Mr.Right

Chapter 21.

"It's too high. I can't reach it!"

"You can, and you will," Jim tells me.

"But it's still so far away," I complain.

Maverick groans from beneath me. I think I might be squashing him. "Just get the stupid star at the top

of the tree," he says.

My legs are wrapped around his head and he's all that's holding me up. I'm basically sitting on his

neck.

"I will, if you just move a little bit... closer." I try reaching out for the tree.

But Maverick groans again. "There's a very high risk that this tree branch will stab me in the eye if I

move any closer. I'm staying put, thanks."

Jim fishes out his phone and points the camera at us, as if he wants to commemorate this... wonderful

moment.

"Put that phone away Jim," I snap.

"What? Oh... No, I just want to check what time it is..." Jim's a horrible liar. The camera's light flashes

and he immediately replaces it in his pocket when I glare at him.

He grins. "It's 9:45."

This is us, trying to finish the decorations on Maverick's Christmas tree. Christmas Eve has finally

come and we're all doing the last minute preparations.

Jim's family are all Atheists and don't celebrate Christmas so he thought he'd give us a hand in our

Christmas decorations.

My hand finally reaches the top of the tree at the fifth try and we all sigh with relief as Maverick puts me

back on the ground.

"Awesome teamwork!" He high fives me and the three of us stand in front of the tree, admiring the

decorations. We're all dressed in Christmas hats and t-shirts that read 'ho ho ho!'.

"I brought Christmas movies to watch, Are you guys game?" Jim asks the both of us, grinning again.

"You seem to be even more prepared for Christmas than we are. Your mom doesn't even celebrate it," I

say.

"My mom is an Atheist, and I'm not. My family sucks, and I don't. They don't believe in God, and I think

there's a wonderful somebody who created this sexy hunk of man meat." He gestures to himself. "You

can't expect me to believe that I came from Apes."

"Get over yourself." I roll my eyes.

"We'll make popcorn for the movie," Maverick says and nods his head in the direction of the kitchen,

gesturing to me to follow him.

"Do you think Jim would like a lot of sugar on it?" Maverick asks, bringing out raw corn and shoving it in

the popcorn machine.

"Nah, he fears diabetes. His father died of it," I say, which is perfectly true. Jim has been paranoid for

years.

He nods and closes the machine, turning it on and facing me, with his hand folded across his chest.

"You two look like you've been close for a long time."

"A really long time," I tell him. "We've watched ourselves grow, and I'm proud to see the man he's

become." I look over at the living room and see Jim dancing to 'I'm sexy and I know it' which is

streaming from the loudspeakers.

"I'm sure he's proud of you too," Maverick says and follows my gaze, both of us laughing at Jim's weird

dance moves.

"You dance, right?"

"Why do you ask?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Because you're about to." He drags me to the living room before I can even open my mouth to protest.

We put the music on repeat and join Jim, turning it into a choreography session, with Jim coming up

with the dance moves for us to follow.

It's weird, but at the same time, it's fun. I'm laughing so hard at the crazy moves Jim is coming up with,

but Maverick doesn't seem to be bothered about it. He's playing the air-guitar and Jim's using a spatula

as a microphone.

What better way is there to spend Christmas than this?

~~~~

We dance till it is 11:01.

Thankfully, the popcorn didn't get burnt because the machine's automatic and stops when all corns are

popped.

Jim joins us in the kitchen later to make coffee and now we're on the couch, with him in the middle, an

empty bowl on his legs.

We've all got a carrot sticking out of our mouths.

The bowl's empty thanks to Jim and me.

We're watching 'How the Grinch stole Christmas' on Maverick's TV and Jim won't stop giving us

spoilers. I try covering his mouth once with my palm and he licks them, his slimy saliva sticking to my

hands.

It's gross.

Of course, I freak out badly and whack him with a pillow, causing all of the popcorn to spill to the floor.

And that leaves us with an empty bowl - plus carrots to keep our mouths busy. There's no longer any

popcorn.

I zone out of the movie when Jim keeps on talking, continuously giving more spoilers. My phone screen

lights up and I pick it up to see a message from Maverick:

I hope he doesn't choke on that carrot. Talking plus carrot-eating is not a good idea.

I glance at Jim. He's really being very annoying.

Me: I hope he does.

Jim's head is blocking me from seeing Maverick's expression so I sigh and type back:

Me: I'm sorry we ruined Christmas.

His reply came fast.

Are you kidding? This is one of the best Christmas ever.

I blink and text: How so?

Maverick: I usually spend my Christmas at the hospital, doing work.

Me: Why? You could spend the holiday with your family.

His reply surprises me again.

I'd rather not.

I frown a bit. What's the deal with his parents? My phone vibrates again at another message from him.

Maverick: Don't overthink things. They're just too busy to care about Christmas.

Me: I wasn't overthinking anything.

Maverick: If you say so (;

Me: Stop winking, it's creepy.

Maverick: How? (;

I groan and type: Just stop it!

Him: ;)

;)

;)

;)

;)

;)

;)

I manage to suppress the urge to bury my face in my hands. He's literally spamming me with winks.

Urgh!

My fingers fly over the keys: Maverick!!

Maverick's response comes very quickly: Can I ask you something?

My hand pauses over my phone screen and I re-read the message over and over again. This has come

really out of the blue. He must be sensing I'm taking too long to reply, however, so I type back.

Me: talk now or forever hold your peace.

Maverick: What are you? Some sort of priest?

I bite back a laugh.

Me: Just ask, Maverick.

Maverick: I want you to be totally honest with me on this. It might be awkward afterwards, but I have to

know how you feel. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

I stare at the words dumbfounded and read the rest of the texts he's sending.

Maverick: I've kept this to myself for a while and it's about time for me to confront you about it. I hope

this doesn't ruin the relationship we already have.

Me: Just get straight to the point.

My fingers shake slightly.

Maverick: I just need to know and can't see any way to get over this. It won't be fair if I don't get an

answer, so I want you to tell me truthfully. I just want your honest opinion.

Me: Ok?

Maverick: Do you know the muffin man?

I blink at my phone and look over at him, even if I can't fully see his face. Is this a joke? What was I

expecting?

Me: I would stab you with my carrot if Jim wasn't between us.

Maverick: It was just a simple question (:

Me: You did that on purpose, didn't you?

Maverick: Did what? (:

Me: Damn you.

I put my phone away and scoff slightly. He really does have a way of getting to me, but not in a bad

way. I'm vexed - not at him but at myself.

How could I ever think otherwise?

My phone screen lights up again and I pick up the phone with shaky hands, scared of what he might

text back, but my insides dissolve when I see the three simple words on my screen.

Maverick: Merry Christmas April.