Page 4 of A Not So Silent Night

“Don’t worry. We aren’t going to leave you stranded on the side of the road,” Nick chimes in when he feels my body tense in his arms. “You can come back to our place.”

Home?

Our place?

“We’ve got plenty of food and beer to get us through this storm,” Nick continues, “And it’d be nice to get snowed in with someone other than this guy for a change.”

Duh, Liv! They’re a couple!

“Okay.” I nod my head, surprising even myself.

One of them is a cop. It’s his job to help and protect people. This is obviously safe.

“We’re only about a mile down the road.” Kris puts the truck into drive. “Once we get there, you can give someone a call and let them know where you are.”

Just as I am starting to get warm, regaining feeling in my fingers and toes, we pull to a stop. Nick releases his tight hold on me and pulls the handle to open the door. The icy wind whips through the crack and blows the door open. Gripping my hand, he helps me hop from the truck.

“Holy shit! It’s deep!” I yelp as my feet hit the ground, the fluffy snow filling my shoes and reaching nearly to my knees. Lifting my feet like I’m marching, I stomp through the snow and onto the porch. Nick and Kris are immediately behind me. Both of them have a significantly easier time making their way toward the house.

When Kris opens the door and guides me inside, I stop to take off my snow-covered Converse. The boys both stomp their boots on the ground and take a moment to remove theirs, too.

“Come on, Jersey. You can use the phone in the kitchen,” Nick ushers me into the adjoining room. As Iwalk, the little clumps of snow stuck to my leggings fall to the floor.

I dial my mom, but there’s no answer. It’s only when I leave a detailed message about where I am and who I am with that I realize how ridiculous it sounds.

I’m with Kris Kringle and Nick Saint.

Thank God, it’s Pine Glen and not the North Pole because she’d probably think I was drunk.

CHAPTER 4

Nick

“Thanks.” Olivia walks from the kitchen. “I just left a message with my mom.”

“Let me show you around.” I bend my arm in a gentlemanly fashion so that she can slide her hand into the crook of my elbow. When she does, I can’t help but smile down at her.

“These windows are amazing!” she exclaims as we walk through the great room. Her eyes scan from the floor to where they peak with the angle of the roof.

“It’s pretty hard to see through the snow,” I begin to lead her to the other side of the house, “but the view of the lake is absolutely incredible. It’s what sold the two of us on this place.”

“This whole place is amazing.” She continues to eye over our bachelor pad. Neither Kris nor I can take credit for that. My sister was determined that thisplace would not look like a cringy dude apartment with bare walls and minimal furniture. She’s not an interior decorator by any means, but she helped us fill it with leather furniture, rugs to break up all the exposed wood, and lots of iron fixtures. It looks good, but it still has a very masculine vibe.

“So, back here are the bedrooms.” I gesture down the hall. “This one is mine. This one on the left is Kris’s. And the one at the end is the guest room.”

“Wait.” She stops walking and looks up at me with a quizzical look. “Why do you have separate rooms?”

My tone clearly reflects my bewilderment to her question as I respond, “Whywouldn’twe have separate rooms?”

“Uh…um…the way you talk about each other…that this is your place…” She stammers as a blush begins to creep over her face. “Aren’t you a couple?”

“Ew! Fuck, no!” I recoil and over-exaggerate my shudder. “Absolutely nothing against being gay, but Kris is like my brother. And the only cock I like to enjoy is my own.”

“Oh my God.” She turns a brighter shade of crimson.

Her embarrassment is cute, and I can’t help but smile.

“I’m going to take you up on that shower now.” She steps into the guest bedroom. “So I can die of embarrassment in private.”

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