Chapter 15
LEXI
Fuck me. I’d been wound so tight all day, and with one swipe of this man’s tongue, I completely unraveled. Brandon licked me until I begged him to stop, then bent me over the table where he had spent the day tattooing me, and fucked me within an inch of my life. Seriously, it was that good.
After what felt like my millionth orgasm, I got the fuck out of there in true Lexi fashion.
The last thing I needed was to give Brandon the wrong impression of me and my intentions.
We had discussed the rules, but I needed to show him I meant them with my actions.
If what Daphne said about him was true, I didn’t need to be sending this guy mixed signals.
I didn’t want to lead him on and end up being the heartless bitch who broke the nice guy’s heart.
Heartless? Was that what I was? I mean, I loved my mom, and I loved Daphne.
I had love for other people in my life, too, didn’t I?
Zoning out at a local coffee shop, waiting for my order, it hit me.
My circle was so small. All of this not letting people in shit was keeping me from even making friends.
My goal was to not fall in love and have to deal with that heartbreak, but it was also costing me a full and healthy social life.
Now that Daphne was joined at the hip with Nathan, my circle was even smaller.
“Dirty chai latte for Lexi!” the barista called, interrupting my spiraling thoughts.
I grabbed my drink and went to sit by the window.
It had started snowing this morning, and I was excited to take it all in, even though winter wasn’t my favorite season.
I preferred warmer weather, fewer layers of clothing, and sunshine, but I could appreciate the beauty of fresh snowfall.
The way it coated the city in a blanket of white.
I’d be lying if I didn’t secretly hope for a white Christmas every year.
It had been a few days since my tattoo, and I was itching to see Brandon again. As if he could somehow hear my thoughts, my phone chimed with an incoming text from him.
Brandon
Hey, just wanted to check in and see how your tattoo was healing.
Me
So far, so good. That skin stuff is starting to lift. I know you said to leave it for a few days, but do you think it’s okay if I take it off today?
Brandon
Yeah, that should be fine. We should schedule your next session. With Christmas coming up, I want to make sure I get you on the books.
Shit. Christmas. I hadn’t even thought about that yet.
I usually spent holidays with my mom or Daphne or both of them, but this year had sort of flown by, and I hadn’t made any solid plans yet.
Thanksgiving had been Mom and me and a tiny little turkey.
It was perfect, but she let me know she planned on working on Christmas this year, so I needed to find something else to do. Crap.
I was used to being alone and doing things solo, but the holidays were different. I didn’t enjoy being alone, and I needed to figure something out. Worst-case scenario, I could probably pick up a shift at the hospital.
I ignored Brandon’s text and pulled up my message thread with Daphne.
Me
Hey, what are your plans for Christmas?
Daphne
We’re doing Christmas Eve at Nathan’s dad’s and Christmas Day with my parents. I thought you were hanging with your mom?
Me
She’s working. I totally forgot.
Daphne
Would you want to come to Nathan’s dad’s for dinner? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He’s really cool.
Daphne
I’d invite you to my parents’, but I was hoping they could get some more one-on-one time with Nathan.
Did I want to hang out with Brandon’s family? That felt like crossing a line, but, on the other hand, we were bound to be put in these types of situations if he and I continued our little arrangement. Plus, Daphne and Nathan seemed like the real deal. Fuck it.
Me
Okay, I’m in as long as his dad is okay with me crashing the party.
Daphne
Yay! It’ll be nice to have some more estrogen in that house for once. I’ll ask and get back to you, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. See ya at work tomorrow?
Me
Unfortunately.
Daphne
Me
I backed out of our messages and reopened my thread with Brandon.
Me
Okay, let me know when you want me to come in, and I’ll check my schedule.
Brandon
Would it be out of the question for you to come in on Christmas Eve morning? If you have plans, we can do it another day, but I’m booked until after New Year’s right now.
Me
Funny you mention Christmas Eve, because Daphne sort of invited me to your dad’s place for dinner that night.
Brandon
That’s perfect! We can work on your tattoo beforehand, and then I can drive you.
This seemed too much like a date, but I decided I needed to just go with it. We had set our boundaries—or at least I had—and I needed to trust that Brandon would respect them.
Me
Okay, sounds like a plan. Let me know what time you want me at the shop.
Brandon
Will do.
Brandon
That’s two weeks away, though. Will I see you before then?
Subtle.
Me
I’m sure you will. Bring condoms to the hospital. I want to get railed by Santa for real.
Brandon
My cheeks hurt from smiling, so I quickly fixed my face.
There was no way in hell I was gonna be one of ‘those girls’—acting all gaga while texting a boy.
The thought of repeating our little Grey’s Anatomy-esque hookup had me practically bubbly, which was so unlike me, but whatever.
I guess extraordinary dick made me giddy.
After placing my phone back in my bag, my gaze returned to the view outside the coffee shop.
From this vantage point, I had an excellent spot to do some serious people-watching.
I was only a few blocks from my apartment, nearer to shops and businesses.
It was a weekday, and the street was bustling with people, probably on their lunch breaks, getting in some holiday shopping.
With only two weeks until Christmas, the non-procrastinators likely had their shopping well underway.
I, on the other hand, was a Grade A procrastinator.
I did my best work under pressure in most situations, and shopping for gifts was no different.
Besides, I only really ever shopped for Daphne and my mom, so it wasn’t like it took me long to accomplish.
But I didn’t buy just any gift. It had to be the right gift for the right person.
I’d rather give them nothing at all than give some useless bobble that would sit and collect dust on a shelf, or even worse, end up being re-gifted.
I spent some more time enjoying the snowfall and people-watching while sipping on my latte before heading back to my apartment to do some meal prepping for work.
Don’t get it twisted—I didn’t do the health freak bullshit kind of meal prepping.
It was just more practical to pack myself some meals and snacks for the hospital in case I was too busy to get to the cafeteria.
Although, come to think of it, maybe more trips to the cafeteria were exactly what I needed.
All of my hopes and dreams of banging Santa in an on-call room evaporated when I got to work the next day only to find out we were at capacity and short-staffed.
Good thing I meal prepped, I guess. The morning flew by, and my lunch consisted of a bag of chips at the nursing station.
Yeah, I knew we weren’t supposed to have food and drinks in patient care areas, but sue me. We had to eat when and where we could.
By mid-afternoon, management’s bribes must have worked, because we finally got some extra nurses in to help us.
As soon as someone came to offer me a break, I ran for the bathroom, followed by a trip to the break room to sit and eat something more substantial.
Unfortunately, I still had hours left in my shift.
Amanda was in the break room, and after getting my lunch bag from the fridge, I joined her at her table.
“Hey, girl. How you holdin’ up?” I asked as I plopped down in my chair.
“Fuck, Lexi. Today’s brutal,” she answered as she took a huge bite of her sandwich. Probably trying to shovel as much in as she could before we were inevitably interrupted. Smart girl.
“Yeah, I hate it when we’re so short. I mean, it’s ICU, for fuck’s sake. How are we supposed to keep these patients safe without help?” There was no time to hop up on my soapbox. Every minute of my break was precious. I needed to eat, pee again, and get back out there.
Between bites of my own subpar lunch of grapes and Triscuits—meal prepping at its finest, ladies and gentlemen—I pulled out my phone to do a little doom scrolling.
There on my message icon was a red bubble showing a missed text.
I knew who it was before I even opened the app.
Fuck. I wanted nothing more than to say, fuck this place and jump Santa’s bones, but that wasn’t in the cards for me.
I reluctantly opened my messages app and instantly regretted it.
My jaw hung open as I took in the photo he had sent.
Usually, I wasn’t a fan of unsolicited dick pics, but this particular dick pic was definitely getting saved in my spank bank.
Holy hell. It was taken at his apartment in front of a full-length mirror, and he was naked except for his Santa beard and hat.
He stood there looking sexy as hell, with his phone in one hand and a raging hard-on in the other.
The caption read, Santa has a present for you.
“Fuck me,” escaped my lips in a whisper, causing Amanda to perk up.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking up at me. “Or what’s right?” she laughed. I guessed my expression had given me away.
“Nothing,” I said, as I quickly stuffed my phone back into my pocket.
“Liar.” She put down her sandwich and turned her chair to face me. “Listen, bitch. I haven’t had sex in so long that my hymen has probably regenerated itself. I need to live vicariously through you, so spill it.”
Fuck it. She already knew about my little Santa rendezvous. What was the harm in keeping her in the loop? Well, as long as Daphne didn’t find out.
“Fine. Santa sent me the hottest picture.” I grinned at her. “I was supposed to meet him for a quickie today before I found out we were short.”
“Can I see it?” Her eyes were wide, and I could almost see the drool gathering in her mouth.
“Absolutely not. It was meant for my eyes only. I don’t think he’d appreciate my sharing it with strangers.”
“Buzzkill.” Amanda pouted. “So, when are you going to see him again?”
“I’m not sure. Hopefully before Christmas Eve, though. That’s when I have my next tattoo session.”
“Is that what you’re calling your dick appointments these days?” she snorted.
Daphne rushed into the room, making a B-line for the fridge. I shot Amanda a death glare, praying she got the hint.
“Is it a fucking full moon?” Daphne hissed as she rummaged through the contents of the refrigerator.
“Triscuits?” I offered.