Page 28 of Under the Mistletoe

“Okay.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven.”

With that, he flashed me a quick smile and left, leaving me wondering what he had planned with this date of ours. Because I had plans of my own.

Torch

“Woah.” Q took a step back and grinned. “Where you runnin’ off to?”

“Nowhere.”

“Come on, now.” Savage gave me the once over, checking out my freshly ironed shirt and new jeans before saying, “We both know that’s not true.”

“I’m going to pick up Beck.”

“No shit?” A smirk crossed his face as he teased, “You two going on a hot date?”

“You could say that.”

“Seriously.” His smirk widened as he called out to Wrath. “You hear that? Our boy’s got himself a hot date.”

“With Beck?”

“The one and only.”

“Well, it’s about damn time.” Q crossed his arms. “You two have been a long time coming.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Rooster chuckled as he said, “He’s finally gonna take a walk down her winter wonderland.”

“Oh, God.”

It was clear Rooster was just getting warmed up when he goaded, “Yep, he’s gonna tangle her tinsel.”

They all roared in laughter. I, on the other hand, just stood there, glaring at them. Rooster gave me a nudge as he teased, “You gonna eat her milk and cookies.”

“That’s enough,” I warned.

“Hold on.” Rooster could barely contain himself as he said, “I got one more.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yeah. you best leave it.” Wrath’s smile faded as he asked, “Big know about you two?”

“Not unless Beck told him. I planned to talk to him, but I haven’t gotten around to it.”

“He’s out in the garage.”

I gave him a nod, then left the bar and made my way out to the garage. When I walked in, I found Big wiping down his bike. He had his usual focused expression as he worked with the chrome until it gleamed. The man was a tank, both in size and presence, and even though I’d known him my entire life, I was feeling a little uneasy as I made my way over to him. But my respect for him outweighed any apprehension I was feeling.

This had to be done, and it had to be done right.

“Big.”

“Torch.” He didn’t look up. He just kept wiping down the handlebars. “What’s up?”

“You got a minute?”

“Yeah. Why?”

---