Page 7 of A Beginner's Guide to Christmas Miracles
Which was when he realized he didn’t know where he was taking Nach. Duh.
“Uh, sorry, where do you live?” Beck asked, laughing nervously. “Gotta be nearby if you walked to the center, right?”
Nach hummed agreement, but he didn’t answer right away, so Beck just kept driving. He assumed if Nach was in the other direction the man would’ve said something.
They had driven a mile or two and were out of the center of town and on the county road when Beck looked over at Nach. The man was staring at him, but he blushed and turned away when Beck noticed. “You can just, ah, drop me off right up here,” Nach murmured.
Beck looked at Nach curiously, but then he pulled over to the side of the road. They were on a stretch of 538 that literally had nothing—it was protected open space—so Beck knew full well the guy didn’t live near here.
It hit Beck then. He had steamrolled the guyagain, and now Nach didn’t even want to let Beck know where he lived. God, he’d been casually flirting all night long, and Nach was just so damn nice that he probably hadn’t known how to let Beck down. Then Beck was ushering him into his car, and, well, here they were, on a stretch of road with nothing nearby.
He felt a tentative touch on his sleeve, but he didn’t look over, because he felt like a total asshole and he really didn’t want to make Nach any more uncomfortable than he’d apparently already made him. Talk about reading a situation wrong. Beck wanted to bang his head against the wall and cry at the same time. He really liked Nach, but that was no excuse for making someone uncomfortable, and he always tried to respect everyone’s space. He had seriously misjudged things.
“Look,” Beck said, still staring ahead. “I’m really sorry about assuming you were Santa, but it did seem like you had a great time. I do think you’re sexy as hell, and I would’ve loved to have gotten your number and seen you again, but I’m not some creep and I understand the word ‘no.’ I really did just want to repay the favor by driving you home. I definitely didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but I can’t really leave you in the middle of a dark wooded road at night, so if you don’t want to tell me where you live, I’ll call you a rideshare and you can give them your address and head home, and you don’t ever have to see me again.”
“Beck,” Nach whispered, and he felt the touch on his arm get firmer. He still couldn’t look over, though, because he really did feel a bit teary. He didn’t know why, but the thought of never seeing Nach again—it made something in his chest ache.
“I am so sorry. I do have boundaries. I just… I really misread the situation, and I’m really sorry,” Beck managed, and then his breath hitched a bit.
“Beck, look at me,” Nach commanded softly, and Beck finally did turn toward him.
Nach was staring intently at Beck, but he didn’t look mad or uncomfortable. Then he was leaning forward, and Beck reallywastotally clueless, because he was shocked when Nach’s lips pressed against his.
They were soft and warm, and for a moment Beck was too surprised to even move, but then Nach started to pull back, and Beck definitely did not want the man to think he didn’t want him, so he leaned into Nach, opened his mouth, and licked the seam of Nach’s lips.
Nach opened up, and Beck let his tongue glide into the man’s mouth, and on a soft exhalation of air, Nach’s tongue touched his. They continued kissing, their lips slanting together, their tongues flirting with one another and gently touching, then retreating, then touching again.
It was soft, and gentle, and probably the sexiest kiss Beck had ever had.
Eventually Beck pulled back. He was hard as hell, and although he could’ve kissed Nach forever, he also needed some answers. He didn’t want to steamroll the guy again, and any more kissing and they’d end up doing something illegal on the side of the road.
“I don’t understand,” Beck stated, because that really did sum up the situation.
Nach cleared his throat. “I, ah, I do like you. You didn’t misread the situation.”
“But then why wouldn’t you take my number or give me your number, or even let me drive you home?” Beck cried out, exasperated. Then he gasped. “Oh my god, are you, like, married or something?”
“No!” Nach cried. “No, nothing like that, I swear. I’m not attached to another person. I am very single and very much alone. I, ah, well, I’m not actually from around here. I just got into town when I ran into you.”
“Then I can take you to your hotel! It isn’t a problem if it’s back in town. I don’t mind driving back,” Beck assured Nach. “You do have a hotel where you left your stuff, don’t you?” Beck asked. Only Nach just blushed and shook his head no, looking down at his lap and fiddling with his jeans.
Nach didn’t have a car, but the train station was not too far from the center, so maybe the guy had just gotten into town and hadn’t found a hotel yet. Then Beck remembered that Nach had no phone and no luggage on him. In fact, Beck wasn’t even sure he’d seen the bulge of a wallet in Nach’s jeans.
Shit. Had Nach been robbed?
Their town was great, but Beck knew travelers were often victims to thieves, especially around the holiday season. Nach was such a sweet guy, and he seemed strangely innocent. It wasn’t that hard to imagine him nodding off on the train only to wake up with his belongings gone. The poor guy.
“Nach?” Beck asked gently. “Do you have anything—any luggage or a wallet?”
Nach shook his head again, still not meeting Beck’s eyes.
Well then, there was only one solution. Beck nodded his head, his decision made. “Well, Iinsistthat you come and stay with me and Alan until you can get this all sorted out. We have a pull-out couch in my office, and at the very least we owe you a hot meal and good night’s sleep after you saved us today. We can figure out your stolen belongings in the morning. What do you think?”
Nach looked over at him, eyes shining, and he smiled so brightly that Beck almost gasped. Beck felt warm inside, like he was overflowing with love and joy. This guy… he just did things to Beck.
“I think,” he replied, still smiling, “that you are the most perfect example of the Christmas spirit I have ever laid eyes on. Thank you, Beck. I’d love to stay with you if it isn’t too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all,” Beck assured him, leaning back into his seat and checking the road before pulling back out to drive home.
