Page 2 of Naughtying Up St. Nick

The bitterness in his voice surprises me. It was there all the time in high school—he and his sister didn’t get along at any point—but I guess I’d thought they’d grown past it. There’s only a ten-month difference between them; they should be super close.

“You and your sister still don’t get along?”

“We get along just fine.” His voice leaves no room for argument, so I change the subject.

“Are you helping out this year?”

“Behind the scenes,” he replies, taking a long pull of the cigarette before blowing the smoke out the window. “I’m helping with the set.”

My mind immediately goes to the image of Harlow bending and carrying heavy beams over his shoulder like those guys at construction sites. Does this set even use those?

“What about you?” Harlow asks, his gaze on the open window. “What are you doing back here? I thought you had no plans to come back.”

“I didn’t. But…my parents are in Mexico for the holiday, so I wanted to be somewhere familiar.”

Harlow glances at me, his eyes dark. “You’re not spending it with a boyfriend?”

“Um…no.” I’d thought I would be spending it with Jesse, but that’s obviously not going to happen.

“Really? I would’ve thought you’d be in something long-term.” He pauses to tap the ash from his cigarette out the window. “Unless you’re still saving yourself.”

My throat tightens as my face heats. “I was never saving myself. I just didn’t want to have sex in high school.”

It’s hard to sound pissed off when this damn beard keeps getting in my mouth whenever I talk. I spit out some of the white fibers and look up to find Harlow watching me with a grin.

“So you aren’t a virgin any longer.”

I don’t respond. Mainly because I’m afraid I’m going to spill and tell him everything that happened with Jesse, and he does not need to hear all of that.

But Harlow was always good at this. He’s disarming and charming at the same time. He also says things other people won’t. It’s easy to see why he was so popular in high school.

The door opens again before Harlow can say anything else, and a harried-looking Archie appears with a frown.

“Get the fuck out here,” he snaps. “There are a hundred kids waiting to sit on you.”

He storms out again, leaving Harlow staring after him.

“You ever notice how much he sounds like my sister?” he asks.

“More than once.” They even have the same shrill sound when they get stressed out.

I check my belt one more time to ensure it’s in place, then head for the door.

“I’ll see you around, St. Nick,” Harlow calls from behind me. I know it’s not supposed to because we’ve been mostly at odds with each other since the moment we met, but his voice sends a shiver down my spine. And suddenly, I realize what I need to let go of what Jesse said to me.

Two

Harlow

Even though I’m not working directly with the kids, I’m still trying not to let my irritation show on my face. I don’t want to be the one who makes them think Santa’s behind-the-scenes helpers are secretly the Grinch.

But I hate working under Jackie. When we were kids, we got along so well, we were pretty inseparable. It never bothered me that Mom and Dad obviously cared more for Jackie than me because she didn’t let it affect our relationship. She was just my big sister. She was always there for me. Looked out for me when no one else did.

Then high school happened.

We were in the same grade because she had wanted to wait to start kindergarten until I could be there with her. I always liked that we were in a lot of the same classes.

Until she stole a paper I had written and passed it off as her own. Since I’d turned mine in too without realizing she’d copied it, we both got sent to the principal’s office. While we waited outside on that hard plastic bench I’d only been on before for fighting, she told me the truth. She had forgotten about the paper and hadn’t wanted to disappoint Mom and Dad by not turning in anything.

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