"Best it's going to get, I guess."

Melody blew out a breath as she stood in the mirror, getting ready. She hadn't been on a date since her ex-boyfriend, and she was slightly nervous. Her hair was not cooperating; her long blonde locks were unruly, and didn't want to stay put. In the end, she secured it into a tight low bun, but the waves were falling out already.

She'd chosen a red sweater with a glittery logo of a reindeer on it and a pair of fitted jeans.

She'd texted Sadie to let her know she had an actual date earlier. She was stunned her BFF hadn't called or even texted her back. Sadie been nagging her to get out on dates forever. They always chatted and pumped each other up beforehand too.

What was going on?

She wasn't angry or annoyed about Sadie's distance anymore. Instead, she was feeling sad and left behind.

"They say friends can drift," she said softly as she glanced at her pillow-pal on her bed. "I guess that's what's happening."

It wasn't really a pillow pal, they stopped making those in the nineties. It was actually just a pink pillow, but it had Taylor Swift's face on it, so she called it her pillow pal.

She was just a tad obsessed with the songwriter. She once wanted to write and sing love songs herself, but her heart got crushed at seventeen, and she lost her passion for it.

"Damn, Bell, your voice is prettier than ever!" Austin's voice filled her head. After the movie last night, when they were walking her home, they got a little silly and started singing Christmas songs. He was being nice; of course, she was way out of practice.

"Mel, he's here!" Doug called from downstairs.

"Wish me luck," she muttered as she headed down to meet Trent.

"This town is incredible," Trent commented as he drove down Main Street. "I feel like I'm in a Christmas movie."

"I love it," Melody smiled as he drove past the cute shops. "I was born December fifteenth, and I've always been obsessed with the season. I call myself a Christmas baby even though technically I'm not."

"Oh yeah?" He flashed her his bright grin, "that's cool; your birthday is coming up. Any plans?"

"I don't bother," Melody said with a little grin, "Mary and my mom always do something, and it's always way more than I asked for."

"Mary?"

"My mom's bestie. My family's best friends are the Thornes. They've always been like an extended family to us."

"Oh, that's right, your mom had mentioned a homecoming party with that name.." he mumbled.

Of course, she did.

"Their son, Austin, he's getting home from a residency in London." She explained.

"Your mom mentioned you could use a date for it," he said with a little chuckle; he sounded kind of nervous.

"I am so sorry. She didn't force you to call me?" Melody cringed.

"No!" He laughed out loud. "I was happy to call you; you're pretty cute, you know."

"Not so bad yourself," she replied with a cheeky grin.

"Even with clothes on?" He joked.

"I did like the fruit bowl," she snickered.

He was dressed in dark blue jeans with a leather jacket. His sandy blond hair was freshly cut, making his blue eyes pop out.

"Where are you from?" She asked after a bit.

"A little place called meadowland; it's smaller than this." He said, "I go to the local school in South crest and have a small apartment there."

South Crest was just fifteen minutes from Frost Crest. It held the local community college and a massive factory where many worked.

He slowed down as they reached the restaurant, and her eyes lit up as he pulled in.

"Carol's kitchen!!" She cheered out loud.

"You know the place?" He grinned as he pulled into a spot. "Looks like I did good."

"So good! I love this place!" Melody enthused, "Austin and I used to come here all the time. You have to try the chicken pot pie. You have to!"

"I'm not a big pie person, but I'll give it a go," he led the way and opened the door for her; brownie points for that.

"This one you'll love," she assured him as they went and sat in a booth.

The diner was old-styled with black and white checkered floors and red booths. The counter had a bunch of stools around it, and you could watch as the cooks prepare your food.

"Austin loved them so much he'd order two," she giggled at the memory, "then he'd be so full he couldn't move."

"Well, I guess I better try one then," Trent said with an easy smile.

He had a friendly smile, the dimples
were cute. He was actually good-looking, so why was she not excited about him?

Give it time; she imagined Sadie telling her.

The server came over to take their orders. They ordered two pot pies and two hot chocolates. Extra marshmallows for her, of course. She slipped her jacket off as she started feeling warm.

"Cute sweater," Trent noted her reindeer sweater.

"Thanks," she said with a little laugh, "I happen to collect Christmas sweaters."

"No way!" Trent enthused. "My sister has an ugly Christmas sweater party every year. Maybe you can come."

"I don't like it when people call them ugly sweaters," she confessed. "I admit some are ugly, but more so purposefully made that way for the gimmick of it. Every one I own is beautiful and Christmasey."

"Fair enough!" He laughed at that. "I don't think anything could be ugly on you. The reindeer is adorable."

"It's to honor my new puppy, Rudolf," she explained.

"You do love Christmas," he said, "new puppy?"

"He found us yesterday, Austin and I," she explained, "it turned out he was a naughty little thing that ran away from the pet store."

"Oh wow"-

"Yeah,  and he'd spent all day getting attached to us. So Austin decided to adopt him." She explained, "I guess it's both our dog, but technically he lives with Austin."

"We found a dog once in the road. My sister and I," he told her. "He was so thin and sickly. I managed to nurse him back to health, and he's happy now."

He slid over his phone, and she cooed at the image of his dog on the Lock Screen.

"Adorable! Name?"

"Henry," he laughed, "my sister's idea."

"I like it! It's cute."

The server came back with their pies. Everything was steaming hot, so they waited a moment for it to cool.

She watched as he took his first bite.

"Well?" She asked the second he swallowed.

"Not bad," he nodded as he took another small bite.

"Not bad? It's the best thing ever," she shook her head and dug in to make sure it still was.

"Your taste-buds are broken," she teased.

"To be fair, I usually steer clear of carbs," he admitted, "the profession and all."

"That would suck. I make a point to stay very close to carbs," she joked as she shoveled a spoonful into her mouth.

He laughed at that as he took another tiny bite. She was getting the feeling he didn't like it but didn't want to say it.

"If you don't like that, we can order something else," she suggested.

"It's good; really, I wouldn't want to offend, Carol," he motioned to the old woman helping them.

"That's sweet of you," Melody said, "Austin's like that too; he won't even tell his mom he eats brownies from the bakery, so he doesn't hurt her feelings."

"Mel, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what?"

"Is. Austin, your ex-boyfriend or something?"

"No!" She shook her head and laughed, "we're just friends."

"Uh. I think maybe you're lying to yourself, " he said in a cautious tone, "you haven't stopped talking about him."

"Oh um," shoot, she didn't mean to... "he just got home, so I guess he's on my mind."

"You have a crush on him, don't you?"

"No, of course not," she denied instantly, "he'd never see me that way."

"You didn't say anything about how you see him." He pointed out, and she felt her cheeks turning red.

"I mean I"-

"Lying is sort of pointless, you know? We just met, and um, a second date doesn't seem to be in the cards."

"Ouch."

"I mean, I kind of like girls I date to be into me," Trent said with a sheepish grin.

"I'm so sorry, Trent I"-

"Oh, it's fine," he said graciously, "you can't help what you feel. So, what's the story there?"

"You really want to hear it?" She asked.

"Yeah, why not?" He shrugged, "an ear might help. Maybe I'll even have some advice."

"I could use some; my bestie has has been a little MIA lately," she sighed.

"I can't promise it'll be as good as your, put a gift box over it, but I'll try," he offered, making her laugh again. It was too bad she didn't like him. He was a good guy. Maybe when Sadie got into town, she'd introduce them.

She told him the horrible, embarrassing story—even the stuff from when she was a preteen obsessed with marrying Austin. To Trent's credit, he sweetly and kindly listened. It felt good to get it all out.

"So, you were telling the truth. It's not a crush," he said when she finished. "You're legit in love with him."

"No!" She protested, but he gave her a look, and she sulked down in the booth some. "Maybe."

"Something's off, though," he said thoughtfully, "you said you all were friends your whole lives."

"Yeah, we were."

"Then why would he say it like that?" He questioned. "It was so harsh."

"Probably because he was drunk and maybe mad, I risked our friendship."

"No one gets mad at someone for loving them," he countered.

"I don't know. All I know is he was very clear," she said, she'd never forget it. "He said he'd never kiss me."

"I thought you said you were a Christmas baby?"

"I am!"

"Then what the heck is this? You just give up on your childhood dream. During Christmas, at that? It's a magical time of year."

"I know! But he rejected me. I had to give up."

"You did not!" Trent argued, "maybe he still thought you were too young then. It's been five years. Where's that little girl you told me about, bound and determined?"

"I lost her after that night," she mumbled.

"Well, find her again," Trent advised. 

"Yeah.. .yeah," her voice started to perk up. "You're right; I waited my whole life for us to be grownups. Now we are, and I'm being an idiot."

"So go get him."

"How?" She pondered.

"First things first, is showing him you're not a kid anymore," Trent suggested. "Then I'd say talk to him about that night. I think there's more to the story."

"I don't know.." she muttered, "if only there were a way I could see if he'd even entertain being into me."

"Wait, his party! What if you came with me to see if he gets jealous?"

"Oh, Mel," Trent laughed out loud. "No offense, but I'm not quite that invested in this. I'm a sucker for Christmas romance but prefer finding my own."

"Oh gosh!" She exclaimed, "of course, you would. I'm so sorry"-

"Don't apologize," Trent said kindly, "honestly, that's not the way to go about it, Mel.  You need to just talk to him."

She gulped; she knew he was right.

But how?

She was still trying to figure this out much later in the evening. She'd come home grabbed a bottle of wine, and returned to her bedroom to think.

"Trent's right," she said as she paced. "I can't just give up!"

"I wish he'd let me use him as a pawn," she muttered, "yes, I know how bad that sounds. It's just the jealousy idea felt like a good one."

"I have to make him see me as an adult," she said as she paced the room. "He wanted help decorating."

"What should I wear over there tomorrow?" She headed into her closet and started tossing clothes on the bed.

"None of this works!" she yelled in a frustrated tone.

"Mel?" Georgie opened her door and stepped inside. "Are you okay, honey?"

"Fine," Melody said, attempting to look casual; she took a sip from her wine glass, "why?"

"You've been up here talking to yourself."

"No, I'm not. I'm talking to Taylor," she pointed to her pillow pal.

"Okay then..." Georgie said as she slowly backed away and shut the door behind her.

Melody grabbed herself another glass of wine as she rummaged through the clothes. She heard her phone chime and went to look.

It was a photo of Austin with Rudolf in his arms. It said, hey, Bell, this guy wanted to say goodnight.

"Oh, my, Santa," she sighed at the cute photo. She was just about to type a reply when she glanced down at the pile of clothes on her bed. On top of the pile sat a pink lacy nightgown. It was very low cut and very revealing.

"I want him to see me as an adult, right?" She looked over at the pretty blonde on the pillow. "a goodnight selfie?"

"I get that's it risky and desperate, Tay, But its all I got."

"I'll say my date was boring, so I'm calling it a movie night, miss you two... or .. " as she got changed as she went over ideas of what to say in the text.  "Just got home, cuddled in and saying goodnight?"

"No, that's even lamer," she swallowed more liquid courage and looked in the mirror. She fixed her hair and put some lip gloss in.

She gulped down the rest of her glass and opened her phone to text him back.

Nothing was coming out right, so in the end, she just typed goodnight and sweet dreams. Then she snapped a selfie and clicked send before chickening out.

The second she did it, she looked down at the text and regretted it. The gown didn't look as bad in the mirror as it did in the picture. It showed nearly her entire chest, and flushed cheeks and pouty lips, made it It look like she was trying to seduce him. 

Could you be any more obvious!? She internally screamed. She just made herself look so desperate! This was way worse than her confession at seventeen.

"Taylor!!! Why did you let me do that!?" She yelled at the pillow.

Her phone chimed, indicating he had replied.

"Oh crap," she braced herself to look at it.

He replied; guessing you sent this to the wrong person?

Should she go with that? Or what??

It chimed again; I guess your date went well. Don't worry; I'll delete. XD

Now he thinks she sent a racy selfie to a guy she just met! This just got worse!

"Why did I do that!?" She screamed out loud. "Why, why, why!"

"Melody! What in the world?" Georgie burst into her room again. She looked at the pile of clothes all over the bed and floor and the wine bottle on the dresser. She went and grabbed the bottle.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," Melody groaned as she flopped down on her bed.

"Is this about Austin, by chance?" Georgie guessed.

"Just go away, mom," she huffed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe I can help?" Georgie said, "I'm better than a pillow."

"The pillow has Taylor Swift's essence in it. No one knows love better than her."

"Sure, hon," Georgie rolled her eyes, "I've only been married to the love of my life for twenty-five years. But, what would I know?"

"Hey, give me back my wine!" Melody protested as her mom started to leave with the bottle.

"I think you've had enough."

Melody looked at her phone with a face full of regrets.

She couldn't deny that.

*Who else had a pillow, pal??