He’s not laughing. LEO So. The hoodie. Mia, red as a candy cane, clutches her backpack. MIA It’s a dare. Jenna made me. The whole “write a fake letter to Santa” thing. LEO You said you sleep with it. MIA I—that was poetic license. He steps closer. The garage smells like oil and Christmas lights. His thumb taps twice. He’s nervous. LEO Mia. I’ve known you since you were nine. You bite your lip when you lie. She bites her lip. Then freezes. LEO (quiet) You drew me? Three times? Silence. MIA (barely audible) Four. One is under my bed. He pulls off his beanie. Messy hair falls over his forehead. LEO You said this was stupid. The beanie. MIA It’s not stupid. It’s just… distracting. He smiles. It’s the first real smile she’s ever seen directed at her, not past her. LEO You want to know my secret? She nods, terrified. LEO I kept finding your hoodie in the lost and found. The one you thought you lost at the bonfire in October. I didn’t turn it in. It’s in my truck. It smells like vanilla and pencil shavings. Mia’s mouth falls open. MIA You stole my hoodie? LEO I’m not sorry either. He pulls a crumpled hoodie from his jacket—her favorite gray one. She snatches it, holds it to her face. MIA This is insane. LEO No. This is me seeing you. He leans in. She doesn’t move. LEO (whisper) But you still owe me an explanation for the freckle paragraph. MIA Which part? The one about counting them during chemistry or the one about wanting to— He kisses her.
No, no, no.
Mia wakes up to a text. “Dear Mia, I can explain. I’ve liked you since you threw a snowball at my head in 7th grade. You missed. But you laughed. And I was gone. P.S. Keep the hoodie. I stole yours back last night while you were asleep.” She looks down. She’s wearing his hoodie. The cedar-and-coffee one. SecretCrush.E01.Dear.Santa.I.Can.Explain.XXX.10...
Leo (18, flannel, beanie—yes, the beanie) leans against a workbench covered in skateboard parts. He holds a printout of her email. He’s not laughing
Now, Mia refreshes her sent folder.
Mia, full of peppermint schnapps hot chocolate, had written: Dear Santa, I know I'm 17, but I've been good. Mostly. This year, I don't want a new laptop or a trip to NYC. I just want Leo to see me. Not as “Carter’s annoying little sister.” As me. The girl who notices how he taps his thumb when he’s nervous. The one who drew his profile in art class three times last spring. If you can’t make him like me back, at least make him stop wearing that stupid beanie. It hides his stupid perfect hair. Love, Mia. P.S. I lied. I wasn't good. I stole his hoodie from the gym last month. It smells like cedar and coffee. I sleep with it. I'm not sorry. She hit send, then immediately passed out. Mia, red as a candy cane, clutches her backpack
Secret Crush – Episode 2: “The Beanie Ultimatum”