Page 23 of The Naughty List

“Damon, this is Todd, Charity, and Bridgette,” I say, pointing to each friend. They all smile and say hi, Todd giving him a handshake that lingers a little too long.

“This is Damon, my boss.” Something flashes across his face, a look I know all too well—annoyance. I want to remind him that he could have stayed home if he didn’t want to come tonight. I just hope it doesn’t develop into one of his sour moods that ruins the night.

I reach to pull out my chair but Damon has it first, placing his hand at the small of my back as I take a seat. He pulls his chair right next to mine, taking a seat. Our arms are touching and I catch my friends noticing.

“So, Damon,” Charity asks, “what brings you down to our little corner of the world from the big city?” It’s a legitimate question and I know my friends were surprised to hear that my boss was traveling home with me. I didn’t give them any more detail than that and I only told them because he said he wanted to come out with us tonight.

I glance over at Damon, trying not to show the nervousness I feel in my belly. Once again, he reaches under the table for my hand.

“Long story short, Kate was having car trouble and I was a selfish dick that didn’t let her leave work in time to get it fixed so I brought her home.” He looks at me, a crooked smile forming at one corner of his mouth as he slowly strokes his finger across the back of my hand. It sends a shiver down my back.

“Oh my God, that is so sweet of you.” Bridgette rests her hand over her chest as she speaks.

“Wait, so are you spending the holidays at the Flowers’? What about your family?” Todd’s confusion mirrors everyone else’s and this time I’m the one that squeezes Damon’s hand. I’ve picked up on the fact that there’s something about his family that he either doesn’t want to talk about or isn’t ready to talk about.

“Yup, staying with us. His family is completely understanding,” I say, brushing off the question. “How is it that we’ve been in this bar for five minutes and nobody has ordered a round of nog shots?” My question successfully changes the subject.

“Nog shots?” Damon raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s one part eggnog and one part whatever liquor you want. Todd likes Goldschläger because it’s cinnamon; Bridge, you drink peppermint schnapps, right? And Charity and I drink it with Crown because we’re not crazy and trying to black out.”

“That sounds interesting.” Damon laughs. “I’ll do one with Crown.”

“I’ll get the first round.” I stand to head to the bar when Damon pushes back his chair and joins me. He places his hand at the small of my back again as we walk toward the bar.

I say hi to Deb, the bartender who’s been here since I turned twenty-one, and place the order for the shots along with two rum and cokes for Damon and me. I feel his hands on my waist as he stands behind me so I turn to face him. He doesn’t let go; instead, he pulls me closer before reaching up and smoothing my hair away from my face.

I’m confused. I want to ask him what’s going on, but I also don’t want to ruin the moment. I give him a small smile.

“Why are you nervous?” His normally bright eyes seem darker, hooded.

“Nervous? I’m not nervous.” I feel my shoulders shrug dramatically like I’m trying too hard to play it cool. Without thinking I glance over my shoulder and realize that all three of my friends are staring right at us, mouths hanging open. Shit. I step back a little from his embrace.

Damon follows my gaze. “Ah,” he says, releasing me and placing his hands on the bar. “Right, sorry about that.” He hands his credit card to Deb and grabs the tray with our drinks. “Keep the tab open,” he says as we make our way back to the table.

I feel… bad, like I’m hiding him. But we aren’t together; we aren’t actually a couple. We’re lying to my family about us. Hell, we’re lying to ourselves as well.

We spend the next two hours laughing till my stomach hurts, reminiscing about our childhood and catching up on what’s been going on in our lives. Maybe it’s the alcohol or maybe I’m caught up in the fantasy, but at times it feels like Damon and I are a real couple. I feel his hand rest on my thigh under the table. He casually drapes his arm around my chair at one point. He even wipes a drop of liquor from my lips with his thumb and then licks it off his finger.

“I need to use the restroom,” he says, sliding off his chair and walking away from the table.

“Okay, what the actual fuck was thaaaaat?” Todd gasps as he slaps the table with both hands, causing me to jump. He grabs the small bar menu off the table and begins to dramatically fan himself.

“Yeah, Kate. I just about melted over here with that thumb-licking situation,” Bridge joins in.

I wave off their comments. “It’s just the alcohol, I’m sure.” I take a long sip of my ice water because they weren’t wrong, that thumb-licking thing was hotter than hell and if we were alone, I probably would be in the bathroom with him right now.

“Seriously, Kate, he’s into you,” Charity adds. I scrunch up my nose and shake my head.

“Okay, I want to believe you’re just being coy and you’re not that oblivious to the fact that he’s super into you.” Todd grabs my hands. “Sweetie, it’s clear you both like each other. What gives?”

For some reason, again probably the alcohol, tears prick my eyes and my chin quivers.

“Ohh, honey, we didn’t mean to upset you,” Bridge says.

“No, you didn’t. It’s not that.” I grab a napkin and dab at the corners of my eyes, making sure Damon isn’t walking back yet. “You guys know he and I have a very rocky relationship at work. Well, things have been… different lately between us.”

“Different how?”

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