Under the Mistletoe

Mistletoe

Christmas Eve had come quickly and I had spent all day helping my mom cook and make the appetizers. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for the party.

"Mom," I called from my childhood bedroom that I had been staying in. "Mooooom!"

My mom came peeking around the corner and I saw her from where I was looking in the mirror.

"What is it, Brooklyn?"

"Do I look okay?" I questioned as I turned towards her.

"You look great, sweetie."

I exhaled and nodded before turning back towards the mirror. I had settled on a red dress and high heeled booties and I hoped it wouldn't be too much.

Once I was dressed, I joined my mom in the kitchen where she was finishing up the last of the appetizers before our guests began to arrive.

More guests began to trickle in and soon enough, we had already been an hour into the party and none of my guests had arrived. Feeling let down, I grabbed a beer and went outside to the garden to not be bothered.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

I looked up from my pity party and saw Hangman closing the sliding door behind him.

"You came?" I questioned before quickly wiping my tears away.

"You think I'd miss a Kazansky Christmas party?" Jake said as he sat beside me on the brick wall.

"Before this I'm sure you've missed every single one," I laughed as another few stray tears fell.

"Yeah but I wouldn't miss one I'm actually invited to."

Jake playfully nudged my side with his elbow and offered me a smile.

"So why are you out here crying?"

"It's stupid," I replied, wiping the last few tears away.

"It can't be that stupid if it's got you upset. You can talk to me."

"Can I?" I asked with a brow raised.

"I know I might be an asshole sometimes but yeah, you can. You should know that by now."

I sighed as I contemplated spilling my guts to Jake.

"I know I'm the outsider here and almost everyone makes it extremely obvious," I frowned. "I feel extremely unwanted on the team and I thought maybe if I invited everyone over then maybe they'd like me a little more."

"You realize we're not teenagers anymore, right?" He chuckled. "You don't have to play the popular girl card anymore."

"Popular girl?" I asked, a brow raised. "I...wasn't the popular girl."

"You're telling me that Brooklyn Kazansky, daughter of the infamous Tom Kazansky, wasn't a stuck up princess?"

I laughed and shook my head, my curls moving as I laughed.

"You know I was a theater kid, right? Bennett was the popular one."

"We're going to circle back around to that but first there's a reason that nobody else showed up," Jake said as he glanced at me.

"Which is?"

"Your dad is extremely intimidating to some people," he chuckled.

"And I am too, I'm sure," I frowned.

"Brooklyn Kazansky, you're about as intimidating as a butterfly."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste.

"Even if we are intimidating, this is an off duty event," I muttered.