Page 196 of How My Neighbour Stole Christmas
“What?” I say, pulling my sweater down and covering my ass.
Max lifts my sweater and then tugs on the strap of my thong, snapping it against my skin. “What the hell is this?”
“Uh…Storee dared me. While we were shopping the other day, she found it and dared me to wear it today.”
Max studies me for a second, shifts on his feet, then leans forward. “Is it comfortable?”
“Surprisingly more comfortable than I expected.”
“Nice.” He nods. “I’ve thought about trying a thong before but never found someone to wear it for. Looks like you found someone who can appreciate a no-panty-line in your strut. Let me ask you this, does it look like Santa’s pants, buckle and all?”
“You know, I’d rather not talk about this right now.”
“Talk about what?” Storee says as she approaches our station. The competition’s ready to begin.
Max leans in and whispers, “The thong you dared him to wear.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re actually wearing it?”
“Now is not the time, you guys. We have a good portion of the town watching us.” I look upon the crowd all decked out in their Christmas gear while soft holiday music filters through the gym.
“He’s right. We can discuss thongs after we take the win in this competition,” Max says.
“You really think you’re going to win this one?” Storee asks, looking so damn adorable that I wish I could just skip the contest and take her back to my place.
“We know we are. We had a secret weapon prepping us.”
“Oh?” she asks. “And who might that be?”
“My mom,” Max says with pride. “She’s a sewing queen, and we’re going to make the best stocking ever seen.”
“You realize it’s not just stockings, right?” Storee says.
“Well aware,” Max says. “Cole and I have been wrapping fake presents for years while working at the farm. We could do it in our sleep at this point.”
“Really?”
I nod. “Yeah, we’re pretty good at it.”
“And card making…well, let’s just say we’ve sold some at the farm before.”
“Wait, seriously?”
I shrug. “There was a time in our lives when we needed to make some side cash, and Christmas cards were the way to do that. We had a cart near the gift shop and made enough to buy a PlayStation one year.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks.
“Busy doing other things,” I say with a waggle of my eyebrows.
Max leans in. “He’s referring to the sex.”
Storee’s lips thin. “I know what he meant, Atlas.”
“Okay, just making sure,” he says with a wave of his hand.
“Storee, please get to your station,” Bob Krampus says as he takes center stage.
Storee’s station is right next to mine again, which is a blessing and a curse. I want to be able to sneak peeks at her, but I also don’t want to get too caught up in watching her. It’s a fine line, and I’m sure Max will be on the lookout for me getting distracted.
