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Jack flashes us a rare smile. “It’s only fair that I get to hold your other hand.” He offers her his hand, and she takes it without hesitation.
“So,” I start, cut off by a sudden gust of wind that almost knocks the three of us over. We manage to stay standing, but Belle’s dress goes flying up. I’d like to say I look away, but I certainly do not. In fact, I freeze as more of the pale skin of her thighs is revealed. I get a peek of pink panties before she shoves the dress down.
“What in the world?” She laughs, still clinging to her dress even though the wind has already died down. “Where did the wind come from?”
“That’s a very good question,” Jack says, though he looks thoughtful. “Why don’t you keep a hold of your dress while we walk, though? Just in case.”
I frown at that, but Jack just shoots me a look that says to trust him. He’s damn lucky I do trust him. Because I want to know what’s going through his mind. I wanted to hold her hand, but it’s fine. We’ll have plenty of time for that later.
“Belle, why don’t you tell us about this holiday movie Christmas you want to have?” I ask as we continue down the street. Hopefully, this will allow Jack to understand what she’s looking for.
So far, I feel like the date is going well, and I hope it continues that way. Because I don’t think I can stay away from her if I tried.
Chapter Four
Belle
Ablushheatsmyface as I try to remember the list of ideas I wanted to do with the guys I met through the website. When I first thought of this plan, I wrote down every single thing I thought Ihadto do to complete my Christmas bucket list. Now that I’m expected to tell Cypian and Jack about them, I can’t think of anything.
I stare at the sidewalk in front of me, praying to whoever will listen that a hole opens in front of me and sucks me down to the Hell Realm. Not only have I flashed these guys my panties, but I’ve gone completely psycho on a lady that insulted Cypian, and now I’ve gone dumb at a very simple question. If these guys want to see me again, I’ll be shocked. Hell, at this rate, they’ll probably tell their roommates that I’m a waste of time.
“Belle? Did we lose you?” Jack chuckles as he bumps his shoulder against mine, drawing my gaze off the frost covered sidewalk and onto his face.
I smile up at him, knowing my face is probably as red as a tomato at this point. I’m not sure what to tell him. Admitting that I have no clue what I want to do is probably not a good idea, but I have to saysomething. I take a deep breath, hoping that with more air in my lungs, I’ll be able to think of words to answer him.
“Um, honestly.” I pause, I guess I don’t have anything else to offer but the truth.
“I can’t really think of anything specific I wanted to do. I’ve never really been able to celebrate Christmas, as you know. Now that the opportunity is here, I can’t think of what to do. I’m open to ideas, though.”
There, that didn’t sound too stupid. And it gave them an opportunity to put in their thoughts. I put the ball back in their hoop or however that saying goes. Cypian is laughing now. I don’t want to take offense or think that he’s being mean, but my feelings are hurt just a bit.
“Don’t worry, Pretty Girl.” The dark elf wraps his arms around my shoulders as he smiles down at me. “I’m sure between the five of us, we’ll think of plenty of things to do to give you the best first Christmas ever.”
For the rest of the night, the three of us brainstorm on activities we can do. Cypian really wanted to bake cookies and go on a sleigh ride. Jack said he’d love to teach me how to ice skate and maybe have a snowball fight. I wanted to decorate a Christmas tree and write a letter to Santa.
Of course, Jack wanted no part of the letter writing, but Cypian told him it was a Christmas tradition and said we could do it even if we didn’t actually send the letter to Jack’s brother. The whole night was wonderful, and I found myself really excited to meet Derek and Nick now that I know Jack and Cypian a bit better.
When I get up, I go straight to my computer. This isn’t something new. I do it every single day. However, usually I pull up my social media and start working. Today, though, I open my chat on LnS and smile when I see multiple messages.
JACK:I had a great time last night. Can’t wait to see you again.
CYPIAN:You know, Pretty Girl, I’ve been thinking. We should probably exchange numbers so we can communicate more easily.
DEREK:Did you decide what we are doing today?
NICK:Ignore Derek’s grumpiness. He is nervous about our date today. I can’t wait to finally see you in person.
The smile on my face feels like it may be a permanent fixture. These guys are so kind. I didn’t think anyone would want me knowing where I came from and the things that I’ve been through. These four men, though, they don’t judge me. They like me for the person I am in spite of how I grew up.
BELLE: Morning! I’m open for date ideas!
DEREK: Be ready at 5. We’ll pick you up.
For the rest of the day, I try to ignore the dating site and actually get some work done. It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my whole life. It seems like every five minutes, my hand moves the mouse to click on the third screen that has the dating site open on it while the other two screens on my desk hold work stuff.
Eventually, work drags my attention down enough that I get fully submerged and forget all about my date and the four guys that probably need a nap after running through my thoughts so much. The cover I’m working on is whimsical and romantic, but there is something missing and I can’t figure out what it is. I try different fonts and text colors, but nothing feels right. I’m moving different images around when my alarm goes off on my phone, and I jump so hard, I knock over the glass of sweet tea that Tali brought me earlier and I forgot to drink.
I hold my breath as I watch the cup spin a bit, praying that it doesn’t spill onto my keyboard again. Thankfully, it tumbles off the ledge of my desk and onto the floor. Sure, I’ll have to clean it up, but I won’t have to get another keyboard. My phone blares an emergency siren, and I glance between the vibrating monster that is my iPhone and the puddle of sticky iced tea. Which is more important?
