Page 11 of Wrapped in Red

“Watch your parade, Ez,” CC murmured into my hair, his hands caressing my stomach lightly over my shirt.

I shouldn’t like that he was touching me like that. I shouldn’t let him do it, either. I mean, we were always like this, but he had a boyfriend now. Part of me was happy he still wanted to be this kind of bestie, but it wasn’t right.

“Santa’s coming soon. It’s the best part. It means it’s Christmas,” I told him as the pads of his fingers drummed out their own beat. Goosebumps broke out over my stomach. This wasn’t something best friends did. This was so much more than that.

CC chuckled softly. “You and Christmas.”

“I can’t help it, boo. It’s my favorite time of the year. The music, the decorations, everything is so beautiful,” I reminded him.

“Glad to see that hasn’t changed,” CC murmured. “When we go to the parade, we’ll go see the big tree, the ice-skating rink, everything.”

I took one of his hands and laced our fingers together. “The Rockefeller Christmas Tree.”

“Yeah, that one,” he murmured into my neck. “We’ll have to stay overnight so you can see it all lit up. We’ll take a selfie in front of it. Go see a show or something, too. Whatever one you want.” He tugged me closer to his big, warm body. “You want to decorate your apartment this weekend?”

My stomach made this strange swooping motion. “Yeah, sure.”

What was going on right now? This felt like a couple thing, and we weren’t a couple. CC had a boyfriend.

“Want to go Christmas shopping tomorrow morning?”

Okay, what the hell? I twisted around to look at him. “You hate shopping on Black Friday.” I narrowed my eyes.

“Yeah, but you like it.” CC smiled at me just as the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house.

I arched a brow. “Your parents expecting someone else?”

“Not that I know of, but remember that one year my dad invited a guy who worked at the Tavern? Maybe he did that again.” CC’s eyes moved behind me before he sat up so fast, I nearly fell off the couch. “Noel.”

“Am I interrupting?”

I turned to see the tall, raven-haired man standing next to Senior. Oh, he looked really pissed. I guess if you didn’t know me, it might look bad.

“What, no, of course not. This is Ezra.”

“I know who it is, Carson. You told me all about... him.” He grunted. “I thought you two didn’t talk anymore?”

Noel was staring at me like he wasn’t sure if he should squash me or punch me. Maybe because someone already had, he would just have mercy on me.

I smoothed my hair as I stood up and held out my hand. “This is kind of awkward, but maybe if we just—”

“Maybe if I had told you I was going to show up, instead of surprising you, I wouldn’t have walked in to find you on the couch cuddling with another man.” Noel ignored my outstretched hand as his eyes darted back to CC.

Rude. “Right, I’ll just go upstairs.” I moved to the other door, not the one Noel was currently occupying, which would send me through the kitchen, when I felt a tug on my shirt.

“Stay right here, Ez,” CC growled. “We’re just friends, Noel. We’ve known one another for a long time.”

“Looked a little bit more than that to me, Carson, but whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night.”

CC sighed. “You think I’m cheating on you, is that it? I haven’t heard from you except for a few texts here and there, but you decided to just show up at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. What if I wasn’t even here? What if I had decided to go to Watts’s place? He invited me.”

“Watts told me you declined that offer. Besides, you know I have my hands full with Leo.” Noel’s eyes darted over to me, and I noticed one was blue and the other green. “What are you looking at?”

Wasn’t I innocent in all this?

“Don’t you dare talk to him like that.” CC hissed.

Noel scrubbed a hand down his face. “Wow, okay, clearly this was a horrible idea.” He turned around and headed toward the door.