Chapter Text
It had been Shelby’s bright idea to hang mistletoe in the base. Clearly, she hadn’t thought it through beyond providing herself with a plausible excuse for kissing Tyler. Riley didn’t think he would be the one to fall victim to its power.
Shelby smiled at Riley and Chase, both of whom stared at her with a mixture of emotions on their faces. Chase had learned about mistletoe and what it meant the Christmas after he first arrived in Amber Beach (and had even been known to use it to his advantage), but it wasn’t all that common in New Zealand. It was fair to say that while he understood the kissing aspect, he didn’t understand all of the societal hangups that came with it.
“I’m waiting,” Shelby said impatiently. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her right foot was in the beginning stages of tapping out of the boredom of waiting for something to happen. Riley knew it was just his poor excuse for luck to get stuck underneath the mistletoe with the only one of his friends he had a crush on.
A dozen different excuses played out in his head, but the problem was that none of them were viable. As he was trying to figure out a way to tell Chase that he didn’t have to go through with it, the kiwi was ready to do what needed to be done. He turned to face Riley and leaned in as Riley froze. The kiss only lasted a few seconds.
As he started to pull away, Chase’s tongue brushed against Riley’s lips. Shelby was laughing when Riley finally snapped back to his senses, his face bright red from embarrassment. “Um, I have to go check on something.” He was out of sight before either Shelby or Chase could say anything to him.
“That was epic.”
Chase furrowed his brow. “Did I do it wrong?”
Shelby shook her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Not really. Why did you use your tongue?”
Chase seemed surprised by the question. “I always use my tongue when I kiss someone under mistletoe.”
“That kind of kissing is usually saved for people that are in a relationship, Chase. Did you see how embarrassed Riley was before he left?”
“Did I hurt his feelings? I didn’t mean to.”
Shelby shook her head out of the silliness that the boys in her life created. “How can you not see what’s right in front of you? I probably shouldn’t say anything, but I get the impression that you won’t understand what this means unless I do. Riley likes you, Chase.”
“I like him too. He’s a good mate.”
“Don’t you have gay people in New Zealand?”
Chase turned and his eyes went wide. “Of course we do. Are you saying that Riley is gay?”
Shelby nodded. “He likes you, Chase. In the same way that you like Kaylee.”
“I didn’t know. He never said anything.”
“I thought you did. I mean, you’re always flirting with him.”
Chase rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. “I flirt with everyone!”
“Then you need to find him and let him down easy. You have to tell him that you just want to be his friend and that you don’t care that he’s gay. Can you do that?”
Chase accepted his punishment. He knew he could do it, but actually gathering the courage to say that stuff to his friend’s face would be difficult. He was starting to understand why Riley never told him how he felt. “I’ll go find him.”
Chase knew that Riley’s favorite hideaway was in the cafe’s supply room. It held everything from spare napkins and bottles of bulk ketchup to new uniforms and aprons for recently hired employees. Riley liked the quiet it provided as well as the fact that it was organized with every item in its own place. Chase was pretty ambivalent about it; after all, it was just another room in a museum full of them.
He opened the door and walked inside. Chase made sure the door was closed behind him before he started looking down the makeshift aisles. He found Riley in the last aisle and sitting at an old desk that the cafe manager used when it was time to do inventory or order new supplies. He didn’t look up even though he knew that Chase had found him.
“Shelby told you?” Riley asked.
“I wish you’d have told me.”
“I hadn’t told anyone. I mean, Matt and my mom both know. I’ve just been trying to find a way to tell you all.”
Chase sighed. “You weren’t trying to hide the truth from us?”
“I didn’t mean to keep it a secret for so long,” Riley admitted. “Do you feel like I took advantage of you?”
“No way. I know that you didn’t mean for us to get stuck underneath the mistletoe. I’m kind of glad it happened though.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I feel like I’ve finally found the part of you that you’ve hidden away from us, mate. Even if you weren’t doing it intentionally, there was always a part of yourself that you didn’t share with us. We sensed it.”
“I never wanted it to be like that. I really messed up.”
Chase shrugged. “Yeah, a little. But you know what’s cool?”
“What?”
“We love you anyway, bro. And as for you liking me, well, I’m flattered.”
Riley smiled. He met Chase’s eyes and they both pretended that the color rising up from Riley’s neck and spreading to his ears wasn’t happening. “Thanks, Chase. I bet a lot of guys have had a crush on you over the years.”
Chase smiled back proudly. “Only the best ones.”
“Yeah, well don’t let it go to your head. And thanks for a great first kiss.”
Chase looked like a feather would have been capable of knocking him over. “It was your first kiss?”
Riley looked away. His hands resumed fidgeting with the pencil on the desk. Chase wasn’t sure if it was his nerves or if he was trying to buy some time to answer the question in a way that didn't make him sound like a loser, but his silence made Chase even more nervous.
“Yeah, it was. I mean, I know you don’t have those feelings for me, but I’m still glad it was with you. But we can forget it ever happened now that everything is out in the open.”
“I guess I’m just surprised is all. You’re pretty brilliant.”
“I grew up on a farm in a small town in the middle of nowhere. It’s not like I really expected for you to feel the same way. Uh…aren’t you supposed to be meeting Kaylee?”
Remembrance set in and Chase realized that he was indeed late for his lunch date. He also took it as a sign that Riley wanted to be alone and end their conversation. “Yeah, I guess I am. Uh, I’ll see you later.”
Riley gave him a wave and watched as he left. He waited for the door to close before he rested his head in his hands and came up with a dozen different ways to call himself the idiot that he was. As much as he downplayed the kiss, he knew it would never leave his mind. And as awkward as it was, he also knew that it was actually kind of perfect.
No other kiss would ever compare.