That's How it Happens

22. Just This Once

They were locked in a stare-off of epic proportions.

Leo sat across the room, watching Ainsley like she might spontaneously combust. She hadn't blinked in five minutes. He'd tried everything – shrugging, smiling, even mouthing hi. Nothing. Just that wide-eyed, deer-in-the-highlights look that made him wonder if he'd broken her.

He opened his mouth to speak. Closed it. Tried again. He looked like a fish gasping for air, and he knew it.

What was there to say?

Sorry?

He wasn't.

Not when someone had already dubbed it "the most epic holiday kiss ever." He hadn't coined the phrase, and whoever had clearly needed a hobby, but still – he couldn't deny it. It was a good kiss. Probably her best. That's why she was so speechless. Right?

He waved a hand. Nothing. No blink. No twitch. Just silence.

"Ains," he said softly.

No response.

"Ains," louder this time.

She raised her eyebrows. Barely.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded once. Still staring.

Why wasn't she saying something?

It was unnerving. Ainsley usually wore her thoughts like accessories – loud, layered, and impossible to miss. But now? Nothing.

"Why did you do it?" she asked.

Leo blinked. That was not the question he expected.

He pointed to his ear, just in case he'd misheard. Her eyebrows climbed higher. He was starting to resent those things.

"It was mistletoe," he said, shrugging.

Nothing.

"It was Ethan's idea," he added.

Not a lie. If Ethan hadn't been flailing behind her like a malfunctioning inflatable tube man, Leo wouldn't have seen the mistletoe. Peter wouldn't have seen it. And none of this would've happened.

"Ethan?" she repeated, skeptical.

Leo nodded. She wasn't buying it.

"I thought if I didn't do it, it'd look weird," he said, trying to sound casual. "You know. Tradition."

Not too bad on the fly, my man, he told himself.

The silence between them thickened. Leo tapped his foot, avoiding her gaze. Her eyebrows were doing that thing again – judging him like his mother's when she knew he did something wrong, but wasn't admitting it. Can't get caught if you never confess. Right? It was clear, to him at least, that she was thinking about the situation. A little too hard in his opinion, but he was willing to give her time. Like any man who willingly lies to a disbelieving woman, Leo was holding it together – avoiding those all-knowing eyebrows like the plague in a 10x10 room. Sparse and unimaginative, there was nothing to capture his attention – not when there were eyes drilling holes in the side of his head. It was obvious Ains was spending way too much time with his Moms because, unlike Ains, he'd like to think he wasn't an open book. But she wasn't his moms, and he could sweat this out. What could she do to him? Ground him? That was laughable. He glanced back at her.

"It was just a kiss, Ains," he said flatly. "It's not like I asked you to get naked."

Okay, admittedly, he broke, but it was only because he couldn't handle those creepy eyebrows anymore.