Tongue Tied

Chapter 40

My obsession with peppermint mochas and peppermint cocoa was getting out of hand, according to Alec. I was on my third cocoa of the morning, happily putting the finishing touches on the Christmas tree in my living room while dancing around to carols on the radio in Alec's baggy T-shirt. Carlie and I had stayed up half the night stringing lights, watching sappy Hallmark movies, and video chatting with Michelle, Renee and Shelby. I gave the girls a virtual tour of my new apartment and they rambled on about how excited they were to come visit soon. I was excited to see them again, too. It felt so weird being on opposite sides of the country.

Despite the sleet coming down, SeaTac still had plenty of flights going through. One flight in particular was a 767 arriving from Dallas that would deliver one of the few things I wanted for Christmas: my brother. I'd called Jake yesterday morning and though I could hear reluctance in his voice when I mentioned that Alec and I were spending the holiday together, he agreed to come visit, to my surprise. I still had about an hour before the taxi would drop him off at our building.

"What do you think?" Carlie bounced into the room wearing an adorable red and green "ugly" sweater that she'd made herself. "Is it too much? I think Rudolph's nose looks a little droopy."

Alec burst out laughing and quickly scampered off to the kitchen when Carlie shot him a stern glance.

"You look really cute," I giggled. "You did a good job for a first try."

"Clothes making is not my forte." She shook her head but continued to smile. "Are you excited to see Jake?"

I nodded, sipping at my cocoa and stretching out across the couch. "Yeah. I really want to patch things up with him. We've always been close but never as close as I'd like us to be. And you know how my family feels about Alec."

"Holding a grudge is for third graders." Carlie waved her hand. "Alec's a good man. They'll realize that eventually."

"And if they don't?"

I could practically feel Alec straining to listen in from the kitchen.

"If they don't, who gives a flying squirrel? Marry the dude. Have a bunch of babies like the Kennedys'. It's not up to them."

Almost two hours and three concerned texts later, I finally heard a knock at the front door.

"What in the hell took you so long? I got worried!" I whined, tackling my brother in a bear hug.

"I'm sorry, Bree. The roads are pretty messy."

I stepped back to take in his appearance. He looked exhausted. After two long flights across the country, I was sure he was. He wore a green Seahawks hat with a flannel shirt and his usual ripped jeans and scuffed boots. It felt like it had been ages since I'd seen him, much less gotten to hug him. I was overjoyed!

"Since when are you a Seahawks fan?" I frowned, gesturing to his ball cap.

"I picked it up at the airport. Trying to get in the spirit of Seattle for you," he said in a goofy voice, taking the hat off and plopping it on my head backwards.

"Well, come on in. Let me show you around. Do you want anything?"

"She has an absurd amount of cocoa!" Carlie yelled from the couch.

Jake's eyes lit up when he saw Carlie. I'd always suspected he had a thing for her, ever since she helped him go Christmas shopping for my parents and me last year. I'd gone over to her apartment to borrow a step ladder and accidentally walked in on them about to kiss. They'd both blown it off as my eyes playing tricks on me and after the third time Jake mentioned he was too busy working to have a relationship, I'd let it go. Now, based on the look in his eyes, I doubted he was still too busy with work.