Page 37 of Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist

Being held by Nick felt too damn good.

His hands flattened against her stomach, as if reading her mind. “Things just seemed so tense and I wanted to snap us out of it.”

Honesty won out and she blurted, “I’m not tense I just…I didn’t expect to like kissing you.”

“You thought kissing me would be bad?” He sounded offended and she smiled.

Noel’s heart galloped in her chest as she admitted, “I’ve only ever thought about it one time.”

“When?”

“The night you came home from basic.”

This time, she didn’t have to imagine his lips on her neck. He pressed a light kiss there and whispered, “Me too.”

Noel closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds, memorizing the warmth. The texture. The sensation of electro shocks racing down her spine. “You did?”

“Yes. I almost did kiss you. But then you ran off and…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. She’d taken off, scared of her feelings, and left the space open for Amber to step in. His words broke the spell and her eyes flew open. She was in her kitchen with Nick, letting him trail kisses along her skin. Enjoying it. Craving it.

But Amber managed to worm her way back in, ruining everything.

She jumped away before she fell further down the rabbit hole, his arms falling away easily, leaving her bereft of his warmth. Several seconds of silence ticked by with their breathing the only sound in the room. Finally, Nick reached out and laid a hand on her arm.

“Noel… Look at me.”

Noel turned, facing him.

She couldn’t keep her hands still and settled finally on smoothing them over her pink scrubs. “What are we doing?”

Nick shook his head, as if trying to get a grip on himself. “I don’t know. I thought we were being honest.”

“Yeah, but we don’t want to do this. We only kissed the first time to save face in front of Amber and Trip. Not actually jump into something that could potentially ruin twenty-plus years of friendship!”

“We also admitted we’ve had these feelings before.”

“Just because we have these feelings, doesn’t mean we should actually act on them. Does it?”

Nick nodded. “No, of course not. I think we’re both lonely and comfortable with each other and mistaking that for something more.”

The conviction in his tone didn’t match the emotion she saw in his eyes, but Noel ignored it. Getting caught up with feelings of attraction for Nick was a bad idea, for both their sakes.

“I completely agree.”

Liar.

Nick pushed off the counter, keeping his distance. He ran a hand through his hair as he said, “So, from now on, we’ll just tell people we are better off as friends.”

“Absolutely. Just friends.”

“Good.” He cleared his throat. “I guess I should let you eat.”

Noel didn’t remind him that he’d wanted to stay and keep her company. Her resolve not to kiss him could snap at any moment. “Thanks for bringing the food. Tell your mom I will be by soon.”

“Will do.” He took a step toward her and seemed to think better of it because he stopped. “Happy Thanksgiving, Noel.”

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

---