SEXY DIRTY SANTA (WELCOME TO THE NAUGHTY LIST)

CHAPTER SEVEN

So much had happened during this one night of the year, that I completely forgot to check my messages. As the boys were watching tv, and Duke was in the middle of working out, I headed upstairs and found my phone sitting on top of my clothes that had been washed and dried by someone in the family. With a battery life of about forty-seven percent, a series of notifications had popped up, regarding six unread voicemails and two text messages, both from my mom and my best friend aka the bride.

Shit. I ran back downstairs and headed out into the waiting area so I could have some privacy while I thought about how I was going to explain my situation. I sat down in a chair with my back to the window with my phone in hand as I punched in my passcode and answered the text messages first.

Erin: Where are you, Aaron? You should've been at the hotel hours ago. I'm worried.

Aaron: Hey. Sorry, tonight's just been crazy. But I ran into some car trouble earlier tonight.

I pressed send and waited for a response which took about four minutes.

Erin: Car trouble? Why didn't you call us sooner?! Everyone's here wondering the hell you are. Are you okay?

Aaron: Yes. I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Listen, I'm still coming in for your wedding that hasn't changed. When I'm done apologizing to everyone, I'm gonna book a flight out to Tampa first thing in the morning. I'm sorry, Erin.

A bubble appeared and then went silent before popping back up again. Then she said.

Erin: Alright. But hurry. I can't have my Man of Honor show up late at my own wedding.

Aaron: *smirk emoji* You know I gotta arrive in style. But I'll be there, promise.

We texted each other a few more times until we finally said goodnight. Then came the dreaded voicemails from my mother. And with every voicemail she sent, her voice got more and more impatient, demanding why I wasn't picking up my phone. I sucked in a breath, my brain coming up with different excuses on how to tell her that I lost track of time and that I ended up having car trouble after leaving the airport. And if my best friend could believe my little white lie, why couldn't my own mother?

Oh, that's right. She could always tell when I was lying. This was going to be difficult.

And so I waited. Waited for that one perfect moment in my heartbeat before making the call. I pulled up my most recent call list and tapped my mother's number as the line went through, only it didn't take her long to answer. Her voice sounded alarmed, worried, just like clockwork and that made me wince. I didn't like it when she acted this way, because it made me feel like a child again.

"Mom. Calm down, please. I'm okay"

"Aaron, where have you been? I've been worried sick. And why haven't you been answering your phone?"

Ah, the joys of being an only child. Certainly if I had siblings, mom wouldn't be so overprotective of me. Guess I got the short end of the stick.

"I'm sorry, alright? I ran into some car trouble after leaving the airport. As of this moment, I'm currently in Paradise Falls which is thirty minutes outside of Savannah, Georgia. Now I've already spoken to Erin, and told her that I'm going to be booking a flight to Tampa first thing in the morning."

"In the morning? Aaron, her wedding is set for noon tomorrow. What makes you think you'll be able to get here in time?"

I threw my hand into the air, desperately trying to reason with her, but getting nowhere fast. I continued.

"I don't know, Mom. Blind luck, I suppose. Look, we'll talk about this some more tomorrow, okay? I'm tired and I really need to get some sleep."

She sighed loudly. "Fine. Whatever. But just don't be late."