Page 16 of Meeting Mr. Christmas
“You mean a six-pack and a big?—”
“You know, Jed, you’re still a jock at heart.”
“I was never a jock.” Jed’s voice filled with indignation. “Okay, I was good at sports?—”
Noel laughed. Jed huffed in response, but he smiled.
“Okay, maybe I was. A little.”
“A lot. But never to me,” Noel added quietly.
“No?”
“No.”
Another moment of silence. Jed licked his lips.
“Tell me about this list of requirements you’ve got.” Jed rushed the words out. He and Noel never talked about Noel’s boyfriends — or not unless he counted telling Noel that they were losers or dicks — but something scratched at him, urging him on to find out more about the man his best friend wanted to spend his life with.
“No. You’ll laugh at me.”
Jed’s shoulders jerked. Laugh at Noel? No way.
“You know I’d never do that.”
“Hmm,” Noel said after a moment’s hesitation. “But if I detect even a hint, this conversation is over and I will never let you make a fuss of Peter ever again. Okay.” Noel sucked in a breath, and Jed waited to hear about Noel’s ideal man as he bit down on his thumb nail. “Apart from needing to have the right, erm, physical attributes, he’ll have to have certain personality traits and ambitions. For the future.”
“Ambitions? Like earn mega bucks? Own his own business?” Jed’s hand fell to his stomach, where he massaged at the knots pulling tight.
“No. I’m not interested in his bank balance. He could be the town garbage collector for all I care.” Noel sighed. “I just want what most folks want, I guess. Somebody who’s kind and patient. Somebody who makes me laugh. Somebody I feel safe with, who’ll hold me close, protect me when I need it, and make me feel like I’m the only one in the world who matters. Somebody who’ll love me as unconditionally as I’ll love them.” Noel laughed, awkward and self-conscious. “You’re probably thinking I’m watching too many romances.”
“No, because why wouldn’t anybody want that? To be with somebody they feel right with. With somebody who just fits. Everybody wants to feel protected. Or wants to be the one who can offer that protection. Somebody they can lean on and who can take some of the weight when life sucks.” Jed’s gaze sought out the old photo he’d found, which he’d added to the collage of him holding Noel tight after he’d saved him from the bully all those years ago. He rubbed harder at the knots twisting in his stomach. “What else is on your list?”
Noel hesitated, and Jed narrowed his eyes.
“Okay, this stuff isn’t exactly what gets talked about on a first date, but he’ll need to want the same things in life I do. For the future, I mean. Look, are you sure you want to hear this?”
“You’re not getting off the hook so easily, Christmas. I wanna hear it all.” Did he? But the itch was there, and it wanted scratching. He waited as Noel’s sigh filled the airwaves.
“It’s just the normal stuff… I want a house which is a home. A home that checks off all the clichés. A white picket fence, a dog — or at least one that’ll keep Peter in check — a yard with a lush green lawn. And I want it all with a man whose ring I’ll be wearing and whose name I’ll take, and who’ll be an amazing dad to our kids. You’re probably sorry you asked,” Noel added, his voice sounding a little out of breath, a little unsteady.
“I think it sounds nice,” Jed said quietly. And it did. A home and a family, with somebody who loved you as much as you loved them, moving forward and forging a life together.
“But whether I find it, who knows? Maybe that one special guy is out there, or maybe I’m just deluding myself, setting my expectations so high all I’ll do is fall.”
“Then I’ll catch you.”
“Will you?”
“Always. Because I’m here for you. Always have been, always will be, and that ain’t never gonna change.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jed shouldered his way through the crush in Randy’s. Friday night, and the place was heaving, the heavy aroma of beer and fried food hanging in the hot air like a fog. His mom had said he was antsy and irritable, and his dad hadn’t had to do more than look at him through narrowed eyes when he’d snapped back at his mom. With a mumbled apology and a hug, he’d gone out.
Randy’s wasn’t his first choice of hangout in town, but it was noisy and busy; it was what he needed right now, and he was sure to bump into plenty of people he knew. A few drinks, some laughs, and maybe a cute brunette to flirt with would rid him of the unsettled feeling that had taken hold and wouldn’t let go. It might even stop him thinking about how Noel’s date was going. Perhaps tonight was the night his best bud would find the man of his dreams and achieve the house, the husband, and those mini-Noels. Or the guy would turn out to be another loser, which was the more likely scenario.
He walked into one of the waitresses, almost sending the tray piled high with a pitcher of beer and glasses flying. Plastering on a big smile, some eye contact, and a bigger apology, the waitress blushed and said she hadn’t been taking notice as much as she should have been.
