Page 14 of A Beginner's Guide to Christmas Miracles
Of course, Nach had probably been too dazed to even process everything. Then he’d run into Beck, and next thing he knew, he was playing Santa Claus.
“You know, it will sound terribly selfish of me, but I have to admit I’m really glad I ran into you on that sidewalk at that moment, and I’m really glad you’re staying with us, too. Of course I’m sorry you lost your belongings, but, well, I can’t regret meeting you. It was almost like it was fate,” Beck admitted.
Nach stopped them, pulling Beck to face him. “I don’t know about fate. Idoknow that everyone has free will, and it was your kind decision to take me in and your joyful spirit that sees the best in everyone. You are like sunshine, brightening the day of every person we meet,” Nach praised. “I am blessed to have met you, Beckett.”
Beck couldn’t help it, he leaned in and kissed Nach, right there on the sidewalk with people walking by. By Nach’s reaction, the guy didn’t seem to mind.
Then, as Beck pulled back, Nach wrinkled his nose a bit, and Beck was just about to ask if they should stop at the drug store for allergy meds, because Nach seemed to be wrinkling his nose a lot today, when a big fat snowflake landed onhisnose.
Everyone around them literally stopped. The daylight was fading, so the lights were turned on and twinkling down Main Street, and now there was even snow again.
Beck giggled gleefully, and he pulled Nach back to him, unable to resist another kiss. Their breaths were hot as they leaned into each other, and Nach must have set the bags down, because his arms were wrapping around Beck.
Nach’s warm lips against his contrasted with the gentle snowflakes that swirled down and landed on his face, but even those didn’t feel terribly cold. Or perhaps it was just that kissing Nach made something inside of Beck burn even brighter.
He pulled away, giggling again, and opened his eyes, pressing his forehead to Nach’s. He had the sudden and totally insane urge to tell Nach that he loved him, which was just beyond crazy. Thiswasn’tsome movie, after all, but everything was so fantastical, and he had the undeniable feeling that Nach was quite literally perfect for him. Maybe Nach didn’t believe in fate, but Beck was starting to.
They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, and no one around seemed to mind—he thought he even heard an uttered “Aww” or two as people walked by. He knew they’d get cold before long, so he grabbed Nach’s hand in his and waited patiently while his sexy Santa picked the bags back up.
“Come on. One more stop before home,” Beck smiled. “As long as you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. I shall follow wherever you lead,” Nach replied.
Aww, the guy was really the sweetest freaking person he’d ever met.
When they ended up at the doors to the center, Nach beamed at him and happily followed him inside.
There were a few volunteers scattered about, and it looked like a few of the teens had just finished a game of basketball in the gym, because they were lounging on the couch in shorts and tanks. He knew a few of them, and he wandered over, Nach in tow.
“Marcus! How’s your mama?” Beck asked.
“She good, bro. Feeling better now that she’s a few weeks out from surgery. Who you got wit’ you?” Marcus asked.
“Dude, that’s Santa!” cried one of the guys.
“Yo, Santa!” they cried out, laughing and smacking each other while they burst out with some rather juvenile jokes, including some references to his “sleigh,” questions about where “Vixen” might be, and some comments about what might happen if they got on the naughty list.
Beck could only roll his eyes. He looked over at Nach, but the guy was taking it all in good spirits, as usual.
“Old man! You gonna give Beck here a ride on your sleigh tonight?” Caleb called out.
Beck really did like Caleb, but he was slightly mortified at the turn things were taken. He was just about to reign the boys in (pun intended), when Nach stepped in.
“I’ll have you know that no one has ever complained about my sleigh before. I’m sure that when you grow up, you’ll find your own someone special who will let you ride their sleigh,” Nach replied.
A chorus of “Ohhh! Burn!” came up from the teenage boys, but Caleb just laughed good naturedly. Nach didn’t even seem to realize what the insult was, but Beck knew implying these boys were just boys (which of course they were) was always seen as an insult, never mind the sexual implications of it all.
Teenage boys. It was a wonder the human race survived.
“Come on, Santa, let’s leave the boys to it,” he chuckled, pulling Nach away from the rowdy bunch. “I just wanna check in on Victoria and make sure everything is alright after the craziness of last night. She always works the day after an event, even if it’s the weekend.”
When they wandered back through the center hallway to the office and knocked on Victoria’s door, however, it seemed that things were not alright. Victoria was usually calm and collected, but she looked like she had been pulling on her hair, her office was in total disarray, and she was actually mumbling to herself.
“Geez, Victoria, what the heck happened in here?” Beck asked.
She turned toward him, and Beck could tell the woman was near tears.
“What’s wrong? How can we help?” he blurted, walking over to rub her shoulder in comfort.
