Meeting Mr. Christmas (Collier’s Creek Christmas)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Okay, okay,” Noel muttered, ripping off his headphones, as whoever was outside was keeping their finger glued to the bell. Peeking out of the window, he looked down at the street. His stomach rocketed into his chest before crashing to the floor.

Jed. Whom he’d chased out of his thoughts over the last couple of days by submerging himself in work. Or tried to. Jed, who was standing outside, hunched against the weather, snow making a peak on his hat, bringing all those thoughts crashing back in. Taking a deep breath, then slowly exhaling, he pressed the button to unlock the door to let him into the building. Moments later, Jed was hovering on the threshold to Noel’s apartment.

“I—is it okay if I come in?” he said, pulling his scarf from his face and offering an uncertain smile.

When was Jed uncertain about anything? After you kissed him and he damn well kissed you back… “Erm, sure. Of course it’s okay. Get inside, you’re letting all the heat out.”

“I tried to call you, but I wasn’t getting a signal. I guess because of the weather.” In the small hallway, Jed shifted from foot to foot, his hands thrust into his coat pockets.

“Oh, okay. Why—” Noel’s words were abruptly interrupted by a small caramel brown bullet that shot into the hall, wagging its tail, bouncing its backside from side to side, and yapping in excitement.

“Hey, Peter. It’s good to see you, too.” Jed swooped the excited little dog up into his arms, laughing as Peter tried to cover his face in hot, pink tongued kisses.

Hot kisses… tongues… Noel swallowed hard. He really, really didn’t want to think about kisses and tongues, not with Jed standing just a foot or two away from him.

“Glad somebody’s pleased to see me.” Jed gazed at Noel over the top of Peter’s head, the unasked question are you? louder than the tiny dog’s excited barks.

Noel smiled and the stiffness that seemed to hold Jed tight melted away like the snow caked on his coat did. “You’re making a mess on the floor. Take your coat off. I’ll get some hot chocolate on and you can tell me why you tried to call.”

“They’re only away for two nights. I can sleep on the couch.” Jed sipped on his chocolate, his gaze flitting away from Noel’s.

Noel shot him a glance. Everything about Jed was awkward and strained. Everything was just wrong, and Noel didn’t like it, he didn’t like it one little bit.

They were friends, life-long friends, even if he did want so much more. The kiss, that had been everything he’d fantasized about, everything he’d jacked off over… Oh, god… Now it was his turn to look everywhere but at Jed. But he — they — couldn’t let it get in the way, coloring everything they were, which first and foremost, was friends.

Noel drew in a silent breath, holding it for a beat, before letting it go. Not allowing himself to think, not allowing himself to back off, he let the words tumble from him.

“Look, what happened at the party. It was just that stupid game, okay? They wanted a show, so we put one on for them. I don’t want it to cause awkwardness between us.”

Awkward? Awkward? How could anything be more awkward? Please let a hole open up right here and now and swallow me up…

“Sure, just a show.” Jed glanced away before his gaze settled back on Noel. “We gave them what they wanted. It’s why we went in for the kill.”

“You’re right. Like you say, we gave them what they wanted.” Noel smiled, but it felt like the corners of his mouth were held up by wires. But what about what he wanted? His pasted-on smile was ripping him in two.

Peter, rolling around on the rug in front of the fire, farted.

“Ah, that is so gross.” Jed covered his nose and mouth as he started coughing.

“Jesus.” Noel’s long ago lunch curdled in his stomach. “To think it was a choice between you and the cutest little cockapoo.” Noel leaped up and slung open the window, not caring about the snow flurries as Peter wandered out, leaving chaos and a gut churning stench in his wake.

“That’s the worst of it gone,” Noel muttered, pulling the window closed.

Jed started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Only you could have chosen a dog that likes to fart more than it likes sleeping and eating treats.”

“He’s not that bad.” Except Peter was. Noel’s lips curved up in a genuine smile that turned to a grin and all the awkwardness and the weirdness that had sat on the couch with them like an unwanted guest decided it was time that it, too, needed to go. A dachshund with an over active fart muscle had some uses.

“Dinner?”

Jed grinned.