12 Days until Christmas: The Countdown Begins

With less than two weeks until Christmas, I knew I was cutting it short on time, but I had been struggling to get off of work to travel here. A Companion for Christmas, I had seen some advertisements online and hoped that this would be the solution to my holiday problem. I needed a date for Christmas desperately so that my family would stop trying to get me married to the stuck up brat they think is “perfect for me”. However, with work keeping me so busy and my introverted self, I never wind up finding a date for any occasion. So after some searching online, I found the perfect place. They match you with a potential date based on personality and what your date is expected to do. 

Getting out of my taxi, I took a good look at the building. From the outside, it doesn’t look like anything too interesting. It blends in well with the surrounding buildings, but the flowers in the window were a nice touch, especially in the freezing cold weather. As the snow began to fall harder, I shuffled into the building to be greeted with by a cheerful voice saying, “Hello, my name is Mari and I will be helping to match you with someone this holiday season.” I look over at her to find a woman a few years older than me dressed head to toe in full Christmas attire. Her warm smile immediately put me at ease as I respond to her greeting.

“Hello”, I responded. “I hope I’m not too late to find a date for this Christmas, I know most of these things are well planned in advance, but I’ve been busy.” 

Fortunately Mari didn’t comment on my rambling and instead says, “We will do our best to get you matched. Fortunately there are actually quite a few last minute options so you can take your pick, but I’d like for you to fill out this short questionnaire so that we can determine the best matches to narrow down your selection.”

As I took the paper from her I began to read the questions. 1) What are you looking for in a partner? (Including gender, age, height, appearance) I quickly wrote down my answer, “I’m looking for a man who is around my age, preferably taller than me (not hard because I’m only 5’4) and his appearance doesn’t matter.” 2) What is your comfort level with PDA and touching? I think a bit harder about this one. I know I am awkward but I need this to be convincing so I wrote down, “As much as is needed to convince my family that I am actually in love.” 3) What is the main quality or qualities you are looking for in a partner? I answer that quickly, “I want a simple man who is everything that my family isn’t. Honest, trustworthy and dependable.” As I continue the questions become more focused on me, my personality, likes and dislikes and I suspected that this was information for the potential partner to be more prepared to answer things about me if family asked. As I finished up the questionnaire, I hoped that I would be able to find someone to bring back with me for the holidays.

As I handed the sheet to Mari, she quickly looked over it before leading me to an office in the back. She handed the sheet over to another woman and introduced me saying, “This is Misty and she is going to show you your matches and answer any questions you may have. Misty, this is Noel. Now with that, I am off. I have some paperwork to tend to at the front desk.” Mari says before leaving the room. 

“Nice to meet you, Noel. From what I can see you aren’t super specific with your requests, so you actually have quite a few potential matches. Is there anything you’d like to add that you didn’t include on here?” Misty asked.

“He would have to be ok traveling, I don't mind paying for his flight and any related travel expenses. The party is held at my family's home and he would also be expected to stay at my family home with me for Christmas.” I replied. 

“Ok, that does eliminate a few matches. But we still do have quite a few for you to choose from”, she says as she laid out several folders in front of me.

Simply judging by the cover photos, I was able to eliminate 5 out of the 8 that I was shown. They all looked too rich for what I am looking for. Besides, I refuse to be stuck attending another golf game ever again and half of them listed golf as their main hobby. Looking through the other three folders, only one of them caught my eye. 

He had short black hair and a short beard. His eyes were a mesmerizing shade of blue. As I opened the folder, I found out that he was looking for a someone to spend time with to ease the loneliness of the holidays. He seemed interesting and I found that he is a carpenter and likes to carve things out of wood for fun. The pictures included looked fantastic and before I had finished reading, I looked up and before I could say anything, Misty said, “I will arrange a meeting for the two of you if he agrees as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to you by dinner time.” 

“Thank you for all of your help”, I say. I was beginning to think I’d be suffering through another holiday season, but this is looking to be a better idea than I’d even thought. As I walk out of the building, I decide to go shopping to get some new outfits to impress my family… and maybe something to meet my fake boyfriend in. After some shopping and lunch, I head to the hotel to put away all of my stuff

At 3:30 I got a call from Misty telling me that he will be able to meet me at 4:30 at the office if I would be able to make it. Of course, I say yes. And I quickly got ready and put on my new outfit before heading to the office for the second time that day.

When I entered, I saw him sitting in the waiting room and immediately realized that he looked even better in person. I walked over and introduced myself with a smile, "Hi, I'm Noel. It's nice to meet you."

He stands up and smiles before saying, “It’s nice to meet you too. My name is Chris, short for Christian, but I’m sure you saw that in the folder already.” 

“Yes, I did. But I still like proper introductions. I did want to tell you, I love the pictures of carvings you included. They were gorgeous and if you’re selling them, I would like to buy one, or a few.” I said with a genuine smile. 

“Is that so?” he replies, “How would you feel accepting them as a gift for the favor you are doing for me now?”

“It is just as much a favor for me as it is for you, the carvings are extra so I should pay you for them.” I insist. 

Just then Mari walks over with some papers in her hand. “Here is the copy of the contract for each of you, you just need to read and sign these and then you two are free to flirt anywhere else but here.” she says with a grin before returning to the front desk. 

With a blush coating my face, I sit down to start reading through the paperwork. Okay 1st main clause, the business A Companion for Christmas does not hold any responsibility for any injuries, etc that occurs as a result of their matching services. Pretty standard way for them to avoid any responsibility. The second clause, "Detailed terms of agreement may be agreed on between the involved parties and can be verbal or written into the contract here". I turned to him to ask if he thinks we actually need a written addition to the contract to find him already staring at me. 

“Should we add anything in as a part of the written contract?” I ask quickly. Avoiding making eye contact, I quickly look back down at the contract as I waited for his answer.

“I don’t have anything I need to put in there”, he replies before turning the page and signing. 

“Did you even read that?” I ask. 

“Nope,” he replies. “But it doesn’t matter anyway, I intend to go through with this regardless and the only way is to sign the papers.”

“Well, I’m reading what I’m signing but feel free to do as you please.” I replied. However, that being said, knowing that he had already signed made me rush through a bit faster than I normally would. I found nothing to be unfavorable. The last few terms were simply regarding payment and emphasizing that cooperation between companions were essential to a successful holiday season. I didn't think cooperation would be an issue, especially considering that his eyes have not left me once since he has finished signing his papers. As I signed my name on the last page, I couldn't help but feel flushed under his stare.

After he noticed that I had finished signing the last line, he stood up to take his form to the front desk and I quickly followed. After we turned in the form, he asked, “Do you know of any good places to go? I’m not exactly from here.”

“Me neither,” I answered. “But at least we get to explore together.” As I finished my sentence, I couldn’t help the slight blush that coated my cheeks. That sounds like I am totally flirting with him, I mean he is handsome… but this is supposed to technically be fake. 

Fortunately I was saved from my train of thoughts as he answered, “Yeah, it’s always better to travel with someone rather than be alone. I saw an interesting restaurant on the way here, do you want to go there?”

“Sounds good,” I reply as we exit the building. The chilly air immediately made me hug my coat tighter around my body. We hurriedly walk to the restaurant and as we enter, I immediately sigh at how warm it is inside. 

We are quickly seated at a table and the waiter leaves to get our drinks. “So what exactly is my job going to be this holiday season, I saw that you are looking for someone who is the opposite of your family. Am I supposed to cause a scene or get us kicked out?”, he asked with a teasing tone and a grin on his face. 

“Nope, I just need you to keep me sane and at least pretend that you are in love with me while we’re there. Speaking of that, would you like me to book your flight?” I ask, pulling out my phone. 

“There’s no need, although I would like to try to at least get the same flight. Can you give me your flight info?”

“Of course”, I say, showing him the confirmation of my flight details. 

“You already planned to be on the way back home in two days. What was your plan if things didn’t work out?”, he asked with a smirk on his face. 

“I would’ve figured something out I suppose, I did have a couple of options but you were the closest to what I had in mind.”

“Thanks”, he answered with a cocky grin filling his face. 

We talk about our answers on the sheets and get to know each other throughout dinner before we return back to our separate hotels. As I got out of the taxi and headed up to my hotel room, I couldn’t take the smile off of my face simply thinking about how tonight had gone. Despite typically being introverted and awkward around strangers, I felt comfortable around him and conversation flowed easily. We talked more about our jobs and hobbies and it felt more like a real date than a strategy meeting for the holidays. 

With all of the excitement of the day, I couldn't help but fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.