Sock it to Me, Santa! (6 page)

“I have to win him back. Will you help me with his gift?”

“Of course I will.”

We cut and stuffed and sewed. When my mom went to find a piece of red felt for the monkey’s heart, I went to my room and opened my bottom dresser drawer. There was my hoobajoob, right where I’d left him. I brought him downstairs and presented him to my mom.
 

“He needs his heart, too,” I said, holding the small cutout heart I’d denied him for too long. I performed open-heart surgery on my hoobajoob while my mom helped to put the finishing touches on Jamie’s monkey.

“They make a handsome pair,” she said.

I laughed. Jamie’s monkey was bright blue with little rainbows and happy-faced clouds all over it. Both his mouth and his rump were bright yellow, and he had black button eyes. Mine still sort of looked like demon spawn, but at least he had a heart now.

“Yeah, they do,” I said. I held up the rainbow monkey. “I’m counting on you, buddy.”

* * * * *

I walked into advisory the next morning and spotted Mike in his usual seat. He looked at me funny as I walked past him and sat on the other side of the room.

It wasn’t until Mrs. Keats started handing out gifts that I began feeling the effects of my nerves. My palms were sweaty and my chest tightened. When she called my name, I went through the motions of taking my gift and returning to my seat. It was a welcome distraction from what I knew I was about to do. There was a note attached to the gift I received.

Ryan,

They say no two snowflakes are alike. I thought it a fitting symbol for a person as special and unique as you are.

Santa J.

I opened the wrapping and pulled out a black beanie with a band of white snowflakes around the base. Jamie. This is what he’d been working on during knitting practice.
 

I began to tear up at the realization that he’d given this to me even after what I’d said to him, how I’d treated him. I glanced over to him, hoping to see forgiveness in his eyes, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“Well, that’s all the gifts,” said Mrs. Keats.
 

“Jamie didn’t get his,” said Kimberly.

I stood up and wiped my palms on the legs of my jeans. “I have Jamie’s gift,” I said. I pulled the package out of my bag and handed it to Jamie. I stood there, waiting for him to open it. The room was silent, all eyes on me and Jamie.

As soon as he opened the package, he laughed. “My socks!” he said and looked at me in delight. He picked up the card the monkey was holding and read three small marks:

I
♥
U

Jamie covered his mouth with his hand and began to cry. I reached for his other hand, which he quickly accepted and I pulled him up into a hug. I didn’t know what the other kids in the room were thinking or saying or doing. And I didn’t care. I had Jamie in my arms, and that was all that mattered.

About the Author

Madison Parker adores romance in all shapes, forms, and sizes (from beefy bottoms to tiny tops), but she loves her sweet, sexy boys best. She credits fanfiction for introducing her to the world of hot, humorous, and heartwarming manlove.
 

Although Madison is extremely left-brained (logical, rational, orderly), her artistic, creative side never ceases to flail around in a desperate attempt to be noticed. She spends her days reading, writing, solving math problems, and playing with her feisty German Pinscher. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, her pup, and her troop of sock monkeys.

Madison Parker’s debut novel,
Play Me, I’m Yours,
takes the reader on an emotional journey in search of love and self-acceptance.

Visit Madison’s website at
www.madisonparklove.com
. You can email her at
[email protected]
or look for her on Twitter: @madisonparklove.