Page 15 of Christmas Wishes

Since he was back at his place, I decided to call and check in on him.

“How’s your dick?” I asked when the call connected.

Arlo snorted. “Never expected that would be something you’d ask me.”

“Aww, you never thought I’d be interested in your dick?” I put on a pouty voice.

“Ew. Definitely not.”

I laughed and relaxed deeper into my pillow throne. “Yeah, that’s fair. We’re definitely more like brothers. But seriously, are you okay?”

“It still hurts, but I don’t want to cut it off anymore. So, I guess that’s good?” He sounded so defeated. I couldn’t blame him.

“I think that’s a great sign that it’s not hurting as much. I imagine it’ll sting for a while.”

He huffed. “Zero out of ten. Do not recommend getting hot sauce on your penis.”

I bit back a laugh at his rarely used snarky tone. “How’d you get out of the restaurant?”

Arlo groaned. “I don’t want to tell you.”

I could picture the red blush creeping down his neck. “This is going to be good. Entertain me because I’m bored out of my mind.”

He sighed. It was the indulgent one that meant I’d get my way. By the time he finished telling me the story, my sides ached from laughing so hard.

“It’s not funny!”

“Babe, it’s hilarious. You’ll laugh about it someday.”

Arlo grumbled. “Doubtful. The worst part was what got me so rattled in the first place that I forgot to wash my hands before using the restroom.”

I hadn’t thought to ask about that part when he’d texted me in a panic earlier while hiding in the restaurant restroom. I sat up, concerned. “What happened?”

“I bumped into my uncle when he was coming out of the restroom.”

An ache started in my throat. “Oh, honey. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He so wasn’t.

I wished I could give him a hug. Arlo never asked for cuddles, but he always accepted when I offered. Platonic snuggles were almost as good as sexy ones. Since I didn’t get sexy ones very often, I was always grateful for friendly affection from Arlo.

I tried poking with a couple more questions about his uncle and his plans to meet that side of his family, but he shut me down with noncommittal and one-word answers.

“Let me tell you about the wildest thing that happened today. Not as intense as your story, but…”

“I can’t wait.” There was a smile in his voice.

I told him about the run-in with Riggs at the coffee shop.

Arlo let out a loud laugh. I was so glad he sounded more cheerful. “That was your pickup line? That’s terrible. You can do so much better.”

“I was rattled! The best I could do was my C-grade. I wasn’t planning to hit on a guy in a coffee shop while wearing his dead loved one’s coat. And there wassnoweverywhere.” I hoped the floor was thick and he couldn’t hear me.

“Excuses, excuses.”

I shook my head. “Anyway, guess who’s my Airbnb host?”

Arlo gasped. “No freaking way.”

---