Meeting Mr. Christmas (Collier’s Creek Christmas)

Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

“Have you missed me, baby? I’ve missed you soooo much. You are such a sweet, sweet boy — ouch! You furry little shit!” Noel’s arms shot out, holding Peter as far away from his throbbing nose as it was possible to get.

“You know, maybe I should let Mrs. Diaz keep you for good. How’d you like that, eh? Was that squeak a yes, please ? Don’t think I won’t do it. You won’t be able to keep up your sweet as pie pretense for long. And you know what she’ll do when she realizes you’re a psychopath? She’ll have you stuffed and mounted, right next to that moth-eaten moose head she’s got on her wall. It’s exactly what you deserve.” Noel put Peter down, who waddled to his cushion to chew on a rubber bone.

Noel rubbed his eyes and yawned. It was late and the time away was catching up with him. He’d only been gone two days, but as it always did when he went to company HQ in San Diego, it felt like a hell of a lot longer. He put some milk on to heat, to make hot chocolate. God, he was glad to be home; even a short separation was a sharp reminder of how much he loved his little mountain town. But the Creek hadn’t been all he’d missed.

You might think you ’ re friends, but I think Jed has other ideas… He couldn’t shake off Kent’s comment, which had crawled under his skin. Kent didn’t know Jed, but he sure as hell did. Then why couldn’t he get the words out of his mind? Because if Jed did, maybe, perhaps, potentially think they could be more…?

“Jesus, get a grip.” Noel shook his head hard. What was he thinking? That Jed was suddenly thinking about him in a whole new way? Noel pushed away from the counter, all thoughts of hot chocolate forgotten. There was only one reason the idea had taken hold of him, and one reason only.

He needed to meet somebody, and fast.

Noel barked out a laugh. Meet somebody? Why not say it like it was? He needed to get laid. Properly laid. He puffed out a long breath. He’d got as far as a fumble with Kent, but that was all. Guilt gave a little twist in his stomach. Maybe Kent had picked up that he hadn’t really, deep down, been interested in even that, let alone anything more. He bit down on his lip. Perhaps it hadn’t only been Jed who’d been a dick.

Noel slapped his palms on the counter. Okay, so things hadn’t worked out with Kent, and there was no way on this earth that anything was going to work out with Jed, no matter how hard he dreamed. Him and Jed? It was as likely as eating a grilled cheese on the moon. But this was Wyoming. This was cowboy country. And what happened if you fell off your horse? You just climbed right back on and went for another ride.

Throwing himself onto the couch, he opened up his cell where Love Heartz was ready and waiting.

“How was San Diego?” Jed grinned when Noel groaned down the phone.

“Let’s just say it was two days I’ll never get back. We started the day at 6:00am offering ourselves up to the sun’s energy, followed by a chanting session led by some guy called Starburst, with hair all the way down to his ass, before being subjected to a breakfast of raw vegetables and seeds. All to purify us for the day ahead. Jesus, we’re a software development company. It was, like, normal when HQ was based in Chicago.”

“Maybe being purified for the day contributes to the bottom line.”

On the other end of the line, Noel harrumphed. “Contributed to my indigestion. I was shitting out seeds for the two days I was there. Still am. I’m officially a finch.”

“But now you’re back.” Jed’s grin morphed into a soft smile. “Wanna have that movie night later? We’ve not had one for some time.” And I ’ ve missed it. Jed cleared his throat. “I’ll endure whatever sappy rom-com you want and I’ll bring pizza and?—”

“No. Not tonight. Sorry.”

Silence stretched out. Jed’s gaze fell to the collage of photographs hanging on the wall of his bedroom. A couple of him and his brother, one with favorite cousins. Every other one him and Noel, faces pressed together, arms around each other…

“Jed? You still there?”

“Not tonight. Sure. Okay. Why, have you got plans?” Jed winced. He hadn’t meant for it to sound like an interrogation. Or not so much.

The hesitation was small, but Jed didn’t miss it.

“I’ve got a date. Through the app. I mean, just because things didn’t work out with Kent…”

Jed moved his jaw from side to side, trying to ease out the sudden stiffness.

“… made the decision that if I want to meet the man of my dreams, I’ve gotta be a little more proactive, because he’s not just gonna tap me on the shoulder and say ‘hi, I’ve been here all along’. Or perhaps he is here, down the street or only a block away and just needs a little push in the right direction. Hey, listen to me. I’m sounding like one of my rom coms. I know life’s not like that.”

“Maybe he is here, and he’s just waiting for you to notice him.”

Noel laughed, but there was something wistful, almost sad, about it. Jed stared at the photographs, charting his and Noel’s journey. Always together, holding tight to each other, holding each other up in their own, but different, ways.

“If he were, I think we’d have found each other by now. Anyway, whoever my ideal man turns out to be, he’ll have to fulfill my exacting set of requirements, which I’ve been honing over the years.”

“You mean a six-pack and a big?—”

“You know, Jed, you’re still a jock at heart.”

“I was never a jock.” Jed’s voice filled with indignation. “Okay, I was good at sports?—”

Noel laughed. Jed huffed in response, but he smiled.

“Okay, maybe I was. A little.”

“A lot. But never to me,” Noel added quietly.

“No?”

“No.”

Another moment of silence. Jed licked his lips.

“Tell me about this list of requirements you’ve got.” Jed rushed the words out. He and Noel never talked about Noel’s boyfriends — or not unless he counted telling Noel that they were losers or dicks — but something scratched at him, urging him on to find out more about the man his best friend wanted to spend his life with.

“No. You’ll laugh at me.”

Jed’s shoulders jerked. Laugh at Noel? No way.

“You know I’d never do that.”

“Hmm,” Noel said after a moment’s hesitation. “But if I detect even a hint, this conversation is over and I will never let you make a fuss of Peter ever again. Okay.” Noel sucked in a breath, and Jed waited to hear about Noel’s ideal man as he bit down on his thumb nail. “Apart from needing to have the right, erm, physical attributes, he’ll have to have certain personality traits and ambitions. For the future.”

“Ambitions? Like earn mega bucks? Own his own business?” Jed’s hand fell to his stomach, where he massaged at the knots pulling tight.

“No. I’m not interested in his bank balance. He could be the town garbage collector for all I care.” Noel sighed. “I just want what most folks want, I guess. Somebody who’s kind and patient. Somebody who makes me laugh. Somebody I feel safe with, who’ll hold me close, protect me when I need it, and make me feel like I’m the only one in the world who matters. Somebody who’ll love me as unconditionally as I’ll love them.” Noel laughed, awkward and self-conscious. “You’re probably thinking I’m watching too many romances.”

“No, because why wouldn’t anybody want that? To be with somebody they feel right with. With somebody who just fits. Everybody wants to feel protected. Or wants to be the one who can offer that protection. Somebody they can lean on and who can take some of the weight when life sucks.” Jed’s gaze sought out the old photo he’d found, which he’d added to the collage of him holding Noel tight after he’d saved him from the bully all those years ago. He rubbed harder at the knots twisting in his stomach. “What else is on your list?”

Noel hesitated, and Jed narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, this stuff isn’t exactly what gets talked about on a first date, but he’ll need to want the same things in life I do. For the future, I mean. Look, are you sure you want to hear this?”

“You’re not getting off the hook so easily, Christmas. I wanna hear it all.” Did he? But the itch was there, and it wanted scratching. He waited as Noel’s sigh filled the airwaves.

“It’s just the normal stuff… I want a house which is a home. A home that checks off all the clichés. A white picket fence, a dog — or at least one that’ll keep Peter in check — a yard with a lush green lawn. And I want it all with a man whose ring I’ll be wearing and whose name I’ll take, and who’ll be an amazing dad to our kids. You’re probably sorry you asked,” Noel added, his voice sounding a little out of breath, a little unsteady.

“I think it sounds nice,” Jed said quietly. And it did. A home and a family, with somebody who loved you as much as you loved them, moving forward and forging a life together.

“But whether I find it, who knows? Maybe that one special guy is out there, or maybe I’m just deluding myself, setting my expectations so high all I’ll do is fall.”

“Then I’ll catch you.”

“Will you?”

“Always. Because I’m here for you. Always have been, always will be, and that ain’t never gonna change.”