“Thank you! Come again!” Kaeden said with his fakety-fake-fakest smile. God, he hated this gig. But it was a paying gig, and therefore he’d do it. Even if he wanted to strangle 90% of the brats that stood in his line.
The little kids were actually kind of adorable. Well, the ones that weren’t screaming, anyway. But Kaeden felt that they would have been screaming no matter who sat in this chair.
No, it was the teen girls (and sometimes boys) who sneered when their parents suggested pictures with Santa. Until they got a look at Kaeden. And then they lit up and pranced over to drape themselves all over him. Ugh.
And they weren’t the only ones. There were more than a few suburban housewives that had done pretty much the same thing. Plopping their babies onto his lap and then leaning on him, grabbing his biceps, kissing his cheek for the camera.
And if he tried to politely let them know that his body wasn’t up for public consumption, they all turned into brats. Yelling to him about customer service and wanting his manager. All while still feeling him up. His junk had been “accidentally” brushed by more girls and women in the last six hours than his entire life up until then.
And still Kaeden sat through it all with a false smile and dead eyes. Because he needed the money.
Speaking of money…
A flash of gold in the crowd caught Kaeden’s attention, and he turned to see the very person that made his heart soar. And plummet. All at the same time.
Blake.
With a date.
He was holding hands with some body builder type, looking up at him with adoration in his eyes.
And Kaeden’s stomach went from butterflies to granite stones faster than he could blink. He ripped his eyes away from the happy couple and turned to greet the next soccer mom and her little champion.
When the elf on duty told him it was break time a few minutes later, Kaeden was more than happy to jump up, walk away from Santa’s village, and pull the pillow out of his shirt. He needed air for a few minutes
Kaeden stomped to the nearest mall exit and pushed through the doors, enjoying the sharp slap of cold on his face. He quickly unbuttoned the velvet shirt and yanked the stupid beard down.
He knew he looked ridiculously stupid in the outfit without the pillow and beard, but he honestly didn’t care. This wasn’t an entrance that shoppers used, just mall employees. So he didn’t have to worry about any kids being scarred by seeing Santa without a shirt.
When he finally felt like he’d cooled off enough to be able to withstand another few hours of strangers sitting on his lap, Kaeden turned to go back into the mall.
He wasn’t expecting to immediately run into anyone in the side hallway. He apologized for disturbing the kissing couple and moved to step around them.
But then he realized who the smaller one was.
Blake.
Kaeden’s wolf growled before Kaeden even realized what was going on. He forced his feet to move. To leave them there. To let them be. To not rip Blake out of the guy’s arms and eat him alive.
“Did he just growl at me?” the dude asked.
“Yes,” Blake said with a sigh. But he turned in the guy’s arms and stared Kaeden down. “You can’t growl at him, jerk. I’m allowed to kiss whoever I want. And I want to kiss Lenny. So tell your wolf to stand down.”
“His wolf?” Lenny’s face was covered in confusion. It might have been adorable if he didn’t still have his arms around Blake.
“Lenny?” Kaeden scoffed. “Are you fucking serious right now? You’re dating a guy named Lenny?”
* * *
The insufferable prick! Blake was so sick of Kaeden and his constant interference. Blake hadn’t been able to have a single date without Kaeden ruining it.
Blake launched himself at Kaeden, claws coming out. Literally.
“You get no say, bastard!” Blake was probably yelling too loudly for the little side hallway, but he didn’t care. “I can date whoever I want. Stop being such an ass!”
“You’re right! You could date anyone!” Kaeden yelled right back in his face, while deftly dodging Blake’s claws. “So why would you settle for a muscle head?”
“He’s more than a muscle head. You idiot!”
“Yeah, right,” Kaeden scoffed. “And how many words more than two syllables have you used when conversing with him?”
Blake growled. Why was Kaeden being such a jerk?
Blake’s wolf whined within him; it hated when Kaeden yelled at them. But Blake ignored it. He wanted to slice Kaeden to ribbons. He wanted to shove him up against the wall and kiss him senseless. Bite his head off. Suck his… head off.
Damn the man!
In that Santa outfit hanging open. The couple days worth of stubble framed by a snow white fake beard. The sexy little smirk.
Blake swung a paw at Kaeden’s head, but it slammed into a hard chest instead. Why the fuck had Lenny stepped in front of Kaeden?
Lenny stood there, looking down at the fur covering Blake’s shifted hand. The two inch claws curling from the ends of his fingers. For a second. Two. Ten. And then Lenny slowly raised his face and looked into Blake’s eyes.
“You’re not human?” A flash of hurt came and went from Lenny’s eyes. When it left, it left nothing behind. Nothing but dead eyes. They didn’t even accuse Blake.
“No,” Blake dropped his hand and leaned his head into Lenny’s chest. “I’m a wolf shifter. Surprise! We’re real.”
But his head fell as Lenny jumped away from him. He looked back and forth between Blake and Kaeden for a few seconds before turning and running as fast as he could.
“Dammit, Kaed!”
Right then “Last Christmas” started playing on the mall speakers. How apropos.
“You hadn’t told him?” Kaeden gaped at Blake. “He didn’t know? Why would you date someone who didn’t know?”
Blake just shook his head and turned to go.
“Leave me alone, Kaeden.”
He made it all the way home and into his shower before he let the tears fall.