A Wilde Christmas Ch. 08

After a late lunch with Liberty and her twin brother Justice, Wynter left to get ready for the next birthday week outing. The only thing her cousins told her was to dress comfortably and warmly. It was around 50 degrees outside, so she chose distressed jeans, a cropped long-sleeve top, and a blue puffer coat. She installed a straight light brown wig and wore a navy blue beanie embellished with pearls. White ankle boots, silver pearl hoop earrings, and a single floating pearl necklace completed her look. While she was waiting for Liberty to pick her up, she checked the notifications on her phone. She accepted Jackson's friend requests earlier that day, but she was pleasantly surprised to see he already liked a few of her pictures. She fought the urge all afternoon to do a deep dive into his profiles, but knowing that he checked out hers made it impossible not to look at his.

After an exploration of all his profiles, she discovered he went to college in California, joined a fraternity, was a software engineer, and traveled extensively. There were hardly any women on his profile; only family pictures or groups of friends including girls. No couple photos or selfies indicated he was involved with anyone. Most of his pictures and videos were of him traveling: either by himself or with his friends. He had pictures of him hiking, rollerblading, and ziplining; attending festivals, concerts, and parades and visiting museums, tree houses, and wineries.

She got so caught up in all his eclectic travels and experiences, that she completely forgot she was digging for more information on him. When she saw a photo of him at a music festival in Vegas a couple of years ago, Wynter gasped, wondering if they attended at the same time. The signage and event t-shirt confirmed it was the same year. She went through her photos to find a picture of her at the same event and texted it to him.

Wynter: We literally could have met each other years ago 👀

Maybe 2 minutes later, Jackson texted her back.

Jackson: Nah, I would have remembered you. Besides, our group stayed away from college girls. Especially girls from TSU

Wynter: I beg your pardon? Not a member of a Greek gang coming for my HBCU...

Jackson: Brotherhood, not gang. And not the whole HBCU, just the females.

Wynter: You must wanna be blocked again...

Jackson: lol

They went back and forth a little bit more before she got a call from Liberty telling her to come outside. She grabbed her camera bag and went outside to see her Grandpa Elliot with 2 horses pulling a wagon decorated with garland and multicolored lights. All her cousins and their significant others were cheering her on to get in the wagon.

"What the hell is this?" Wynter giggled, excitedly as she approached the wagon.

"It's a hayride!" Grace smiled.

"Get in, we're gonna go judge Christmas decorations!" Liberty urged her.

Wynter complied, getting into the wagon. They took pictures before settling in. She sent Jackson a selfie and let him know what they were doing. He told her to stay warm and have fun, so she put her phone away to focus on her cousins, cousins-in-laws, and grandpa. Valentina offered her spiked cocoa and Baileys coffee which she accepted, eagerly. She loved catching up with all of them as they rode to town. Almost all of the storefronts were decorated with lights, wreaths, and bows. It was spectacular at night and Wynter took a few pictures when she could.

Grandpa Elliot then drove them through the neighborhoods. All the houses were incredible. Everyone had some type of decoration or theme and Liberty explained there was a poll for the best decorated house in town. An early favorite was the reindeer house from the Smiths. The front was filled with LED-lit reindeer. Reindeer lined the walkway and were in various poses throughout the yard. Santa was sitting in a massive sleigh and was led by a team of reindeer elevating into the sky. It was very impressive and everyone loved it, except Valentina. She was freaked out by all the reindeer.

"The only time I wanna see that many deer is at a butcher," Valentina announced. Wynter shook her head as the men reminisced on their last hunting trip. Thankfully, they came up to another fun house. It had 5 animated dancing Santas wearing college and professional sports jerseys. There was a sign with a radio station, so Grace's older sister Faith tuned in to the station on her phone that was connected to the speaker. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town by The Jackson 5 was playing, and they quickly saw the lights were synchronized to the music. The lyrics were even displayed in LED lights on the front window. Wynter demanded the wagon stop so she could take pictures and videos outside the house.

"This is lit! Who's house is this?" Miguel, Valentina's 15-year-old brother, asked.

"It's the Beasleys," Liberty responded. Wynter listened closely when she heard the last name of Jackson's mother, "They always do the dancing Santas, but this is the first time I've seen the synchronized lights and tuned radio station."

"Maybe Jackson did it." Wynter blurted out before she could catch herself. When Liberty, Grace, and Valentina side-eyed her, she added, "He's a software engineer."

"And you know how?" Valentina asked, inquisitively.

Liberty snickered. "They're friendly now."

"Let's just take photos and leave!" Wynter ordered them.

They took turns taking pictures and videos dancing with the Santas when the porch light came on.

"RUN!" Noah, Liberty's younger brother, called out but only he and Justice raced to the wagon. Obviously, they had way too many shots of brandy in the Wagon as they didn't realize half the group was laughing at them and no one was following. Grandpa Elliot yelled at them to not startle the horses. Wynter's hysterical laughing paused momentarily as she looked towards the house to see Jackson, his mom Janet, and most likely his stepdad at the door.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Beasley. We are just admiring your decor." Liberty straightened up, barely containing her laughter.

"Yeah? Why those two knuckleheads run off?" Mr. Beasley asked in a booming voice. Wynter burst out laughing again at her cousins being called knuckleheads. She quickly covered her mouth as Jackson looked over at her, amused.

"No reason," Liberty started.

"They're idiots," RJ explained.

"Too much to drink," Grace revealed.

They all answered at the same time when Grandpa Elliot stepped up. "They're drunken idiots, but you have my word they didn't do anything. I'm keeping them in line, Chris." Grandpa smoothed it over.

Mr. Beasley looked satisfied while Janet smiled. "You have room for one more? My son needs to see his competition."

"Mom," Jackson said, warningly.

"What? You're convinced you did the best decorations. You gotta see them all before you can say that." Janet stated.

"Oh, so you did the lights? Wynter! You were right about your friend! Is his house still your favorite?" Liberty instigated smugly.

"Shut up." Wynter pinched her arm and Liberty yelped.

Jackson watched her, curiously and Wynter folded under his gaze. "I didn't know this was your house until we got out of the wagon. I loved the Santas and the music and the light show. I know you're a software engineer, so I assumed you did the synchronized lights when I found out this was your house. We were just taking pictures but we're gonna get going now." Wynter said, flustered as she pushed Liberty away.

"Wait up, is it ok if I join?" Jackson asked her. Wynter looked at her grandfather.

"Up to you. The wagon seats 12." He shrugged, before telling the Beasleys goodnight.

"You really want to come?" Wynter asked.

When Liberty snickered again, Valentina took her arm and pulled her away. Jackson waited until his parents went back inside and her group was heading to the wagon before speaking.

"I do. I wanna make sure I'm still your favorite." He smirked.

Wynter felt heat rising to her cheeks again, but she kept cool. "Whatever, I never said you were my favorite."

"Right, give me a second to grab a jacket."

After a minute, they joined the group in the wagon. Wynter was afraid it was going to be awkward, but everyone treated Jackson like family, offering him a drink and swigs of brandy and dragging him in their arguments about the best houses. They passed a candy cane-themed house, and they all fell out laughing when Liberty hopped out of the wagon to help herself to the complimentary mini candy canes in a giant bowl held by a life-sized Mrs. Claus. The sign clearly said: "Please Take One", but Liberty came back with a handful. When Grandpa scolded her, she said she got some for everyone but refused to share because everyone was still laughing at her.

Wynter was having so much fun, that she almost forgot her history with Jackson until his leg grazed hers as the wagon went over a speed bump. He didn't seem affected, but she felt heat from where they touched and it drove her crazy. Thankfully, they stood up to get out of the wagon when they got to his brother's house. His decorations were Christmas Vacation Themed, complete with an RV, a dummy hanging from the roof Clark Griswold style, and a ton of twinkle lights all over the house. There were cardboard cutouts of the characters throughout the lawn.

"So you and your brother go all out with the Christmas decorations huh?" Wynter asked him.

"He does. He normally wins, I'm just trying to give him some competition this year." Jackson admitted.

"I don't know... He has an RV in his yard. That's kinda epic." Wynter pointed out.

"It's obscure. If you haven't seen the movie, you have no idea what it means. Dancing Santa is classic, I just updated him a little bit."

"Right, I'm surprised you didn't have a Santa rocking the black and gold paraphernalia and letters and throwing up the hand signals." Wynter teased, doing random hand gestures, mocking the fraternity he was in.

"Don't do that." He grabbed her hands to stop her. "You gotta earn the letters on your chest. Not even Santa can bear the insignia without putting in the work."

She smiled at him, ignoring the warmth from his hand on hers. "Excluding Santa is crazy."

He chuckled and she had the overwhelming urge to kiss his dimple. She pulled back instead. "We should head back. Unless you wanna go get your brother."

"No, he's got work in the morning and three kids. Let him sleep."

They got back in the wagon and were talking about Christmas Eve. Wynter was aware that because her family was so large, everyone had their own Christmas day traditions, but Christmas Eve was when they all got together. Grandpa always held a huge party at the ranch and RJ organized a bunch of games for prizes instead of exchanging gifts. There was also a talent show at the end of the night that Grandpa judged.

Wynter felt a little left out, as she had no memories of past get-togethers. She had to stay in Houston and keep up the appearance of a happy, healthy blended family with her dad. She kept the smile plastered on her face as they reminisced. Thankfully, they got out again at the last stop. It was the city park; every tree was decorated in a different color light, creating a stunning sight. Wynter had to take pictures, so she walked around the park with her camera. She took individual and group photos of her family before they split up to explore. After Wynter got all the pictures she wanted, she joined Jackson on a park bench.

"Are you having fun?" She asked him.

He looked her over, slowly before answering. "It depends, are my decorations still your favorite?"

"Yes. I already cast my vote for you." She smiled.

"Thanks." he smiled back. "Do you normally spend Christmas in Lucky?"

"No, not since my mom died. My dad lives in Houston, so we typically stayed there." Wynter explained.

"You didn't want to go back this year?" He inquired.

Wynter laughed, humorlessly. "You really don't listen to town gossip."

"I told you I don't." He confirmed. "Does it have anything to do with your year break from social media?"

"Oh, you were stalking my social media?" Wynter changed the subject.

"Were you stalking? I don't remember telling you I was a software engineer." He countered.

"Maybe a little bit," Wynter confessed.

"You can ask me whatever you want." He offered.

"I may not return the favor," Wynter warned him.

"That's cool. Tell me whatever you want me to know." He shrugged.

Wynter thought about it. Even if he didn't want to hear gossip, eventually he would. She figured it was better she told him her truth than whatever version that was going around town.

"My ex-boyfriend cheated on me with my step-sister. I blasted their texts and other shit online. My dad threatened me with a lawsuit if I didn't take the posts down. He's a lawyer and petty enough to do it, so I did. I went no contact and gave myself a social media break."

"Damn, when did that happen?" Jackson asked.

"April," Wynter replied.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he said, sincerely.

Wynter shrugged. "I'm not. I'm realizing now I built my whole life around what they wanted. My ex, my dad; I went by whatever they thought was best. If he didn't cheat and if my dad didn't only care about his image, I would still be doing that. I wasted so much time doing that. I can't believe it took me so long to start thinking about what I wanted."

Jackson nodded a half smile on his face.

"What's funny?" Wynter asked, nervously.

"Nothing. My stepdad Chris is a landscaper and runs a nursery. He's always making lame analogies and puns with plants." Jackson started. When Wynter looked confused, he continued. "One he always says is: the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. I hate sounding like him, but he's right. It's pointless worrying about what you coulda done in the past, that energy is better served focusing on right now."

Wynter nodded and looked into his eyes. His care and attention were genuine. It made her feel both validated and uncomfortable.

"That's sage advice. Get it? Sage?" Wynter cracked, trying to ease some of the tension between them.

Jackson groaned but smiled. "Please stop."

"What? Do I need to branch out?" Wynter persisted. "Don't beat around the bush."

"Bye." He laughed, standing up.

"Don't leave! L-E-A-F." She stood up, laughing as she followed him.

They got back on the wagon and Grandpa Elliot started to drop them off home. When they got to Jackson's parent's house, Jackson thanked everyone for letting him tag along. Wynter gave him a brief hug before they said goodnight. Surprisingly, none of her cousins teased her. She went to bed that night, happy that she was going to be friends with Jackson.