"Okay, 1, 2, 3 say eggnog!"

"Eggnog!" The group of five sang in unison, smiling big at the expensive phone as they posed for the picture. It was the companies annual Christmas party, held after work at the Vice President's home on the Friday two weeks before the actual day, to allow as many employees as possible to attend before they all took vacation and sick days off from work to go out of town to be with their families. Although it was a company party, it was always fun and full of cheer. The kind of party that if done right, you wouldn't remember parts of the next morning. The bar was always free and the food was plenty. Nothing was skimped on. You had your choice of greasy nachos to the finest caviar. There was even a professional photographer going around taking pictures with one of those fancy expensive cameras that had a telescopic lense to post on the company website, even though everyone had their phones out to take their own.

"One more. 1, 2, 3!"

"Eggnog!" Once the group regained the focus in their eyes from the brightness of the camera phone's flash, everyone walked off in their separate directions, except the camera woman's best friend Andrea.

"Let me see it." She took the phone from her hand and studied the picture, turning it from portrait to landscape in order to see herself from all angles. "Oh Michonne, I look good, don't I?"

"You really do." Michonne looked at her friends outfit, the green and white sweater dress fit her perfectly and went well with her nude heels, as it should since it took two weeks to pick out. "That color looks great on you."

"Who's the guy standing next to me?" Andrea enlarged the photo with her fingers and brought the screen closer to her face. "He's hot."

"Hell, I don't know. You don't know him? " Michonne took the phone from Andrea and took a closer look herself. "I thought y'all knew each other the way he was all up next to you. He doesn't work here?" There were ten floors in the building they worked so not knowing someone wasn't unusual, but the way he stood so close to Andrea made it seem they were on more than just speaking terms.

"If I knew him, I'd be all up on him too." Andrea handed Michonne her phone back and looked around for the stranger from the picture. "Go find out his name for me."

"What?" Michonne chuckled knitting her eyebrows at Andrea. "Really?"

"Please." Andrea whined. "I don't want to look all desperate."

"But it's okay for me to? What do you want me to say to him Andrea? My friend thinks you're hot, slide those digits over so she can call you." Michonne had her hands on her hips while she joked with her friend.

"Anything but that. Just go." Andrea turned Michonne in the direction of her Christmas photo crush and gave her a small shove. "Hurry up, before he leaves."

"Oh my god. Fine." Michonne sauntered over to the tall, dark haired man who was just moments ago standing familiarly close to her friend in the picture. She threw her head back in laughter after she heard Andrea shout out to her from a distance.

"I was just kidding about that say anything part. Make good choices please!"

"Um...hey." Michonne said quelling her laughter as she tapped him on his broad shoulder, catching him right before he was able to walk off.

"Hey yourself." He turned around and looked her up and down. "How ya doing sweetheart, what's your name?"

"Michonne." She rolled her eyes and pretended he didn't just try to undress her with his eyes. "I uh… just wanted to get your number so I can send you the picture I took not too long ago." She pointed in the direction they were before and smiled despite her immediate annoyance with him.

"My number?" He raked his fingers through his hair and looked around at all the faces that were near him.

"Yeah... what number can I send it to." She dropped her smile not wanting to give him the wrong impression and waved her phone around in the air. She was ultimately there for her friend, so she wanted to remain as non a factor as she could.

"Uh yeah, sure." He held his hand out for her phone and Michonne handed it to him, then watched as he quickly typed in his name and number using both thumbs before handing it back to her with a smile. "There you go, darlin."

"I'll probably send it tomorrow after I go through all of them and see if you're in any of the other ones."

"That's fine with me. I can't wait to see all of them." He winked at her and walked off toward a red haired woman wearing an actual tree skirt as a skirt, and that was entirely too short for her long legs. Michonne watched him palm her ass and squeeze, before they both left out the door. She shook her head and looked down at her phone to saw the name he typed in. Shane.

"What an asshole." Michonne muttered under her breath before she turned around to find a drink being shoved in her face by a friend.

"Taste this Michonne." She gladly took the drink and a much needed sip.

"This is good. What's it called?" Michonne took a bigger sip as she waited for an answer.

"Santa's Little Ho Ho. It's got ginger ale in it! Her friend exclaimed "I got the bartender Lonni to make it special for me."

"Of course you did Natalie. Thanks, for this." Michonne lifted her glass in appreciation for the cool drink that was putting out the fire of annoyance she had started to feel for Shane and took another sip. "Have you seen Andrea?"

"Oh yeah, she's over there talking to that tall guy." She pointed Michonne in the direction of Andrea who had obviously made a new friend.

"Thanks, I'll see you in bit, huh?"

"Sure thing... hey, if you want any more, just tell Lonni, he promised to keep 'em coming." She waved a hand at Natalie and then gulped down the rest of her drink before walking up to Andrea.

"Michonne, where've you been?" Andrea asked when she saw Michonne walking up to her.

"Are you serious?"

"Hey, I want you to meet Alec." Andrea ignored Michonne's question and looped her arm through her new friend's and smiled up at his face. "Alec, this is my best friend Michonne."

"Nice to meet you Michonne. Andrea was just about to show me some of her moves on the dance floor." He did a little shimmy and tilted his head down toward Andrea making her blush.

"She was? Okay." Michonne looked up at Alec and then back to Andrea. "Did you forget that thing that you just had me do for you?"

"What thing?" Andrea looked at Michonne confused but then smiled and looked up at her new friend hearing a familiar song playing over the speakers. "Oh, Alec, this is one of my faves." Andrea grabbed his hand pulling him towards the dance floor. "I'll talk to you later Michonne." Michonne mouthed okay to Andrea's back then went to find Natalie to get a refill of her drink.

It was close to one in the morning when Michonne left the party with her heels in her hand and her hair pins stuffed into her purse, finally pulled out of the intricate bun she had her locs in. Her Uber dropped her off at her house thirty minutes later and she walked inside feeling warm, buzzed and even more sleepy. She fell asleep quickly after taking off her clothes and falling into her cozy bed, wrapping herself up in her thick comforter, glad it was the weekend, because all she wanted to do was sleep until Monday morning.

"Michonne, don't tell me you're still in the bed." Andrea's voice over the phone broke Michonne's peaceful afternoon.

"Nope. I'm stretched out on the couch." Michonne extended her legs and pointed her toes while she let out a long drawn out yawn, getting into a more comfortable position.

"Is that all you're doing today? Did you do anything yesterday?"

"I did the same thing yesterday too. It was great." Michonne laughed at herself. A lazy weekend was rare for her, but she loved them when she could get them and made no apologizes for doing absolutely nothing."Plan to do the same thing today. It's supposed to rain anyway." She sighed and turned her head to the tv to see what was going on. "How's Alec?" Michonne asked sarcastically, making sure she pronounced all the syllables in his name.

"He smells so good. Did you smell him?" Michonne could hear the smile on Andrea's face and rolled her eyes at her question.

"I didn't get that close to him to find out. What about that Shane dude?"

"What Shane dude?"

"Really Andrea?" Michonne made a face and mimicked Andrea's voice. "Go get his number for me. Did you really forget that fast?"

"Oh him… yeah. Did you get it?"

"Yeah, I told him I needed it to send him the pictures."

"Oh, that's a good line. I'll have to remember that one." Michonne could hear Andrea moving around on the other end. "I'm kinda over him though."

"Yeah, I figured that. What are you doing?"

"He wasn't that great anyways. Not as great as Alec. I'm meeting him for brunch downtown. I'm getting dressed." Michonne heard water running and then the hum of Andrea's electric toothbrush. "Are you gonna send him the pictures?" She asked with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Yeah, I guess." Michonne started to play with the drawstring on the hoodie she wore, kind of dreading having to send a picture to a guy that he friend was no longer interested in. "I said I would."

"Okay. Well let me know how it goes."

"I'm only sending him a picture or two, Andrea. How else would it go?"

"There are a ton of ways it could go."

"I'll talk to you later Andrea." Michonne wanted to get her off the phone before she actually started to list the many ways.

"Don't spend all day watching Christmas movies, okay. Go get some fresh air." Andrea hung up and Michonne turned her head to look out the window before yawning again. The clouds were starting to roll in and the she could hear the winds picking up. She chuckled to herself thinking about the fresh air Andrea was talking about. She halfway wished they'd get rained on. The chances of her moving from the couch today were slim and she wasn't a bit ashamed about it. She adjusted her body again on the couch and unmuted the TV before opening her photos. Scrolling through the pictures, she smiled and laughed at the faces and friends that she saw. Plenty of ugly sweaters and too much makeup, plus droopy eyes that showed too much to drink made for an interesting photo album. She started sending pictures to the people she knew most on her contact list, getting replies of thanks and smiley face emojis, and a few pictures in response with her in them. She reluctantly sent the picture to Shane, hoping he wouldn't feel the need to respond.

Michonne: Here's the pic I said I'd send you. Have a happy holiday.

She laid her phone on her belly and refocused her attention to the lighthearted Christmas movie that was playing on her tv. She had just wiped her eyes at the sweet exchange between the young boy and his estranged uncle when her phone chimed an incoming message.

Shane: Nice pic, but I think you've got the wrong number.

She read the message a bit confused. How could she have the wrong number?

Michonne: Don't know how. You put the number in my phone. She laid the phone down again and uttered 'dumbass' out loud to her empty house.

Shane: Sorry, I wasn't there.

Shane: I see my buddy Shane though. Looks like he was having a good time.

Michonne: Your buddy Shane?

Shane: Yeah, the guy next to the blond in the middle.

Shane: It was the company Christmas party right?

Michonne: Yes.

Michonne: Are you saying he gave me the wrong number?

Shane: Looks like it. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes.

Shane: By the look of the picture, I see why he didn't give you his actual number. Michonne scoffed at the response. Shane looked like the type to give a fake number.

Michonne: Why?

Michonne: Is he on the run or something? She was halfway joking, but kind of excited at the same time if it meant she got to be part of a murder mystery starring Shane.

Shane: Nothing like that.

Shane: He's got a slightly jealous girlfriend that likes to go through his phone.

Shane: She'd be pissed to see him standing so close to the woman next to him.

Michonne: Oh

Michonne: The red head was his girlfriend?

Shane: Um…

Michonne: So the red head whose ass he was grabbing wasn't his girlfriend.

Shane: His girlfriend is a brunette.

Shane: Which one are you?

Michonne: Redhead or brunette? She looked at the color of her locs trying to decide which color of her highlighted hair to go with.

Shane: No.

Shane: In the picture, which one are you?

Michonne: Guess?

Shane: Well, you're not any of the guys

Shane: You're not the blond next to Shane.

Michonne: How do you know I'm not a guy?

Shane: Bro code says you don't rat out your brethren about an ass grab.

Michonne: Y'all have a code for that?

Shane: Women don't have codes?

Michonne: What's your name? Michonne laughed thinking about the sister codes that she knew of.

Shane: Avoiding the question.

Shane: I like that

Michonne: What's your name stranger?

Shane: Rick.

Shane: What's yours?

Michonne: Michonne

Rick: Which one are you in the picture?

Michonne: You're supposed to be guessing?

Rick: Well, with a name like Michonne, if I have to guess

Rick: I'll say that you're….

Rick: The camera woman.

Michonne: A name like Michonne? What does that mean?

Rick: It means that your name's too pretty to belong to any of the women in that picture.

Michonne: Wow.

Michonne: Smooth talker.

Rick: You liked that?

Michonne: It was... okay. She was glad that he couldn't see her laughing. She had to admit to herself that even through texts, he seemed like a nice guy she'd like to get to know.

Rick: So, do you have any pictures of yourself from the party?

Michonne: A couple.

Michonne: Do you have any pictures of you?

Rick: You first. Michonne sighed and scrolled through her camera roll to find a picture that she thought she looked the best in. There were a few other people in the photo that she chose, which made her laugh as she hit the send button.

Michonne: Here's the best one I could find.

Michonne: I'll let you guess which one I am.

Rick: How many guesses do I get?

Michonne: 3

Rick: What do I win when I guess right?

Michonne: A gold star. Rick sent a smiley face emoji before he guessed making Michonne laugh lazy Sunday had started to pick up and become very interesting.

Rick: You're the one in the red dress with the beautiful smile.

Michonne: Lucky guess. Michonne was kind of impressed that he got it on the first try.

Rick: When do I get my gold star?

Rick: Emojis don't count. He sent quickly, already seeming to know her.

Michonne: Fine. Michonne set her phone down on her coffee table and went to go look for a marker and some paper.

Rick: Hey

Rick: Where'd you go? Rick sent the impatient text, missing her usual quick reply. When she got back to the couch she laughed at his question and then drew a star with the gold marker that she'd found in a kitchen drawer and sent the picture of it to Rick.

Michonne: Here ya go.

Rick: Clever

Michonne: You like clever?

Rick: I do

Their texting conversation went on for an hour, both going back and forth asking and answering questions about each other. Learning about, jobs, family and friends. Favorite books, movies and foods.

Rick: Do you have any other plans today?

Michonne: I do

Michonne: They all revolve around me lying on my couch watching movies. She stretched out again on the couch, getting comfortable as she watched the dots dance on her screen.

Rick: Sounds like a perfect Sunday to me. What are you watching?

Michonne: Christmas movies on Netflix.

Rick: Ah...Netflix and chill with Santa. Sounds fun.

Michonne: Ha Ha. What can I say...I like tall guys with beards and rosy red cheeks.

Rick: Wanna hear a joke?

Michonne: Sure

Michonne: Let's see if you can make me laugh

Rick: Why did Santa send his daughter to college?

Michonne: Why?

Rick: To keep her off the North Pole

Rick: Get it?

Michonne: Funny. She laughed, despite the corniness of it and more jokes were told between the two of them. They even watched a movie together that included a play by play commentary by Rick who couldn't understand why Michonne put herself through the emotional roller coaster of a holiday movie.

Rick: Michonne

Michonne: Yes

Rick: I'm 5'10

Michonne: That's a good height. Michonne did a quick calculation of his height compared to hers.

Rick: I've got two weeks worth of stubble on my face.

Michonne: Did you stop shaving for some special reason?

Rick: No, just got kinda lazy.

Rick: I'll do it in the morning before I go to work?

Michonne: And the rosy red cheeks?

Michonne: You got those too?

Rick: I guess you'll have to find out.

Michonne: How would I do that?

Rick: Can I give back my gold star?

Michonne: You want another prize?

Rick: Yes

Michonne: Are you picking curtain 2 now?

Rick: Something like that.

Rick: I need a date for a dance on Christmas Eve.

Michonne: Ugh!

Michonne: You better not be a 12 yr old boy needing a date for his middle school dance?

Rick: I'm very much a man.

Rick: I haven't been in middle school for almost two decades

Michonne: In that case…

Michonne: I've got a few friends who might be interested.

Rick: Uh…

Rick: That's not what I meant.

Michonne: Ha! I know.

Michonne: Are you really asking a complete stranger out on a date?

Rick: Yes

Rick: I am.

Michonne: You know nothing about me.

Rick: Your name is Michonne

Rick: You're absolutely gorgeous.

Rick: Anything else, I can find out in the two weeks before our date.

Michonne: Our date?

Rick: Yes.

Rick: Michonne

Michonne: Yes?

Rick: What are you doing Christmas Eve?