Page 10 of Meeting Mr. Christmas
“You’d better make sure you take her an extra big bunch of flowers tomorrow, because that is one pissed lady.” Kent nodded over to the group, who were making room for Cora as they threw across dagger filled glances.
Jed shrugged. “I told her I couldn’t make it a late night, so I don’t know why she’s making a big deal of it. Let’s get that movie night sorted, babe. It’s been too long since we did that. Gotta go.”With no more than a glance at Kent, Jed turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Noel swirled around what was left of his drink as silence joined him and Kent at the table.
“Babe?” Kent raised a brow.
“It’s an old joke, that’s all, can’t remember when it started,” Noel mumbled, avoiding Kent’s gaze.Babe… it always sent a tingle down Noel’s spine.
“Okay,” Kent said, after a moment’s pause. “So, a movie night, huh? Just the two of you, I’m guessing, maybe snuggled up with some beers and a big carton of popcorn.”
Two cartons. Sweet for me, salted for Jed…
“It’s just movies, and only occasionally.”And there might be a blanket involved, and I might end up sitting a bit too close…
“He’s your best friend, right?”
“Yes, I told you so. Since we were little kids. Why?”
Kent looked down at him, a crooked smile on his lips. “Just best friends? Are you sure?”
“What do you mean?”
Ice filled Noel’s stomach. Because he knew exactly what Kent meant. A hard and heavy weight pressed against his chest. He’d always been so careful not to give away how he felt, how he?—
Kent sighed, rolled his eyes. “Come on, Noel. The guy didn’t like me. You’d have to be blind not to have noticed it.”
Noel winced. “He’s not normally?—”
“Such a dick?”
Noel’s shoulders stiffened. “He was out of sorts this evening. I don’t know why, and I’m sorry you met him when he wasn’t at his best. He’s not normally…”Such a dick. Jesus, Kent had hit the nail on the head. “Jed likes everybody, and everybody likes Jed,” he finished, his words as limp as a week old lettuce.
“Then maybe I’m the lucky guy he’s made an exception for. Mr. Popularity didn’t like me because I was here with you.You’re a nice guy Noel, and real cute, but nobody’s going to stand a chance with you all the time you’ve got your jealousbest friendhanging around.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jed let himself into the silent house, dark except for the soft glow coming from the kitchen. Only Gomer, their old family dog, was home, guaranteed to be snoozing in his basket in the corner. His parents wouldn’t be back for hours as they’d arranged to have dinner with friends following the tree lighting ceremony. Relief flooded Jed. His mom would have asked question after question about the double date, and he doubtedfucking disasteras a response would have gone down well.
Grabbing the bottle of bourbon from the kitchen, some ice and a glass, he made his way upstairs and closed the door to his room.
Perching on the edge of his bed, he poured a generous measure, but instead of taking a drink, he stared down at the floor, his shoulders heavy and slumped.
The tree lighting ceremony, which had always been about him and Noel, and ugly Christmas sweaters, the two of them goofing around, had instead been a shit show from start to finish. And it had all been his fault. Taking a gulp of the bourbon, Jed winced as the liquor burned its way down. He deserved that, and more.
He’d been an ass to Kent, who seemed like an okay kind of guy, even if the admission was begrudging. He’d been an ass to Cora, too, who apart from the one kiss they’d shared, he’d all but ignored. Jed sighed, his cheeks puffing out. There was no way she’d want anything more to do with him. He couldn’t blame her; she was lovely and deserved somebody better than him. Worse still, he’d been a total ass to Noel, forcing him to find a date for an event that, until tonight, they’d always shared together, everybody else excluded.
“Fuck,” he muttered, topping off his glass. He owed apologies all round, that was for sure. A soft scratch at the door, accompanied by a softer whine, caught his attention. Opening the door, Gomer tottered in.
“Hello, boy. I’m not good company at the moment, so you’re better off curled up in your basket.” Gomer took no notice as he came and sat down, his head tilted to the side as he stared up at Jed. “I was a total dick. But what’s new, huh?” Gomer answered with a rough little bark. “Hey, you don’t have to agree with me.” Jed smiled as he scratched the old mutt behind one of his floppy ears, his fingers slowing to a stop.
He’d been a dick, and some, his teeth grinding and muscles stiffening as he’d watched Kent pull Noel in close. But why shouldn’t they do that? The guy was Noel’s date… the date he’d encouraged Noel to find.
“I’m just protective, Gomer, that’s all. Maybe too much sometimes.” Gomer made a snorty, snuffly noise. “I am. It’s how it’s always been, and always will be, too. It’s who I am.” Or it was where Noel was concerned.
Short and on the skinny side since he was a kid, Noel wasn’t much better now. It had never taken much more than the slightest of breezes to blow him off his feet, which had been a green light for the bullies. But Jed had always been there forNoel, his sheer physical presence making it clear the fuckwits would have to get past him first.
“Yeah, protective, that was all. I wasn’t jealous or anything. No way. Why would I be jealous? Hey, did you just roll your eyes at me?” Jed stared down at Gomer, who silently stared back. Jed exhaled a long breath. “All I was doing was looking out for Noel, checking out to see where Kent with a ‘t’ measured on the Noel’s Asshole Boyfriend scale. Okay, the guy wasn’t as bad as some of them, but he didn’t get ten out of ten.” Because nobody ever did, so it was just as well Noel had always had him to turn to when things with the latest guy always went south.
