Chapter 1 

Savvy’s POV 

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.  On the third day of Christmas… 

Oh shut up!

Oh shut the hell up, Merry Christmas carol singing lady!  And you can stop looking at me to join in with you because it ain’t gonna happen. 

Is this elevator moving because I really want to be away from this obvious Christmas adoring woman who is grinning from ear to ear. From the look on her smiling face, her true love gave her more than a damn partridge in a pear tree and now I’m even more pissed than ever, since my “true love” hadn’t touched me in six months. 

My “true love” of one year (or so I naively thought) didn’t give me no damn partridge in a pear tree or two turtle doves or three French hens or none of that shit.  No, my true love gave me the shaft, right up my ass with no Vaseline.  I can’t believe that bastard broke up with me four weeks before Christmas!  He told me some foolishness about not being in love with me anymore and he didn’t want to live a lie.  He also said that I had no real ambition and as a young doctor on the rise, he needed more than that.  The jackass proceeded to make my year by telling me that my writing (which is my true passion) is nothing more than a hobby and I would be lucky to make a career out of it. I mean he didn’t even take into consideration that I have a real job (yes I hate it, but it’s a gig).  I have an accounting degree that I really didn’t want, but got so that I could get my parents off my back.  I work in Credit Services at Bartley Department store and the pay is good, but one day, I want to be able to make my living from writing, but my ex-asshole told me that my head was in the clouds and I needed to pull it out. I promptly told him to pull his head out of his ass. You better believe he didn’t like that.

I’m sure you realize that his excuses were complete and utter…say it with me boys and girls…bullshit.  He just wanted out of our relationship because he was already in another one.  I found out that he was screwing one of the ER nurses at the hospital that he worked with a few days after the break-up and I shouldn’t have been surprised.  The thing about it is, he was supposedly a catch.  He had a great job, great looks and he was straight.  He was safe…reliable…and he was boring the shit out of me, which I now realize.  But for some reason, I loved the guy.  I did. He was good to look at and he seemed to care about me.  He also had a very nice package, but he didn’t know how to use it, you know what I mean?  The sex was never anything to scream about and I think that he made me cum a total of two times.  Most of the time I just faked it and after the whole six minutes was done with, I went into the bathroom, grabbed my rabbit and just went for what I knew.  The thing that frustrated me the most was that I had to go through the whole ordeal of getting worked up and hot, and then…no boom, no orgasm, not even a little shiver of the leg.  Basically, I just got a wet ass out of the deal.  Talk about being punked!

Can I be really honest?  Okay. The only reason I’m angry is because he lied to me and he broke up with me before I had a chance to get him first.  That’s not the only reason I’m pissed, but I’ll get to those soon.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I exclaimed as slipped on the pavement in front of my apartment on my way to work.  Why can’t they just shovel this shit like they’re supposed to?  I hate snow.  I hate the cold.  I hate winter. I hate Christmas.

Christmas sucks.

No, really, Christmas bites the big one.  It’s like three and a half weeks away and I’m sick of it already.  I didn’t used to feel this way, but my car broke down, my man broke my heart, my parents want me to come home, I’m working at a job that I truly hate, my perfect sister is getting married to the man of her dreams and now I have to dress like a fucking elf and be happy and surrounded by children for two days.  It’s my own fault.  I signed up to volunteer to be a Santa’s helper when I was a lot more chipper, but now I’m totally regretting it and I really don’t want to be around a bunch of pissy, snotty, children in a cheap, short, velvet costume.  But, like my best friend and roommate Naomi Williams says, “thems the breaks kid.”

Well, I’ve arrived at work and I didn’t break my ass on the way.  That’s a plus.

I’m at work. Yeah!

Yeah…right.

Another day, another dollar and hopefully, I won’t slit my wrists with a piece of paper.

Savannah “Savvy” Townsend looked at the clock on the wall after completing a few credit applications and sighed.  Five more minutes and I can go to lunch, she thought.  Four more hours and I can be at home, drinking some tea and completing a few chapters of my untitled story, Savannah thought as she looked at the time just slowly tick away.  When she looked up at the huge black and white clock on the wall, she grinned as she grabbed her purse, her hat, her scarf and coat from her locker and sped walk from her cubby to the elevator. 

Her phone began to ring as she walked out of the department store, pulling her navy blue knit hat tighter over mid shoulder dark brown hair.

“I’m on my way, Mimi,” Savvy said into the phone.

“Okay.  I’ll see you in a few,” Naomi Williams replied. 

Five minutes later, Savvy walked into Charlie’s, a great sub shop that happened to be in between Savvy’s job at Bartley’s and Naomi’s job at Mercy General, where she was a RN. She and Naomi met in college, in the bookstore line during freshman year, both complaining about the prices of the books.  They hit it off, made sure they were roommates after their freshman year, and had been friends ever since.

Savvy saw the top of Naomi’s curly head, smiling as she walked over to the booth.  Savvy pulled off her hat, then her scarf and coat, and placed it inside the booth. 

 On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five golden rings. 

“Why can’t I escape this fucking song?” Savvy asked as she glanced at the menu that was on the table.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Naomi replied.

“Sorry.  Hello Ms. Naomi.  I didn’t mean to snap at you, but damn it, I hate Christmas,” Savvy replied as her friend grinned at her.

“Since when?” Naomi asked as her eyebrow raised at her friend.

“Since four days ago,” Savvy replied.

“There’s no way you, Savannah Lynne Townsend, Ms. Santa’s Little Helper, hates Christmas. You’re the same woman that begins Christmas shopping in October.  You bake Christmas cookies. You put colorful Christmas lights on the hedges of our apartment outside and around the doorway.  You sing with the got damn carolers while giving the cookies that you baked.  You give out little Santa treat bags to everyone at your job and in the apartment building for Christmas.  Face it, sister. You’re a Yuletide whore and you know it…you always have been,” Naomi stated.

“Not anymore.  I’m boycotting this highly commercialized, materialistic shit of a holiday.  I mean it,” Savvy said.

“So no more goodie bags or stocking stuffers?” Naomi asked. 

“Nope, you can kiss ‘em goodbye,” Savvy said.

“Aw man.  Those little chocolates were the sex,” Naomi stated.

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re going to have to buy your own because I’m done with Christmas…really,” Savvy replied.

Naomi shook her head knowingly.  “Oh…because of Kevin.”

“Yep. He’s screwed up the holiday for me.  Now, every time I hear a Christmas song, I want to stab myself in the ears, especially this one,” Savvy said as Naomi continued to smile at her.

“Why?” Naomi asked.

“Because this song was playing when that no stroke bastard broke up with me.  I fell for him and his bull, and his caramel skin, and his beautiful brown eyes and his tight ass and his bullshit!  I mean, I loved him, Mimi,” Savvy stated.

“Uh huh,” Naomi replied.

“I mean, I had to have loved him to put up with bad sex for a year, but enough about that.  What are you getting?” Savannah asked as she continued to peruse the menu.

“The Peppersteak,” Naomi said.

“I’m going to get the Italian,” Savvy said.  A few minutes later, a waitress came over, and took their orders.  Naomi placed her arms on the table and crossed them, staring at her friend.

“What? I’m good, Mimi.  Don’t worry about me,” Savvy said, knowing that look.

“No, you’re not good, Sav.  Listen, I have an idea and I want you to listen to me,” Naomi said. Savvy was sure that Naomi was going to suggest that she set her up with men and Savvy was having no part of that.

“When you say that it always ends up with me running around naked with whip cream on my tits or something really fuckin’ stupid,” Savvy replied as Naomi laughed.

“That was strictly a dare.  I didn’t talk you into it,” Naomi said.

“Bullshit.  You did.  Wait are you…Oh no.  Oh no.  I don’t like what you’re thinking,” Savvy stated.

“There’s no way you know what I’m thinking,” Naomi said.

“Wanna bet?  You’re thinking of setting me up on a blind date, aren’t you?” Savvy asked.

“Wow…you really did know what I was thinking,” Naomi replied.

“Yes, I did because I know your meddling ass.  Naomi, I love you like a step play cousin, but I don’t want you setting me up on any dates.  Been there and done that with you, remember?  It didn’t work out well, at all.  Sure I was dumped by a man…a man who had the nerve to dump me when he couldn’t last a full six minutes in bed, but, hey, I’m still cute.  I don’t need any kind of help finding a man.  In fact, I don’t need a man.  Pinky and I are doing just fine,” Savvy replied.

“Sorry to burst your bubble sweetie, but Pinky can’t do it all. To be honest, I’m surprised that Pinky doesn’t have a short in it.  I’m telling you, if I have to hear your damn vibrator one more time I’m going to scream,” Naomi replied.

“Well, I’ll just make sure I have on earplugs, because I gotta date with Pinky at 8.  We all can’t be as fortunate as you and have a man that puts it down, Mimi.  Some of us have to get it the best way we can,” Savvy replied as Naomi laughed.

“But you don’t have to, Savvy, you’re smart, young, beautiful,” Naomi began as Savannah cut her off.

“Thank you, Mimi, but as hot and sweet as you are, you’re still my girl and I don’t go that way.  Sorry,” Savvy said with a grin as Naomi narrowed her eyes at her.

“Don’t even try to play me like, that you heffa.  I was listing your attributes, not trying to come onto you, you nut.  Anyway, as I was trying to say, I think you just need to find someone that’s going to take Kevin out of your mind and you’ll be fine.  Look, why don’t you look at this as an opportunity to have some fun…be like Stella and get your groove back.  Don’t go looking for love, just find some good sex.  That’s all you need to get you through this…a good humping and you’ll be smiling in no time,” Naomi said as Savannah glanced at her.  Once their drinks arrived, Savvy stirred her straw around, thinking about what Naomi just told her.  Savvy had never had sex with a guy that she wasn’t in a relationship with.  It wasn’t her.  She liked the idea of getting on with someone that cared about her, but look at where that got her. 

Naomi did have a good point.  Maybe it was time to have a fuck it attitude and just have some fun.  Yeah, that’s just what she needed.

Yeah…to hell with love.  Fuck love.