Page 26 of Sexted By Santa
“I do that all the time.”
“And put on cologne!” she said. “And you spent forever styling your hair. You never do that.”
Tori trailed me as I searched through the clean laundry for a button-down shirt that would be appropriate for a date. My closet was full of T-shirts but short on anything more formal. Even when I occasionally hooked up in the past—before Tori was diagnosed, when I let her stay over with friends without a second thought—it was generally a casual affair.
It felt different with Santa. More like a real date.
Unless it’s Christian. Then it’ll be a real disaster.
He’d surprised me with his kindness toward Tori this morning. She’d been excited and chattering about their short conversation for hours afterward. “He says I’m on the nice list. He knew my name, Daddy!”
I’d been torn about how to handle her enthusiasm. Did I let her continue to believe we lived next door to Santa? I didn’t want to ruin the magic, but I didn’t want her to be upset the next time she saw Christian in street clothes, either.
“You do know that he’s not Santa all the time, right?” I’d said. “Our neighbor, I mean.”
“I know,” she’d said. “He’s that professor guy. This is just like…a seasonal thing.”
Okay. Well, that was better than her believing he was a full-time Santa. I didn’t know if she understood it was just a role he played for events, but I decided to leave it there. We could have the Santa chat another time, when we were both ready for it.
I finally found a shirt to wear. “Ah. Here we go!” I held it up for Tori to see. “What do you think?”
“I think your date will like how it brings out your eye color.”
I sighed. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? I told you I’m just meeting a friend.”
“Well, if you can hang out with friends, then so can I.” She put her fists on her hips. “When do I get to spend the night with Madison?”
Slipping on the shirt was a good excuse to avoid eye contact. When Tori wanted something, it was best not to look at her directly or I’d surely cave to her whims.
“Soon,” I mumbled.
“Why not tonight?” Tori suggested. “I can call and see if her mom is okay with it. Then you can have more time with your…friend!”
I snapped my head up, jaw clenching on reflex. “No.”
“You promised.”
“Not tonight.” I wasn’t ready for that. I’d been slowly compiling a care instruction sheet that I could give to Madison’s parents. It outlined how to operate the pump, how to input carbs when she ate, how to scan the glucose monitor and understand the readings, and how to spot the signs of high and low blood sugar levels in Tori, as well as what to do in an emergency. Tori knew how to do most of this herself, but I wasn’t ready to put the full burden of responsibility on her without supervision. She was just so young.
“But, Daddy—”
“I said no,” I snapped.
Tori’s eyes began to fill, and I sighed and tugged her against me. Her arms wrapped around my waist. “I promised, but there’s no time tonight, okay? My date starts soon, and Shirley is already expecting you. But we’ll talk tomorrow and schedule something official. How does that sound?”
Tori pulled back, beaming. “Really? You promise?”
I rubbed a hand over my jaw as dread filled my chest. But I knew it was the right thing to do. I had to let Tori become more independent. I had to let her live her life.
“Yeah, really. You can spend the night with Madison soon. I just need to prepare some information for her parents, okay?”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
She hugged me again, and I laughed. When she pulled back, she looked ornery. “You totally called it a date. Iknewyou weren’t just meeting a friend!”
Fuck. I had. She’d busted me fair and square.
“So it’s a date,” I said reluctantly. As she began to clap in excitement, I added, “It’s not serious!”
