Eachtra

Obsessive Christmas Disorder

 I drum my fingers against the steering wheel and search for Liam in the rear view mirror. A bag full of Pitch Pine samples sits on the floorboards of the passenger seat, evidence of another job done. A pang of bitterness strikes me as a stare at it. One more pine tree crossed off the list, one less reason to spend time with Liam. Pretty soon my list of tree samples will be complete and then what excuse will Liam and I find to be together?
The door thumps open and I jump then turn and smile at Liam. His eyes almost match the sky as he slides into the eat, a wave of frigid air disturbing my dark hair. "White hot chocolate," he says, offering me the steaming drink.

I accept it and sniff the steam--yum. My Grinch-like exterior must be melting despite the cold because this smells delicious. Liam keeps buying me different flavors of hot cocoa to convince me to love the Christmas staple. He doesn't realize he's already won me over, with or without the hot chocolate.

"What'd you get?" I ask as Liam buckles himself into the Jeep. "Just plain?"
"Peppermint," Liam answers with a grin. I lean closer to him and take a sniff. Heavenly. If Christmas only consisted of hot cocoa and pine trees, I might be more interested. Unfortunately, Christmas also includes sequined turtlenecks and time with the guilt-trippers, also known as my parents.

I take a long sip and the hot chocolate burns my tongue, but I sigh and close my eyes. "So have I win yah over yet?" Liam asks from beside me.

My eyes flash open but I keep my gaze on the busy parking lot in front of me. "No, not yet." He hasn't won me over yet, but he's close. So close. "So where to now? Another farm?"
Liam's eyebrows draw together and he pulls a wrinkled map of the northeast from his messenger bag. It rustles as he opens it, the map invading my personal space as well as his. "We're here," he says, pointing to a spot in southern Pennsylvania, "and there's a stop I'd like to make before we settle in for the night. Are yah ready?"
I turn a suspicious eye towards him. "Where are we going?"

He gives me a quick grin and his smile distracts me so much that I miss his hand slip across the center console to grasp my wrist. "You really don't like surprises, do yah, Keidy?" His thumb traces the inside of my wrist but he releases it before I can react. Breathe, Keidy.

"Not so much," I answer but my chest is so tight and panicky the words come out in a whisper.
"Too bad. Let's go."

I'm rendered so breathless by one touch that I silently obey. I jerk the car into drive and make my way towards the interstate. For the next hour or two, Liam guides me one direction at a time to our next destination.

"Is it Christmas-y?" I ask Liam.

"Keidy, you should know the answer to that by now."

I love the way he says my name.

"How'd you find out about it?"
He tsks at me. "Yes or no questions only. I can't ruin the surprise."

"Does it have pine trees?"

"Probably."

"Is it going to make me Scrooge-y?"
"Definitely." He smiles at me. "Although I'm not convinced you're quite the Scrooge you claim to be. Just because your family isn't what you wanted and you haven't had loved ones to spend the holidays with doesn't mean that you don't like Christmas." Liam's pale eyes cut through the car towards me. "Spending Christmas with someone you care about can change everything."

Looking at the adorable Irish guy in my passenger seat, I don't find that hard to believe. I've only known him for a few days, but his thoughtful kindness could make me care about him. Maybe I already do.

"This exit," Liam directs and I take the exit lane in the middle of podunk Pennsylvania. I take a few more turns until we're in the middle of corn fields and farms and completely out of my comfort zone.