Page 25 of Merry Little Christmas
Peyton’s pink cheeks deepened to a bright red. “Okay, enough torturing me! Start talking about what you and Jesse found.”
“Your house isn’t that bad.”
“It isn’t?”
I shook my head, resting against the counter. “The roof will easily be a day job, and Jesse thinks he can get the floors done in a matter of hours once everything’s dry.”
“Really?”
“Mmhmm…” Feeling oddly vulnerable, I distracted myself by checking on the food in the oven. It was nowhere near finished, but the threat of rejection churned my gut. There was every chance that Peyton would want to return to their own house eventually, and that scared me. “We got it covered quickly enough that the damage is minimal.”
“How much?—”
“Don’t worry about the money, Peyton,” I interrupted. “I get discounts on the materials and with me and Jesse doing the work ourselves, we don’t have to pay a crew.”
Peyton stared up at me, brown eyes glistening. A rogue tear escaped, trailing down their cheek and I didn’t hesitate to swipe it away with my thumb. “Thank you,” they whispered, so quietly that had I not been standing so close, I wouldn’t have heard them. “For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me for any of it.”
“If it’s not so bad, why didn’t you tell me before?”
Uh-oh. I guess I was wrong to think that I would be getting out of addressing that particular question. “I-I um…”
Peyton’s lip quirked into that bratty grin I’d grown to love. Half their drink was gone now, the booze flushing their cheeks and making them a bit more bold than usual. They grabbed their glass, crossing the room to stand in front of me. “Cole Davis, are younervous?”
“Shut up!” I laughed, snatching the bottle of rum and bringing it to my mouth. Taking a long swig, I grimaced as the sickly sweet,spicyliquid slid down my throat—a combination that shouldn’t work. It only cemented my disdain for the stuff.
“Spit it out, Cole,” Peyton demanded.
I huffed, coughing around the sugary burn that lingered from that disturbing drink. “I may have been a bit selfish.”
Peyton blinked. “You? Selfish?”
I nodded along with them. “Yep.”
Thankfully, the oven timer dinged, giving me a reason to hide in the food. Unfortunately for me, Peyton wasn’t dropping the matter. The drink had loosened them up, and they babbled along next to me. “You might be the least selfish person I know! You took me into your home and took care of me without so much as a second thought—twice! You keep my favorite rum stocked in your cabinet and makeup wipes under your sink for when I’m sick or too drunk to remember to wash my face.”
“And I don’t want that to end,” I confessed. I kept my back turned, finding our pizza very fascinating. “I didn’t tell you about your house because I don’t want you to go back to it. I’m in lovewith you, Peyton McKauley. You fit so perfectly here. I don’t want you to leave.”
I was only met with silence. Setting down the pizza roller, I slowly rotated to face Peyton. They only watched me, nearly empty drink in hand. Their cheeks were rosy from the alcohol, but that wasn’t what had the color continuing over their neck and down their chest. I took a moment to appreciate them. Just a few days ago, they wouldn’t have dared stand in front of me in nothing but their underwear. Now? I’d seen the most intimate parts of them, knew how to unravel them with nothing more than a gentle touch. They squeezed their thighs together, and I smirked. One look had them squirming.
“Focus, Davis.”
“Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “I know your independence is important to you. You got pulled around from parent to parent and house to house growing up, and I know having your own space was something you were proud of.”
“You’re right,” they admitted. They finished off their drink and strolled closer to me. “But I’ve spent the better part of the last decade knowing that something was wrong with that place, and unable to put my finger on what it was. Now I know.” They slipped their arms around my neck and like a magnet, my hands landed on their waist—right where they belonged. “I was never meant to be there. I was meant to be here, with you. I’m in love with you too.”
I said nothing, only ducked my head and brought our mouths together. Humming, I licked across the seam of Peyton’s mouth, and that changed my mind about the spiced rum—I’d lick it off their lips any day of the week. Instead of letting me in, they broke the kiss. “Ask me, Cole.”
“Move in with me, Peyton.” The ease in which the words rolled off my lips surprised even me, but I didn’t regret it. Not one bit.
Giggling, Peyton tugged themself closer. “I didn’t hear a question in there.”
“Do you want to tell me no?”
“Absolutely not.”
Peyton sealed their lips over mine, eagerly opening up for me. Tongues met, and my hands slid down to cup their ass. Grumbling, they bit my lip to break the kiss a little too quickly for my liking. “I’m really hungry,” they said, laughing.
