Page 24 of Wish Me Home

Her smile didn’t meet her eyes, and I hated the look of pity that she was giving me. This was part of why she’d never been privy to any previous “relationships” I’d had. She was too invested in my life and while I appreciated her concern, I liked not having the looks she was giving me now.

I ended up picking over the rest of my meal with Aunt Sadie throwing me concerned glances every once in a while. When we were done, I helped her to clear the table and wash the dishes. As expected, there were a ton of leftovers. We stored them all in freezer safe containers so that Aunt Sadie could eat them later. The guilt that she spent so much time alone now that I was gone crept up on me.

After we cleaned everything up we settled in to watch ridiculous Christmas movies which was another tradition of ours. Aunt Sadie had a knack for finding the craziest movies and we’d make jokes through the entire thing. I didn’t feel like making jokes this year and she settled for snuggling into my side.

We both fell asleep with the TV still on and the Christmas tree twinkling away.

Itwasstilldarkwhen I opened my eyes. Whatever movie was playing had long since ended and the screen was blue, casting the living room in a haze. Aunt Sadie was sleeping quietly against my shoulder and I carefully stood and laid her on the couch. Grabbing a throw blanket, I laid it over her and snuck back to my room.

I quickly dressed down to my underwear and threw on a pair of loose basketball shorts. Plugging in my phone, I noticed it was still turned off. Powering it on, I held my breath because I didn’t know what to expect.

One message.

Hot Flight Attendant:I’m so sorry.

Staring at the words was all that I could do. It didn’t feel like nearly enough and as much fun as this flirtation has been, maybe it was time to let him go. I took a deep breath and crawled beneath my blankets and tried to calm my mind again enough to sleep. There were still a few more hours until morning and I wanted to be pleasant company for my aunt on Christmas day.

Myphonebuzzedandwoke me up. I cracked my eyes open enough to see that the sun had just risen. It was Christmas morning, and for whatever reason, it didn’t feel very special.

I grabbed my phone to see why it had gone off and saw the missed call from Cody. It was strange that he’d tried to call since there had been only one time we’d actually done it. We’d stuck to text messages.

A text message popped up a moment later.

Hot Flight Attendant:You’re probably mad at me. I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas.

Dragging a hand down my face, I stared at the words on the screen. He wasn’t wrong. I had been mad and embarrassed as well.

Chapter Sixteen

Cody

Iclosedmyeyesand dropped the phone against my chest. I knew I’d fucked up last night. The second he asked me why I couldn’t just say “yes,” I knew anything I said wouldn’t be enough. His aunt was important to him and I was just some man he’d met while stuck at the airport.

Taking a deep breath, I lifted the phone; I needed to take the risk and see if there was anything there that I could repair. My fingers typed out the message, knowing it wasn’t enough, and knowing that he could easily turn me down.

Cody:One thing I always wanted to do, ever since I moved here, was to sit on the beach on Christmas day.

I pressed the send button, realizing a moment too late that I hadn’t exactly asked if he’d want to do something like that with me. There was no way of knowing if he was even up. He hadn’t answered the phone when I had tried to call, but he could have been avoiding the call as well.

My breath caught as the message ticked over to read. Dots danced on the screen as I waited for his response. And much like I’d probably kept him waiting the night before, they stopped and restarted numerous times before a response finally popped across.

Emmett:That sounds peaceful.

I let go of the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either. The trouble now was convincing him he should join me on the adventure.

Cody:Coronado has always been my favorite. There’s plenty of wide open beach and the Hotel Del is so pretty at sunrise. However, I think we’re going to miss it at this point.

The sun had mostly risen, but I was still trying to lead him toward going. My heart hammered in my chest and my hands were sweating with nerves. I wasn’t this person. Meeting people for sex was a lot easier, but I wanted so much more from Emmett, which had come out of nowhere.

There was an ease that came to talking to him I hadn’t felt with anyone else. Earning his smiles was addicting, even if I wasn’t sure I’d put that many on his face since yesterday. So much for trying to make sure he had a great Christmas with his aunt. I glared at my sad excuse for a tree in the corner.

Emmett:I don’t think I’ve ever just walked the beach on Christmas day. Or this early.

Gnawing my bottom lip, the realization that he was talking to me and not all out rejecting me gave me hope. Perhaps this wasn’t as fucked up as I thought it was.

Cody:I wouldn’t think it would be all that crowded. All those families at home unwrapping presents…

Emmett:We don’t open gifts until later.

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