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“Hunter?” I call out when I wake up lonely in bed. No answer. “Hunter? Where are you?” Still nothing.
Something catches my eye—a piece of paper taped on the mirror above my dresser. Sliding out of bed, I make my way to it and pull it down.
Merry Christmas Eve, Quinn.
This is just the beginning for us and for our first Christmas together. I can’t wait to spend it with you.
All you have to do is follow the clues to find me.
Clue 1 - Go to the place where we first made love in our home.
“Where we first made love,” I repeat. My feet carry me out of the bedroom into the living room. I remember the day I moved in. I didn’t have much and didn’t live far, so we brought in the few boxes of my stuff. As we were bringing in the last of it, Hunter welcomed me to our home. I swooned. I kissed him. We barely made it through the door.
“The front door.”
I go to the door, but there’s nothing there. This is it, I’m sure of it. I close my eyes, recalling the night. I’m right. I know I am. Except it wasn’t the interior part of the door.
I pull the front door open, and there is the next clue.
Clue 2—The night our lives changed, we bumped into each other. I had no idea then that we would end here, but I am so glad we did. Your next clue is there.
My first thought is the hotel. That’s where we ran into each other. The first time we had sex, but I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to. Still, it looks like I’m leaving the condo, so I better get dressed.
Rushing back to the bedroom, I toss the silky pajamas I’m wearing to the side and reach for the gift I picked up at the store yesterday—the two-piece lingerie set, red lace with white fur trimming the edges. Between the small amount of fabric and the see-through lace, it leaves little to the imagination. I toss on one of Hunter’s zip-up hooded sweatshirts over it and head down to the lobby.
“Merry Christmas, Ms. Quinn,” the doorman, Freddie, says.
“Merry Christmas, Freddie. Do you by any chance have something for me?”
As I was changing, I remembered before we saw each other at the hotel, I bumped into him in the lobby. He had been upset and bolted out of the building into the street.
“As a matter of fact, I do.” He smiles as he hands me the envelope.
“Thanks, Freddie. Tell Letti and the kids Merry Christmas.” I rush off with a wave to read the next clue.
Clue 3—It’s raining, it’s pouring….
Finish the song to figure out where your next clue is.
I laugh just thinking about it.
It’s raining, it’s pouring—the old man is snoring.
The old man he’s referring to is none other than our building maintenance manager, Jerome, who we found asleep on our couch after we asked him to check the air conditioning last summer. The poor guy was so embarrassed. After he left, Hunter began to sing the children’s rhyme, and we burst out laughing.
Heading down to the lower level of the building, I knock on Jerome’s office door.
“Merry Christmas, Quinn,” Jerome greets me.
“Merry Christmas, Jerome. Do you have something for me?”
He nods his head. “Sure do.”
Only this time, it’s not a note but a box—a gift-wrapped box. He gives me a wink before closing the door. I tear open the paper and lift the lid off the box. A key.
A key to what?
The building operates on access cards and codes, not keys, so what in the hell does this mean? Where is the next clue? I examine the box looking for something—anything—another piece of the puzzle. This key can’t be all of it. If it is, I have no idea where it could lead me. I stand outside the door and try to piece together what I have.
