Page 39 of On His Mind

He nods, like he understands.

My heart pounds as I unlock my front door and hold it open. He stops at the doorstep. His eyes look around the place, and they land on me.

“Where’s your Christmas tree?” he asks quietly.

“I didn’t get one this year.”

He nods once and then asks cautiously, “Do you celebrate?”

I let the door fall slightly. He notices, and he puts a hand up to catch it.

I step inside my apartment and answer, “Yes, of course. I love Christmas.”

I watch his Adam’s apple bob. “I have a tree.”

I look at him. He finally steps in, and the front door clicks shut.

“At Hawthorne,” he explains. “And none of the guys are there.”

“Okay,” I say.

We stare at each other for a long second.

“So?” I ask.

He glances down. “Um,” he says under his breath. “Do you want to come to Hawthorne instead?”

My eyes stay on his timid face. He shoves his hands in his pockets.

I don’t let my grin show. “Did the guys decorate for Christmas?”

“Oh, yeah,” he says with a confident nod. “They went all out.”

“But none of them are here?”

He shakes his head. “Blue left two days ago. Row, Benson, and Stan all left over the weekend.”

“Okay.”

“Only if you want,” he adds. “I don’t mind being here, but just in case you wanted to––” He shrugs.

“Yeah,” I nod. “Let me just grab a few things, and we’ll go. Can you drive?”

He blinks. “I walk to work.”

I stop in my tracks. “You walked here? It’s so cold out.” He doesn’t say anything. “Can you drive my car? I hate driving in the snow.” He doesn’t answer, so I ask, “You have your license, right?”

He nods quickly. “Yeah, I do. I can drive.”

“Okay,” I grin. “Give me a second.”

Chapter 9

Percy

Idon’tmeantotell her about the Christmas tree or invite her over to Hawthorne. It just sort of came out in a way that I had no control over. At first, she looked at me like I said something strange, and then she pulled a sweater over her head and reached for her coat.

“Let’s go,” she says.