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“I thought you didn’t like jokes, okay? With me, I mean. You joke with Jude all the time. Anytime you were on TV in the bullpen, you were joking with your teammates. But you don’t joke with me. And it’s fine. You don’t have to joke with me. I’m not one of the guys and you’re always polite. You’re just doing me a favor, and I know you have a lot of things to work through with your shoulder and all. I’m nothing. I get it. I just—it surprised me. Can wepleaseget this tree?”
Now I’m staring ather. “You’re notnothing.”
“I know I’m notnothing. But I get that I’m nothingto you. And that’s fine. Like I said. You caught me off-guard. It’s fine. Thank you for taking me to a dumpster to get a tree. That’s very kind.”
I stare at her a minute longer while she tries to tug on the tree again.
I made her feel like she’s nothing, and then I snarled at her for trying to find some normalcy in a year when Jude made it clear she’d be lonely at the holidays.
And stuck with me.
I just didn’t realize how big she does the holidays.
Generally, I fake holiday cheer when my friends ask me to do something and I’m game for hanging out. Otherwise, I do my best to avoid people this time of year instead of infecting them with my irritation over the whole holiday period. Meg’s caught in the crosshairs of my bad mood, and it’s not her fault. I need to do better.
I nudge her out of the way, feeling soft curves and getting a whiff of her cookie-scented shampoo, but it’s not irritating the way it was earlier.
It’s hot, idiot, my dick says.
You’re in time-out, or I’m making you watch gingerbread porn, I tell it.
Thank fuck, that works.
“You’re too short to have leverage. Here.” I reach with my left arm—my pitching arm—and my shoulder reminds me why I’m not supposed to do that yet.
“Trevor. Donothurt yourself for a Christmas tree.”
“I’m fine.” I reach up with my right arm, and nope.
I don’t have leverage either.
So instead, I put one knee forward and pat my thigh. “C’mon. I’ll give you a boost so you can grab it.”
She quirks a brow at me. “You’re going to toss me into that dumpster, aren’t you?”
“If I do, you’ll just be swimming in discarded Christmas ornaments and fruitcake, and what’s more holiday spirit than that?”
There’s a pause, and then she busts out laughing, but quickly slaps her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. We should really be quiet, shouldn’t we? Is dumpster diving legal?”
“It’s trash, Meg. You can’t steal what someone else threw away, because they’ve already given it away.”
“I can’t risk my job—oh. Wait. Right. Zeus and Joey would bail me out for this, wouldn’t they?”
I snort. “They’d give you a raise.”
She giggles.
And then she puts one hand on my shoulder, one foot on my thigh, and she boosts herself up, her breast brushing my face, andsweet baby reindeer, how have I managed to ever convince myself before today that I could look at Meg and not see a sexy, attractive, hot-as-fuck woman?
She wobbles.
I grab her hips, my thumbs right on her ass.
And then I start to sweat.
It’s twenty-five degrees out here. Flurries suddenly swirl around us. I forgot my jacket.
And grabbing Meg’s hips and ass is making me sweat.
