Page 128 of Santa Has a Six-Pack
As she begins to move on top of me, she smiles and says, “I was thinking the same thing.”
Chapter 36
Penny
“Should one really walk up stairs while blindfolded?” I ask Matt as he guides me up to what I’m pretty sure is the loft space in Bossfit Brooklyn.
It’s Christmas Day. He made me breakfast in bed. We showered together. Then after we put on our matching Christmas pajamas, he surprised me by putting a blindfold on me and leading us to the subway. When I asked—multiple times—where we were going, he simply said, “To see your Christmas present.”
“Pennylicious, if you think I’d let you trip on these stairs, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Pennylicious?” I question.
“I’m trying out a new nickname. What do you think?”
I stop on the stairs. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually prefer Pennywise.”
“Aw, it grew on you.” Matt puts his hands on my hips and turns me to face him, even though I still can’t see a thing. “Kinda like me.”
“Yes.” I plant a sweet kiss on his lips. “Kinda like you.” With him on the step below me, we’re currently the same height, and his lips line right up with mine. “By the way, it’s ‘think.’”
“Huh?” he says, confused.
“The phrase ‘you’ve got another thing coming? It’s actually not thing, it’s think.”
“You’ve got another think coming?” He scoffs. “No. That makes no sense.”
“It does, though! Think about it. It’s—” I stop mid-argument and tilt my head to the side. “Where is that music coming from?”
“Turn around and find out. You’ve got three more steps, then you can reach for the door handle. Up you go. One…two…three.”
I feel for the handle and slowly open the door. “Pennies from Heaven,” that old classic song, gets louder as we step inside.
“Matt? What’s happening?”
“Take off your blindfold and see.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Here, I’ll do it for you.”
When Matt lifts the fabric from my eyes, I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
I choke up with emotion. “Is this, um, is this what I think it is?”
He silently points at a hand-painted sign on the door.
“Pennies from Heaven Dance School,” I breathe.
“There’s still a lot more work to be done. And obviously, you should come up with your own name. It’s your dance studio after all,” he says. “This is just a little placeholder title I came up with for now. And look, I know you’re destined for great things and will find a bigger, better place in no time, but for now… I thought this could be a good way to get you started.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he keeps nervously explaining himself.
“Oh, and get this! I reached out to the holiday show kids. They’re all onboard to be your first students for a trial week in January.” He gets more excited with each word he says. “I figure you can lead them through some classes. We can bring Keira in to create marketing footage to attract more students. I think we can totally capitalize on all the goodwill we’ve garnered for our workouts on social media and?—”
I run into his arms and hug him harder than I’ve ever hugged anyone in my whole life, cutting off his endless but adorable speech.
“Yeah?” He sounds relieved. “You like the idea?”
I squeeze him even tighter. “I love it.”
Those words feel insufficient. What this man is doing for me. What he’s done for me… it’s beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.
