Connor shows up

SHANE

While Tracy busied herself settling in upstairs, Ria took me aside and gave me an excited kiss of her own.

“Connor should be here anytime now,” she whispered. “I just hope this whole plan doesn’t blow up in our faces.”

“It won’t, I promise.”

“This is gonna be so awkward! Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?”

I kissed her one more time and answered, “Ria, you’ve seen how miserable they’ve been this past year. We need to get their stupid asses back together. Now let’s make sure Tracy moves her car into the garage so it doesn’t spoil the surprise when our next guest shows up.”

Not fifteen minutes later, we heard Connor’s truck pull into the driveway. He knocked playfully on the front door, and all three of us hurried downstairs.

“Who the heck is that?” Tracy asked.

I shrugged, “Probably just some serial killer who likes to visit these remote cabins and **** everyone inside.”

Ria ran ahead of us, yanked open the door, and jumped excitedly into Connor’s arms.

“Merry almost-Christmas!” she chirped, planting a quick kiss on his mouth.

Connor greeted me with a friendly clap on the back, stepped inside—

And then, with one foot inside the cabin, he froze like a deer in headlights. Tracy stood on the staircase, her mouth hanging open. I can’t imagine what was running through their heads at that moment, but whatever it was, it sure took its sweet time. They just stood like that, staring at one another in stunned surprise for an agonizingly awkward minute and a half.

It was the moment of truth. Either or both of them could have decided at that moment to hop in their cars and leave—but I crossed my fingers and hoped that the promise of our awesome cabin and the reality of the five hours it would take for them to drive home would be suitable deterrents.

Finally, Connor muttered a faint, “Hey.”

“H-How you doin’?” Tracy asked.

“I’m good. I’ve been, you know, good.”

It wasn’t much, but it was the first conversation they’d had in months.

“Let me help you with your stuff,” I said to Connor, grabbing his suitcase and heading upstairs.

As I passed Tracy, she grabbed me by the arm and urgently whispered, “What’s going on?! You specifically told me he wasn’t—”

“Change of plans.”

“But there’s only two bedrooms! Where is he gonna sleep?”

For the first few hours after Connor and Tracy arrived, that cabin felt very, very cold. We had the thermostat up and a nice big fire going in the fireplace, but it was no match for the frigidity between our two friends. Ria and I did our best to keep things lively, passing around some yummy appetizers and a batch of ridiculously powerful eggnog.

“Mmm! Now that’s my kind of holiday beverage,” Connor joked, downing it like it a shot of whiskey.

“Jesus Christ!” Tracy said, practically spitting out her first sip. “What’s in this stuff, motor oil?”

Ria rolled her eyes, “Just drink it, honey. It’s medicinal. Cures awkwardness.”

Tracy gave her a nasty look, but dutifully finished her glass and held it out for a refill.

Things finally loosened up a bit once the booze started to take its toll. Despite the forest of mistletoe hanging about, there wasn’t any talk of kissing or flirting—not even between Ria and me. The situation was still fragile between our friends, and we didn’t want to risk scaring them off by bringing sex and romance into the mix just yet.

After dinner, I dragged everyone over to the pool table and we split into teams, boys vs. girls—a pretty even match-up, considering the fact that Ria and I were both pretty terrible and Connor and Tracy were both more-or-less pros.

“Seriously Shane,” Tracy giggled, “have you never played pool before?”

Connor immediately came to my defense, pointing out, “Hey, your partner’s not exactly a shark, either!”

It was good to see them finally enjoying each other’s company again. At least they were able to share a good laugh at our expense.