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I gave him a nod. "You got me. I am just a huge child when it comes to this time of the year! I mean..." I paused, gesturing around at the people surrounding us. "Look how happy everyone is tonight. It's like, for just a couple of days, nothing else matters. Not work. Not money. Not stress. Just people having a good time and enjoying each other's company."
Brayden nodded as he looked around too. "I agree." Then he fixed his attention back on me, his expression slightly more serious as he looked into my eyes. "It's the one time of year when anything is possible."
The background noise began to fade as our gaze connected fully, and I allowed myself to get lost in his eyes. "Anything?" I asked softly.
"Anything." He took a step closer towards me, and I lowered my arms, forgetting about the music, and pretty much everything else in the world. "I mean... finally getting to meet you seemed like it would be impossible a few months ago."
He wasn't wrong. Every hurdle imaginable had come up, including a car accident (his mum), a stomach bug (me), and a disaster in the office where Brayden worked as a junior editor for a newspaper. It was as if something was stopping us from meeting, and now we finally had... well, I definitely believed there was some Christmas magic involved.
"I know it's not that late yet," Brayden said, his mouth still close to my ear, "but do you want to go for a short drive before I have to go home?"
It was only nine-thirty p.m., way earlier than I usually headed home on Christmas Eve, but Brayden lived almost two hours away. If he was going to get home before Santa arrived, he probably wouldn't be able to stay too much longer. I was nowhere near ready to say goodbye yet, but I always knew this was how it would be. Don't get too close. You're leaving. I knew it the whole time, but... I was already too close.
Some people don't rate the internet as a great way to meet people, but I knew better. I knew Brayden was going to be special, because instead of the game-playing that goes on when some people first meet, he and I had skipped it. We'd connected as friends, and we'd been real with each other every time we spoke.
All meeting him had done was make me wish I wasn't about to leave him behind.
Offering him a soft smile, I said, "Yes. I'd like that."
Chapter 3
Charley
Although it was a beautiful, clear night, it was freezing outside, so the moment we were inside Brayden's car, he put the heater on to warm us through. For a few moments, we sat in the car, not moving from the car park as heat returned to our frozen limbs.
As we sat, I found myself thinking how, with any other guy I had just met for the first time, getting into a car with him would have felt weird. Maybe a little dangerous. But with Brayden, I had no concerns at all. It wasn’t like he was a stranger, after all. We'd had a good evening, and I wanted to prolong it for as long as possible.
Is that really wise though?
The sensible voice in my head should have forced me to ask him to take me right home. What good was staying with him longer going to do? He was everything I never knew I wanted, and saying goodbye was going to suck. Better to get it over with than prolong the moment.
"So, where shall we drive to?" Brayden asked.
When I turned my head to look at him, he had a slightly wistful smile on his face, as if he'd read my thoughts.
"I don't know," I said with a sigh, turning in my seat to face him. "I guess we can't really go too far because you need to drive home tonight."
With a sad nod, he said, "I do. But that doesn't mean I have to leave right now. Name me somewhere cool around here we can go to for a while."
I paused thoughtfully. There were a lot of nice places around, but nowhere that wouldn't have us freezing our genitalia off outside.
Then I remembered Lakeview Park. It would be ideal because we could sit and look at the view without getting out of the car.
"There's a park not too far away from here," I said. "We probably don't want to walk, but from where the car park is, we can see the lights in the trees and the skating rink."
Brayden smiled. "That sounds good. Just tell me which way to go."
He turned, we both clipped on our seatbelts, and I gave the directions to one of my favourite places, just a few minutes away. Brayden parked on the road just outside the park gates, near to where the ice rink was. It was, of course, closed so late on Christmas Eve, but it still looked pretty magical with the trees sparkling above it.
"Shame I didn't bring my ice skates," Brayden said, chuckling, and I turned to him in surprise.
"You skate?"
"I am a man of many talents," he said, grinning. "I like to go skating at Christmas. It's part of the fun."
I nodded in agreement. "Me too. I went with Becky a couple of weeks ago. It's a shame you couldn't have come with us."
"Maybe next year," he said, and a small sigh escaped my lips. I could have tried harder to hold it in, but it was kinda hard knowing our time was almost up. "Charley, I had a really good time with you tonight." He paused, letting out a small laugh. "I have a good time with you every time we speak. I really wish we'd been able to do this sooner." He unclipped his seatbelt and then mine, and we turned towards each other.
