by Jamie Knight
Too bad I’d had to wait so many years to find this out. Damn Cindy for being such a bitch back in high school and ruining my chance with him then. But at least I still had this second chance now, and just in time for Christmas, no less.
Once we were done having our hot sex session, I had dozed off, with Neil’s arm wrapped around me. His dick was so perfect and big, and when it was inside me, it felt like it was made for me. Of course, it hurt some at first, but once he was completely inside me, I never wanted him to stop.
I hadn’t planned to take a nap but after the rum and the day’s festivities, I was worn out. I woke up with a start and went to the bathroom to shower. Neil was sleeping so peacefully that I didn’t want to wake him up.
I thought of the line from the famous Christmas poem, “visions of sugar plums dancing in his head,” and giggled to myself, not wanting to disturb any of his hopefully festive dreams.
When I came out of the shower, I heard my cell phone ringing, and someone was downstairs ringing the doorbell and pounding on the door. I realized it was dark out now.
I looked over at the bed to see Mark waking up. Then I looked out the window to see Donna’s car in the driveway.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I tied up my robe, telling Mark to stay in the room as I flew down the stairs. Donna was at the door, and pushed past me, asking why it took me so long to come down.
“I’ve been out there freezing with your son.”
“Donna, Mark is back in the car. I can see him. Please settle down. I fell asleep. And you’re here earlier than we had discussed.”
“Fell asleep?”
“Yes, I had a long night and an early morning. I had some eggnog and I got sleepy.”
Of course, Neil chose right then to come down, groggy, and still buttoning his jeans.
“You damn slut,” Donna said, meaner than I had ever heard her tone of voice sound. “I knew it. Mark wouldn’t stop talking about Mommy’s new football playing boyfriend, so I did some Googling and found out what a man whore he is. So I came back early to check up on you and sure enough, I see that my suspicion was right! You’re bringing random men home in front of your young son. That is not a good influence and his father would not like it one bit. You are disgracing his memory.”
I had to restrain myself from telling her that her son was no angel himself. I had found some questionable letters and pictures from various random women among his stuff after he’d passed away, and it had cemented my feeling that it was never just me and him; there was always someone else in our relationship, only I had never known about them, other than having a gut feeling.
I knew this was no time to trash her son’s memory, though. It was Christmas day and even though shew as being cruel to me, I didn’t want to sink to her level. I was just hurt that she was acting this way towards me.
“First of all, Mark wasn’t here, and second, Neil isn’t a random man. I have known him since high school. I haven’t even gone on a date with anyone since James until just now – today – so, how dare you!” I yelled.
Then I looked out to Donna’s car, which was still running in the driveway, where Mark was sitting.
“Get in here, kiddo.”
I felt bad that his Christmas was being ruined with this drama. I just wanted Donna to go away and leave us alone.
Mark exited the car, looking confused and upset, but walked past me and into the house with a couple of bags filled with what I imagined were presents he had gotten.
“Don’t mention my James,” Donna spat at me.
“Donna. Get the fuck out of my driveway before I really lose it. This is my house. It is Christmas. And you don’t dictate how I live my life.”
“Fine, but you’re going to be sorry you went behind my back like this!” she shouted back at me.
That really stung. She seemed to think she got a say in how I lived the rest of my life, just because I had been married to her son.
I appreciated her help with Mark but not if it came at the cost of never being allowed to have my own personal life again.
I would have to rethink this entire arrangement.
But first, I wanted to try to salvage what was left of Christmas.
After Donna left, I sat next to Neil on the couch and told him he should probably go. He looked as confused as Mark did. He picked up his cell phone and requested an Uber.
“Okay, no problem. It says fifteen minutes,” he told me, looking at his phone. “Sorry, I guess they’re slower than usual due to the holiday.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
I looked around to make sure that Mark had gone to his room. I could hear him playing a video game he probably had just gotten for Christmas, so I was relieved. He didn’t seem too bothered by everything going on around him and was just a kid wanting to enjoy his Christmas gifts.
“Look. I’m so sorry. I just woke up after an amazing afternoon, to doorbells and pounding on the door, and a crazy lady who happens to my son’s grandma calling me names in front of my son.”
“But you had a good time?” Neil laughed. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make light of it. But I think she’s just territorial because of what happened. She’ll eventually have to realize that you need to move on and find happiness. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Can I ask why you came down when I asked you to stay in the bedroom?” I asked him, annoyed.
I knew he was trying to help make the situation better, but I felt he didn’t really understand. It was completely inappropriate for Donna to have called me names and talked to me like that, no matter how she was feeling. And it never would have happened if Neil had just listened to me!
I hated this feeling of wanting to punch him but also wanting to fuck him again. His mere presence confused me and drove me crazy and I just wanted his Uber to get here so I could try to forget about him for now and make sure Mark had a happy Christmas evening.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, his face softening as a look of genuine concern spread across it. “I pictured Mark coming upstairs once he got here and seeing me in your room, which seemed worse than anyone seeing me fully dressed, even if I were coming from upstairs. And I wasn’t thinking straight, after such great… um, you know.”
He motioned with his eyebrows towards upstairs, not wanting to say the word sex out loud thanks to Mark’s presence in the house.
“Well, as I think you can see, having men over is not a usual thing around here,” I told him, softening a bit myself.
I knew he hadn’t meant to do anything wrong. It was a crazy situation all around. We talked a little more until Neil’s Uber arrived. After Neil left, I realized I never gave him anything for Christmas, even though he had given Mark and me gifts.
Except for my first time having sex in over two years, I thought to myself with a smile. I was sure that Neil thought it had sufficed as a Christmas gift.
I went to Mark’s room and asked him to join me in the living room.
“You okay, buddy?” I asked him.
“Yeah, just glad to be home.”
“How was Grandma’s?”
“Pretty boring. But I got lots of gifts.”
“That’s good. I’m sorry you had to see us fight.”
“That’s okay.” The look in his eyes was wise beyond his age. “I understand. But Mom, it’s okay with me that Neil’s your new boyfriend, even if Grandma doesn’t like it.”
I went over to him and hugged him. He was such a sweet boy and I was lucky that he was mine.
“Well, he’s not my boyfriend… yet,” I told him. “But we’ll see what happens, okay?”
“Okay!” he said happily, then shrugged, forgetting about the whole thing. “What will we do for the rest of Christmas?”
“I have an idea. A movie date!” I told him.
“Sounds good, Mom.”
I put Home Alone in the DVD player. We sat in front of the television, laughing at a boy M
ark’s age foiling adult burglars. We ate cookies, and Mark had a couple of glasses of eggnog, without the rum.
After the movie was over, Mark and I talked more in detail about his Christmas at Donna’s and all his new presents. I told Mark I was glad he liked Neil. He opened up a bit more now that the initial shock of coming home and hearing his grandmother go berserk had worn off some.
“Like him? I more than like him! He’s great, Mom. I can’t believe he’s from here and you went to school with him. I bet he hangs out with other Leviathan players, huh?”
“Have you been talking to Mrs. Bond?” I asked him with a laugh.
It was like he was channeling Angela.
“No. I just love football!”
“Good,” I told him, as I gave him a kiss. “Because I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
I put on Christmas Story next. Mark had never seen it and got a kick out of Ralph and Randy. The dad even reminded me of James. Always cranky and irritable, and hungry. James always liked my cooking, and sex, of course, but not much else.
“Did kids really dress like that back then?” Mark asked, as Randy was shown on screen, bundled up in a snow suit to walk to school.
I chuckled. Mark might as well have been watching a period piece.
“Yes, I think this was set in the 1940’s. That was before my time too, though, you know. So I’m no expert but I think the filmmakers probably did their research and are portraying things accurately.”
“And kids walked to school?”
“Apparently. I rode the bus to school, but back in the day most families had one car and the dad took it to get to work.”
Mark seemed to be thinking about this answer. He nodded and shrugged. But then he fell asleep before the second movie was over. I carried him to his bed and tucked him in, kissing his cheek.
One day soon, he’ll be too big for any of this, I thought, with some sadness in my heart.
But I was glad he had had a good Christmas. And even though mine was full of ups and downs, overall, it was a great one. A hot one!
I went to the kitchen to clean up and used my hands-free headphones to call Angela. After our Christmas pleasantries, and discussion about what presents the boys got, I changed the topic.
“So, you’ll never guess what happened to me today.”
“Spill it, girl!” she said. “Why have you been holding out on me while we discuss all this boring Christmas crap like cookies and gifts and what time our kids went to bed? Snore! Give me the goods so I can live vicariously through you.”
I laughed and said it wasn’t all good although it was definitely dramatic. I told her about the amazing sex with Neil and the Donna drama. Angela was hyper focused on the “amazing sex with Neil” part, of course. She was excited and beside herself that it had happened.
“Oh my God. Finally you put yourself out there. And with your high school crush at that. What a looker he is, too. How was it? No, don’t tell me. Wait, no, you have to.”
After I filled her in on some of the PG-rated details, Angela took all the credit for us getting together and demanded she be the maid of honor if we got married.
“Seriously, settle down, Ang. It’s not even like that. We haven’t even gone on an actual date. You know, in public.”
And Angela was furious as I told her about Donna.
“What is it with freaking mothers-in-law? She did not call you a slut.”
“Oh yeah she did.”
Angela told me she was going to have a few words with Donna the next time she showed up to one of the boys’ football games.
“I don’t care what you say her reasons might have been,” she exploded. “That is such bullshit. And not to mention that it’s very untrue. No wonder James could be such a jerk to you—he probably learned it from his mother. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“Ang,” I said, trying to walk that difficult line between still being mad at my husband for being a shitty one, yet also wanting to respect his memory since he died way too young and in service to our country.
“Sorry. I’ll shut up about him. But not about her! That was completely uncalled for and rude! I love you and that’s why I’m not going to let this stand. I will not let her even think that crap about you, when she could turn around and put that filth in Mark’s head. He is young and impressionable and should not be subjected to having to hear his mom talked about that way. Plus, you’re a great mom. Everyone knows it and if Donna thinks otherwise then that just shows how very cockoo she is.”
“Thanks, Ang. She is cockoo, I’ll give you that. And I appreciate your support. We’ll see what happens. I’m hoping it was a one-time deal.”
But I somehow knew it wasn’t. Donna’s reaction seemed to satisfy a belief I already had that Donna thought very little of me, and nothing I could ever do would change that. She simply had to deal with me to get access to Mark, but otherwise she wished I would just disappear.
My heart was a bit heavy as I said, “Merry Christmas, bestie,” to Angela and we hung up, with thoughts of Donna’s nastiness still fresh on my mind.
But I soon thought about Neil’s hands all over my body instead.
His tongue in my mouth.
His big cock inside me, filling me up to the brim.
And his sweet smile and the way talking to him felt natural and good.
Then I felt happy again.
It had been a great Christmas with him, and I looked forward to what the future held for us.
If only Donna would get out of the way and let it unfold, rather than being like the new Cindy, trying to stop it before we could even really get it started.
Chapter 8
Neil
I was back at practice, the day after Christmas. I arrived at the training facility early. I’d been early every morning since the Monday after the community center weeks ago. After practice, I was told once again by Coach Wells to go to Head Coach Kramer’s office.
My heart skipped a beat, wondering if I was somehow in trouble even though I had been so good. But it seemed like I only ever got in trouble for things in Coach’s office, never praised, so I didn’t have high hopes about this meeting.
“So, I heard you’ve enjoyed your holiday,” he said, as soon as I walked in.
“Coach?”
“Our PR department has gotten calls from several sources about some young boy’s grandma, saying that you were sleeping with her daughter-in-law. Do we really have to go down this road again?”
“Coach.”
Fuck.
“The woman is Becca Bell, and I think I have loved her since high school. She is raising her son as a single mom, and we reconnected at the Christmas for Heroes event. Her son’s father was in the service and was killed in action a couple of years ago. This is different than before, I promise. I actually…”
Love her, I thought, but felt too stupid to say it.
“…like her. I’m in it for real, not just as some random hook-up. And she’s single. Don’t worry. The grandma came back with her son early last night and started screaming at us and calling Becca horrible names. She’s just upset, maybe understandably so but acting out in the wrong ways, that Becca is moving on from her son. You know I’ve been different these last weeks. This is all because of her.”
Coach looked hopeful.
“This is good. We can spin this.”
Why can’t I just play ball and have happiness without drama?
I need to see Becca and make sure she is okay.
“It would be better if it didn’t have the stain of you kind of stealing a war widow from an upset mom of a fallen soldier, but we could also show how much time has passed and how you’re helping her find love again…”
There was something about the way he said it that was distasteful to me. I wasn’t doing this for publicity. I was actually in love, for the first time ever, and I wanted to enjoy it, not spin it for the sake of the med
ia.
“Coach. Can’t I have my private life be my own?”
“Theoretically, yes, but you’ve already opened that Pandora’s box for the world to see, when you went around sticking your dick into anything that walked.”
“That’s not true…” I started to protest.
I did have standards. But it wasn’t worth it, so I shut up. The past was the past and I wanted to concentrate on my future. With Becca and Mark.
“If you actually care about this woman, wouldn’t you like this to play out in a positive light to restore your integrity in the eyes of the media?” Coach asked me.
“I guess.”
“Right now, for whatever reason, you have become the face of the team that everyone can’t seem to get enough of. I think it would help everyone involved if we change your image for the better. And maybe the press can actually talk about football for a change. Even the guys in the box were talking about your nightly adventures on Sundays when your name comes up, rather than your stats. It’s not normal, and it’s not right, but maybe it’s time we got ahead of it. Our PR wants to run with this and get control of the story.”
“I get what you’re saying, but this is my life.”
“Yeah. And as long as you mean what you say and you’re truly a changed man, there is really no downside for you or the girl.”
“Fine, Coach. Do what you need to do if the media comes calling. Tell them what you want.”
I just want to get back to Becca.
The training facility was west of the Hudson, just like Caldwell. I was maybe 20 minutes away. I had driven myself into practice today, so I decided to head to Becca’s after leaving Coach Kramer’s office.
Post-holiday traffic was super light, with most people still probably in a sugar coma or staying home with their families and enjoying their gifts, so I made record time to Caldwell. I pulled my Jeep into Becca’s driveway and headed to the door. She opened it before I even knocked, not recognizing my car.
“I thought you were another reporter. They’ve been showing up, or calling, all day. What have you done?” She looked so distraught that I just wanted to take her into my arms and hug her tight, but she was glaring at me and I knew she wouldn’t let me do that. “Is my life a game to you? I had to send Mark to Angela’s to hide him from all this craziness.”