Page 23 of A Candy Cane Christmas
Luci smirked. “I know. It’s hot, right? I’ve never tried it, but I like to fantasize about it. If you want to, I can tell you more about all the fantasies I have over dinner. So, what do you want to do?”
On the one hand, I wanted to stay right here with him. Since we had the apartment to ourselves, I could get all the cuddles and kisses I wanted to, but I also desperately wanted to take him out. I wanted to hold his hand in public, for all the world to see. Because I was allowed to do that.
“Let’s go out, okay?”
Luci nodded. “Fine by me. I’ll go grab a coat and a scarf, and we’ll meet downstairs?”
I just nodded, reveling in the little peck Luci gave me before he practically skipped out of my apartment.
I had a date. A real, grown-up, two-person date.
“I can’t believe you really took me out to McDonald’s,” Luci said, waving a chicken nugget in his hand. “Of all the places we could’ve gone.”
For a second, I felt bad. Like I did something wrong. A fast-food restaurant was in no way a romantic location; I knew that. But then I looked up, and Luci grinned at me, his green eyes filled with so much warmth and laughter, and I relaxed.
“You wanted to go,” I said, gently nudging his foot with mine.
“True.” Luci shrugged. “But I kinda expected you to insist on taking me to a real restaurant. Like grown-ups.”
“Nah,” I said, “I figured you’d think that’s boring and too predictable.”
“Damn, this is our first real solo date, and you already have me all figured out. Maybe I’m too predictable?”
“You?” I scoffed. “Never. You surprise me with everything you do. Your texts, the outrageous memes, the surprise date.”
Luci scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks and ears taking on a rather dark shade of red. “My brother warned me it wasn’t a good idea. But I was excited, and…”
I held up my hand. “I liked it,” I admitted, my heart hammering in my chest. “Yeah, it caught me off-guard for a moment, and I know I said not to surprise me like that again, but in the end… I really enjoyed it. And Hazel did, too. Also, in hindsight, I think even if it was very spontaneous, you clearly put thought and effort into it.”
Luci gave me an evil grin, placing a hand on my forearm. “You want to tell me I have your permission to surprise you again?”
I would regret that, wouldn’t I?
Fridge it.
“If you keep it to weekends only for the time being. We do have a pretty strict routine during the week.”
Luci squeezed my arm. “I promise I’ll keep my shenanigans to weekends only.”
Oh yeah, I’d definitely regret this later.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 7
Luci
“We still need to talk about when you want to come over on Christmas Day,” Theo told me as he came up the stairs, his cheeks and nose bright red from the cold that still clung to him. He smelled of snow, the crisp scent a stark contrast to the warm vanilla and cardamom notes wafting over from Mrs. Johnson’s apartment.
He looked so cute with his dark navy wool coat and his matching set of blue-and-white hat and scarf; I wanted to kiss and cuddle the fuck out of him. Hell, I wanted nothing more than to take his red, obviously cold hands in mine and warm them up. Maybe make him a tea or hot chocolate, or coffee, for him to have a warm mug to wrap his hands around.
I could definitely see him lounging on my couch, his feet in thick wool socks, me sitting behind him, my arms wrapped around him, my chin resting on his shoulder…
“Yeah, we definitely need to talk about that,” I said, placing a way too short, chaste kiss on his cold lips. “But I need to run, so I get to Santa’s Village in time.” Shaking my head, I made the bell on my elf hat jingle. “Besides, we still have plenty of time.”
Theo raised one eyebrow, giving me a doubtful stare. “You call two days plenty of time?”
Two… ohhh…. Oh, fuck.
