Red Hot Christmas by Jill Sanders

he sat there for about half an hour, then quietly walked out the doors. He found himself walking around town since the weather was nice enough. He avoided the grocery store and instead headed down towards the docks.
     
    When he reached them, he leaned on the railing, looking out over the water. He had a small sailboat docked there. He hadn't taken it out in months and probably wouldn't for a long time. He just couldn't imagine going out on the water and enjoying himself while his gran suffered.
    “Hey.” He heard a voice from behind him, and when he looked, he saw Amber walking towards him, holding a small to-go box.
     
    “ Hey, yourself.” He leaned back on the railing. “Taking a break?”
     
    “Yeah.” She stopped right in front of him. “It's my lunch break. Care to join me?”
     
    “Um, sure.” He straightened.
     
    “There's plenty here.” She held up the container. “Let's go over there.” She pointed to a bench and he followed her and sat down. “You're not playing today?”
     
    “No. I decided to take a walk instead.”
     
    “Well, you couldn't have picked a better day for it.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I always love the occasional sunny day this time of year.”
     
    He looked around and realized she was right. “How's work going?”
     
    “Oh, it’s wonderful.” She smiled over at him. “I'm still waiting for something to change. I keep thinking there can't be a job this perfect, there has to be something wrong with it.”
     
    “Do you always look for the negative in things?” He chuckled as she opened the container of food and he saw a huge hamburger. He knew that the restaurant made some of the best, and this one was huge. She was right, there was plenty of it to go around. It sat on a large pile of spicy fries and there were two large pickles sitting off to the side.
     
    “Mark, the chef on duty, thinks I'm too thin.” She smiled. “He keeps giving me too much to eat. Do you know, the other day, he actually made me a whole chocolate pie to take home? I still have several slices tucked away in the fridge.”
     
    “Mmm.” He looked down at the container, “No chocolate in there?”
     
    She laughed. “No, just one of the largest burgers I've ever seen. I don't always look for the negative, no. I guess you could say I'm just cautious.”
     
    “I can see that.” He took the half of the burger she offered him and immediately took a bite. He always loved the burgers there, but this one was better than any he'd had in a long time.
     
    “I know. It's crazy, huh?” She handed him a napkin from her pocket and laughed at him.
     
    “What?” He took another bite.
     
    “How good it is. I mean, I've had burgers before, but this...” She held up her half and took a big bite. He watched her eyes close and listened to her moan as she chewed. Then she slowly licked her lips and all thought of food left his brain. He stared at her mouth and was mesmerized. Her checks were pink due to the slightly chilly wind coming off the Pacific. Her hair was tied back in a loose braid and tiny wisps of hair framed her lovely face. When she opened her eyes again, he noticed how blue they were today. Almost as clear as the sky itself.
     
    “What?” She took her napkin and frantically wiped her face. “Did I get ketchup on my face?”
     
    He smiled and leaned over to place a soft kiss on her mouth. “No, you look happy and beautiful.”
     
    She looked at him, a slight smile on her lips. “Thank you. You look tired.”
     
    His smile fell away. “Yeah.” He picked up his burger and took another bite. “My gran is stuck in a wheelchair now and on top of it all, she can't see anymore.”
     
    “Oh, Luke! I'm so sorry.” She reached out and took his free hand. “Is there anything I can do?”
     
    He shook his head and looked down at the rest of his burger half. He was no longer hungry.
     
    “Well.” He could tell she was struggling to come up with something else