THE CHRISTMAS PARTY
For such a fancy hotel, the ballroom wasn't much to write home about. Save for the chandelier. Actually, Winn had forced Taylor to completely nerd out and take as many shots of the chandelier with his phone as possible, as she had left her own up in the room. He complained that it would have looked better on the professional camera and that he could run upstairs and get it real quick but she had squashed that idea the instant it left his mouth. She had no problem expressing her touristy nerd-dom with Taylor, but she DID have a problem expressing it in front of supervisors and colleagues.
Winn hadn't known Taylor long. Or Isaac, for that matter. But it already felt like forever and in the short time that she'd known them, their status was easy to forget. Taylor was so normal, sometimes she completely forgot he was a musician altogether. So when the eyes and the stares greeted them as they picked up their name cards and walked into the ballroom, Winn was shocked.
At the check-in table by the ballroom door, Taylor had asked for a pen to scratch off his brother's name and replace it with his own on his nametag. Winn didn't know whether he was saving face for his brother or for her, or for both, when he was asked why he did what he did and he answered with, "Looks like they just had it wrong on the list. Sorry I'm not the guy you were expecting."
Choosing to ignore the exchange she said to him, "I never wear those things, I always just introduce myself." She shoved her own nametag in her clutch and looked around the room, spying a table up front. "Come on, we'll grab that table and hopefully my people will get here soon."
As they walked to the table, she looked around. The set up was simple: a room full of round tables covered in white table clothes, portable bars in every corner, buffet tables along the walls and a dance floor headed by a DJ booth near the front. The lights were dim and the centerpieces were simple poinsettia displays. There were already quite a few people there who had the same idea Winn and Taylor had had.
They sat for a moment before they decided to explore the food and on the way to the buffet, Winn stopped and turned around and smiled at Taylor. "You know what? I'm kinda in the Christmas spirit now. I didn't think I would be, it's been a long-time coming now, but I think I'm feeling it now. I love it."
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "I'm kinda getting into it myself."
"I'm sorry. I'm being weird. Please don't let me embarrass you. Let me know when I start to embarrass you."
He laughed and shook his head. "You worry too much. You're not embarrassing me, you could never embarrass me, and I'm starving so, please, can we just get our plates before I show you what embarrassment really looks like?"
Her eyes widened and she smiled shyly. "Oh. Sorry."
The food was an array of choices, from finger foods and dips to entrees and sides and Winn didn't realize how hungry she was until it actually got down to filling her plate. Choosing to sample it all, she tucked her clutch under her arm and submersed herself in complete concentration on the buffet until she got to the table, where she was met with a full house. Tina had shown up with her date, Charles with his wife, and Steph with her fiancée. Winn had to admit, she was glad it was just her and her staff at her table.
While Taylor had gone to the bar for drinks, Tina took it upon herself to seat herself in his chair, her voluptuous curves and the glow of her biracial skin looking fantastic against the white strapless number she wore. "Girl, spill, right now! What is going on here? Have you come to your senses, are you dating him?"
Winn smiled and shook her head. "No, there are no senses to come to. Ike had, um, something came up so Taylor came in his place. We're just friends, nothing more, nothing less. It's not a big deal."
"But you're sharing a room."
"With two separate beds," Winn scoffed. "Believe me, there is nothing going on there, I promise."
"Well I'm only going to say this once and then I'll leave it alone, but you are absolutely crazy if you let that one slip through the cracks. That is a perfect man right there and he is insane over you and you're blind if you don't see it. If you don't try to get with him, you will live to regret it, I promise you. He is a good man, much better than his brother, and it's high time you recognize it."
Winn appreciated Tina's words. She wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. But she shook her head regretfully. "I realize that. I know he's a good person. But we are friends and that's it. He's not interested in me, contrary to popular belief. I promise he isn't."
"What reason has he given you that he isn't?"
"Because--" Winn blinked at her for a second. "Because he doesn't even act like it."
"How is he supposed to act?"
"I don't know. Ask me to dinner, tell me he likes me, NOT try to convince me how good a guy his older brother is..."
Tina curled her nose up. "He did that?"
"Yeah."
"Well I don't know, then," Tina sighed. "The only thing I know is, you two are the most adorable couple I have ever laid eyes on and it's a shame you two won't see it through." Glancing over Winn's shoulder, Tina removed herself from Taylor's chair and saw herself to the buffet.
"What did I miss?" Taylor smiled as he sat down, placing the chardonnay and the beer in their appropriate spots.
Winn smiled. "Nothing. Just catching up." Taylor already knew Tina and Charles and Steph, so he was quickly introduced to their dates until the entire table was finally engrossed in their dinners, discussing the menu, the décor, the music, and comparing the atmosphere to Christmas parties past. "The only thing I don't like about these things," Winn said, "is that there isn't much Christmas. It's a Christmas party. So where is it?"
"There are poinsettias on the tables," Steph offered.
Winn curled her nose up.
"There are some gorgeous Christmas trees decorated out in the lobby area," Charles's wife, Jasmine spoke up. "Charles and I stopped to look at them on the way in."
Winn's eyes lit up and she tapped Taylor's arm excitedly. "Tay, did you hear that? There are Christmas trees in the lobby! Let's go see them after we eat and before I get drunk."
Taylor smiled at her, amused. "Before you get drunk? To look at trees? Just how much do you plan on drinking?"
Her chin dropped and she blinked at him, matter-of-factly. "Come on. It's free-flowing alcohol, emphasis on the free, and no reason to drive. It's gonna happen."
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When they had finished their plates and gotten fresh drinks, Winn and Taylor carried them to the lobby, followed by Steph and her husband. Along the walls of the lobby were extremely tall and elaborately-decorated Christmas trees and Winn was like a kid in a candy store. The trees were beautiful but Winn's reaction was much more entertaining and Taylor couldn't stop watching her.
Her excitement was raw and infectious and it both amused and pleased him that she could find so much joy in the simplest things. It seemed to happen all the time. In general, Winn was just an all-round happy person and he had come to realize just how much brighter his life had become since she'd been in it.
She seemed content taking her time with each of the six large trees that adorned the back of the lobby, closely inspecting the ornaments on each one, and walking around them numerous times. She chattered on about her dreams of having the space for such a large tree and the ideas the décor was giving her for her own. While Taylor was happy to listen to her, his focus couldn't stay away from the way she pulled and tugged on his arm with each item that caught her eye. Every time she touched him it was torture and every time she mindlessly hooked her arm in his, he thought he might die.
As they looked over the last tree, a deep voice boomed behind them. "Winnie Douglas."
Taylor and Winn turned around to face the dark-haired man that approached them and she winced at his use of the name she hated. "That's Scott Walters," she whispered to him. "He's the company VPO for Oklahoma."
Scott Walters approached, his face smiling. "Winnie," he said again. "Someone told me I'd find you out here. I just wanted to tell you personally how proud I am of you and how happy I am with the progress in that office of yours. That office hasn't seen delinquency in a long time and you've managed to turn it around in a matter of two months."
Impressed with Mr. Walters's compliment, Taylor turned and smiled at Winn, who blushed and tucked her thick hair behind her ear. "Thank you," she said. "But it's far from fixed. I still have a long, long way to go to keep it that way."
"No doubt that you'll succeed, I have faith in you. I respect those guys down there in Texas and they convinced me you could handle the task. They've never steered me wrong before and they didn't steer me wrong this time. Great job, Winnie." Then he turned to Taylor and held out his hand. "Taylor Hanson, right? Glad to see you here tonight."
Taylor smiled nervously and shook his hand. "Thank you. I'm glad to be here."
"There's a lot of buzz going on in there about your presence here tonight. But I gotta say, I just enjoy your beer. My daughter's a fan of your music, but I stick around for the beer. You're a common name in my household."
The two men laughed. "Thank you so much," Taylor replied. "You know, we just had our first annual beer and music festival earlier this year in Tulsa. If you're into craft beers, you should come next year. I'd be happy to get you exclusive first tastings with the vendors."
"You had me at beer and you had me at tasting. Looks like I'll be making an extra trip to Tulsa next year."
When the conversation wrapped up, and Scott Walters walked away, Winn turned and narrowed her eyes at Taylor, a smirk crossing her lips. "I see you there, trying to get in good with the big wigs in my company..."
He smiled and shrugged. "What? He said he liked my beer. And, well, you know, sometimes it's good to know people..."
She gaped at him, her mouth hanging open. "You're totally playing Taylor Hanson right now, aren't you?"
"Did I have a choice? He kinda backed me into a corner. And anyway, what about you? You never said anything about how well your office was doing."
"There's a big difference in how it looks on paper for five seconds and what the reality is. He's only seeing the five second stuff. I still stress, I still work my ass off every day, it doesn't get any easier. Success isn't just going to fall into my lap, you know. You should know that better than anyone."
He smiled and glanced at the floor, shifting his weight. "You know, I'm not really in the mood to talk work right now. You ready for another drink?"
Winn smiled. "Yes, please. I'm already feeling a little tipsy, but what's one more, right?"
He patted her shoulder as they began to walk. "That's the spirit."
"The Christmas spirit."
He shook his head and laughed at the lameness of her statement. "Right," he agreed.
********************
Back at their table, Winn and Taylor sat next to each other while Winn watched the other women dance, including Steph and Tina. They had mingled a little, met some of the other managers and employees in her district and, now finishing up drink number three with as thin as she was, she decided it was a good idea if she just sat and chilled out for a few minutes. Taylor was okay with that. He was feeling a little tipsy himself and decided that the more dormant he stayed, the less likelihood there was of him making an ass of himself.
Steph and Tina constantly begged Winn to dance with them and she constantly turned them down, despite remarking that she liked this song or that song, and making it known that she didn't line dance. "I just don't," she said to Taylor. "I don't country line dance, I don't do any of these fad songs, I just...I just don't."
"You don't dance?"
"I'm a professional dancer."
Taylor's eyes widened. "Um, you are?"
"Was," she corrected. "I grew up in ballet until college. Then I became a pole dancer."
Taylor nearly spit out his beer and his eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
She scowled at him and waved him off. "Not like THAT. I didn't, like, take my clothes off or anything. I did, like, extreme pole fitness-type stuff. Like tricks and things. I guess it's not technically dancing, but I'd do competitions and the ones that I won, I would use the money to go towards school. Those things paid for a lot of my college text books. Anyway, I quit competing long time ago and now I go to classes sometimes just to get a workout in. One of my goals is to have a pole in my house."
She talked about this in passing as if it were nothing. Taylor, on the other hand, was ready to lay her out across the table in front of god and everybody. It was painfully obvious to him that he was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. "So...you do ballet and pole tricks. That must mean you're incredibly limber," he mused as he turned up his beer.
"Well, I mean, yeah. Have to be limber for both."
Their conversation was interrupted by Steph and Tina, once again, begging Winn to come dance. The Electric Slide began to play and Winn sighed. She glanced at Taylor and smiled. "No matter how old you get, this one never seems to get old. It's the exception to my rule."
He smiled, amused. "Well, then, get out there. It's your party, go have fun. I'll be right here."
Finding a spot on the dance floor, she moved in sync between Steph and Tina as she tucked her hair behind her ear and giggled with them. Her hips moved side-to-side with a fluidity that seemed terribly inappropriate for the song, but was a natural occurrence that she couldn't help. As her hour-glass figure shifted ever so slightly underneath the material of her dress as she moved, Taylor grew weaker and weaker as he watched. As a result, the more turned on he became, the faster he drank, and by the time the song was over, he was already halfway through a brand new beer.
Every part of him was numb from the alcohol, his legs were warm, his body felt fluid and he was pretty sure his speech would slur soon if he didn't slow down. He felt incredible and he figured he better stop while he was ahead. As Winn giggled with her employees on the dance floor, the atmosphere slowed down and a slow song began to play. Before he had time to think about his own actions, Taylor had risen from his chair and sauntered toward the dance floor.
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The giggles subsided and Steph and Tina had left Winn's side in a flash. As Winn glanced up, Taylor was coming toward her. She looked around. There was nobody else on the dance floor except for maybe a couple of couples. That was it.
He smiled when he approached her. "You Electric Slide quite well. But do you also slow dance?"
Winn smiled happily at him. "You want to dance?"
"Well, yeah, sure. I mean, you should dance at your own party."
She allowed him to take her hand and pull her into him. He was careful not to pull her body against his, though, and her arms hung off of his shoulders, her fingers twiddling with each other inches behind his head. His hands were gently resting on the small of her back and the platonic feeling of the dance was unmistakable.
"When I'm feeling blue, all I have to do
Is take a look at you, then I'm not so blue."
"How funny you decide to ask me to dance to this one," Winn observed as she smiled at Taylor. She didn't have to look up to see him. Without her four inch heels, she stood 5'6. Now she was nearly eye-level with him.
"It wasn't specific, I just picked whatever's playing."
"It's my parents' song. It was their wedding song. I grew up listening to my mom sing it as she cleaned the house."
Taylor smiled. "Seriously? That's awesome. Are they still married?"
"When you're close to me I can feel your heart beat
I can hear you breathing in my ear
Wouldn't you agree, baby, you and me
Got a groovy kind of love."
"Yep. Thirty-two years and going."
They danced in silence for a moment before Taylor spoke. "Look, I'm sorry Ike stood you up. I just--I feel really bad about that. I'm just--I'm sorry I'm not him tonight."
"Anytime you want to you can turn me onto
Anything you want to, anytime at all.
Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me
Got a groovy kind of love."
"Don't be sorry," she said. "I'm having a blast tonight. The truth is..." Her voice trailed off as the realization scared her a little. The truth was, she completely forgot about Isaac. She looked up at him and she whispered under her breath, "Why don't I think about him when I'm with you?"
"What?"
"What?" She said, bringing herself back to reality.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear you."
"Huh? Oh." She laughed nervously. "I, uh, I already forgot. I think the alcohol is getting to me. Anyway, I just--you know, he just--he missed out on a fun night tonight. And that's his problem. He did it to himself. And I can't feel sorry for him for it. I'm glad you're here. As a matter of fact, I'm glad it's you and not him. You're my best friend. And I know I wouldn't have had near this much fun with anyone else."
"When I'm feeling blue, all I have to do
Is take a look at you, and then I'm not so blue."
"Still. I mean, I'm glad you're having fun. I am, too. But I know he hurt you and I know it bothers you and I know--"
"I know I'm drunk, Tay. I am. I am drunk. And I'm having fun and I don't really want to talk about this right now."
Taylor nodded. "Okay. Okay. You're right, I'll lay off. I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven."
"Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me
Got a groovy kind of love."
Taylor looked around and then looked back at her, an amused twinkle in his eye. "You know what? We've been here, what, two hours? And I haven't heard a single Christmas song. This is a Christmas party. Where's the Christmas spirit in here?"
Winn giggled. "Apparently it's in poinsettias and Christmas trees unaffiliated with the party."
"So basically your company is mooching off of hotel décor?"
"Well I'm sure the hotel didn't provide the poinsettias."
"What the hell are poinsettias anyway? They're just, like, big red flowers that are deadly to dogs. Where's the Christmas spirit in THAT?"
Winn grinned and shook her hair back off her shoulders. "It just so happens that poinsettias' association with Christmas dates back to 16th century Mexico. The legend says that a little girl, who was too poor to provide a gift for a celebration of Jesus's birthday, gathered weeds to place along the church altar. The weeds sprouted and grew into poinsettias, and THAT is why they're Christmas flowers."
Taylor shook his head. "Even while you're drunk you can still play the nerd card and never cease to amaze me. Why do you even KNOW that?"
She winked at him. "I Googled it from your phone when you left it on the table to go get drinks."
"You went in my phone?"
"I'm sorry," she said regretfully. "I'm sorry. I crossed the line, I'm so sorry."
"Well, no, I mean, there's nothing to hide, it's just--it's fine. You can use my phone any time you want."
"Well it was still rude of me, I shouldn't have done that."
"You learned something, didn't you?"
She hung her head in shame. "Yeah. I know..."
Taylor laughed. "No. I mean about the poinsettias. Learn something new every day."
"When I'm in your arms, nothing seems to matter
My whole world could shatter, I don't care."
They danced in silence for a moment more before Taylor blushed and said, "Listen. I'm, uh, I'm getting pretty drunk. And when I get drunk, I tend to get a little flirty and, well, a couple of women have already kinda made passes at me and they didn't look too bad, so...I might need to call it a night."
Winn smirked at him. "Why, Mr. Hanson, did you come to my party to pick up women?"
He smiled. "No. I didn't, I just--I know how I am--liquid courage and all..."
"Well make sure none of them are in my district. And If I need to, like, hide under the covers in my bed while you do your thing..."
Taylor blushed and he laughed again. "Winn, no--are you hearing yourself, you're totally crazy. I'm not gonna--I'm not gonna do any of that."
"Well, you know, I DID bring a backup plan in case this party started to suck..."
"Which it doesn't..."
"At any rate, I brought a little Christmas cheer to have in the room."
"I'm listening..."
"Apple pie moonshine, cinnamon and peppermint schnapps, a couple of mixers...you know, Christmas cheer."
"You brought moonshine?"
She closed her eyes and moaned. "It's like heaven in your mouth." And then her eyes snapped open. "And then it knocks you on your ass."
"I don't think we can afford to be knocked on our asses at this point. I think we already are."
"Then we can get in fuzzy pajamas and rent a Christmas movie. Oh, and did I tell you I baked cookies, too? My suitcase is full of fun stuff. And they have frosting! We can have our very own Christmas party, Christmas actually included!"
"How much frosting?"
She smiled deviously. "Extra. Is there any other way?"
"Let's go."
"Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me
Got a groovy kind of love.
We got a groovy kind of love."
As Taylor mindlessly took Winn by the hand and led her off the dance floor and through the ballroom, she laughed wildly, the room only slowly spinning. Her legs felt like jelly and her mouth was so numb she just knew that any second she would be completely incoherent. But sober or drunk, Taylor was just too damn much fun to be around.
"We've got a groovy kind of love."
For such a fancy hotel, the ballroom wasn't much to write home about. Save for the chandelier. Actually, Winn had forced Taylor to completely nerd out and take as many shots of the chandelier with his phone as possible, as she had left her own up in the room. He complained that it would have looked better on the professional camera and that he could run upstairs and get it real quick but she had squashed that idea the instant it left his mouth. She had no problem expressing her touristy nerd-dom with Taylor, but she DID have a problem expressing it in front of supervisors and colleagues.
Winn hadn't known Taylor long. Or Isaac, for that matter. But it already felt like forever and in the short time that she'd known them, their status was easy to forget. Taylor was so normal, sometimes she completely forgot he was a musician altogether. So when the eyes and the stares greeted them as they picked up their name cards and walked into the ballroom, Winn was shocked.
At the check-in table by the ballroom door, Taylor had asked for a pen to scratch off his brother's name and replace it with his own on his nametag. Winn didn't know whether he was saving face for his brother or for her, or for both, when he was asked why he did what he did and he answered with, "Looks like they just had it wrong on the list. Sorry I'm not the guy you were expecting."
Choosing to ignore the exchange she said to him, "I never wear those things, I always just introduce myself." She shoved her own nametag in her clutch and looked around the room, spying a table up front. "Come on, we'll grab that table and hopefully my people will get here soon."
As they walked to the table, she looked around. The set up was simple: a room full of round tables covered in white table clothes, portable bars in every corner, buffet tables along the walls and a dance floor headed by a DJ booth near the front. The lights were dim and the centerpieces were simple poinsettia displays. There were already quite a few people there who had the same idea Winn and Taylor had had.
They sat for a moment before they decided to explore the food and on the way to the buffet, Winn stopped and turned around and smiled at Taylor. "You know what? I'm kinda in the Christmas spirit now. I didn't think I would be, it's been a long-time coming now, but I think I'm feeling it now. I love it."
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "I'm kinda getting into it myself."
"I'm sorry. I'm being weird. Please don't let me embarrass you. Let me know when I start to embarrass you."
He laughed and shook his head. "You worry too much. You're not embarrassing me, you could never embarrass me, and I'm starving so, please, can we just get our plates before I show you what embarrassment really looks like?"
Her eyes widened and she smiled shyly. "Oh. Sorry."
The food was an array of choices, from finger foods and dips to entrees and sides and Winn didn't realize how hungry she was until it actually got down to filling her plate. Choosing to sample it all, she tucked her clutch under her arm and submersed herself in complete concentration on the buffet until she got to the table, where she was met with a full house. Tina had shown up with her date, Charles with his wife, and Steph with her fiancée. Winn had to admit, she was glad it was just her and her staff at her table.
While Taylor had gone to the bar for drinks, Tina took it upon herself to seat herself in his chair, her voluptuous curves and the glow of her biracial skin looking fantastic against the white strapless number she wore. "Girl, spill, right now! What is going on here? Have you come to your senses, are you dating him?"
Winn smiled and shook her head. "No, there are no senses to come to. Ike had, um, something came up so Taylor came in his place. We're just friends, nothing more, nothing less. It's not a big deal."
"But you're sharing a room."
"With two separate beds," Winn scoffed. "Believe me, there is nothing going on there, I promise."
"Well I'm only going to say this once and then I'll leave it alone, but you are absolutely crazy if you let that one slip through the cracks. That is a perfect man right there and he is insane over you and you're blind if you don't see it. If you don't try to get with him, you will live to regret it, I promise you. He is a good man, much better than his brother, and it's high time you recognize it."
Winn appreciated Tina's words. She wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. But she shook her head regretfully. "I realize that. I know he's a good person. But we are friends and that's it. He's not interested in me, contrary to popular belief. I promise he isn't."
"What reason has he given you that he isn't?"
"Because--" Winn blinked at her for a second. "Because he doesn't even act like it."
"How is he supposed to act?"
"I don't know. Ask me to dinner, tell me he likes me, NOT try to convince me how good a guy his older brother is..."
Tina curled her nose up. "He did that?"
"Yeah."
"Well I don't know, then," Tina sighed. "The only thing I know is, you two are the most adorable couple I have ever laid eyes on and it's a shame you two won't see it through." Glancing over Winn's shoulder, Tina removed herself from Taylor's chair and saw herself to the buffet.
"What did I miss?" Taylor smiled as he sat down, placing the chardonnay and the beer in their appropriate spots.
Winn smiled. "Nothing. Just catching up." Taylor already knew Tina and Charles and Steph, so he was quickly introduced to their dates until the entire table was finally engrossed in their dinners, discussing the menu, the décor, the music, and comparing the atmosphere to Christmas parties past. "The only thing I don't like about these things," Winn said, "is that there isn't much Christmas. It's a Christmas party. So where is it?"
"There are poinsettias on the tables," Steph offered.
Winn curled her nose up.
"There are some gorgeous Christmas trees decorated out in the lobby area," Charles's wife, Jasmine spoke up. "Charles and I stopped to look at them on the way in."
Winn's eyes lit up and she tapped Taylor's arm excitedly. "Tay, did you hear that? There are Christmas trees in the lobby! Let's go see them after we eat and before I get drunk."
Taylor smiled at her, amused. "Before you get drunk? To look at trees? Just how much do you plan on drinking?"
Her chin dropped and she blinked at him, matter-of-factly. "Come on. It's free-flowing alcohol, emphasis on the free, and no reason to drive. It's gonna happen."
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When they had finished their plates and gotten fresh drinks, Winn and Taylor carried them to the lobby, followed by Steph and her husband. Along the walls of the lobby were extremely tall and elaborately-decorated Christmas trees and Winn was like a kid in a candy store. The trees were beautiful but Winn's reaction was much more entertaining and Taylor couldn't stop watching her.
Her excitement was raw and infectious and it both amused and pleased him that she could find so much joy in the simplest things. It seemed to happen all the time. In general, Winn was just an all-round happy person and he had come to realize just how much brighter his life had become since she'd been in it.
She seemed content taking her time with each of the six large trees that adorned the back of the lobby, closely inspecting the ornaments on each one, and walking around them numerous times. She chattered on about her dreams of having the space for such a large tree and the ideas the décor was giving her for her own. While Taylor was happy to listen to her, his focus couldn't stay away from the way she pulled and tugged on his arm with each item that caught her eye. Every time she touched him it was torture and every time she mindlessly hooked her arm in his, he thought he might die.
As they looked over the last tree, a deep voice boomed behind them. "Winnie Douglas."
Taylor and Winn turned around to face the dark-haired man that approached them and she winced at his use of the name she hated. "That's Scott Walters," she whispered to him. "He's the company VPO for Oklahoma."
Scott Walters approached, his face smiling. "Winnie," he said again. "Someone told me I'd find you out here. I just wanted to tell you personally how proud I am of you and how happy I am with the progress in that office of yours. That office hasn't seen delinquency in a long time and you've managed to turn it around in a matter of two months."
Impressed with Mr. Walters's compliment, Taylor turned and smiled at Winn, who blushed and tucked her thick hair behind her ear. "Thank you," she said. "But it's far from fixed. I still have a long, long way to go to keep it that way."
"No doubt that you'll succeed, I have faith in you. I respect those guys down there in Texas and they convinced me you could handle the task. They've never steered me wrong before and they didn't steer me wrong this time. Great job, Winnie." Then he turned to Taylor and held out his hand. "Taylor Hanson, right? Glad to see you here tonight."
Taylor smiled nervously and shook his hand. "Thank you. I'm glad to be here."
"There's a lot of buzz going on in there about your presence here tonight. But I gotta say, I just enjoy your beer. My daughter's a fan of your music, but I stick around for the beer. You're a common name in my household."
The two men laughed. "Thank you so much," Taylor replied. "You know, we just had our first annual beer and music festival earlier this year in Tulsa. If you're into craft beers, you should come next year. I'd be happy to get you exclusive first tastings with the vendors."
"You had me at beer and you had me at tasting. Looks like I'll be making an extra trip to Tulsa next year."
When the conversation wrapped up, and Scott Walters walked away, Winn turned and narrowed her eyes at Taylor, a smirk crossing her lips. "I see you there, trying to get in good with the big wigs in my company..."
He smiled and shrugged. "What? He said he liked my beer. And, well, you know, sometimes it's good to know people..."
She gaped at him, her mouth hanging open. "You're totally playing Taylor Hanson right now, aren't you?"
"Did I have a choice? He kinda backed me into a corner. And anyway, what about you? You never said anything about how well your office was doing."
"There's a big difference in how it looks on paper for five seconds and what the reality is. He's only seeing the five second stuff. I still stress, I still work my ass off every day, it doesn't get any easier. Success isn't just going to fall into my lap, you know. You should know that better than anyone."
He smiled and glanced at the floor, shifting his weight. "You know, I'm not really in the mood to talk work right now. You ready for another drink?"
Winn smiled. "Yes, please. I'm already feeling a little tipsy, but what's one more, right?"
He patted her shoulder as they began to walk. "That's the spirit."
"The Christmas spirit."
He shook his head and laughed at the lameness of her statement. "Right," he agreed.
********************
Back at their table, Winn and Taylor sat next to each other while Winn watched the other women dance, including Steph and Tina. They had mingled a little, met some of the other managers and employees in her district and, now finishing up drink number three with as thin as she was, she decided it was a good idea if she just sat and chilled out for a few minutes. Taylor was okay with that. He was feeling a little tipsy himself and decided that the more dormant he stayed, the less likelihood there was of him making an ass of himself.
Steph and Tina constantly begged Winn to dance with them and she constantly turned them down, despite remarking that she liked this song or that song, and making it known that she didn't line dance. "I just don't," she said to Taylor. "I don't country line dance, I don't do any of these fad songs, I just...I just don't."
"You don't dance?"
"I'm a professional dancer."
Taylor's eyes widened. "Um, you are?"
"Was," she corrected. "I grew up in ballet until college. Then I became a pole dancer."
Taylor nearly spit out his beer and his eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
She scowled at him and waved him off. "Not like THAT. I didn't, like, take my clothes off or anything. I did, like, extreme pole fitness-type stuff. Like tricks and things. I guess it's not technically dancing, but I'd do competitions and the ones that I won, I would use the money to go towards school. Those things paid for a lot of my college text books. Anyway, I quit competing long time ago and now I go to classes sometimes just to get a workout in. One of my goals is to have a pole in my house."
She talked about this in passing as if it were nothing. Taylor, on the other hand, was ready to lay her out across the table in front of god and everybody. It was painfully obvious to him that he was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. "So...you do ballet and pole tricks. That must mean you're incredibly limber," he mused as he turned up his beer.
"Well, I mean, yeah. Have to be limber for both."
Their conversation was interrupted by Steph and Tina, once again, begging Winn to come dance. The Electric Slide began to play and Winn sighed. She glanced at Taylor and smiled. "No matter how old you get, this one never seems to get old. It's the exception to my rule."
He smiled, amused. "Well, then, get out there. It's your party, go have fun. I'll be right here."
Finding a spot on the dance floor, she moved in sync between Steph and Tina as she tucked her hair behind her ear and giggled with them. Her hips moved side-to-side with a fluidity that seemed terribly inappropriate for the song, but was a natural occurrence that she couldn't help. As her hour-glass figure shifted ever so slightly underneath the material of her dress as she moved, Taylor grew weaker and weaker as he watched. As a result, the more turned on he became, the faster he drank, and by the time the song was over, he was already halfway through a brand new beer.
Every part of him was numb from the alcohol, his legs were warm, his body felt fluid and he was pretty sure his speech would slur soon if he didn't slow down. He felt incredible and he figured he better stop while he was ahead. As Winn giggled with her employees on the dance floor, the atmosphere slowed down and a slow song began to play. Before he had time to think about his own actions, Taylor had risen from his chair and sauntered toward the dance floor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The giggles subsided and Steph and Tina had left Winn's side in a flash. As Winn glanced up, Taylor was coming toward her. She looked around. There was nobody else on the dance floor except for maybe a couple of couples. That was it.
He smiled when he approached her. "You Electric Slide quite well. But do you also slow dance?"
Winn smiled happily at him. "You want to dance?"
"Well, yeah, sure. I mean, you should dance at your own party."
She allowed him to take her hand and pull her into him. He was careful not to pull her body against his, though, and her arms hung off of his shoulders, her fingers twiddling with each other inches behind his head. His hands were gently resting on the small of her back and the platonic feeling of the dance was unmistakable.
"When I'm feeling blue, all I have to do
Is take a look at you, then I'm not so blue."
"How funny you decide to ask me to dance to this one," Winn observed as she smiled at Taylor. She didn't have to look up to see him. Without her four inch heels, she stood 5'6. Now she was nearly eye-level with him.
"It wasn't specific, I just picked whatever's playing."
"It's my parents' song. It was their wedding song. I grew up listening to my mom sing it as she cleaned the house."
Taylor smiled. "Seriously? That's awesome. Are they still married?"
"When you're close to me I can feel your heart beat
I can hear you breathing in my ear
Wouldn't you agree, baby, you and me
Got a groovy kind of love."
"Yep. Thirty-two years and going."
They danced in silence for a moment before Taylor spoke. "Look, I'm sorry Ike stood you up. I just--I feel really bad about that. I'm just--I'm sorry I'm not him tonight."
"Anytime you want to you can turn me onto
Anything you want to, anytime at all.
Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me
Got a groovy kind of love."
"Don't be sorry," she said. "I'm having a blast tonight. The truth is..." Her voice trailed off as the realization scared her a little. The truth was, she completely forgot about Isaac. She looked up at him and she whispered under her breath, "Why don't I think about him when I'm with you?"
"What?"
"What?" She said, bringing herself back to reality.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear you."
"Huh? Oh." She laughed nervously. "I, uh, I already forgot. I think the alcohol is getting to me. Anyway, I just--you know, he just--he missed out on a fun night tonight. And that's his problem. He did it to himself. And I can't feel sorry for him for it. I'm glad you're here. As a matter of fact, I'm glad it's you and not him. You're my best friend. And I know I wouldn't have had near this much fun with anyone else."
"When I'm feeling blue, all I have to do
Is take a look at you, and then I'm not so blue."
"Still. I mean, I'm glad you're having fun. I am, too. But I know he hurt you and I know it bothers you and I know--"
"I know I'm drunk, Tay. I am. I am drunk. And I'm having fun and I don't really want to talk about this right now."
Taylor nodded. "Okay. Okay. You're right, I'll lay off. I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven."
"Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me
Got a groovy kind of love."
Taylor looked around and then looked back at her, an amused twinkle in his eye. "You know what? We've been here, what, two hours? And I haven't heard a single Christmas song. This is a Christmas party. Where's the Christmas spirit in here?"
Winn giggled. "Apparently it's in poinsettias and Christmas trees unaffiliated with the party."
"So basically your company is mooching off of hotel décor?"
"Well I'm sure the hotel didn't provide the poinsettias."
"What the hell are poinsettias anyway? They're just, like, big red flowers that are deadly to dogs. Where's the Christmas spirit in THAT?"
Winn grinned and shook her hair back off her shoulders. "It just so happens that poinsettias' association with Christmas dates back to 16th century Mexico. The legend says that a little girl, who was too poor to provide a gift for a celebration of Jesus's birthday, gathered weeds to place along the church altar. The weeds sprouted and grew into poinsettias, and THAT is why they're Christmas flowers."
Taylor shook his head. "Even while you're drunk you can still play the nerd card and never cease to amaze me. Why do you even KNOW that?"
She winked at him. "I Googled it from your phone when you left it on the table to go get drinks."
"You went in my phone?"
"I'm sorry," she said regretfully. "I'm sorry. I crossed the line, I'm so sorry."
"Well, no, I mean, there's nothing to hide, it's just--it's fine. You can use my phone any time you want."
"Well it was still rude of me, I shouldn't have done that."
"You learned something, didn't you?"
She hung her head in shame. "Yeah. I know..."
Taylor laughed. "No. I mean about the poinsettias. Learn something new every day."
"When I'm in your arms, nothing seems to matter
My whole world could shatter, I don't care."
They danced in silence for a moment more before Taylor blushed and said, "Listen. I'm, uh, I'm getting pretty drunk. And when I get drunk, I tend to get a little flirty and, well, a couple of women have already kinda made passes at me and they didn't look too bad, so...I might need to call it a night."
Winn smirked at him. "Why, Mr. Hanson, did you come to my party to pick up women?"
He smiled. "No. I didn't, I just--I know how I am--liquid courage and all..."
"Well make sure none of them are in my district. And If I need to, like, hide under the covers in my bed while you do your thing..."
Taylor blushed and he laughed again. "Winn, no--are you hearing yourself, you're totally crazy. I'm not gonna--I'm not gonna do any of that."
"Well, you know, I DID bring a backup plan in case this party started to suck..."
"Which it doesn't..."
"At any rate, I brought a little Christmas cheer to have in the room."
"I'm listening..."
"Apple pie moonshine, cinnamon and peppermint schnapps, a couple of mixers...you know, Christmas cheer."
"You brought moonshine?"
She closed her eyes and moaned. "It's like heaven in your mouth." And then her eyes snapped open. "And then it knocks you on your ass."
"I don't think we can afford to be knocked on our asses at this point. I think we already are."
"Then we can get in fuzzy pajamas and rent a Christmas movie. Oh, and did I tell you I baked cookies, too? My suitcase is full of fun stuff. And they have frosting! We can have our very own Christmas party, Christmas actually included!"
"How much frosting?"
She smiled deviously. "Extra. Is there any other way?"
"Let's go."
"Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me
Got a groovy kind of love.
We got a groovy kind of love."
As Taylor mindlessly took Winn by the hand and led her off the dance floor and through the ballroom, she laughed wildly, the room only slowly spinning. Her legs felt like jelly and her mouth was so numb she just knew that any second she would be completely incoherent. But sober or drunk, Taylor was just too damn much fun to be around.
"We've got a groovy kind of love."