Chapter 8
There was always a big online game challenge for Christmas Eve and it was one of those rare nights when the club was actually closed, so Phillipe stayed up until the wee hours of the morning gaming with some of his online buddies from across the country. Patrick wasn’t online but there were enough guys around that he’d played with before to make the evening enjoyable. He devoured a pizza and a bottle of pop over the course of the evening, won more matches than he lost, and went to bed happy.
He woke up to the phone ringing and reached for it, answering it blindly. “Hello.”
“Merry Christmas,” said a cheerful female voice.
He shut his eyes and stifled a groan. “Merry Christmas, Mom.”
“You weren’t working last night, were you? I hope I didn’t wake you.”
She’d be able to go onl
