Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 137: I Call It Like I See It

Keeley was studying in the library two hours before her last test, which was unfortunately scheduled for 8 PM, when she sent out a group message on her annoyingly-shattered-but-still-technically-working phone.

'To celebrate my freedom I am going to make sugar cookies tomorrow. Who wants to help me decorate them?'

'My flight leaves at 7 AM tomorrow, sorry!'

'Can I bring Cam?'

'I'm in as long as I get to take some home. Your cookies are amazing'

Not bad. Everyone but Valentina, who she had forgotten was leaving super early to go back to Peru for two weeks, could come.

'The more the merrier! You guys free at 3?'

Jennica and Ryan both replied yes. Perfect. She still needed to make sugar cookies, the pretzels, and the snickersnaps. Everything else was done but she only had four days til Christmas and was running behind.

A tiny bit of guilt crept into her consciousness. Aaron was the only person she saw regularly that she hadn't invited.

But how could she? Jennica would know immediately that he was the ex she mentioned before. He was so excited about the cookies too; he would probably enjoy being a part of the process.

Keeley would find a way to make it up to him somehow. She sent him a text too. 'Hey, when do you want your cookies? They probably won't be done until the 23rd'

He answered her question with a question. 'What are you doing Christmas Eve?'

'I can't bring them then, I'm hanging out with my dad'

Every time she went to Aaron's house she ended up staying way longer than she intended. She couldn't leave her dad alone.

'Can I join you? I don't have plans until Christmas Day and I've been meaning to visit your dad anyway'

He was going to be alone…she forgot that in 2012 the Hales only had to attend a party on Christmas Day. Keeley was too depressed to celebrate and stayed in bed on Christmas Eve. She didn't even think about what Aaron would have been doing at that time because she was lost in a world of grief.

She hesitated. On Thanksgiving there were a bunch of different people visiting so it was different. This would be almost like bringing a boyfriend home for the holidays. Aaron was not and never would be her boyfriend ever again.

But as his friend she felt like she couldn't turn him down and make him spend a holiday alone in his gigantic, empty apartment. She was probably going to regret this but…

'My dad and I do things pretty low-key. We drink eggnog, sing carols, watch Christmas movies, and wear embarrassing matching pajamas. If that sounds okay to you, you're welcome to come'

His response was surprisingly enthusiastic. 'It sounds great. Where can I get some of these pajamas?'

The thought of Aaron wearing a red onesie covered in cartoon reindeer that had a reindeer head and antlers on the hood was too much. She cackled right there in the middle of the library, causing several people to shush her angrily.

Keeley would pay to see that so she sent him the link. They used to have snowman onesies but her dad's got ripped so they replaced them only a year ago. The online store still sold the reindeer ones so Aaron actually would be able to match if he wasn't bluffing.

She was pretty sure he was just teasing her; there was no way a dignified person like him would do something so silly. He may be less stiff than she remembered but he still had a reputation to uphold.

'What time do you want me to come over on Monday?'

'Come over around 4. We're having an early dinner'

'Great! See you then. Good luck on your last test'

She smiled at the fact that he remembered her last test was in a couple hours and stretched before hitting the books again.

===

Keeley took her sugar cookie baking very seriously and directed her friends like a general directs troops in battle. "Ryan, we need more flour! Jennica, help me roll these out! Cameron, start finding the Christmas cookie cutters!"

"Why do you have so many?" Cameron asked in wonder as he dug around the giant plastic tub full of 101 cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes.

"I won it in a raffle."

Ryan handed off the flour to Jennica so she could dust the rolling pin and she finished rolling out the dough long before her boyfriend had finished excavating the tub.

"Cam, babe, you're going too slow," she said sweetly before taking the bin away from him and finding the rest of the Christmas ones in two seconds flat.

He shook his head at her in admiration. "You're good at everything. How is it that you're good at everything?!"

She beamed before leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "Flatterer."

"It's not flattery if it's true."

Ryan and Keeley could practically see the pink anime hearts background going on behind them. Cameron was a nice guy but every time he came over it was like this so they usually went to his place to be off in their own little love bubble.

"Are they always like this?" he whispered into Keeley's ear.

"Yep. I'm still trying to get used to it."

"You poor thing."

It wasn't so bad. Valentina, as the only one in the apartment not getting any male attention, was much worse off. She went back and forth between being dejected and squealing about how cute it was.

Time to change the subject. "Okay guys, everybody take a cookie cutter and start cutting things out. I want to have a relatively even number of each."

The next half an hour was spent laughing, talking, rolling, cutting, and witnessing Jennica and Cameron's love fest. They really needed to just get married already.

The stacks of cookies on the cooling rack grew higher and higher. Eventually enough of them were cool that Keeley made the frosting. She divided up portions into different bowls and added food coloring so there would be a nice variety.

"That looks like an alien," Jennica pointed out.

"It's a snowman!"

"An alien snowman." She reached out and patted her boyfriend's arm. "We clearly need to practice frosting cookies more."

"I've done it before…it's just been a really long time. My sisters like doing it more than I do so I always helped my mom with one or two and then ate them right after," Cameron confessed.

Keeley scrutinized his cookie. It did look like an alien. He meant to add eyes and a mouth but it looked more like three eyes.

"Maybe next time don't use chocolate chips for the mouth too," she advised. "Use a little frosting bag to pipe it."

"That…would look a lot better."

"We can't all be artists," Ryan said with a shrug as he dipped his knife in the green frosting.

Cameron wasn't comforted. "Yours look fine, what are you talking about."

"That's because he's only been doing Christmas trees and those are almost impossible to mess up," Jennica said shrewdly.

"Wow, thanks."

"I call it like I see it."

Keeley laughed at her friends' antics. This was exactly the sort of rejuvenation she needed after a long and stressful semester.