“No, you’re good.” Max bent his head to examine the ornaments, unwrapping glass balls from ancient tissue paper.
“Done!” Dad proclaimed. He flopped onto one of the love seats. “Tinsel is your job, kids.”
Meg had the long red and green metallic garlands ready to go, and Max helped her loop them around the tree. They had to redo one of them three times before they achieved the perfect even coverage.
“Wanna help us hang the ornaments?” Max asked Jeremy.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course!” Valerie exclaimed, passing him a box. “Get in there.”
Meg, Max, and Jeremy went to work while the others drank and ate and pointed out where they should hang things so there were no bare patches. Hanging a dangling silver ornament, Jeremy leaned into the tree and inhaled deeply.
“It smells amazing. Now I see why people get real trees.”
“Have you never had a real tree before?” Valerie asked, her eyebrows raised.
“Nope. My mom says it’s too messy and a fire hazard.”
Valerie said, “Well, yes, but it’s tradition. Also, we need more cider.”
Papy started rocking the way he did when he was going to heave himself up to standing, so Max quickly said, “I’ll get it!”
“I’ll help you,” Jeremy offered, following Max into the kitchen. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. “Oh!”
“Did your dad reply?” Inhaling the sweet, spicy deliciousness, Max stirred the pot of cider that’d been left on a low simmer.
“No, it’s… I didn’t realize—oh! Holy shit.” Jeremy slapped a hand over his mouth and glanced back toward the living room.
Laughing, Max asked, “What?”
Jeremy murmured, “When I unpacked, I looked at that dating app. I was just curious to see if there was anyone else around here using it. I didn’t want to hook up with someone!”
Max worked hard on keeping his smile in place. “It’s okay, dude. You’re allowed to want to hook up.” Which was absolutely true. There was zero reason Max should have the ladle in a death grip. “Usually have to go to Barrie, but once in a while there’ll be ‘straight’ guys in the sticks on the down-low who wanna get busy in their pickup.”
“Wow.” Jeremy seemed legitimately shocked, which was adorable. “I didn’t even realize anyone could see my profile.”
“Probably have to opt-out in the settings.” It was all Max could do not to snatch the phone away and delete the app, which would definitely be a dick move for a fairy godfather. He shouldn’t discourage Jeremy if this was what he wanted. He was free to explore and have fun. “So who is it?” He couldn’t resist adding, “Can’t imagine there’s anyone really worth seeing around here.”
Jeremy held up his phone. “Um, ‘Upbeat-underscore-drummer-underscore_guy.’ He lives near Barrie.”
“Which username did you go with?”
“Oh, just a variation on my Insta. Had to add an extra underscore or something.”
“Cool, cool, cool. So, what do you think of him?” Max stirred the cider roughly, the ladle clattering on the sides of the pot and hot liquid splashing the stove.
“Looks…nice? He’s showing his face. Kinda hipster, I guess? Shaggy hair and a beard. Around our age. Not sure how he can really tell, but he says I look cute.”
He’s right. “Clearly has good taste.” Max reminded himself this had been the initial idea when he’d taken Jeremy under his wing. Here was the fairy godfathering he’d intended. The responsible, unselfish thing to do was encourage Jeremy, not hold him back.
The words actually hurt his dry throat as he said, “Ask him if he wants to meet for coffee,” before he could change his mind. Because it would be selfish. Fairy godparents weren’t supposed to cock block.
“Uh… Really?” Jeremy blinked at him, his forehead furrowed. “You want me to go out with him?”
“Well, you’re totally free to.” Which wasn’t exactly answering the question. “I have to go into Barrie tomorrow for Christmas shopping. I can drop you off and pick you up or whatever.” He shifted from foot to foot as he stirred, Jeremy’s quiet gaze prickling his skin.
“Is that… You want me to?”
Max focused on a cheery tone. “Up to you, obviously.”
Jeremy was quiet for a few beats. “I guess I should?”
“Sure, why not?” Max’s brain had a bunch of loud suggestions as to why not, and he brutally smothered them. “There’s a cool games cafe in Barrie. Tell him to meet you there around eleven.”
And if he can’t make it, oh well!
“Okay.” Jeremy didn’t sound too thrilled but tapped his phone and waited.
“And don’t feel bad if he says no. He might be busy, or maybe just wants a hookup and not a date, or—”
“He just said yes.” Jeremy gaped at the screen. “I guess I’m doing this.”
“If you want to.” Say you don’t want to.
“Well, I can’t cancel now. I’m the one who asked him out.”
“Right.” Because Max had suggested it—because he was a complete fucking idiot.