Anna came up behind Katie with another glass of punch.  She had been like a wallflower all evening, and she was starting to get worried.  She kept making excuses to come visit her, usually with a beverage or food until she shooed her away again.  “So...is he here yet?”

“No,” Katie replied, slightly grumbling.  “He’s still not here yet, and the more you ask me, the antsier I get.  So stop it already.  He’s probably not even coming...”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”  Katie could tell that Anna wasn’t sure what to say, and she was starting to feel slightly guilty about snapping a little.  He just had this affect on her that made her stomach flop into her chest.

Both young women just stared out at the crowd of people mingling, dancing, and eating in an awkward silence.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time.  There was Christmas music covering the background noise, holiday treats being made and shared in the kitchen, some secret santa games being played in the living room, and overall, it seemed like everyone was in place.  Katie’s parents definitely knew how to throw a party.

“Should we like...go do something?  I feel bad that we’re just standing here, you know...waiting.” Anna offered, finally killing the slight silence between them.

“No, no...it’s okay.  Seriously, go have fun.  I’ll come join you in a second.  I’m just going to go get some more snacks to refill these bowls.  You know, can’t leave the snack table empty.  I don’t want my parents to think that they’ve raised awful host,” she smiled, but there was a huge sense of disappointment hidden behind her smile.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.  Seriously.  Shoo!” she smiled again, waving Anna off into the crowd before she let the disappointment return to her face.

Once Anna left, she took a passing glance across the crowd one last longing time.  She was hoping she’d see his deep blue eyes, but she knew that she was just wishfully thinking.  It was probably just a cruel joke by some locals, knowing how big of a crush she had on him a few years ago.  It had been kind of a big deal for her circle of friends.

She silently cursed herself when she realized that she was just wasting time and energy.  There were plenty of people that she should be talking to, and she certainly shouldn’t be sacrificing her night, let alone rare alone time with her best friend, waiting for someone that would most likely never show.  She finally persuaded herself to move on for the evening and began grabbing an empty snack bowl for a refill.   As soon as she picked it up, she turned on her heel to head for the kitchen.  She wasn’t aware, however, that she was about to slam straight into a hard slat of flesh.

“Ouch,” both voices resounded at the same time.

“Oh, sorry.  Sorry, my bad.  I so wasn’t looking...” Katie trailed off, embarrassingly.
r32;“It’s okay.  Rudolph probably got in the way,” the man smirked, lightly taking his finger and bopping her sweater reindeer on the head.

“Oh, well...” she blushed, slowly looking up.  As soon as her eyes connected with his, she dropped the snack bowl she had been carrying, and her flesh on her cheeks quickly turned into a flush red.  “J...Justin?”r32;
He flashed is pearly whites and she nearly died.  Thankfully, he was calm, and instead, bent down to pick up the snack bowl that she had dropped.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he laughed.  “You alright?  You look like you just saw a ghost.  I know it’s been awhile, but it hasn’t been that long.”

“No, no.  I’m.  I’m fine,” she stammered.  “I’m sorry, I just.  I didn’t see you, and I ran into you...and you made fun of my reindeer, and I just...I was.  I just so wasn’t expecting you,” she rattled on rapidly, almost too quickly to understand.

He just chuckled.  “Woah, woah.  I didn’t understand a single bit of that.  Maybe a little at the beginning...”  All Katie could do was blush again, her face turning darker into a deep hue of embarrassment.

They both stood in silence for the longest time, Katie with her eyes flicking between the ground and his chin since she was too afraid to actually look in his eyes, and him just staring at her.

“You know, it’s really good to see you.  You’ve changed a lot since high school...”

Katie was shocked when she heard that.  “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean.  I know Rudolph is kinda hiding them, but you got boobs all of a sudden.  And I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear makeup.  You just...you look kind of grown up,” he smiled.  

She nodded with another choked laugh of embarrassment.  “Oh, yeah.  You know.  Gotta do that sometime, they say.  I’m just glad my genes kinda caught up to me.  Although, I will say I really don’t think I was that bad.  Maybe you just have a bad memory?”

“Nah,” he laughed.  “I’m like an elephant.  Except sexier...”

“And full of yourself, apparently,” she chortled, the slight embarrassment she was feeling slightly turning into a hint of hostility.  She did not need to be made fun of by her crush, as if she didn’t get enough of it from her group of friends through those years.

“Hey, now.  I’m just joking.  Lose your sense of humor?  I think you look amazing, I guess...is what I was trying to say.  I, uh...I came here because I was really hoping I’d get to run into you.”

She couldn’t hide the look of surprise that came over her face.  “Really?  But why?”

“Of course,” he said simply.  “I don’t know.  I just...did.  Is that a crime?  I mean, I know your parents is the place to go for the Holidays, but...I’m really being sincere when I’m saying that I didn’t just come here for the party.  C’mon.  You want to go catch up outside?  It’s kind of loud in here.”

Katie was confused.  He wouldn’t even look at her in high school, and here he was AT her parents party, intentionally, just to see her.  To top that, he wanted to catch up?  What twisted world was she living in right now?  This surely had to be a dream.

“Uh, of course.  Sorry, don’t mean...I’m just...” she trailed, finally deciding to just shut up and go with it.  She placed the empty bowl back on the table and followed him outside to where the patio was.  “So...” she trailed. “What, uh.  What brings you home?  You haven’t been home in forever.”  She was desperately trying to calm her brain down from the thoughts that were pinging around in her head about what she should say, what she should ask, what he was doing, and even more so--to get her mind off of the hot pair of jeans that he was wearing that showed off just enough to make her weak in the knees.

Justin nodded and shrugged, taking a sip of his wine and handed her the extra glass he picked up on the way.  “Well, I just finished my law degree overseas, and I was just kind of ready to come home and actually enjoy some time with family.  I’ve spent way too many years away from home.  I was just...craving good people, you know?  Being away reminds you what you don’t have,” he finished.

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder?” Katie finished meekly.

He chuckled.  “Something like that, yeah.”

She was kind of surprised by his words.  She had no idea he had gone to law school, let alone the fact that he was already finished or studying abroad.  He looked more grown up, yet mostly the same, so it was really surprising to her that he was so accomplished, especially when she was really just finishing her degree.  She suddenly felt out of place with him, yet again.

“What about you?” he asked, gently, picking up on the awkward silence between them.  “I haven’t seen you in forever.  What have you been doing with your life?  I mean, I know this is a small town and all, and that word travels fast, but I’d just like to hear the truth, from the horses mouth.”

Katie nodded.  “Oh, well.  You know.  I’m just on break.  College, that’s...that’s really all.”

Justin smiled and took another sip from his red wine goblet.  “That’s it? Just college?  I mean, anything particular about college?  Like what you’re studying?  News about the hot boyfriend, fiancé...”  He watched her shake her head no quietly, and nodded.  “Nothing exciting, at all?  Come on, what am I going to tell the gossip crew if you don’t spill your guts?”

His smile and wry sense of humor really was slightly addicting, even if it was also slightly annoying.  Those deep blue eyes and that deep laugh really could do no wrong though.  

Finally, a laugh escaped her mouth slightly, although it sounded more like a sarcastic “ha” than a laugh.  “No, we can’t all be as beautiful and educated as you.  Some of us have to take time to work at getting there.”

Justin furrowed his brows a little at her words, but nodded understandingly.  “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be a show off.  I was just excited to come home and catch up, that’s all.  I’m sorry if I’ve...”

“No, no.  I’m sorry.  I just...it’s shocking, to see you here.  After all this time, and you’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time, and it’s overwhelming for the rest of us that are on the normal track.  You always were ambitious, though...so it shouldn’t surprise me.”  She couldn’t help but watch him lick his lips in thought, and it really just made her continue babbling.

“Hey...” he trailed off.  He gently put his finger to her lips and smiled as he pointed up with his other hand.  “It’s snowing,” he followed.  His voice held genuine surprise, and it warmed her heart a little.

“Oh, wow.  It never snows here.”  She chuckled a little and sighed to herself.  “How long do you think it will be snowing?”

Justin just smiled and reached down for her hand.  “Who cares?  We have to enjoy it while it’s here.  It’s a Christmas miracle, just like seeing you...” he trailed.  His hand grasped hers tightly and walked her into the yard effortlessly in the midst of all of the Christmas lights.

“Justin...what are you doing?”

“We’re enjoying the snow.  Why do you always ask so many questions?  You know, if you stopped to just enjoy the moment, we might have actually dated in high school...” he smirked, pulling her into his arms.  One hand went to the small of her back, while the other moved to her hand.

“What?” she nearly choked.  “You wouldn’t even look at me in high school.”

Justin had his eyes closed and a goofy smile on his face as he started humming, dancing to the song in his head.

“Justin, are you listening?”

He continued to hum.

“Justin?”

She was about to pull away and say something, but before she knew it, she felt a pair of strong lips on hers, and she nearly lost it when she realized what was happening.  But by the time her brain caught up to what was happening, her heart had shut it off, and she began getting lost quietly in her kiss.

Justin smiled when he slowly pulled away, and they both reveled in the silence as they continued to dance cheek to cheek in the middle of the yard, neither of them wanting to ruin the moment with words.

After a few moments, he slowly pulled away and smiled.  “Sorry, you just talk too much sometimes.  I wasn’t going to let it get in the way this time.”

She just smiled and nodded, taking a few deep breaths as her heart continued to beat out of its chest.  

“So what now?” she whispered, almost afraid to talk because she didn’t want to ruin the moment again.

Justin shrugged his shoulders innocently and smiled.  

“Don’t make me...” she started.

"You never learn, do you?" He laughed, grabbing her hand and tugging her along in the distance, disappearing into cold, dark night.