Page 16 of Screwing With The Scrooge

“Let’s see what you have here.”

I pull open the fridge and then peek into his cabinets. He doesn’t have much, and I end up grabbing some bread and lunch meat.

“How about a sandwich?” I ask.

“Sounds good.”

We work side by side as we assemble our sandwiches. I finish my hot chocolate, and Xavier passes me his cup without a word. I smile as I lift it to my mouth and drink from the same spot that he did.

“Want to watch a movie?” He asks.

“A Christmas one?” I ask, and he shrugs.

“Sure.”

We settle onto one of his couches and I take a bite of my sandwich. He passes me the remote and I start to flip through the channels, trying to find a Christmas movie.

“We always watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas every year,” I tell him with a smile. “What about you?”

“I don’t really have a lot of holiday traditions,” he admits.

“Really? What are you doing this year?”

“Just hanging out around here. I’m sure that I’ll hang out with Townes, maybe grab dinner at his place or something.”

My heart cracks a fraction. That has to be so lonely.

“Come over to my place. We’ll all be together. You can bring Townes.”

“Maybe. I’ll ask Townes,” he says, and I smile.

“You’ll be there. Stop playing hard to get,” I tell him, knocking my knee against his.

He huffs out a laugh, smiling as he bites into his sandwich.

A Christmas Story comes on, and I leave it, setting the remote on the couch beside me. We quickly finish our sandwiches and I smile when I see how stiff he is as he sits next to me.

I’m finally having my first date, watching a movie with a boy, and I’m not about to pass up this opportunity. I have no experience with guys, nothing to go on except for my romance books and rom-com movies. Still, I want this, and I’m not afraid to go after what I want.

“Brr, I’m cold,” I say, sidling closer to him on the couch.

“I’ll add some more wood to the fire,” he says as he takes a drink from his glass of water.

“Or,” I start, “we could cuddle. I could even feel you up a little bit,” I suggest, and he chokes, spraying water across the coffee table.

I giggle, and his mouth drops open as he turns to face me.

“It’s not safe to drink around you,” he mumbles, and I full-on laugh then.

“I like keeping you on your toes.”

“Feel me up,” he says under his breath, huffing out a laugh. “Wait…do you want to?” He asks incredulously, and I laugh.

“Uh yeah. If I could figure out a way to convince you to take off your shirt while I did it, I would totally suggest that too. I’ve been dreaming about it since I first saw you. I don’t want you to think that I’m just after you for your body, though.”

He blushes at my words, and I wonder how much experience he has with all of this too. He looks amazed at my words like the thought that anyone could want him is so foreign. For the first time, I wonder just how much, if any, experience Xavier has with dating and women.

There’s something in his eyes as he looks at me that reminds me of an abandoned puppy who is too afraid to hope that he’ll ever be wanted. The look breaks my heart, and suddenly, I’m so glad that we moved to Wolf Valley and that I met him.

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