My Hot Holiday Read Online Free

in a damn bookstore.
    I hate the phrase "WTF,” but tonight I think I'm gonna have to go with it.
    "Mom, I forgive you.  I know you were just trying to help," I say consolingly.
    Quietly I step over to the dinette table, sit down, and bury my head in my hands.  I feel slightly shaky and nauseous.  Miserably, I chug my adult punch, grab my smartphone, and start searching for someone to call.  I desperately need an escape.
    Then, my scroll magically stops at the name Jessica Lewis.  “Jessica is perfect,” I think to myself.  I could call Jess, who was my best friend through high school, and see what she's up to.  I haven't seen her since the class reunion a couple of years ago, but it might be nice to catch up and get a change of scenery.  She is my Facebook friend, after all.  A quick text can't hurt, right?
    So a minute later, I text her to see what she's up to on this delightful Christmas Eve.  Maybe she's hosting a fancy party I could drop in on!
    Please, Santa, Please grant me just this ONE wish...
    Then, my eyes grow heavy as I read her response.
    "Hey, Jill!  Merry XMAS 2 U 2!  I would luv to get 2gether, but I'm at a party in CA.  Maybe next time?  XOXOXO”
    Rats!  Jess is off the radar.  Then I remember she has a cozy cabin on the water.  She invited the EX and me to a Labor Day cookout a couple of years ago.  He said that wasn't "his kind of crowd."  Ahhh, yes, precious memories...
    Oh God, I'm missing the gene that makes you grow up, marry the wealthy-stable "monogamous" family man, and visit college friends at home base every now and then.  Everyone's moving on without me, into a world that seems so normal and happy.
    Maybe that cabin would be the perfect place for me to escape to tonight, so I text her back.
    "No problem.  Sorry I missed you.  It's been a dreadful Christmas so far -- do you by chance still have that cabin by the lake?  Could I rent it for the night?"
    Three minutes pass.  I feel the swirl of excitement in my stomach with the thought of a quiet cabin, while snow falls gently through town.  This is the kind of image movies are made of.
    Finally, a response!
    "Sure, Jill!  The cabin is empty.  The family who was renting it for the holiday called and canceled.  They got snowed in.  Go 2 the side door -- the instructions 2 get in are under the mat.  Enjoy!"
    Oh, THANK YOU BABY JESUS!!!
    "My Christmas escape," I squeal with excitement!  My sudden, uninhibited outburst may have caused a few heads to turn.
    I can't hide my relief.  The night is looking SO much better now!  I'll lock myself inside the cabin, start a fire, and vacate my life and its problems.  Isn't that what a holiday is all about anyway?  At the very least, it could be a distraction.
    "Jess -- you are a true lifesaver.  Talk about a Christmas present?!?  All my thanks, Jill XOXOXO"
    Now, I just have to find Mom to tell her the news.
    "What is going on over here?" Mom slips into the kitchen, filling up the area between the dinette table and the refrigerator.  "Have you gone crazy?"
    I look up and feel myself freeze.  Mom has THAT look on her face again...
    "I'm fine," I hear myself interrupting.  "I'm okay, because...I just haven't had a chance to tell you...I actually have a boyfriend.  I didn't mention him, because it's still early."  Even as I speak, I feel my body tense with guilt.  But, what else can I do to get her off my back?
    Mom has a preconceived notion about how a divorced woman should act on Christmas Eve or any other day for that matter.  She acts like finding a man is like shopping for a new pair of underwear.
    "You what?!"
    "Yes," I say, and look down for inspiration for this enormous story I'm about to tell.  Just seeing the concern written across her face, I feel hot with humiliation, all over again.
    "I met him...I met him while Christmas shopping.  I...ummm...started early...I met him last month."
    This is only a half-lie.  I mean, I did meet him shopping, after