Page 73 of Love Song, Take Two

Since Micah was out with her friends, Fletcher had every intention of working until the Village closed. He’d promised Jensen that he’d say for clean-up a few nights of the week and it worked out for the evening. He’d already texted Erin about breakfast with the George girls, so his best friend could plan her day around that. Instead, he focused entirely on being Santa that evening. Even though memories of Micah from over the weekend filtered through every so often, Fletcher was determined to hang out with all the kids.

But he was starting to feel the exhaustion. Every year, towards the end of his Santa run, Fletcher would start to wilt. The combination of running the store and functioning like a normal adult, along with being Santa felt like a lot. This year, he’d also added music lessons and dating; it was more than he was used to. But he wasn’t complaining. And he wouldn’t walk away from Santa duty unless it was absolutely necessary.

It had been another evening of squatting and bending to talk to kids, having them whisper in his ear about their hopes and dreams. So when he and his elves—Portia and Kyle had finally taken their respective shots and were now going on a date—packed up for the evening, he was ready to crawl into bed. Except, the minute he climbed into his truck, his phone rang and Micah’s name flashed on the screen.

Swiping to answer the call, he smiled. “Love bug.”

“Fleeeeeetttttch,” she squealed and then giggled, the rest of her words a garbled mess.

“Hey sweetheart, you okay?”

“I’m drink! And corny! Horny!”

He chuckled at the slurring and fumbling. “How corny are you, babe?”

“So fracking corny. Wanna come to me?”

“Where are you?”

“Dunno, stallion. But find me.”

Before the call dropped, he heard someone say Loose Lasso. Not that he expected a western themed bar to exist in Sirena Beach, but when he pulled it up on the map, he was proven wrong. Even though he was exhausted, his girl was clearly drunk and Fletcher wasn’t going to let her climb into someone else’s car and get herself home. It took him less than ten minutes to reach the bar and when he pulled up in the parking lot, he heard someone call out his name.

Fletcher hopped out of the truck and grinned at the sight of Micah and her friends holding each other up as they giggled and waved at him. The other two were beautiful, he was sure. But his focus was entirely on Micah wearing a white lacy top with a deep neck that was tucked into high waisted jeans and boots. She was an absolute vision.

“It’s my stallion!” Micah squealed and her two friends joined in on the weird sounds.

Tatum wiggled her fingers at Fletcher and offered him a sloppy smile. “Fletcher.”

“Love bug. Tatum. How are you ladies doing tonight?”

Micah scrunched up her nose and leaned against the one with brightly colored hair. “Is that a good nickname?” When her friend shrugged and both of them swayed, Fletcher reached out to steady them. “You found me,” she whispered, hands resting on his arms.

“Yeah, honey, I found you,” he said with a smile and chuckled when Micah stumbled into his arms. Brushing a kiss over her sweaty temple, Fletcher looked at her friends. “Can you three wait here? I’ll bring the truck closer.”

Micah settled between them again and shot him a drunken smile, along with a messy wink and he laughed as he went to get his truck. He brought it right up to where they were standing, and one by one helped Micah and her friends into the backseat. He knew there was no point trying to figure out where any of them lived, so he figured he’d take them back to Micah’s place. But on the way, they insisted he stop and get them greasy food.

Parked outside Stacked Buns—the only place in Sirena Beach that was open that late—Fletcher made sure that Micah and her friends were well hydrated and fed. Sadie and Tatum stayed in the backseat while they stuffed their faces. Micah and Fletcher sat on the tailgate as she inhaled her food. He picked at his fries, watching her not give a shit about anything but eating.

“I didn’t mean to get drunk,” she said, mouth stuffed with food.

“As long as you had fun, nothing else matters.”

She nodded, glancing at him for a moment. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Always, Mick.”

She looked sad and also a little worried, which he put down to her coming down from her high. But it was in the way she refused to meet his eyes that had him worried.

“Hey,” he said softly, touching her chin to draw her attention to him. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not mad, right? I know you’re tired after your day and looking after your drunk girlfriend is not fun.”

Frowning, he shook his head. “I’m glad you called me, Mick. I’m glad I could be here for you. No matter what I was doing or where I was, I would have shown up for you. And as for being mad? Not in a million years. You trusted me to be there for you, that’s all that matters.”

“I love you,” she whispered, sounding so small and scared. He tapped her nose with a finger and then scooted close enough to wrap his arms around her shoulders.

“Love you too, Mick.”

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