bet on if you would show or not.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Conner had no idea, but yeah.” Jack pauses for a moment, his fingers tapping on the table. “I’m sorry that it started out the way it did, but I’m so glad it didn’t keep you two from being with each other.”
There’s a swelling in my chest as I think about Conner. I’m doing all I can to fight the tears trying to break through. My entire body is wrecked with emotion at this point. I sit there shaking, gripping the roses as tight as I can. Breaking eye contact with Jake, I look up at Lacy whose eyes have also gone glossy.
Jake starts to talk again, pulling my attention back to him, “I heard that you need ice skating lessons. Here.” He plops a ticket in front of me. “I just so happen to have a ticket for you.” I look down and see it’s for The Rink.
I grab the ticket and jump out of my seat, eager to get to the next spot. Will Conner be there? Or will it be another rose? Lacy calls after me, running to try to catch up. As I hail a taxi, she finally catches me and we slide in, giving directions to the driver.
My mind turns with everything that has happened so far. Questions roll through, my thoughts lost in the possibilities. We pull up to The Rink, and I quickly pay the driver and jump out. Lacy speeds up right behind me. Once inside, I grab some skates, hurriedly throw them on, and get out onto the ice.
Standing against the railing, I hold on for dear life as I look for Conner. My head darts back and forth trying to look through all the commotion, but I don’t see him. A voice to my left grabs my attention.
“Allison.” Roland skates over to me. “Hey there.” He smiles as he hands me another rose. “For you.”
“Roland, where’s Conner?”
“Waiting for you. But before I tell you where, I have something to say.” He moves closer to the railing. “I’m so sorry for the pain we caused you. There will never be anything I’m more sorry for than what happened. But I’m not sorry that my best friend fell in love with you.”
Damn, now I’m crying. Like, full-on crying. “Roland—”
“When he brought you here, he wanted to create a new memory of this place with someone special. You know the story of what this rink means to him, and he wanted to give it a new meaning. He did that with you. That’s what he wants to do, create memories with you for years to come.”
* * *
When we get to Legends, I walk into a completely different ambiance than I’m used to. Normally at this time of year, it would look like Christmas threw up in here. But right now, I have no idea what’s going on. Looking around, the bar is completely covered in twinkle lights and roses.
“What is going on here?” I turn to Lacy, who has backed off, her hands clasped in front of her face, failing to hide her smile as her eyes flick behind me. I turn and find Tommy standing in front of me. His arms behind him, his head bent down slightly.
Over the past year, the guys have done nothing but apologize for their childish actions. Also, when their significant others found out, they were in the doghouse for a long ass time. Trish made Jack sleep in the backyard in a tent, Beth made Roland write a thousand times ‘I won’t be an asshole’, and Erin packed Tommy a suitcase and made him go to his parents and tell them what he did. That did not go over well. But in the end, we have all become closer, and I eventually forgave the band of merry assholes. Also, I still call them that. They earned that name, so they’re stuck with it.
“Tommy? Hey! What’s going on?” My eyebrows pull together in confusion. I look back and forth between Tommy and Lacy, completely at a loss of words.
“Allison, please take this as an apology and a token of all that’s special about you.” Tommy brings his arms around and hands me a single rose.
“I don’t understand. An apology for what?” I reach out, taking the rose from him.
“From the moment he walked into the bar that day, you captivated him. Stopped him dead in his tracks. You make Conner a better man. What started out as a bet turned into a life-changing meeting. While I’ll forever be sorry that you met him over a bet, I’ll never be sorry that you and him found each other.”
My eyes start to sting with unshed tears. I’m totally lost on what’s going on, but this is incredibly sweet. “Tommy, I already forgave you. This is wonderful, but I don’t get what’s happening.”
Tommy smiles. “From here on out, you will be sent on a bit of trip down memory lane. For your next memory, you need to head to the place where you had your first date with Conner.”
My mouth drops open and I turn from Tommy to Lacy. “What’s going on?”
Lacy throws her arms out, “Memory lane, babe. Memory fucking lane. Ready for the trip of a lifetime?” When I don’t say anything, Lacy does for me. “Come on. Let’s hit the next spot!” She grabs my hand and leads me out of the bar, then hails a taxi. We hop in, letting the driver know we’re headed to The Bar. The site of our first date.
“Lacy …” I still can’t find my words, but my face must say it all.
“All will be revealed.” She waves her hand in front of her like she’s a magician. I shake my head with a rueful smile and blindly stare out the window.
My mind moves at the speed of light trying to process everything that just went down. Before I have a chance to ask any more questions, we pull up in front of the Baccarat Hotel.
Without saying a word, I get out and immediately walk inside and around to The Bar. Sitting at the table that Conner and I sat at on our first date is Jack. Slowly, I stroll up to the table and slide down on the bench against the wall, my heart beating rapidly.
“Hi, Allison.” Jack has a wide smile plastered on his face as he gives me a small nod. “This is for you.” He produces a rose and hands it to me. Taking it from him, I add it to the one that I’ve had a death grip on since Legends.
“Jack, what’s going on?”
“This was the first night he realized he needed to know more about you. He was so relieved that you actually came out to meet him. That you gave him a chance. Full disclosure, we actually had a bet on if you would show or not.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Conner had no idea, but yeah.” Jack pauses for a moment, his fingers tapping on the table. “I’m sorry that it started out the way it did, but I’m so glad it didn’t keep you two from being with each other.”
There’s a swelling in my chest as I think about Conner. I’m doing all I can to fight the tears trying to break through. My entire body is wrecked with emotion at this point. I sit there shaking, gripping the roses as tight as I can. Breaking eye contact with Jake, I look up at Lacy whose eyes have also gone glossy.
Jake starts to talk again, pulling my attention back to him, “I heard that you need ice skating lessons. Here.” He plops a ticket in front of me. “I just so happen to have a ticket for you.” I look down and see it’s for The Rink.
I grab the ticket and jump out of my seat, eager to get to the next spot. Will Conner be there? Or will it be another rose? Lacy calls after me, running to try to catch up. As I hail a taxi, she finally catches me and we slide in, giving directions to the driver.
My mind turns with everything that has happened so far. Questions roll through, my thoughts lost in the possibilities. We pull up to The Rink, and I quickly pay the driver and jump out. Lacy speeds up right behind me. Once inside, I grab some skates, hurriedly throw them on, and get out onto the ice.
Standing against the railing, I hold on for dear life as I look for Conner. My head darts back and forth trying to look through all the commotion, but I don’t see him. A voice to my left grabs my attention.
“Allison.” Roland skates over to me. “Hey there.” He smiles as he hands me another rose. “For you.”
“Roland, where’s Conner?”
“Waiting for you. But before I tell you where, I have something to say.” He moves closer to the railing. “I’m so sorry for the pain we caused you. There will never be anything I’m more sorry for than what happened. But I’m not sorry that my best friend fell in love with you.”
Damn, now I’m crying. Like, full-on crying. “Roland—”
“When he brought you here, he wanted to create a new memory of this place with someone special. You know the story of what this rink means to him, and he wanted to give it a new meaning. He did that with you. That’s what he wants to do, create memories with you for years to come.”