Happy Friday!
Did you know that Friday is Venus Day? Yep, you heard that right! Friday is named after the planet Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and all things delightful. Venus Day is all about celebrating love, romance, and the finer things in life. The connection between Venus and Friday comes from ancient times when each day of the week was associated with a different celestial body. Friday was linked to Venus, making it a day dedicated to love and romance.
Announcing a sapphic romance on Venus Day just makes sense, in my opinion! Sapphic romance, which celebrates love and relationships between women, is a beautiful and vital part of the romance genre. By choosing a Friday, I hope to align with the energy of Venus, harnessing that vibe of love and beauty…
Plus, let’s be real—everyone loves Friday. We all look forward to the weekend. Hopefully, you've planned some fun activities and will take some time to indulge in a bit of self-care.
So, without further ado, I introduce you to Under the Mistletoe: A Small Town Holiday Romance! This story has been a long time coming. Every year, I plan to write a Christmas story, but life kept getting in the way, making it hard to write it quickly enough to get it published in time for the holiday season. I fast-drafted Jerricka and Kairo’s story last year during #20kin5DaysSept, but it wasn’t polished enough for publication. I spent this past #20kin5DaysJune expanding the story from a novella into a short novel and now I feel it’s finally ready!
Here's the blurb to get you in the holiday spirit:
Kairo McCullough has had a crush on Jerricka Whitaker since the very first time Jerricka sat in her barber chair at Cutz & Cocktails.
However, after a missed kiss, Kairo convinced herself that pursuing Jerricka, the pretty barber and single mother, might not be worth the risk. Their professional relationship was good — Jerricka was the only one in a fifty-mile radius Kairo trusted to keep her fade tight and knew the perfect shade of blonde for her dark brown complexion. So if Jerricka wasn't interested in more than friendship, Kairo could handle it… maybe.
If there's one thing Jerricka Whitaker wishes she could take back, like Scrooge getting a redo, it would be how she reacted when Kairo leaned in for that kiss.
Regret has been a constant companion since then. So, when she invites Kairo to the Cutz & Cocktails Christmas party, Jerricka is determined to clear up any miscommunications and misunderstandings. She’s ready to let Kairo know how much she wants her. Will some strategically placed mistletoe make Jerricka’s Christmas wish come true?
- Sapphic romance
- Single mom dynamics
- Small-town charm
- Black romance representation
- Christmas magic
- Themes of identity and self-acceptance
- New beginnings and love
- Strong sense of community and found family
There are a few content warnings as well — church trauma, biphobia, complex adult relationship dynamics, and some Holiday Hoodoo traditions.
Basically, in typical Tasha fashion, things are gonna be grown, sexy and a little bit messy! Kairo and Jerricka’s story takes place in my beloved Small Town Romance series. Expect to see the Malone sisters and get an introduction to the crew at Cutz & Cocktails which featured in A Taste of Her Own Medicine and With Her Own Two Hands. I really loved visiting with Atlas and Soni in this one.
Read Chapter One below!
1: Kairo
Laughter drifted into the back room where I sat at my desk in The CoWorking Spot, mingling with the clink of glasses and the occasional pop of a champagne cork. Strains of a jazz rendition of Jingle Bells floated through the air, creating the unmistakable soundtrack of a lively holiday party—a soundtrack that gave me all the comfy, cozy vibes I adored about this season.
Tailor-Made, a custom clothing and alterations shop, had booked our space for their holiday party, and it was finally winding down. We were surprisingly busy this holiday season, with several new members signing up and being booked in the evenings for end-of-the-year parties. The new members had most likely sought us out because they had family in town and needed to get out of the house to get a few hours of work done. There would probably be a ton of canceled memberships at the end of January, but I wasn’t complaining. Even if it was just a holiday rush, the extra influx of cash was welcome.
This year has been the most profitable since my homeboy Atlas and I opened The Coworking Spot, and with Christmas Eve coming up, we’d made enough to take time off until after the new year. A lot of how we ran this business was trial and error, but it honestly felt like we’d finally hit our groove. Atlas would probably credit his girlfriend Soni’s guidance, which I knew was true, but it was also the hard work and hustle we'd put in.
“A’ight, Kai. Let’s wrap this up. I got Christmas shopping to do, and ya dusty ass needs a fresh cut.” Atlas chuckled from across the room. His deep voice echoed off the painted brick walls, rich and smooth, like he was born for radio or something.
"Please, I ain't never been dusty a day in your black ass life,” I shot back.
“Uh-huh, sure," he said, raising an eyebrow. “You ain't slick, Kairo. I’ve noticed how you’ve been avoiding Jerricka. And even if I hadn’t, ain’t no way I could ignore that nappy-ass head of yours.”
I shut down my desktop and stuffed my headphones into my leather satchel with more force than necessary. "Whatever, man." I rolled my eyes, but my heart was a frantic drumline in my chest.
Was I that transparent?
It had been nearly two years since Cutz n’ Cocktails set up shop in The Village … two years since I met Jerricka Williams. Before that, we went to a spot in the suburbs that was always crowded and forced me to endure the sort of hypermasculine environment that made my stomach twist into knots every time I needed a shape-up. But from the moment I walked into Jerricka’s shop, I’d felt at home.
Well, I did until a month or so ago.
Right before Thanksgiving, I took Jerricka and her boys to the science museum in Columbia for what I thought was a considerate and thoughtful date. But after dinner and a Disney movie, I’d tried to lean in for a kiss, and she’d offered me her cheek. I apologized but was so humiliated that I haven’t been to the barbershop since.
I checked my reflection in our lone office window. I was long overdue for a cut, and the blonde dye looked more like the frosted tips of my coils were dyed for a trendy effect that I didn’t exactly hate. Jerricka would disapprove, though. She’d spent a considerable amount of time repairing my hair from all the damage I’d done to it over the years with bad dye jobs. She also had this way of getting in real close to edge up my hairline, her fingers lingering just a second too long… the memory sent shivers straight through me.
Atlas caught me daydreaming, and I rolled my shoulders, attempting to shake off the embarrassment of being caught fantasizing about Jerricka’s hands.
“What are you starin’ at?” I asked as I pulled on the knit cap I wore to work.
“Nothin’. Just watching you squirm,” he said with a smirk. “Don’t worry, stud. You know she gon' have you looking right for the holidays.”
“Man, shut up,” I grumbled, but I couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at my lips. Deep down, I loved that he noticed these things – even when they left me feeling exposed.
Me and Atlas have known each other since we were kids. We went to middle school, high school and college together, but he left town for a few years after we graduated. To be honest, I’d been bitter about that until recently. Not about him leaving, necessarily. It was more about how he left and who he left with.
We'd worked on converting a panel van into a tiny home during our last two semesters of college and planned to leave right after graduation to visit all the national parks. But his Pops got really sick right before graduation and reached out to Atlas. They were estranged, but thinking this would be his only opportunity to connect with the man, he visited him at the hospital. According to Atlas, that man treated him and his mother with such disrespect that it took every cell in his body not to rush him toward the heavenly gates. He thought that would be the end of it. That his mother would stop talking about the man as if he were someone worth knowing. She didn’t, and that broke him in ways I didn’t know until he was already gone.
Anyway, Atlas felt he had to leave Greenville and did without warning or even letting me know he'd left, and Ruby, a girl I was crushing on at the time, went with him. Leaving was one thing, but taking my girl to?
But that was old news now. We were back tight, and that was all that really mattered.
“Come on, let's get moving. The shop ain't gonna come to us,” Atlas said, nudging me forward.
“Right behind you,” I said, stepping out into the courtyard.
Outside of The CoWorking Spot, West Greenville was alive with holiday spirit. Every year, the artists at ArtCrush hosted a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, and the courtyard right outside of our doors now boasted a twenty-foot tree decorated with handmaid ornaments, multi-colored lights, and Garland and strings of twinkle lights draped between lampposts, casting a golden hue on the narrow street. Wreaths adorned every storefront, and every window boasted a display more festive than the last. Somewhere close by, the jingle of bells accompanied the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriage rides.
“Look at this place. It’s like we stepped into one of them Hallmark movies," I said, my breath misting in the air as I paused to take it all in.
“Nah, too many niggas for this to be a Hallmark movie,” Atlas joked.
“True that,” I chuckled as we made our way to the barbershop.
“I know that’s the kinda goofy shit you like though. White Christmas. Kisses under the mistletoe. Canoodling by an open fire..”
“Ca-what? Negro, shut up,” I scoffed. “As if you ain’t the one reading romance novels and composing poetry for your lady.”
“We ain’t talking about me. Stay on topic!”
“Kairo, listen, Jerricka is fine and all, but you can't let that one missed kiss throw you off your game," he said, clapping a hand on my shoulder as we walked out into the crisp winter air.
“I see what you saying, but I ain’t like you, Atlas,” I mumbled, pulling my jacket tighter around me. “Just respect her, is all. If she ain’t feeling me, I respect that, too.”
“Uh-huh, sure,” he chuckled, leaning in conspiratorially. “And when you gonna respect her enough to ask her what’s good? Or are you just gonna let her keep playing in your face like that? You deserve an explanation for what went down that night.”
“I know… but the timing's gotta be on point, Atlas.” I shrugged. “Can't rush these things," I said, feeling that familiar flutter in my chest at the mere thought of asking Jerricka flat out if she was into me.
“Kairo, you've been timing it for over a month now! If you keep waiting for the perfect moment to bring it up, you gon’ miss your shot." Atlas's voice was full of encouragement, but his words only tightened the knot of nerves inside me.
“Maybe the shot was never mine.” I shrugged.
Atlas sucked his teeth. “Man, what are you even saying right now?”
I sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets. “How can I explain this in a way your cisgender, heterosexual male ass will understand?” I muttered playfully. Atlas gave me a shove that nearly knocked me into a storefront. “Hey! Stop the violence!”
“Man, what the fuck ever…I was just trying to help your scrawny ass.”
“Nah, I’m just kidding. I know.” I gave it a little more thought, then shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s like, we flirt, right? We always have a good time when we go out together. We can talk about anything for hours…And she’s always, like, finding a reason to touch me, but… after that missed kiss, I feel like I misinterpreted the signals.”
Atlas slowed his step, and I turned to him on the sidewalk. “I’m sorry, but now my cisgender heterosexual male ass is confused ‘cause that sounds like she’s into you.”
“It would. But what can I say?” I smirked. “Sometimes those signals ain’t so clear. And I value what I got with Jerricka, man. She's a damn good barber, and I don't wanna mess that up over some... feelings. What if she ain’t into women for real?” I murmured more to myself than to him, my gaze fixed on the ground.
“Kairo, please. You think I haven't seen the way she leans into you when she's lining you up? The whole shop can feel the energy whenever you’re in her chair. That woman knows exactly what she's doing,” Atlas countered, his voice low and sure. “Ain’t no missed signals there. It’s a green light, and you’re sitting there like it’s red — and won’t put your foot on the gas.”
“No muscle car or other man analogies if you want me to take it serious,” I joked.
The truth was, fear had me by the throat. Rejection wasn't just a possibility—it felt like an impending certainty, looming over me like a storm cloud ready to burst. And what if she didn't even swing my way? The thought alone was enough to send a cold shiver down my spine despite the warmth of my heavy jacket.
“And maybe it is a green light, maybe it’s not. But she's a single mother, Atlas. Seems like she got a good thing goin’ with her baby daddy. I ain't tryna complicate nobody's life.” My hands slipped into my pockets, seeking refuge from the biting chill and my own tangled thoughts.
“Complications or not, you deserve happiness, Kairo,” he insisted, stopping us in our tracks just outside Cutz n’ Cocktails. He looked me dead in the eye, his sincerity shining through. “Don’t let fear hold you back from something that could be beautiful.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Ever since you met that hoodoo woman, you’ve become a hopeless romantic.”
A goofy grin spread across his face at my mention of Soni. Atlas met Soni when she attended the entrepreneurship course we offered at The CoWorking Spot and was smitten the first time he ever laid eyes on her. “You want me to ask her for a love spell? I mean, you might as well. You already look like someone hit you with a love potion when you’re in her chair,” he teased, nudging me with his elbow before he opened the door to the warm, inviting glow of the shop. It smelled like coconut oil and spice, and the buzz of clippers blended with festive music.
"Atlas, swear you need your talk show with all the advice you be givin’,” I said, trying to sound annoyed but knowing my grin betrayed me. And damn, when she looked up at me, I kind of wish I did have a love potion to give her to make her mine.
Jerricka Williams had the kind of curves that defied logic. Her ass drew my attention as she moved around the shop. I tracked her progress like I was starving and she was the food delivery I’d been waiting hours for. Her caramel skin glowed under the soft lights, accentuated by the bright red lipstick she wore. She had an aura of confidence that drew me in, and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by her presence. And today must be what she liked to call “a good titty day” because they were sitting up so nicely that it took genuine effort to pull my gaze upward to look into her eyes again. To match her smile with one of my own. Yeah, her body definitely was tea, but it was the eyes and the smile that really did it for me.
“Well, look who it is!” Sheba, barber and co-owner, piped up. “If it ain’t the lost soul once known as Kairo McCullough. Is that you, Kai? Or is it the ghost of Christmas past? I barely recognized you! I ain't never seen you wolfin' like that.”
I cut a glare at the light-skinned barber, who favored a silky, middle-part, 20-inch buss-down that she constantly flicked over her shoulder, acrylic nails clacking. She was cute, too, but the kind of cute that knew it and never let you forget it.
“You ain't never lied," Jerricka co-signed as she swept up the hair around her chair. She grabbed the dustpan and, bending deeper than was necessary to put a pretty arch in her back, swept the hair inside. “Hope I didn’t do anything to make you stay away,” she said.
My face flushed so hot that my ears burned, and Atlas elbowed me. It was supposed to be nonchalant, but big as he was, it nearly toppled me. I glared at him, then managed to mutter, “Nah, just been busy. Big project came through. You know how it is.” A lie. A blatant lie. And I could tell she knew it was a lie by the little “hm” she hummed under her breath, her back still to me.
She stood up straight again and looked me in the eye. “Which one of you is first?”
“Me,” Atlas said, stepping forward. “I got some last-minute Christmas shopping to do, and I know she’s about to get her hair dyed or something.”
“Okay,” she said, dusting the hair out of her chair. Atlas sat, making the chair hiss, and then Jerricka lowered it as low as it could go. Sheba smirked at Atlas as he settled in, barely able to resist making a joke about his size. A tense moment passed as she tried to restrain herself.
My big buddy sighed from the tension in a room that had gone quiet with anticipation when he sat. Jerricka shook out her drape and covered him.
“Go ahead, Sheba, since you ‘bout to bust a gut,” he muttered, offering me a subtle tip of his chin to let me know I didn’t need to come to his defense.
“Atlas, every time you sit in that chair, I swear it's like watching a grizzly bear try to fit into a kiddie pool,” she tsked with a shake of her head. “You’re gonna have to start tipping more to cover repairs or get haircuts standing up!”
“Oh, Sheba, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just jealous because this chair hugs me tighter than that battery-operated boyfriend you’re always bragging about has ever hugged you,” he said, offering her a wink.
Laughter went up at this exchange, and I let myself find the humor in it only because Atlas could. He wasn’t always like this. He’d been self-conscious about his size and weight since we were kids, and when he was big enough to make people stop talking shit about it, well, he made them stop talking shit about it. When we first started coming to this shop, Sheba had grated Atlas’s nerves with all the “big boy” jokes, but after a while, the two of them played a couple of rounds of the dozens. Something told me he was less sensitive about it because of Soni and how much she loved all of him, but I couldn’t be sure. Truth be told, I was pretty sure Sheba had a thing for Atlas like most women did. They were drawn to his bigness and the implication that he was a protector — which he was.
“I hope you’re not doing last-minute shopping to get a gift for that pretty lady of yours, Atlas,” Jerricka said, spraying his hair with conditioner before picking it out.
“Nah, I got Soni’s gifts months ago. I’m trying to find a toy that my little niece Amara wants. Have you ever heard of LOL Surprise dolls?” he asked, his attention instantly shifted. He took his phone out and scrolled through images of whatever toy he was searching for.
I didn't miss that he had already claimed Amara as his niece even though Soni wasn’t his wife. I fully expected him to propose to that woman. Actually, I was surprised he hadn’t already.
“Oh, honey,” Jerricka crooned. “And you think you’re about to find that in Target or Walmart tonight? Don’t you know how hard these are to get? Their whole gimmick is based on scarcity and rarity.”
Atlas’s face fell. “Are you serious? I told baby girl I’d get her this.”
“Shoulda never made that promise,” Sheba said.
“Nah, I don’t accept that. There’s gotta be somewhere to buy this thing tonight,” he said.
Both Sheba and Jerricka laughed at that, but my eyes immediately locked on her. The full lips that pulled away to reveal straight white teeth. Her full-throated cackle and how she held her belly as if the laugh truly emanated from there. The way her eyes twinkled.
I must’ve been staring too long, or too hard because Atlas cleared his throat loudly and met my gaze in the mirror. Shifting in my seat, I tried to play off the fact that I was practically drooling over this woman for longer than was cute or acceptable.
“So what you got planned for the holidays, Atlas?” Jerricka asked, making conversation. “Soni and her sisters planning something big?”
That goofy grin spread across his face again. “Yeah, and my mama is coming over, too. Our parents are meeting for the first time, so that should be interesting.”
They made small talk as Jerricka worked, and I ogled because, apparently, staying away from her and the shop had diminished all of my good manners.
Atlas’s cut didn’t take long. His usual curly temp fade and beard trim had him in and out of the chair in thirty minutes. He stood and leaned into the mirror to expect her work. “Perfect as always,” he said, flashing her a smile, then turned to her, offering a tip.
“Thank you, kindly, my good sir,” she said, her eyebrows raising when she saw how much it was.
“You and your boys have a good holiday, J.”
Atlas turned to me, a sly grin on his face. “A’ight, Kairo. I’ll catch up with you later. And gimme a call if you change your mind about Christmas dinner.”
“A’ight,” I stood to dap him up and give him a half hug.
"Fam, you look like you 'bout to meet your maker, not your barber," Atlas said, his voice a low tease that I hoped no one overheard. The Christmas music and conversation were so loud that I doubt if they did, but I still gave Sheba a nervous glance. She had ears like a bat.
“Shut up, Atlas. Ain't nobody nervous,” I muttered, the words feeling like cotton in my mouth. My palms were slick. That must have been what gave me away. I wiped them surreptitiously against the fabric of my jeans.
“Then why you sweating like that?” he shot back, his eyes twinkling with mirth. He knew exactly what buttons to push—damn him.
“Because it ain't just about the cut, man," I whispered hotly, then glanced around, making sure the words were still for his ears only. “You know she got responsibilities, right? A kid, a good thing going with her baby daddy. I come on too strong and poof! There goes the best barber I ever had.”
“Kairo McCullough, scared to shoot her shot," Atlas said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“I thought you had somewhere to be?” I asked with a tip of my head.
“Yeah, a’ight. Be easy,” he said, dropping his big hand on my shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Okay, Kairo,” Jerricka said. “Get your pretty ass in my chair.”
Atlas gave me a knowing smile, said goodbye to the regulars, and left the shop.
"Get your shit together," I whispered to myself, rising to take my place in the seat that could very well be the stage for my heart's confession.
“Hold on,” she said, placing a hand in the middle of my chest to halt me before I could sit, then reaching up to take off my knit cap. “Oof!” she said with a soft giggle as she dug her hands into my thick coils, nails massaging my scalp. “Is this just a month of new growth?”
“That’s how long it’s been since I’ve come to see you, so…”
Some emotion flitted across her face… Regret, maybe?
“I know. I was beginning to take it personal,” she said, moving in so close that her presence enveloped me like a promise.
“Don’t ever do that,” I murmured.
With a flirty little flick of her lashes, her gaze met mine. “So, um, you wanna dye it again, or are you trying to grow it out?”
“What do you think?”
She dug her fingers into my hair again, tugged at it a little, and I swear, it was all I could do to keep myself from purring and nuzzling into her touch. “I think a bit longer would be sexy…I should start with wash and blow dry first, I think. That sound good?”
Her hands in my hair? Her face inches from mine while she massaged my scalp? Hell, yeah, that sounded good.
Jerricka leaned in a bit closer. “I’ll get you cleaned up nice. Come on back.” Her voice was smooth, low, and honeyed. It wrapped around me, and every single one of my pulse points thrummed to life at the sound of it.
“Y-yeah," I stammered, trying and failing to sound nonchalant as I followed her to the back of the shop to the shampoo station.
I stood near the shampoo bowl while she tucked a towel into the collar of the cape. “So, how have you been?” I asked. My voice was soft and hesitant because that wasn’t the question I wanted to ask.
“I’ve been okay. A little confused, though.”
“Confused about what?”
“Sit,” she commanded, gesturing toward the shampoo chair.
I sat and slid down to notch my head in the curve of the shampoo bowl. Jerricka leaned over me and turned the water on, testing the temp.
“Tip your head back a little bit,” she murmured, stroking her finger under my chin to help me get it at the right angle. “There. That’s good, Kai. Now relax, and let me take care of you.” A smirk tilted her lips.
Every inch of skin under my clothes lit up. Goosebumps rushed to trail where her fingertips had touched, and I squeezed my eyes closed, biting my lip against a moan when she ran warm water over my head and began to massage my scalp.
“I was confused,” she began, leaning in so close that I could feel her breath across my brow. “I thought I was dating someone, and they ghosted me for a month with no explanation.”
Fuck. Atlas was right. This woman knew exactly what she was doing. And now I had a choice to make. Match her energy or keep second-guessing every word and every move I made?
I pulled in a deep breath…