Meeting Mr. Christmas (Collier’s Creek Christmas)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The party was around fifteen of them, squashed into Connor’s apartment. Any more, and they’d be out in the hallway. Jed knew most of them; hell, had been in high school with them. Yet, there were some he’d not met before, including the woman sitting next to him who was leaning in a little too close, her smile a little too intimate.

Jed stifled a sigh, trying to remember her name… Diana, Denise… No, Dana. That’s right, it was Dana, who wasn’t just pretty but beautiful. So why the hell didn’t he have any intention of returning her interest? He kept his smile in place by sheer willpower alone. Dana, with her big green eyes and red hair piled high on her head, loose tendrils framing her face, could have been talking to him about having been out dancing with Sasquatch for all the attention he was giving her. Jed tried to pull his focus back, tried not to be a dick, but Noel wrenched his attention away as he wandered into the living room clutching a bottled beer. Immediately, Connor’s bubbly girlfriend, Stacey, pulled Noel in for a dance.

Jed followed every one of Noel’s moves. Because he was a good dancer, that was all, so it was impossible for Noel not to draw the eye, not to capture his attention. Sinewy. Yeah, that was the word. In a tight pink T-shirt and black skinny jeans sitting low on his hips and held up, just, by a heavy leather belt with a silver buckle, Noel was?—

“You keep looking over at that dark-haired guy, the one you came with. So, am I wasting my time here?”

Dana’s question jerked Jed’s attention back.

“Excuse me?” Jed’s face pulsed with heat. He’d only glanced over once or twice. Hadn’t he?

Dana shifted back, putting some space between them. “He’s cute, the kind of guy you just want to snuggle up with.”

Jed laughed, but to his ears it sounded forced and self-conscious. “I’ll be sure to tell him. Or you can,” he added.

Dana shook her head and got to her feet. Her jade green dress clung in all the right places. She was something else, and he really should be interested…

“No, cute as he is, he’s not my type. But I’m thinking he might just be yours.”

Jed stared after her as she sashayed out of the room.

There were eight of them left. The hard core, Connor said, although as Jed had been drinking sodas all evening, he didn’t think hard core applied to himself. Or to Noel, who, if he had more than a couple of beers, had a habit of falling asleep. Everybody around them, except for him and Noel, had had way more than just a couple.

The music was turned down a little. “Party games!” Connor announced, a rabid grin on his face suggesting that if anybody tried to leave, they’d be dragged back kicking and screaming.

Opposite Jed, wedged on a love seat between Stacey and a friend of Connor’s Jed didn’t know, Noel caught his eye and grinned.

“Charades,” he mouthed, and Jed rolled his eyes. He detested charades as much as Noel loved them, throwing himself in with an enthusiasm that far, far outdid his skill.

Let ’ s escape while we ’ re still alive… Jed stared hard at Noel, sending out his thoughts as he nodded towards the door.

Noel’s grin widened as he shook his head.

“I walked here, so if party games mean throwing car keys in a bowl, I call that out as total discrimination!” a guy protested, everybody laughing in response.

“Reckon keys in a bowl is the only way you’ll ever get some.” Connor laughed as his friend flipped him off. “Gather round, girls and boys.”

“What is this, some kind of seance?” a woman asked, the excitement in her voice tinged with nervousness.

“Way more scary, Monique. We are going to be playing — Truth or Dare!”

Jed groaned. It was better than charades, but not much. Opposite him, Noel’s face fell. Can we go? he mouthed. Jed pretended to think, as he tilted his head, before shaking it in an emphatic no. It served Noel right for wanting to subject him to charades.

“Okay, people, buckle up for the ride. Aim of the game, for anybody who needs reminding, is the extraction of maximum embarrassment.” Everyone groaned, and Connor grinned. “You have to answer a question truthfully, or perform a dare instead. That person then gets to select the next victim — I mean player. Don’t forget, everybody gets a go because we want to spread the squirm. But no photos or recordings, because what happens in Truth or Dare stays in Truth or Dare.”

Jed glanced over at Noel, who was looking glummer by the second. Perhaps they should go, but as Connor announced he’d kick the game off by asking the first question, it was already too late. They’d stick it out for a couple of rounds before hauling ass.

“Monique.” Connor raised his eyebrows at the girl, who looked terrified and excited in equal measure. “Truth or dare?”

“Ah…”

“Go, go, go, go,” everybody chanted.

“Truth,” she blurted.

“Okay, an easy peasy one just to get us all warmed up.” Connor leaned forward. “Where did you lose your virginity?”

“Oh, my god!” Monique squealed as she buried her face in her hands.

Stacey slapped her boyfriend hard on the arm.

Monique mumbled something into the palms glued to her face.

“Sorry, hun, what was that you said?” somebody called out, causing everybody to laugh.

Monique peeked over the top of her fingers. “In the basement room at the public library. It was pretty dusty. Oh god…” she wailed as she retreated behind her palms.

“Talk about getting your book stamped…”

The game carried on, the questions mostly around sex, the dares about downing shots. So far, both he and Noel had escaped unscathed, but that wouldn’t last. He met Noel’s eye and nodded.

“Okay, guys,” he said, getting up, “me and Noel are going to head out?—”

“Whoa, hold your horses, Jed Mason. You gotta take your turn like the rest of us. You and Noel.” Connor glared in challenge through eyes that didn’t look as if they were in full focus.

“I can assure you, I’m way too boring for this game,” Noel chipped in.

“Come on guys,” a few voices called out.

Jed hesitated. If he dragged Noel away and headed for the door, it’d look like they both had something to hide. Now all he’d done was put them both in the spotlight. He shrugged, feigning indifference, but he already knew who was up next. He just had to get it out of the way, and then they could leave… He sat down and waited for the inevitable.

“My turn to ask.” Stacey almost bounced up and down in excitement. “Jed, Truth or Dare?”

Truth, always Truth because answering Truth meant he could make any shit up.

“Dare.” The word burst out of him with such force, he rocked back. He never chose Dare. Never. “I meant Truth.” But it was too late.

“No can do, buddy,” Connor said with a slight slur.

Stacey scrunched her face up in thought, her brow ironing out as a big smile split her face.

“I want you to recreate an iconic movie kiss with…” She looked around the group, stopping at — “Noel.”

A split second of silence, as deep as the ocean and as quiet as space, before the room erupted in cheers.

His gaze sought out Noel, who stared at him in wide eyed, frozen fear.

“I don’t know any iconic movie kisses,” he croaked. Jesus, was that all he could say? He should be saying no, he should be taking a forfeit for refusal, and all he could utter was that he didn’t know of any famous fucking kisses.

“I know, I know, I know.” Stacey, still bouncing, stuck her hand in the air, as though she were asking to be let out of class to go for a pee. “The Lady and The Tramp. You know, when they’re eating spaghetti? I watched it a couple days back, with my little niece. It’s super cute and adorable.”

Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss… The baying chant filled the room. Anger heated Jed’s blood. He and Noel were cornered. They could still say no, and leave, and he’d make sure nobody tried to stop them. He turned to Noel, ready to jerk his head toward the door, but Noel had got up, and was making his way towards him and not the door. Noel shrugged. Let ’ s make this quick and get it over with. But as room opened up for Noel to sit next to Jed, Jed’s stomach flipped and his chest twisted and turned. Anger drained from him, replaced with an indescribable feeling he didn’t want to acknowledge. His brain recoiled, but his body, suddenly hot and tingling, only desired to rush forward.

Excitement.

Excitement at the thought of kissing Noel. His best bud. His friend since birth.

Fuck.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Stacey screamed. “You gotta do the whole sucking up spaghetti thing.”

“I ain’t cooking spaghetti, baby,” Connor said, “but what about…” He jumped up and rummaged through the remains of the snacks, thrusting a breadstick with a large blob of mayo on each end into Jed’s hand

“I, erm, think we’ve got to nibble our way through from each end until we end up in the, erm, you know, the…” Noel muttered.

“Kiss.”

“Hmm.”

“Okay, guys. Breadstick at the ready. And go!”

Noel plucked the breadstick from Jed’s fingers and placed it in his mouth, pink, mayo smeared lips clamping down.

Jed swallowed, his throat dry. All they had to do was crunch their way to the middle and then have a quick peck, because the quickest of quick pecks was still technically a kiss. That was all they needed to do. It was no big deal. He’d kissed Noel plenty. On the cheek, even an occasional quick, hard peck on the lips, hugging him close. Christmas. Birthdays. Lots of other times, just because…

Just inches away, Noel’s brows arched high. Get moving, you dick, let ’ s get this over with… Noel was already crunching his way towards him.

Cheers, stamping feet, and clapping urged them on. The breadstick, despite the mayo, was dry, making it hard to swallow… Only three, four inches between them, just a peck, which absolutely counted as a kiss.

“Wanna see tongue, guys…” Connor’s raucous voice was joined by others, laughing and whooping.

No, they didn’t have to go that far, they wouldn’t… All he and Noel had to do was to give each other the briefest, tiniest kiss, nothing more than a peck.

An inch, less than half an inch… Then nothing, as lips found lips, Noel’s mouth relaxing, opening up to let him in. Noel kissing him. Not a peck. Not a glancing of lips. Most definitely not a technicality, not as his tongue responded and tangled with Noel’s, not as lips moved against lips, not as his eyes closed as he gave himself up to the wet heat of Noel’s hungry mouth, a mouth that was every bit as ravenous as his own.

Jed’s heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to crash and splinter the bone. The heavy hum and whoosh of his blood racing through his veins thundered through his ears, blanketing all the shouts and whoops until they faded altogether. Because this was all there was. Him and Noel. Nobody and nothing else, just like it had always been, everything and everyone else just surface noise.

Noel whimpered, the sound low and breathy, and Jed pulled him close. Cradling the back of Noel’s head, he pushed his fingers through Noel’s hair as he kissed him deeper and darker, cupping his head between his hands, feeling the rasp of fine stubble on his palms. Jed’s dick throbbed within its denim prison, a prison he wanted to set it free from. Noel pulled back, and Jed’s eyes snapped open. Noel was staring at him, his blue eyes huge and his lips slack, wet, and puffy as he chased his breath, his chest rising and falling.

“Wow, that was…”

“Oh my god, that was the hottest thing I’ve seen…”

“They didn’t do it like that in the movie…”

“Gee, fellas, if you wanna use the bedroom, be my guest…”

The world was crashing back in. Jed smiled, aiming for a calm nonchalance he didn’t even remotely feel.

“You asked for a kiss.” Jed shrugged, before turning to Noel, forcing himself to hold Noel’s pupil blown gaze. “You ready to go?” He prayed to god nobody else heard the shake that rattled around inside him. Pushing himself up on legs that wanted to buckle beneath him, he held out his hand for Noel.

Noel nodded, rapid little movements, accompanied by a strangled squeak that was probably a yes, as he placed his hand in Jed’s.

“Thanks for the party, Connor,” Jed said as he held on tight to Noel’s hand, unsure who was holding who up.