Merry Cherry Christmas - Keira Andrews Page 0,10
so Max could leave it up to him.
“You gonna tap that?”
“What? No!” Despite his quick denial, a low pulse of desire at the idea tugged in Max’s belly. “I’m just helping. He’s nervous.”
“Baby bird got a broken wing?”
“Something like that. He just came out and his parents aren’t really talking to him.”
“Oh, shit.” Honey shook his head. “That sucks.”
“Yeah. He doesn’t have any friends. I feel bad for him.”
“You can always bring him tonight. If you’re not into him and he knows how to play, he’s cool.”
They’d had a strict no-dates policy since first year, when Tyler had brought a new girl every week and was more interested in her boobs than playing the game. “Okay. Maybe. You coming to the gym?”
“Do I look like I’m coming to the motherfucking gym?”
Max laughed and grabbed another banana on his way out, making sure to slam the door as noisily as possible.
A few hours later, his quads aching, Max spotted Jeremy pacing outside the optical store on Bloor West. As Max approached with a wave, Jeremy visibly unclenched.
“Hey!” Max called. “Sorry I’m late. Subway delay. You know, the usual with the TTC.”
Jeremy smiled but looked on edge. “Right. I thought maybe you changed your mind.”
“Nah, man. I wouldn’t leave you hanging. No service in the tunnel or I would’ve texted.”
“No problem.” He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m all…” He flapped his hands.
Jeremy seriously had some anxiety issues. Part of Max wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be okay, but that would probably be weird, so instead he said, “It’s cool. Come on.” He led the way into the store, a bell chiming overhead. The bright ceiling lights were augmented with garlands and white fairy lights across the top of the rows of frames and mirrors on three walls of the store. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” played.
“Any brands you like in particular?” Max asked. The store was crowded, and the salespeople were all busy.
“Not really. Whatever looks okay.”
“You mean whatever looks spectacular.” He shot Jeremy a wink. “See what I did there?”
“Uh-huh!” Jeremy grinned, looking a little flustered, his cheeks going pink. “I wish I had contacts. It’s so hard to see myself in the new frames. Maybe I should just get them to replace the lenses in these ones.” He pushed the wire-rim glasses up his nose. “Had these for most of high school. I know they fit my face okay.”
“Yeah, but ‘okay’ is not what we’re going for. Let’s have a look.”
They perused the racks, and Jeremy found a few to try. Max figured Jeremy knew his style, although they all tended to be the thin metal frames. Jeremy carefully tucked his glasses in the pocket of his raincoat. The other pocket bulged.
Max asked, “You happy to see me, or what?”
Jeremy blinked up at him owlishly. “Sorry?”
He nudged Jeremy’s stuffed pocket. “Bad joke.”
“Oh! That’s your hat. You forgot it.” He pulled out the toque and handed it over.
“Shit, thanks. I didn’t bother with a hat today since it’s above freezing. But I’ll need this in Pinevale at Christmas for sure. Not that I don’t have other hats, but this one’s my fave.” He tossed it in his bag.
“No problem.” Standing very close to a mirror, Jeremy tried on the frames.
Max nixed one pair that were too narrow, but the other two were fine. He asked, “You ever try plastic frames? Something a little bolder?”
“No. My mom says darker frames overwhelm my face.”
“Ah. Assume you got the prescription from her?”
“Yeah.” Jeremy put his old glasses back on. “We texted. It was fine.” He grabbed one of the prospective frames. “I’ll just get these.”
“I don’t think those fall into the spectacular category. Come on, you should be excited about whatever you pick.” He scanned the rack nearest them and chose a few. “Try these.”
“Really, these are fine. You’re going to be bored if I try on everything.”
“You’re not trying on everything. Humor me. Unless you genuinely like those ones.”
Jeremy sighed. “Not really. Okay.”
One by one, he tried on frames, leaning right into the mirror that sat on a desk. Max couldn’t help but enjoy the view. Damn, he had a sweet little ass in those jeans. “How’s your butt?” Max asked, struggling to tear his eyes away. “Sore?”
“A bit, but it’s fine.” Jeremy glanced around nervously, seeming to check if anyone was listening.
Max realized a sore ass could sound…suggestive. Before his brain could dive down the rabbit hole of Jeremy’s ass any further, he was distracted