Page 6 of A Beginner's Guide to Christmas Miracles
He ushered Nach in through the door, saying, “Just come on out when you’re done. I’ll wait here so no one goes in.”
That seemed like a good excuse to hang around, and Beck was gonna get sexy Santa’s number if it killed him.
While he was waiting, Alan strolled up. “Hey Beck, I’m heading out,” he said. His roommate looked exhausted, but he’d done a lot of running around all night.
“Ok. Thanks again, Alan. You were awesome! And we really lucked out with our Santa, huh?” he asked, looking at the door.
“Um, about that,” Alan started, scratching his neck. Uh oh—neck scratches usually meant nerves.
“What? What’s up?” Beck asked.
“Well, it turns out that the guy who was supposed to play Santa showed up like two hours late because of car trouble,” Alan grumbled.
Beck laughed. “What are you talking about? He’s in there getting changed—he wasn’t late.”
“No, that’s what I’m trying to say. I confirmed the guy that came in late. You were busy at the time, and I was over by the door. He was the guy who was technically signed up on the volunteer list. I checked with Victoria. We scheduled him for another day, because we obviously had a Santa who was a huge hit, and Victoria didn’t want to replace him. She worried for a minute because she didn’t have his info and hadn’t done a volunteer background check, but it’s not like he was ever unsupervised.” Alan shrugged. “That’s above my paygrade, so I wasn’t gonna argue with her. I just wanted to let you know, because you seem, well, interested in the guy, or whatever,” he finished lamely.
“Am I that obvious?” Beck groaned.
Alan laughed. “Everyone seemed interested in him, so don’t feel bad. But he kinda seemed interested in you, so I wanted to give you a heads up.”
“Did he?” Beck asked hopefully.
“Yeah. He kept looking over at you and smiling. He certainly wasn’t doing that with anyone else. You’re so great with the families though, and you work that line and make sure everyone is having a good time. Your Christmas cheer is kinda hard to resist,” Alan admitted.
“Aww, you say the sweetest things,” Beck joked. “Seriously though, I spotted him on the sidewalk, and I just sort of assumed he was our Santa, so…” Beck shrugged sheepishly. “I might have kinda steamrolled him into coming here without actually checking.”
Alan just chuckled and shook his head. “Alright. I’m heading out. Victoria and a bunch of other people are still here. Just, I don’t know, be careful or whatever. Not that I think that guy would hurt a fly. He just seems so… wholesome. Hell, if I weren’t straight, I woulda been on the sexy Santa train too,” Alan laughed.
At that moment the door opened and Nach peeked out. Alan blushed furiously, gave a rushed “See you later!” and ran out of the hallway like his Christmas cookies were burning.
Beck just smiled at Nach and leaned against the wall behind the door. He realized that he was still in the silly elf costume, which didn’t look horrible on him, but it certainly wasn’t his best outfit for flirting. Oh well, Beck could work it. He took off his hat and fluffed his hair a bit, smiling brightly at Nach.
“So, Alan told me I sort of steamrolled you into playing Santa, and I’m really sorry about that,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Are you kidding? I haven’t had this much fun in decades!” Nach insisted, then he blushed adorably.
“Well, I’m really glad. You were great with the kids. We’d love to have you volunteer again. If you want to give me your number, I can send you some more information about the center.” Ok, so Beck knew it was a little underhanded, but hey, if the guy didn’t seem interested, Beck certainly wouldn’t go all stalkerish on him.
“Uh, well…” Nach said, and he looked down at the ground, suddenly shy and a bit nervous. “I, ah, don’t have my phone on me,” he muttered.
Beck raised an eyebrow, but he actually didn’t see a bulge in the guy’s pocket, so Beck didn’t totally give up hope. Maybe the guy really did forget his phone at home. Now that Beck thought about it, he hadn’t seen the guy look at a phone all night.
“Ok, well, can I walk to your car?” Beck asked.
“I, uh, walked here,” Nach admitted, looking a bit unsure.
Beck could’ve smacked himself. He’d grabbed the guy when it was still decently warm out and the sun was shining, but the temperature would’ve dropped drastically after dark, and the guy would be walking home in the cold.
“Geez, I amso sorry,” Beck rushed out. “I didn’t even think about the fact that it’s practically freezing out now that it’s dark, and you don’t have a coat or anything. Let me give you a ride!”
Beck grabbed the guy’s hand and pulled him out of the room. No way was he gonna let Nach’s good deeds end up with him freezing on the walk home.
They made it through the front room and to the door with lots of pats on the back and thank you’s and general well wishes, but Beck was on a mission. He started the car with the fob in his pocket and managed to steer them through the chaos and out the door, bustling Nach to his little coupe parked across the street (he’d gotten here damn early to get such a good spot).
He opened the passenger door, had a moment to wonder if Nach would fit—the guy was tall and stocky (in the sexiest of ways)—but Nach ducked into the seat, and Beck hurried around to jump in the driver’s side. The heat was already coming out warm, and he turned both their heated seats on. Damn, it really had gotten cold. He was glad he had insisted on driving their impromptu volunteer home, never mind that it gave him a little extra time to see if the guy was interested in him.
He looked over, andholy shit, Nach was sexy. His cheeks were rosy from the cold, his lips were plump and pink, and his eyes practically twinkled in the low light of the car. They were the most beautiful golden-brown color, and it made him think of warm wood fires. He realized he was staring, which was probably totally weird, so he put his seatbelt on and looked around before pulling out.
