Page 88 of Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist

“Ugh fine.” She took a long sip and covered her mouth to burp discreetly. “Excuse me.”

“So hot.”

“I know. Now, let’s see.” She tapped a finger against her bottom lip, her eyes directed at the ceiling, deep in thought. “I started doing yoga. I went on a double date with your sister. And I have a secret TikTok account where I sing.”

Nick pointed at her. “There is no way you’d be on TikTok.”

“You really think I do yoga?” she huffed.

Nick’s eyes widened. “I wanna see!”

“No!”

His brow furrowed in disappointment. “What? Why? You let strangers watch you and not me? Why even tell me about it?”

“It’s set to private. No one sees.”

“I wanna see it. Please.”

“No, let’s move on. Your turn.”

Nick reached across the bed and took her hand. “Do you think I’ll make fun of you? I won’t. You are amazing, Noel. I forgot how good you were until we sang together.”

Noel hesitated, but finally pulled out her phone and handed it to him with a resigned sigh. “Just tap on the app.”

Nick did and watched the first video. She sang a cover of his favorite song and the significance of that was not lost on him. The next song, “Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse, was her favorite. Her soulful rendition tugged at him, creating a warmth in his stomach. She closed her eyes, passion and joy etched in her features for the sixty-second-long video and Nick’s eyes stung with emotion.

Noel tried to take her phone back but he held it away from her.

“Okay, you saw it. You happy?”

“I want to see them all, but I’ll wait for another time.” He gave her back her phone, squeezing her hand. “Thanks for letting me see it.”

“You’re welcome,” she mumbled, her cheeks still red.

“Now, about the double date with my sister…”

Noel groaned. “In my defense, you Winterses are a persistent lot.”

“Come on. Who did you two go out with?”

“She met a guy on Tinder who had a friend. Worst. Date. Ever.”

“I’m surprised you got that far. Isn’t Tinder mostly dick pics and hookups?”

“Well we managed to find the only two guys looking for something more meaningful, but as a collective.”

“What does that mean?”

“They were together, looking for girlfriends.”

“If they were together…why did they want you?”

“They were pansexual looking for a third and fourth member of their duo. Nice guys, but I don’t share well. Which is funny, considering my lack of committed relationships thus far.”

Nick chuckled. “For the record, I don’t share well either.”

“I never took you for the jealous type.”

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