Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

KRIS

“I need you guys to not be completely over the top today.” Looking at my entire assembled family, I realized I was saying too little far too late. They were all decked out in the Christmas finery, every single person, save for myself, enrobed in some sort of holiday sweater, dress, shirt, or in the case of my nieces, patterned leggings. Half of said apparel included light-up features that were already giving me a headache as they blinked and flashed completely out of sync. And that was before accounting for the various tinsel-laden headgear, from Santa hats and elf ears to reindeer antlers and holiday bulb headbands. It was all too much for half past six in the morning. I definitely needed more coffee. “You know what, never mind.”

“Honey, it’s going to be fine.” My mom patted me on the shoulder, her smile as brilliant as the white twinkle lights glowing on the embroidered Christmas tree on her sweater. She hadn’t stopped smiling since I told her I’d caved and invited Levi for Thanksgiving after all. “What time are you going to pick him up?”

I hadn’t wanted to subject Levi to the full day of torture, I mean holiday fun, so instead of having him start with us at the literal ass crack of dawn, I said I’d pick him up around lunch. Since I was usually the one sent into town to grab our lunch and dinner orders and any extra supplies we needed, it made sense, and if Levi got totally overwhelmed, I could drop him off when I went to pick up dinner. “I’ll bring him back when I go to get lunch.”

My father clapped his hands. “Well then, Kringles, let’s get cracking!”

Our roles had already been assigned, and we’d been color coded into teams. For now, I was on team green, which was responsible for getting everything out of the attic and storage sheds and getting it to the other teams for assembly.

We’d been doing this for long enough, and we’d added enough extra hands in the form of friends and significant others that everything moved like a well-oiled machine, and when it was time for me to leave to pick up Levi, the barn looked like Christmas had thrown up everywhere, in a sort of nostalgic homey way. It was still utter chaos at this point, but anyone who walked in would be able to see the vision. We still had hours of work ahead of us, but it was already starting to come together. Even if I didn’t really enjoy the holidays the way the rest of my family did, I could admit it was an impressive transformation, and there was no denying that the thousands of people that would visit between now and Christmas Eve would truly enjoy themselves and their experience.

“I’m going to grab Levi and lunch. Anyone need anything else while I’m in town?”

A chorus of okays and nos sounded from around the barn, and after getting the lunch order confirmation number from my mom, I headed out to my truck. The morning had been busy enough that I hadn’t had time to think of Levi.

Okay, that was a lie. I hadn’t been able to think of much else since I’d met him. And after we kissed last week, it didn’t take much for me to remember the way his mouth pressed against mine had made my lips tingle and my dick twitch. In fact, I’d thought of little else other than what it would be like to kiss Levi again. I’d never felt anything like it. If I believed in holiday magic, I might have thought that’s what our kiss had been full of, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it might just be Levi that was magic.

He was so goddamn beautiful, and confident, and funny, and more than that, he was kind. He had volunteered to deal with my family even though he didn’t celebrate Christmas and even though I didn’t really love all the hullabaloo that was getting ready for the holidays. He had recognized that while the holidays themselves weren’t important to me, my family was, and for the first time in a long, long time, I was actually looking forward to showing off my family’s operation.

We’d both been busy since our impromptu date, so we hadn’t seen each other again, but we’d exchanged phone numbers, and we’d been texting when we both had time. Every time my phone pinged and I saw it was a text from Levi, my heart skipped a beat. We’d known each other for not even a full week, but I was brave enough to admit I already had one hell of a crush.

The drive into town was just long enough to have my heart rate kicking up with anticipation and nerves, and by the time I parked my truck at the curb in front of Levi’s record store, my palms were sweaty.

Levi must have been watching for me because he appeared on the sidewalk before I could do more than wipe my hands on my jeans and reach for the door handle. I got out and strolled around the front of my truck to where Levi stood. As always, he took my breath away. His eyes were bright with excitement, and his cheeks were already turning pink from the cold. His jacket definitely wasn’t heavy enough to completely ward off the chill, and I was grateful the exterior decorating was already done because he would have frozen. As I took him in from head to toe, he smiled and unzipped his jacket to reveal another squid T-shirt. This one had a cartoon squid wearing a Santa hat with different Christmas baubles hanging from each tentacle and the words Merry Squidmas written underneath.

“Is this okay? I wanted to be festive.”

“It’s perfect. My family is going to love it, but you didn’t have to do anything special.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to.”

Then, because I couldn’t help it, I wrapped my fingers in the lapels of his jacket and pulled him closer to peck a hello kiss on his lips. Even that tiny contact made my pulse speed up, and my lips tingle, and I pulled back, pressing them together. There was heat in Levi’s eyes, and I knew he felt the chemistry between us too. I’d never been this invested this early on, and I wasn’t one hundred percent sure how to handle it, so I was operating mostly on instinct. All I knew was that I wanted to spend more time with Levi. A lot more time. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to back out.”

Levi laughed, and we were close enough that I felt it against my cheek. “I want to meet your family, and I’m dying to know more about the whole Santa’s workshop experience. I asked around, and everyone said the town gets tons of visitors during this time of year.”

“That is definitely true, but some people don’t like that much.”

“Really? From what I heard, the local economy really gets a boost. What’s not to like about that?”

“I dunno. Ask the mayor.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed, his displeasure evident. “I’m not really sure his opinion matters. Everyone I talked to likes your family and the extra business their operation brings to town, and as a new business owner, I’m not going to turn away an influx of potential customers.”

“That’s true.” My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I reluctantly pulled away from Levi so I could grab it. “Looks like lunch is ready. Are you all set? Last chance to back out.”

He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not backing out. I’m looking forward to spending the day with you.”

I tugged open the truck door and held it as he climbed into the cab. “I’ll remind you that you said that when you’re covered in glitter.”

“It’s going to be fine. Now get in the truck. I don’t want your family to blame me if lunch is late.” He pulled the door out of my grasp, and it slammed shut. For a second, I just stared at him, liking the way Levi looked in my truck. He gestured for me to hurry up, and I rounded the hood and slid into the driver’s seat.

It took all of two minutes to get down the street to the grocery store, and it was easy to find a parking spot in the half-empty lot.

As we walked through the store, Levi greeted several people by name and smiled and waved at a handful of others who smiled and waved back. A few did a double take when they saw Levi and me making our way to the deli counter together, and I wondered what they were thinking.

“You’ve certainly made a lot of friends.”

Levi beamed. “This is a great town. For the most part, everyone has been really friendly.”

I thought about that for a moment. Maybe I took the town for granted after living here my whole life, but seeing it through Levi’s eyes made me stop and reconsider. When I was younger, all I’d wanted to do was leave, but after college, I’d come right back. There was something about Lifeboat that called me home, and now, there was nowhere else I’d rather be, even if I did forget that sometimes. The town and the people who lived there were pretty great.

“It really is, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “I have this feeling it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.” He reached for my hand, and I let him take it, twining our fingers together as we made our way to the deli.

“Hey, Sue.” I shouldn’t have been surprised that Levi greeted the deli manager by name, and she looked up and smiled.

“Hey, Levi. Hi, Kris. Give me one second and I’ll grab your order.”

“No problem.”

She whipped off the food prep gloves she’d been wearing while assembling a party tray and tossed them into the trash as she pushed through the swinging door that led to the back. She was back a minute later carrying a giant box loaded with sandwiches that she set on the counter. “Give me another sec and I’ll grab the rest.”

“The rest?” Levi eyed the box. “That’s not enough?”

“This is just the sandwiches. My mom usually orders a fruit tray, a veggie tray, and a bunch of cookies and chips. The snacks have to last us until dinner.”

“I’m going to be totally out of my depth aren’t I?” He was smiling, crinkles at the corners of his eyes indicating he smiled a lot, and I knew he was joking.

“Nah. It’s the guys at the KELPS meeting you really have to worry about. My mom is a gold medal meddler, but that group of old men holds the world record for getting all up in someone else’s business. Most often it’s mine.”

Levi laughed, the sound rich and melodic as it bounced off all the hard surfaces around us. The sound made my heart flip over in my chest and a suspicious amount of blood rush south. For someone I just met, it was surprisingly easy to spend time with Levi. It was comfortable like we’d known each other for a long time instead of a week. And even though I wanted to kiss him and run my fingers through his slightly shaggy sandy-brown hair, I wanted to spend time with him just as much.

Which was weird for me.

Then again, I’d only lived outside Lifeboat for the five years I was in college and getting my master’s degree. I knew every eligible bachelor in town who identified as gay, bi, or pan, and I’d fooled around with almost all of them at some point. Now, I usually headed toward Bar Harbor if I was looking for a hook-up, relying on apps to find tourists or locals who were looking for a night of fun. When I’d walked into Levi’s record shop, the last thing I’d been expecting to find was a new connection in my hometown. But there he was.

My crush’s eyes went wide as Sue backed through the swinging door carrying three extra-large trays with two large brown paper shopping bags on her wrists. She set everything down on an empty prep table and set about double-checking the order sheet.

“I see why Kori loves your family if they eat like this.”

I winked. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. They’ll descend on this like a ravenous horde. If you want a sandwich or a cookie, you’d better grab it before they see it.” To prove my point, I picked a paper-wrapped sandwich from the box and shoved it into my coat pocket. “Don’t be shy. They’re all the same. Turkey on multigrain with cranberry orange chutney.”

Levi raised a brow.

“Sounds weird, I know, but I promise it’s good.”

“I’m willing to take your word for it.” He plucked his own sandwich from the box and shoved it into his coat pocket.

“All right, boys. You’re all set. Tell Mary Kate I said hi and thanks. I’ve already made our reservations for the workshop for mid-December.”

“Will do. Thanks, Sue.” I took the shopping bags Sue offered and slipped them onto my arm, then slid the box of sandwiches off the counter, leaving Levi to carry the fruit, veggie, and cookie trays. “We could probably use another set of hands.”

Levi’s head whipped my way like I’d said something off the wall, but his expression changed a split second later, the smile returning to his face. He held up his hands. “You’ve got ’em.”

He effortlessly balanced the trays, and we made our way back to my truck.

I didn’t mention his odd expression, but something niggled at the back of my mind, like a truth I might have known once but had forgotten, and I had to work hard to push the nagging thought away.