Best Friends Don't Kiss

She gives me a thumbs-up and turns back around to face the bartender.

But my eyes take it upon themselves to take in the view—her view.

My eyes follow the length of her legs, moving up the candy-cane-striped socks that stop just below her knees, to the luscious view of trim legs that are revealed until they meet a little green velvet skirt that feels as if it just barely covers her ass when she’s leaning over the bar like that. And long blond hair falls down her back and over the tight white shirt and overalls that complete the holiday look.

Goddamn, Ava the Elf is quite the vision.

Truthfully, it should be illegal for her to make something as innocent as a fucking elf look that sexy.

I don’t know how long I sit there, staring—at your best friend’s perfect ass—but it takes the sounds of someone calling my name to pull me out of my trance.

“Luke? Bro, what’s with you?” I hear Trev say. His voice changes slightly. “He’s not normally like this, I swear.”

I look up to find a woman standing over us, and apparently, she’s been trying to get my attention.

“Sorry,” I apologize. “Hi.”

“Luke, this is Gina,” Trev introduces. “She was just telling me how she hasn’t been able to get anyone to join her for a dance.”

I nod.

“How about you join me?” Gina says, fluttering her eyelashes and moving her body a little too close to mine. “What do you say?”

“While I appreciate your offer, Gina, I’m sorry, but I can’t,” I say, trying to let her down gently.

But she turns brazen, placing her hand on my bicep. “Oh, c’mon, Luke. I promise, me and you will have a really good time tonight.”

Translation: I want to fuck you.

And then she turns even more brazen by placing her breasts all up in my space.

Personally, I’m not a fan. If anything, it just makes me feel uncomfortable. For a brief moment, my eyes dart to where Ava still stands at the bar, trying to order our drinks.

“I’m sorry, but I have a girlfriend,” I say, still trying to ease us out of this conversation.

“You what?” Trev nearly shouts.

She looks deliberately around the table, between Trevor and me. “And where is this girlfriend of yours?” she asks, her voice teasing and flirtatious at the same time.

“That’s a good fucking question,” Trev comments.

But I don’t need to think twice about my answer.

I stand up from my barstool and quickly grab an unsuspecting Ava around the hips, pulling her away from the bar and back toward me until she’s pressed against my chest.

“What the…?” she questions through a giggle and looks up to meet my eyes. “What are you doing?”

“She’s right here,” I say to Gina, my hands still resting on Ava’s hips. “This is my girlfriend.”

Gina’s eyes go wide and then her face scrunches up in shock, and just as she opens her mouth to respond, Trev chokes on his beer and sprays it across the table, the mist of booze landing on everyone.

Ava dodges it by turning to press her face into my chest.

“Ew,” Gina mutters, swiping a hand across her forehead.

“What the fuck is happening right now?” Trevor asks, his eyes bouncing between Ava and Gina and me.

“Did he just say you’re his fucking girlfriend?” Desi shouts, her voice echoing inside the bar, over the crowd, and nearly drowning out Madonna’s voice singing “Santa Baby” from the DJ’s speakers.

Gina strides away from the circus on a huff, but the scrutiny doesn’t lessen. If anything, it just intensifies.

Desi and Claire get so close, I fear they might climb in our laps.

“Well, Ace, I guess the cat’s outta the bag, huh?”

“When I said we’d tell them about our plan tonight, I didn’t quite picture it coming off this crazy, Luke.” Ava snorts, smiling up at me.

I just shrug.

“You two have some explaining to do,” Claire says, her eyes pointedly glaring at us.

“Wait…are you two dating?” Desi asks. “Like, have you finally realized—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Ava cuts her off. “We’re not actually dating. We’re pretending to be dating.”

Claire scrunches up her nose. “Huh?”

“You know how you guys suggested that I just bring Luke to Vermont? Well, it’s happening.”

Trevor sighs and shakes his head.

“Damn, talk about a letdown,” Desi mutters, sharing a look with Claire.

“Tell me about it.”

“Wait. Why are you guys acting all weird?” I question.

“Because you two are fucking blind,” Trev retorts.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, man,” he answers through a sigh and finishes off the rest of his beer. “Fucking nothing.”

Ava quirks a brow and meets my eyes. “Is it just me, or does it seem like our friends are mad at us?”

All I can do is shrug.

But when Trevor meets my eyes, I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what he’s thinking. Or why he’s thinking it. For years, he’s been playing the same broken record, saying that I have a thing for Ava. That I see her as more than my best friend.