Page 28 of Tickled Pink

“Where’d you get the cart?” I ask.

“From the guy down the street from your office building,” he answers.

I nod. “Knew it tasted familiar.”

“Yeah, turns out, food vendors are surprisingly easy to bribe on Christmas Eve.”

“Is that right?”

“Just told us to have it back on his corner by noon on Boxing Day or he’d hunt us down and kill us.” He licks his lips. “By the way, when’s Boxing Day?”

“It’s the 26th.”

He squints. “Well, at least I’ll survive Christmas.”

I laugh hard, quickly realizing that I don’t feel cold anymore. That’s the effect Thad has always had on me. No matter what might weigh me down in the moment, Thad walks in and makes it all go away.

Once again, I fall back in time. Suddenly, I’m that nervous girl once more, freaking out about going on a date with a man — but not just any man. The best friend of the man she was already dating, both of which fucked her in a threesome after their high school reunion.

Man, I really come off as quite the floozy when you really think about it.

Thad flashes me a wink again and the dark thoughts melt away.

Just like always.

I clear my throat. “So, you guys are recreating our first dates, huh?” I ask him.

Thad blinks twice. “What gave it away?”

I chuckle, and he smiles.

“Yeah,” he says. “We are.”

“Why?” I ask. “Not that I mind. This was a nice surprise after… a day, to say the least.”

Thad nods. “We thought, you know, after a day like this, what better way is there to show how much we adore you than by going back to those first moments? The moments where we both finally woke up and fell head over heels in love with you.” He sucks a bit of mustard off his thumb. “For Max, that was dirty words and covert masturbation at his favorite sushi joint.”

I chuckle, slightly blushing. “And for you, it’s hot dogs on the street?” I ask.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Not saving me from a belligerent douchebag at Marion’s bar?”

“As much fun as that was, no.” He playfully yanks on his red checkered tie. “Tying you to your bedposts later that night is a damn close second, but this…” He holds up the last bite of his hot dog. “No, it all happened that night on the street with good, cheap food, standing between my first love and my forever love.”

I look up. “The sky,” I say, understanding.

“And you. Respectively.” He nods. “That’s the moment my life changed, Phoebe. For the first time, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.”

My breath catches. “Thad.”

“Yes, milady?”

“You talk too much.”

Thad laughs, understanding. “All right. I know my cue when I hear it.”

He crumbles his trash and tosses it away, quickly taking hold of me instead. I laugh as he pulls me in and kisses me on the lips. Our cold noses instantly burn as they touch. My body erupts with happy tingles firing through my fingers and toes. I drop my empty paper tray and wrap my arms around him. My core reignites with heat as I feel his erection pressing into my hip.

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