Page 35 of Santa Baby Maybe
I wasn’t a tea purist, so I put the tea bag in a mug I found in one of her cabinets, added water, and put it in the microwave for a minute. Once it was done, I dumped the tea bag in the trash and took the mug to her, as well. This time, Jake followed me out of the kitchen.
“Jake, come sit on Mommy’s lap,” she said upon seeing him.
Jake jogged over to the couch and laid down beside it.
Joy shook her head. “He’s got to be close to me but never on me. All I want to do is snuggle and kiss, but I think he thinks he’s protecting me. Like a little snuggling and kissing would somehow detract from his badassery.”
Gently, so as not to jostle her, I sat on the couch by her hip and carefully handed her the mug. “How come you didn’t bring him into work today?”
“I knew I was only going to be gone for a few hours. It’s long twelve-hour days when I’m apart from him that he doesn’t like.”
She took the mug from my hands and blew on the top of it gently, which focused one hundred percent of my attention on her mouth. Plump, pouty lips that I wanted to bite more than I wanted to bite her cat.
“So what can we do to entertain ourselves?” I asked, clapping my hands together, trying to distract myself from lips and blowing and biting. “You probably have some sappy romantic movie you want me to watch.”
She blinked. “You want to watch a sappy romantic movie with me?”
“No, absolutely not. It messes withmybadassery. But you’re hurt, so you get to pick the form of entertainment. I figure I’m about to be subjected to something with Hugh Grant.”
She smiled. “You really want to stay?”
I nodded. “No one wants to be alone when they’re sick or injured, Joy. Let me stay and fuss over you. You’ll feel better and I’ll feel better after having done this to you in the first place.”
“W.B….”
“I told you, you could call me Dare.”
Her lips squeezed together and she shook her head. “Nope, I’m bound and determined to find out yourrealname. Wadsworth Billemy?”
I shook my head. “It’s never going to happen so you might as well let it go.”
I stood then, figuring we couldn’t exactly cuddle on the couch together while we watched movies. Right? No, yes, of course. We weren’t cuddle buddies. We weren’t even technically friends. We were just colleagues, and every once in a while we felt the need to avoid each other.
I hadn’t wanted to avoid her, but I’d done it in my own best interest. Was that why she’d been avoiding me? To protect herself?
I might have asked her, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood.
“So what’s it going to be?” I asked as I settled into a wide purple chair with an ottoman situated in front of it. Other than my bed, I didn’t have a single piece of furniture that was as comfortable as this. My leather couch was as stiff as hell.
“Hmm. You won’t tell me your name, so I think I have to punish you more drastically than just your average rom-com movie.”
“There’s worse?” I mused.
“Netflix teen romance movies. I’m feeling a serious need to watchThe Kissing Booth. Still want to stick it out with me?”
I groaned, but yes, I still wanted to stick it out. With her.
