just wasn’t fair to me or Lucas for me to be seeing another guy that I was also being physical with. It would be one thing if I thought something could go somewhere with Connor, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I had to keep reminding myself of that fact.
Gemma: Hey, I think we should have a talk before we go anywhere, okay?
Connor: Uh oh. Talk about what?
Gemma: Nothing much or rather nothing new. We’ll talk when I get there.
I put the phone back in my handbag and closed my eyes. I was looking forward to seeing Connor, but I still felt happy from my evening with Lucas. And Christmas with my parents had been awesome. They’d gotten me lots of really cool gifts, and even my grandma had treated me to a day of not asking if I had a boyfriend or when my boyfriend was coming over to meet everyone, which had been amazing. The Uber suddenly stopped and I looked up realizing that I’d already made it to Connor’s place. “Thanks,” I said, as I got out. He nodded and drove off. I looked toward Connor’s building and was surprised to see that he was standing outside. He had a slight frown on his face as he looked toward me.
“Hey,” he said, as he walked over.
“Hi.” I gave him my biggest smile, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach as I stared at his handsome face. “What are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you.”
“But I told you I was on my way, I didn’t say I was here yet.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to be here to greet you when you arrived.”
“Oh, that was really thoughtful of you.”
“I can be a thoughtful guy sometimes,” he said, and then he enveloped me in his arms and gave me a big hug before kissing me on both cheeks. “Merry Christmas, Gemma.”
“Merry Christmas, Connor,” I said. We stared at each other for a few seconds and then he grabbed my hands.
“So, shall we get a coffee? You said you wanted to tell me something before we left?”
“Yeah, sure. Do you want to get the coffee in your apartment, or?”
“No, let’s go to this coffee shop on the corner,” he said, and we walked toward the coffee shop. My heart was racing. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel like I was doing the right thing. I didn’t know why, but I was nervous to tell him that this wasn’t going to go anywhere. “What would you like?” He said, as we walked into the store. I looked up at the menu and smiled.
“Wow, so many choices here. Anything you recommend?”
“I always get a black coffee.” He grinned. “So unless you want a black coffee, I have no recommendations for you.”
“Okay then, I’ll try the double mint mocha hot, please.”
“Okay. Want a pastry or anything?”
“No, I’m stuffed. My family fed me so much food. Big Greek families, you know how they are.”
“Not personally,” he said as he shook his head. “But I can imagine.”
“So how was your Christmas? Did you have fun with your parents?”
He shrugged. “It was a short day.”
“Okay,” I said, “that’s it?”
“I don’t really have anything else to say,” he shook his head. “It was my brother, my parents and I, we had lunch, opened a couple of presents and then we went home.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That doesn’t sound like the most enjoyable situation.”
“It is what it is.” He shook his head. “I’m cool with it. I got to do some music, so it was fine.”
“Oh? Another artist whose name I’ve never heard of before?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. He placed the order and then we stood back and waited for his name to be called so we could collect our drinks. “So what is it you wanted to tell me?”
“So.” I took a deep breath and looked at him. “I hate to do this on Christmas.”
“Uh huh.” His eyes narrowed. I could see that he was staring at my lips.
“But I’ve been thinking about it.”
“Okay.”
“And I think that we most probably shouldn’t see each other really and I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to go with you to this cabin.” I made a face. “Sorry.”
“Okay, so you’re telling me you don’t want to go to the cabin?” And he took a step closer to me. I shivered as his eyes stared intently into mine.
“No, I mean, it sounds like it would be fun, but I just don’t think it’s like the best idea because I