Page 65 of Cross Checking

If Luke visits, he might never leave my bed, but I don’t tell him that. It might be too far.

My phone beeps, giving me an out, and I read the notification. “It’s midnight here, so now it’s officially Christmas Eve.”

Luke’s face brightens. “Oh, that’s nice! You guys do most of your celebrating on the twenty-fourth, right?”

My chest warms as soon as Luke says that. He’s right, and that means he probably looked it up. “Yeah, we do,” I say, yawning.

“Well, you seem pretty tired, so I won’t keep you up. Merry Christmas, Erik.”

He smiles, and it’s probably my mind playing tricks on me, but the phone heats up in my hands as soon as he does.

“Merry Christmas, Luke.” I rack my brain for something to say next. “Take care.”

The screen goes black, and I let my arms collapse onto my chest, clutching the phone close to me. I reach over and flick the bedside lamp off, and for a few minutes, I let myself lie there in the darkness, kept toasty by the wool blanket and the fading high that I always get after a call with Luke. Today, though, it’s a lot more intense than usual.

The holidays always make me nostalgic and a little emotional. That’s got to be it, right?

15

LUKE

I love visiting my grandparents in Vermont, but the drive takes a whole day, and I’m always exhausted when I get back to Toronto. Southern Ontario issued an imminent snowfall warning, so I left a few days early. It’s now New Year’s Eve, and I’m cold, alone, and awake far too early, even though it’s almost noon.

A shower and a coffee wake me up enough so I’m not entirely non-functional, and as I’m fixing breakfast, my phone pings. It’s a text in the group chat.

Stefano

guess where I am

Knowing Stefano, he could be anywhere. Last I heard, he wanted to go to Croatia.

Where lmao

Stefano

(PHOTO RECEIVED)

And that photo? It’s a picture of my fucking apartment building. Right after, Stefano sends a selfie of himself, Mark, and Carl right across the street from me.

They’re here. My friends are here.

My fingers shake as I type out a reply, a massive grin spreading across my face.

WHAT THE FUCK

Stefano

surprise

let us up pls it’s so cold

we also bought you food

Ofc. Buzzer code is the last four digits of my phone number

I buzz the guys up as soon as I get the call from the access system, and two minutes later, they’re barreling into my apartment.

“Hope you don’t mind us showing up unannounced,” Carl says as he gives me a bear hug.

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