Page 61 of Santa Has a Six-Pack
“Oh.”
“I’m kidding! Of course, I’m into having friends.”
He lightly punches me in the shoulder like we’re bros, and I kind of want to die. I feel like I’m messing this whole thing up.
“That was weird, wasn’t it?” he asks.
“Kind of, yeah.” I laugh. “Maybe we won’t be those kinds of friends?”
“How about the hugging kind of friends?”
He holds his arms out to me, his kind eyes twinkling.
I nod. “I’d like that.”
When I walk into Matt’s arms, he holds me tight, enveloping me in his scent, which I’m finding I crave more and more. A chill runs through me.
“You cold?” he rumbles near my ear, then pulls me even closer, wrapping his coat around me for extra warmth.
As crazy as it sounds, I feel like I belong here. With him. And for some inexplicable reason, my eyes well with tears.
He pulls back and studies me. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I wipe my eye with my gloved hand and chuckle. “Cold wind gets me every time.”
He smiles, but I’m not sure he believes me. “You heading back to Herald’s?” he asks gently.
“’Tis the season!” I joke. “How about you? Heading home? Wanna walk west?”
“I’d love to, but I have a—an, uh, an appointment I need to get to.” He nods toward a building across the street. “That building over there, actually.”
“Alright, Mr. Mysterious,” I joke.
“Nah. Not mysterious.” His tone turns serious. “Anything you want to know about me, Penny… just ask.”
“Okay,” I say softly. “I will.”
“You were really great with the kids today, thank you.” He winks. “I’ll catch you at the next rehearsal, friend.”
With a quick squeeze of my hand, he jogs across the street and disappears into the brick building.
I squint to get a closer look at the sign above the entrance.
Murray Hill Memory Care Center.
Huh.
Seems Matt has more layers to him than I ever imagined.
Chapter 16
Matt
“I am a fucking idiot!” I groan as I walk into Bossfit later that same afternoon.
Eugene is sitting at the front desk, working on his laptop. “I don’t disagree,” he says. “But why? Details, please.”
“I put myself in the friend zone! For a minute there, I was deep in the ‘she’s hot for me too’ zone, but then, like the asshole I am, I put myself directly—and perhaps permanently—in the friend zone.”
