Hello guys. Welcome to day 7 of the countdown to Christmas Hart of Dixie.

Enjoy!

Wade returned to his shared room with his brother a smile on his face. They stayed laughing and talking until they were kicked out of the closed lobby. The older gentlemen let them stay and talk as he cleaned up the lobby around them. It wasn't until he was ready to call it a night that he kicked them out with a frown on his face on needing them to leave. On the ride up the elevator, where Wade got off first, they made plans to meet in the lobby around 10, if not 10 than 11, to figure out a place to go have lunch. Neither one of them was sure if they'd be up at 10, but he'd try. He didn't want Zoe to think he was standing her up.

"Took my advice after all, huh?" Jesse asked, muting the late-night talk show he was watching.

Wade shook his head, kicking his shoes off. He said nothing, entering the bathroom and shutting the door to his brother's laughter. He doesn't know what's so funny. He did know that he wouldn't hear the end of it from Jesse about Zoe. But with a smile on his face, he doesn't care. What he did to help her was on a whim at the moment, but he wouldn't change it. So far on this vacation, Zoe's the best thing to happen to him. He thought the best thing would be snowboarding, but he's not about to relive the hell that has been for him.

Washing his face and brushing his teeth and finishing the rest of his business in the bathroom, he exits, flopping onto his bed, the smile on his face never leaving. Not even Jesse wanting to tease him about Zoe can make the smile falter on his face. He didn't come on this vacation over Winter Break, to add to his list of girls, like he had thought about doing. He's not Jesse. His main focus was on the slopes and snowboarding. But now, there's just something about Zoe that draws him in.

"Are you not going to tell me about her?" Jesse asks, turning his head to look at his younger brother.

"There's nothing to tell," Wade told him. He's not going to sit here and talk about Zoe and that they're only on their way to building a friendship and nothing more. If he does get to kiss those soft plump red painted lips of hers then it will happen naturally not because he's out to prove something to Jesse. The last thing he is going to do is push himself on her when being friends with her, which is all he needs.

"Then I'll find out myself tomorrow," Jesse smirked, powering the TV off. Waiting to get a rise out of his brother.

"No, you're going to leave her alone," Wade remarked, glaring at his brother. "She's not a toy you can steal and ruin," he snapped out. "She has real feelings and they've already been hurt enough, the last thing she needs is for you to swoop in and play this little game of yours, and hurt her further," he stated.

"You've only known her a few hours and you're already this protective over her," Jesse smirked, sitting up in his bed. "That's a strong power she has over you," he snickered.

"Leave her alone, Jesse," he warned, turning to stare up at the white ceiling. The last thing he needs is for Jesse to say the wrong thing to her and ruin the delicate friendship they have built in just a short few hours.

"Or what, Wade?" Questioned Jesse, smartly. "You can't stop me from talking to someone," he scuffed out, more amused with his brother's attitude than anything else.

"Why must you try to ruin all of my happiness?" He asked, turning to look at his brother once more. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing," Jesse shrugged. "I'm not trying to ruin anything for you," he sighed. "Is it wrong that I want to know more about the girl that makes you have little red hearts in your eyes?" He asked.

"I don't have heart eyes," Wade retorted rolling his eyes. "She's a friend and nothing more. I don't need you to be all protective when you're not like this back home." He's not going to believe that Jesse cares enough now that he's going to pull the card to look after him and make sure he's not going to get hurt. Zoe can't hurt him if all they are is friends. No line to be crossed.

"Why I would be protective of you back home?" Jesse asked, humor in his voice. "Back home, all you do is have your fun, none of it turns out to be serious. It's always the first date but never more. This girl you're planning on spending the week with. See the difference?" Jesse asked.

"Well don't," Wade warned. "She's a friend. I'm not trying to be you and sleep with every girl I see my age," he sighed.

"Just remember that you're not old enough to run off and marry her," Jesse remarked.

"What the actual hell, Jesse?" Wade asked, closing his eyes. He'd like to know what kind of drugs Jesse happens to be taking to come to the conclusion that he wants to run off and marry Zoe. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Wade asked, tired of dealing with his brother. All he wants to do is get some sleep so he can be up on time to meet Zoe and have a fun-filled day with her.

"Not tonight," Jesse smirked. "Do I get to know her name at the very least?" Jesse asked with a sigh.

"Zoe," Wade said, turning on his side, his back towards his brother. "There isn't anything else you need to know about her. I like her as a friend, and if anything happens between the two of us, it's because she wanted it," Wade told his brother, wanting him to lay off on whatever he thinks is going on between Zoe and himself.

"So you do find her attractive?" Jesse playfully said a smirk crossing his lips, turning the lights in the room off.

"I'm not blind," Wade retorted, shutting his eyes and stifling his yawn. "She needs a friend, and I want to be that friend for the week we're here. Is that such a crime?" He asked.

"Just don't go falling in love with a girl you're not going to be seeing again once this trip is over with," Jesse warned him. Wade scoffed, not needing that bit of advice.

"I'm 16, Jesse, what do I know about falling in love?" He asked, ready to put an end to this conversation and get a few hours of sleep before he needs to be meeting Zoe in the lobby.

"Plenty," Jesse mumbled.

If he wasn't already falling asleep, he'd ask his brother what he means about that comment, he's sure he wasn't supposed to hear. As far as he knows, his brother has never been in love. Not even with the few girlfriends, he's had through high school. Besides, he knows how it's going to end with Zoe, his heart is perfectly safe.

When he woke in the morning, the first thing he did was look to see what time it was. Barely 9 in the morning. The second thing he did is cast a look at Jesse's bed. His brother wasn't in bed and he didn't hear any noise from the bathroom. Not caring that his brother had already taken off for the day, he tossed the covers off and headed to the empty bathroom to shower and get dressed for his day with Zoe.

45 minutes later, Wade was heading to the elevator, ready to wait for Zoe not sure when she'd be down. He may have spent a little longer deciding on what shirt to wear and how to style his hair than he normally does. He can't be at fault for wanting to look his best.

He froze entering the lobby seeing his brother, laughing away with Zoe. The one thing he warned his brother against, Jesse goes right ahead and does it anyway. Days like today, make him wish he was an only child, making him wish that Jesse didn't come with them on this family trip. To make matters worse, he watched his parents come in from outside, making their way to where Jesse and Zoe stood.

Sighing, he slowly makes his way over, not sure what is waiting for him when he does make it to his family and Zoe.