AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not my bag, but good luck to you.
The third had a profile picture with a ball of yarn and two knitting needles. Her screenname was KnottyGirl25. Clark smirked at the use of k-n-o-t.
Clark clicked her profile and scanned her bio.
Hi. I am not sure what I’m doing here, but I thought I’d give this a shot. I’m twenty-five. I work a lot. I love crafting, sleeping in on my days off (not a morning person!), and my favorite drink is a Malibu Sunrise. The song I play on repeat is “Adore You” by Harry Styles. The movie that lives rent free in my heart is Notting Hill. I want to find someone who doesn’t lie or cheat and shows basic human decency. Oh…and must love all things Christmas.
The corners of his lips tugged at that last line. Although they had sent out the perfect family Christmas card, his parents hadn’t bothered with Christmas trees or presents unless they had friends visiting. Clark dreaded the day after winter break ended when they were in school and the other kids would talk about all the fun they had. When they’d asked him about the holiday, he’d snapped at them. It hadn’t exactly endeared him to his classmates.
The one bright spot about Christmas time in elementary school was his teachers. Every year on the last day before the holiday break, his teacher would leave a brightly wrapped gift on their desks. Although some kids groaned about getting a book for Christmas, he treasured every single one of the books he’d received from kindergarten to fifth grade. It wasn’t until his senior year of high school when he’d attended the Winters Farm employee Christmas party that he’d had a real holiday celebration. The year after, he’d sent a gift to his brother Sam and to his surprise had received one in return. Sam invited him to stay the holidays with him the next year and they’d gone all out with spiked eggnog, decorations, and a huge Christmas dinner they’d bought from the local grocery store.
The next Christmas with Patrice, Clark went out and bought matching stockings for them and planned to embroider them with Daddy, Mommy, and whatever name they decided on. After she left, he’d had the third stocking monogrammed with his brother’s name and hung them every year. Although some Christmases had been leaner than others, Clark adored the holiday and wanted to make sure Jace experienced all the magic the season had to offer.
He read the profile one more time before Clark tapped the message button with his thumb.
Hey KnottyGirl25…
Chapter 3
Merry
Merry stood in line at Kiss My Donut Monday afternoon, staring at her phone screen as she waited for her turn to order. The message on MeetMe had come out of nowhere, because she’d forgotten she’d even signed up. She’d downloaded it on Valentine’s Day, after too many Malibu Sunrises and a second box of Dove chocolates, longing for any kind of attention. Of course, she’d regretted her decision the next morning when she’d woken up to fifty messages from men and women all searching for something different. Somewhere between “Can I see your feet?” to “Are you into couples?” she realized her mistake and deleted the app. If she hadn’t been in her spam folder looking for something else, she never would’ve seen the notification email.
Hey KnottyGirl25,
This is my first attempt at online dating and you popped up as one of my matches. I am also a fan of Christmas, which brings me to my conversation starter…
What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Woodsman27
Merry clicked on his profile picture, smiling at the image of a wooden snowman. She read his profile, which was pretty simplistic. Twenty-seven. Interested in woodworking, outdoor sports, and reading. Not an exact match of interests, but at least he hadn’t started the correspondence with “How big are your boobs?”
The person in front of her finished ordering and Merry requested a large iced white mocha with sweet cream. Once she finished paying, she sank into a seat at a table by the window. Mondays were always a little chaotic at Mistletoe Elementary, especially after a holiday based on candy and costumes. Kids were dropping by the front office all day to tell her about their costumes and how much candy they hauled home from trick-or-treating. She loved the excitement on their faces, but she was ready to be home, soaking in her bathtub with a glass of peach sangria instead of meeting Dana Kirk.
Her first instinct had been to call back when she’d gotten Dana’s voicemail and decline. Between two jobs and all of the holiday events coming up, she didn’t want to be in charge of the Festival of Trees, one of the biggest charity fundraisers of the season. But when Dana explained she needed to fly out to California because her youngest daughter was on bedrest due to a high-risk pregnancy, Merry couldn’t bring herself to say no. She told Dana she was happy to help, but silently acknowledged it was a massive undertaking with only a little over a month to organize. Dana had been running the event for twenty years and Merry didn’t want to be her chosen successor when she decided to step down from it. Being the organizer meant when things went wrong, she would be the one to blame and she hated confrontation.
Merry looked at the time on her phone screen, her lips compressing. “Come on, Dana,” she mumbled to herself. Tardiness was her pet peeve and she was early to everything.
At least while she was waiting, she could give Woodsman27 an answer. She liked that he’d actually read her profile and reached out about her interests instead of being worried about what she looked like.
She tapped the MeetMe app and clicked the icon to reply.
Hello Woodsman27,
I honestly forgot all about this app until I saw an email in my spam yesterday and checked out your message. To answer your question, I love Elf. “Baby it’s Cold Outside” is one of my favorite Christmas songs and Zoey’s rendition brings on the goosebumps. What is yours?
P.S. I like your snowman. Did you make it?
She’d noticed he’d checked all the boxes, including Friends with Benefits, and if that was his main goal, he was barking up the wrong tree. Still, approaching her like a human being instead of an object to screw scored him the courtesy of a reply at the very least.
Besides, maybe her parents would like some of those wooden snowmen for the farm.
The door opened and Dana came through waving, her black hair cut in an A-line, framing her round face.
Merry hit send and set her phone down so she could wave back. Dana sat down across from her, dropping a red binder on the table and setting her purse on the floor with a slap. The binder was decorated with a rhinestone Christmas tree and glittery puffy paint that scrawled across the plastic, legibly spelling out The Festival of Trees.
“I am so sorry I was late! Between packing and scheduling flights, then talking to my son-in-law for updates, I lost track of time. Thank you for doing this. I know you’re probably plenty busy without me adding to it, but I have to go.”
