Chapter 57

A father and his tween son entered the locker room, and the son lowered his eyebrows at Nicholas until his face lit up. “Hey, aren’t you Santa at the mall? Dad, look, that’s the Santa dude Jojo took a picture with.”

It was as if Nicholas’ whole demeanor changed for a moment. He grew a polite smile and gave him a thumb-up gesture. “Ho, ho, ho, that’s me.” He’d said it so nonchalantly.

The father returned the polite smile. “Let’s leave him alone, son, he wants his privacy. Go find a stall and I’ll meet you at the pool in a few.”

They walked away.

I took the opportunity to escape, but Nicholas grabbed my arm and gave me that look again. The father and son were long out of sight by now.

“Consider it at the very least. And don’t let me catch you staring at me like a horndog again, you hear me?”