The Twelve Dates of Christmas Read Free Page A

hurried toward Nick.
    I was right behind him. When we reached Nick, I could see he was even worse off than I’d thought. He was practically hyperventilating—very un-Nick-like. Normally Nick is the type of guy who would smile in front of a firing squad and ask for a cigarette. And he doesn’t even smoke. I’d known him since birth—we’d grown up next door to each other, more like sister and brother than cousins—and I’d never seen him lose his cool like this.
    â€œLex,” he choked out. “Cam.”
    â€œWhat is it?” I grabbed his arm, resisting the urge to shake him. “Is someone hurt? Is it Mom or Dad? Or
your
mom or dad? What?
Who?
”
    Nick waved his hand around vaguely. “No. No. Nothing like that. Everyone’s fine.”
    â€œThen what?” I demanded.
    â€œLexi . . . ,” Cam murmured soothingly.
    Nick shook his head. “No,” he croaked. “It’s just . . . just . . . just Rachel.”
    Cam and I traded a confused look. “What do you mean, buddy?” Cam asked gently. “What about Rachel? Is she okay?”
    Nick squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then opened them and stared at us bleakly. “She dumped me,” he said hoarsely. “Just now. Said she—um, she didn’t want to see me tied down when she was off, you know, living her new life in college.”
    Cam probably said all the right things after that—he usually does—but I was so shocked that I couldn’t react at first. Nick and Rachel had seemed like the perfect couple from day one. I’d thought those two would be together forever.
Everyone
had thought that. Well, everyone but Rachel, apparently.
    So what did “together forever” really mean, anyway?

“Actuate,”
Allie said. “Definition, please. I’ll give you a hint—it’s a verb.”
    I took a sip of my strawberry milk shake, then drummed my fingers on the paper place mat in front of me. “Actuate,” I said. “To move or incite into action.”
    â€œVery good. Now use it in a sentence.”
    I glanced around the crowded Elf Street Diner for inspiration. “Um, I need to actuate myself into deciding what to do about me and Cam.”
    Allie had just popped a french fry into her mouth. She frowned, then quickly chewed and swallowed. “Very funny,” she said. “You’re not still thinking about that,are you? I figured that was just end-of-summer doldrums or something.”
    It had been a little over a week since the bonfire, and Allie and I had been way too busy since then to sit around discussing my relationship. School had started, and the teachers seemed determined to head off any early bouts of Senioritis by assigning boatloads of homework. On top of that, my mom and aunt were both on the committee for the Christmas Eve Costume Ball again this year, which meant that Nick and I, plus all our friends, were automatically drafted into service as well. Joy to the world.
    â€œI don’t know,” I told Allie with a sigh. “I keep trying to look at it logically, you know?”
    Allie shoved away her list of SAT vocabulary words, almost pushing it into the water ring her soda glass had left behind on the table. “Okay,” she said. “If you want to get all science-nerdy about this and do the whole pro-con thing, think about it this way. Isn’t it nice not having to worry about who you’re going with to the homecoming dance? Or the Ball? Or the prom?”
    â€œNo argument there,” I admitted. “It’sdefinitely easier not having to worry about those things. Especially since Cam is still always fun to hang out with. No complaints there.” I shrugged and played with my straw. “But is that enough reason to stay with someone? Is it fair to either of us?”
    â€œOf course it is!” Allie exclaimed. “You guys care about each other. That’s all that