How To Bake The Perfect Christmas Cake. Gina Calanni

      “I can get it.”

      “Absolutely not! I’m so happy you’re here, first rounds on me. Which one is it going to be?” Brianna pushes me down in my chair.

      “Surprise me.”

      “You know I love surprises.” Brianna winks at me and heads for the bar.

      “So…how are things going?” Owen asks as he takes a sip of his gin and maybe tonic.

      “Good. Real good. How about you?” I play with the straps on my purse. I’ve never had to deal with small talk and Owen. It’s weird because I have a portfolio of information about him. His likes, his dislikes, his quirks and funny mannerisms, it’s completely information overload and now here I am sitting in front of him without Brianna.

      “Same. So when do you head home for Christmas?” Owen asks, taking another sip, he’ll be done with his drink before Brianna returns with mine.

      “Oh, I’m not going home this year.” The bar is packed and I can’t even find Brianna in the crowd, I glance back at Owen and see a tall guy standing against the wall alone. Which is odd, because why would anyone stand near the wall of a bar and not actually be near the bar? The lights are low, but for some reason he looks like Jack. Most likely because I can’t stop thinking about him. Lauren, get a grip.

      “Lauren?” Owen is staring at me, like he’s irritated or something?

      “Yes?”

      “I asked you why you aren’t going home.” Owen said, swallowing the last of his drink.

      “I’m sorry. I thought I saw someone that I knew over there. I’m not going home, well, to be honest because of that person.” I shake my head. I can’t believe I spoke those words out loud. But then again, it’s not like Owen is going to call my family and tell them. After the nonsense fell from my mouth, I’m struck by how silly I’m being.

      “So the person is a guy and you aren’t going home because of him?” Owen asks, eyebrows pushed together.

      “I know after I said it out loud…I realize how ridiculous that sounds.” I shake my hair back and laugh. From the corner of my eye I steal a glance at the wall, the guy is gone.

      “Yeah, it does sound ridiculous, but what happened? What did he do that was so bad that would make you not want to see your family at Christmas?” Owen runs his hands through his hair.

      “Well, he was supposed to come see me a few weeks ago, and then he didn’t.” Where is Brianna? This is taking far too long.

      “Maybe something came up. Did he contact you at all?” Owen grabs a hold of a waiter that is walking by.

      “Seven and Seven and two Holidaytinis.” He hands the waiter his card.

      What is taking Brianna this long? She should be sitting here with Owen, not me.

      “Maybe I should go and check on Brianna, she’s been gone for a while.” I stand up.

      Owen nods and pulls out his phone.

      I march over to the bar. There isn’t an open seat. I peer through the crowd of people searching for any sign of Brianna. A warm hand latches onto my arm and pulls me away from the crowd. I cast my eyes down at the hand and then follow it all the way to the pressed button-down shirt of a guy. A guy with sandy-blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Eyes that draw me in. It’s Jack. Jack?

      “Jack, what are you doing here?” I shake my arm out of his embrace.

      “I came to see you.” Jack grabs for my hand. Here he is, standing in front of me. Am I going nuts? I take him in, all of him. Here he is, in the flesh, with those same sparking blue eyes with flecks of green. They are staring back at me, searching for a response.

      “Okay.” My lips are trying to form words, sentences, questions, something.

      “Lauren, I’m sorry about before. I didn’t want to call or text, I wanted to ‒ I needed to talk to you about it in person. That’s why I’m here.” He gathers my body in towards his. His shirt is soft against my skin, his arms are strong around my waist, pulling me in closer to him. I inhale and his minty scent mixed with apples and sandalwood rises up, awakening my senses. These emotions can’t simply be swiped away.

      “Let’s get out of here.” Jack leads me towards the exit and I begin to follow.

      “I can’t.” I pause and search the crowd for Brianna.

      “Why? Are you on a date?” Jack’s chest pumps out and a vein begins to throb on the side of his throat.

      I smile. “Yes, I am…” I wait a second as his eyebrows furrow. “With my friend Brianna, that’s her boyfriend, Owen, over there.” I point to the table where Owen is sitting at alone. His drink and the two Holidaytinis have arrived, but not Brianna.

      “I see.” Jack says.

      “Come on, I want to introduce you to them.” I pull him over towards the table. Even though I’m not technically dragging him, the weight of his body is cumbersome as I lead the way, he is putting up a bit of a resistance in his step. He is not coming over easily. Reminds me of how my niece Winter drags her heels when we have somewhere important to go and she isn’t finished playing with her dolls.

      “Hey, Owen, this is Jack.” I raise my eyebrows at Owen. Hopefully, he will understand who Jack is and not out me for my earlier wallowing.

      The guys exchange greetings as I head for the bar to find Brianna. Where could she be? I peek in between the crowded people to see if I can get a spot of her. Absolutely no signs, not even her signature laughter. I make my way to the end of the bar and lock eyes on a glimpse of her small frame. She is closed in behind two big NFL football player types. I try to push through but I am unable to get them to budge. I pry my head in between the cracks of their arms.

      “Brianna? Can you come on back to our table?” I push my fingers into the guys’ sides. Do they seriously not feel my fingers poking them? Good grief.

      “Lauren? Hey, guys, can you step aside, my friend is trying to push through.” Like trained dogs, the red sea parts and Brianna is no longer a sliver but her entire frame is visible.

      “Hey, Jack is here.” I say and nod my head in the direction of our table, the spot where we are supposed to be sitting.

      “What? Jack?” Brianna stumbles off the stool and cranes her neck to see. I ignore any possible drinks she might be abandoning and guide her over to our table.

      “Jack, this is my friend Brianna.” I wave my hand like Vanna White in front of a glowing rectangular box.

      Jack stands up and shakes Brianna’s hand. “So, Jack. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Brianna slides into Owen’s lap barely missing spilling his drink. She takes it from his hand and takes a sip.

      Jack smiles at her. How many rounds has Brianna had between the time she left to get my drink and returning to our table? I don’t want to hang around for a Brianna unraveling, I know we have only a short amount of time now before her night is technically over.

      “Hey, we have a bunch of catching up to do, so we’re going to go.” I grab onto Jack’s arm. He offers his hand to Owen. Brianna swipes it away. “No. Come on. You both just got here, I want to chat.”

      “Bri, I think we need to leave too.” Owen says, standing, which forces Brianna to stand as well. She grabs onto his arms to steady herself. I give her a ‘get a control on yourself’ glare. She doesn’t want me to enforce the pinch of reality check on her. I can tell by her eyes, she is aware of this fact and she nods in recognition.

      We wave goodbye and Jack opens the door into the cold dark night.

Chapter Two

      The entire drive