Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
Gray
"This has to be the worst first date ever," Patrick said with obvious regret as I pulled away from Sam's house. "Chasing around a shadow on Christmas Eve and witnessing how clueless I am about the people who've sat five feet from me for the past year."
I could tell he wasn't finished, so I just murmured, "Not at all."
"I mean I probably deserve the Krampus curse for being so self-absorbed! You can't just treat people like background noise. That's not right."
"I don't think you do that."
"I do! I didn't know Sam had a girlfriend, or that his mom had cancer. I just heard he lived at home and saw toys all over his cubicle and thought I had him pegged. I'm like the opposite of Sherlock Holmes. I'm the least observant person on the planet."
I made a comme ci, comme ca gesture with my hand. "On the planet? I doubt it. I work in the ER, remember? There was that one guy who walked into an open manhole because he was texting."
Patrick huffed, then smiled despite himself. "Okay, maybe not on the planet. Anyway, you don't have to waste your evening with this. You can just drop me off. And please don't ghost me, because that would be the worst thing the curse could do to me."
Aw, that was so sweet.
"First, you're not getting rid of me that easily, curse or no curse. And second, what about Eleanor? Is it too late, do you think?"
Patrick's breath hitched, and I saw him eye the dashboard clock. It was just past eleven.
"Well… I know she's a night owl. But she lives a ways out of town. Near Wayne."
"Wanna text her and see if she'd be up?" I suggested.
Patrick leaned over the console and got very close. The brow above those big blue eyes was creased in a frown. "You're not sick of me and my stupid quest?"
I saw an opening on the curb and pulled into it. This required my full attention. I put the car in Park and turned to cup his face with both hands. "Never. Listen, I know all about focusing on work." I stroked his soft cheek with my thumb. "Do you want to know what I really think?"
"I don't know, do I?" He looked worried.
"I think you're a very smart man who loves what he does, works hard, and doesn't give away his heart, or his time, easily. Which makes me incredibly lucky. Whatever the opposite of the Krampus curse is, that's the way I feel."
He blinked and frowned a little deeper. "Really?"
I nodded. "And I heard you apologize to Sam for not paying more attention. You were genuinely touched by his circumstances. A cruel man, an oblivious man, wouldn't have felt that."
He thought about that. "I'm not cruel. But I guarantee nothing on the oblivious charge."
I kissed him softly. "I'm in no position to judge. I keep to myself at work, too. And tonight has been eye-opening in that regard. I think we could both do better. Maybe we could hold each other's feet to the fire in the socializing department."
Patrick's right arm slipped behind my neck, and his eyes grew half-lidded. "Maybe we should go back to my place and finish this adventure tomorrow. I could use a little socializing right now."
It was tempting. Very tempting. My blood quickened. But he'd had that oxy, and I wanted to put a bit more time between that and getting him into bed. I could use another distraction. Besides, I was not going to risk any more ER visits tonight.
I shook my head. "The truth is, I'm totally engaged with the Krampus curse now, and I want to make sure it's over. Why don't you text Eleanor, and if she's up, we can drop off Krampus and be done with it."'
He looked longingly at my lips— which did not help the state of my pants—and then sat back. "Okay. Deal. If Eleanor is up, we make one more trip tonight." He reached for his pocket. I saw the moment his eyes registered panic.
"Here," I said with a chuckle, digging out my phone and typing in my passcode. I handed it over.
"I swear, it's like losing an arm!" he whined. Then he was typing away.
He was fast on the keyboard, and within seconds, I heard the swoosh of an outgoing text. We waited. Watching him chew on his lip as he stared at the phone had me second-guessing being the responsible one tonight. I came within a second of leaning in to bite it for him.
Then my incoming text message ding sounded.
"She said come on over," Patrick reported. He looked up at me hopefully. "What do you think, Driver?"
"What's the address?" I started the car.