“Shawn, It’s going to sound farfetched and you might not believe me now. That’s fine, I hope to have plenty of time with Sara to prove myself. She is all I want. I have no sneaky motives other than trying to get everyone in her family to like me so that maybe she’ll look past my… youth.” He indicated his young face. “and want to be with this…” Adam put his hand over his heart.
Shawn tilted his head, digesting what Adam had said. His eyes softened.
“Hmmm OK. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Sara is having the time of her life with you. I don’t want to see that end any time soon.”
Shawn took a moment.
“Don’t disappointment me.” He moved past Adam and poured the first drink. He handed it to him and suggestively said, “Now let’s see you stir.”
Sara watched Shawn and Adam leave the room. She could imagine her mom’s expression and didn’t want to turn her head to confront it. She let out a loud breath and slowly turned her to meet the expectant gaze of her mother.
“So…” Pam began but didn’t continue.
“Yup.” Sara responded.
“I’ve never been more proud of you.” Pam nodded earnestly.
Hazel slapped her knee and fell out.
“Thanks, Mom.” Sara rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I mean, Damn! That is a specimen. I’m going to have to look into this Uber thing.” Pam looked to Hazel. “Why was I the last to know? Honestly, that part stings a bit,” Pam said dramatically and put her hand over her heart.
“I’m sorry, Granny,” Hazel said, contrite. She looked toward Sara with blame in her eyes.
“How much do we know about this fine ass looking man in the kitchen alone with my husband?” Ben pointedly interjected. “I mean I don’t want to sound insecure, but we all sure he’s just into mature older women right?”
“I don’t know. He seemed pretty straight to me.” Sara smirked.
“He better keep his stir stick to himself…” Ben muttered. He glanced toward the doorway they left through.
Sara just ignored him and tried to console her mom for being left out.
“As you can see there’s a bit of a discrepancy in age… I didn’t expect to ever be introducing him to anyone. I really thought it was a one-night thing. I mean really, what is happening here? I have no idea.” Sara put up both her hands in a gesture of her complete lack of clues.
“Did you see his biceps? Those shoulders? I’m going in there… I’ll stir my own man’s drink, thank you very much.”
Ben stood up with a flourish and walked to the kitchen. Everyone left in the room shook their heads with good-natured eye rolls.
“How was the night?” Pam inquired with wide eyes and peaked eyebrows.
“It was spectacular,” Sara sighed.
Hazel and Pam exchanged looks.
“We laughed all night too. I know it’s weird that he’s so young and we can get along so well. He seems to be quite obsessed with 80’s and 90’s culture. So much so, that he gets all my jokes. I know why I’m enjoying the hell out of this affair. He’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen in real life. I’m not sure what he’s thinking dating me, though.”
Sara paused, her insecurities rising to the surface of her mind. She shook it off and continued.
“I blurted out the Christmas invite before thinking and was surprised he jumped on it like he did. He doesn’t have any family and I feel a loneliness in him. The thought of him spending Christmas alone made my stomach hurt. You know how I am, Mom.”
“Yes, I know how you are. He seems genuinely nice.” Pam said. “You deserve an affair to remember for a lifetime. That man in there is definitely unforgettable. I say enjoy the hell out of him. You’re not stupid. If all of a sudden he’s asking for rent, dump his ass. Unless the dick is worth some rent...”
“Granny! Young ears, here.”
Hazel covered her ears with her hands for emphasis.
“A few months for sure,” Sara joked as she heard the boys returning.
Pam reached over for a quick high five. Sara obliged.
Shawn and Ben entered the living room with smiles on their faces. She wished she could have been a fly on the wall in there. Obviously, Adam had charmed Ben. He was laughing at something that had been said. Adam followed them, taking up the entire doorway. The light from the kitchen put his muscular frame and trim waist on display. She remembered her hands gliding down those abs and her heart picked up its beat.
Adam made eye contact with her and gave her a devilish smile. The memory of being held against a wall while they fucked flashed in her mind and a shiver of pleasure sparked deep in her belly.
“Someone press play,” Shawn playfully commanded. He handed Pam a fresh drink and took his seat.
Adam handed Sara her glass. Sara scooted over to make room for Adam to sit back down. He draped his arm around her and Sara noticed his leather bracelet peeking out from his shirtsleeve. She’d seen leather pieces of this artistic caliber in fancy boutiques. She grabbed his wrist and turned it in front on her face, examining the Viking motif.
“This is really cool.” She said. “Where did you get it?”
“My mother made it. She was a very talented leather craftswoman,” Adam replied. “I just recently found it in her things.”
Oh shit.
Sara could kick herself for inadvertently bringing up his mother.
“It’s lovely.” Luckily, Sara was saved from herself as the movie resumed in the background and the wise-cracking merriment continued.
The movie’s credits rolled. Adam looked down at Sara and she was already looking at him. He tightened his arm around her and she smiled, her blue eyes sparkling with buzzed Christmas cheer. Her joyful expression filled his heart with warmth. So far he was feeling pretty good about how the night was going.
“Let’s open some presents!” Sara exclaimed.
“Presents!” Marley and Madison yelled in unison.
The twins who had been paying them no mind suddenly had very good hearing. They clapped their hands. Hazel jokingly mimicked them, clapping her hands in agreement.
“Begin the distribution!” Sara instructed Hazel.
Hazel went to work separating out the gifts from under the tree. She handed them to the twins and told them whom they belonged to. Adam watched the family pretend to shake and guess what was in each box that was put in their pile. He hoped the presents he brought further ingratiated himself into this clan.
Hazel delved into the bag from Adam and came out with a gift with her name on it.
“He’s a smart dude.” She said under her breath.
Adam smiled to himself. He was the only one that could have heard her.
Yes, I am one smart dude . He thought. Teenage daughter’s approval makes or breaks a plan to infiltrate a single mother’s domain.
Sara smiled at Adam when Hazel put a gift from his bag onto her pile. She grabbed the box.
“You didn’t have to buy me anything.” She said. “But I’m glad you did. I do enjoy presents.”
“I didn’t buy it. I made it.” His voice tinged with pride.
“Oh, really?” Sara replied, her eyes intrigued.
Everyone’s ears perked to their conversation.
“Start the night, Sara. Open it!” Shawn had no problem putting her on the spot.
“Open it! Open it!” Everyone chanted and the twins joined in.
Sara’s face bloomed with blush as she nervously picked at the paper, giving everyone a look that obviously meant “shhhh!”
Adam waited anxiously. The pressure was on. Everyone was watching. If a vampire’s palms could sweat, his would be right now. He could hear Sara’s heart pounding. She carefully removed the metallic wrapping paper on the rectangle box. She held it for a second before taking a deep breath.
She removed the box’s top. Her eyes widened.
“What did he make?!” Shawn’s enthusiasm was apparent.
“It’s beautiful.” Sara reverent
ly whispered. She just looked at the bracelet. “You made this?”
Adam nodded his reply.
Sara was really at a loss for words. The bracelet was a piece of art. The light sable-colored leather cuff was intricately carved, or embossed. She didn’t even know. It looked like a piece of antique lace was imprinted onto it. Tiny gemstone beads were placed at accent points in the design. Two words read “ Lumiere Brillante ” in scrolling cursive script.
“I don’t know what to say...” Sara explained.
“You’re killing us here. What did he make you?” Shawn spouted out, breaking through her befuddled thoughts.
“It’s simply wonderful.” Sara said. “Do you sell these somewhere?”
Adam picked the bracelet up out of the box and put it around her wrist. It fit perfectly.
“I was inspired recently to look through some old boxes I have stored. I happened upon a box of all my mother’s leather craft supplies and her remaining pieces. I found some very rudimentary pieces I had made with her when I was a young boy. I got inspired and really I think somehow I just channeled her. I messed up a fair amount of leather until I got the hang of it again. I finally created one that is you.”
The whole room was listening. Even the twins seemed transfixed by Adam’s deep voice. They were standing right by his knee trying to get a look her present. Sara’s heart thumped in her hot ears.
“Thank you.” Sara said her heart in her eyes.
“Let me see it!” Shawn couldn’t contain his curiosity.
Sara didn’t want to unsnap it to hand it to him. Instead she stood up and walked over to stand in front of where he sat.
“Whoa, Adam. This is like something you’d find at a high-end boutique behind glass made by an artisan. This is incredible.”
He twisted her wrist around to examine it.
Shawn read, “Lumiere Brillante. What does that mean? Lumiere is the candle stick in Beauty and the Beast and brillante?”
Adam chuckled. “It translates to, “Bright Light.” Those words kept repeating in my head as I made it. It was the perfect description of how I see Sara.”
The room was silent for a moment. Sara’s breath was caught in her chest. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said about her. She swallowed hard.
“It’s exactly her.” Shawn looked into Adam’s eyes pointedly and nodded.
“Awww! OMG!” Hazel gushed. “I wanna see. I wanna see!”
Pam was giving Sara a wide-eyed look that Sara interpreted as her approval.
“Open presents?!” asked the twins in unison.
They had finally lost interest and their patience. They needed to open some presents. Sara returned to her seat, threading her fingers through Adam’s. She squeezed.
She was at a loss. What was happening? His gift was thoughtful and beautiful. She’d never received such a meaningful gift from a man before. It made her nervous. Almost scared. It also made her heart reach for him. She looked over at him with eyes full of questions. He looked down at her and answered them with a quick kiss on top of her head.
Chapter Twent y- Two
Adam hated to leave, but he knew the night was coming to an end. He wanted to make sure he didn’t overstay his welcome.
Leave them wanting more , he thought.
He was standing in the kitchen with Sara and Hazel. They were all stuffing their faces with Christmas treats. Adam slowly chewed a bite of chocolate covered toffee. It was delicious. Almost as delicious as he knew Sara would be.
Cancel that thought . He forced himself to redirect.
He was completely pleased with how the evening had played out. Sara seemed truly touched by his gift. He watched her, even now, touch it lovingly.
His gift for Hazel seemed to win her over and he’d made the adults laugh when he’d explained to Hazel, “These are called compact discs. People used to put them in CD players to listen to music.” She’d given him a classic teenage eye roll.
He’d told her, “Sara said you enjoyed The Presidents so much that I thought you might like a crash course in early nineties hits.”
She had flipped through the selection: Nirvana’s Nevermind , Green Day’s Dookie which made Hazel raise an eyebrow and question, “Dookie? Really?”
Shawn had gasped, “Dookie! That brings back memories!”
“Eww, Dad that sounds wrong.” She continued reading off the CD cases, “ Pulp Fiction soundtrack, Weezer, Korn, Tool , interesting names for bands…”
Shawn, Ben and Sara all were nodding their heads as she read the names.
“Garth Brooks? He looks… interesting,” she politely lied.
“Garth Brooks! Oh my god he was HUGE in the nineties!” Sara explained. “Adam that’s so funny! I’m going to enjoy these.”
Hazel had given her mom a “these are mine” warning look.
Hazel’s phone now chimed as she stuffed her face with homemade fudge. She grabbed two cookies off of a plate and left the room abruptly.
“Kids these days.” Sara joked.
Now that they were finally alone, Adam seized his opportunity to grab her around the waist and pull her toward him. Her cheeks pinked up in response and she let out a sexy little gasp. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head into her neck, letting his teeth graze the skin. The feel of skin against his teeth made blood rush to his cock. He ran his sensitive teeth lightly back and forth letting the blood longing sensations cascade through his body.
He kissed her neck, slipping his tongue along the trail his teeth had taken. Sara shivered in his arms, her head falling away to expose more of her neck to his pleasurable assault. She had no idea what a temptation she presented.
Adam raised his head from her neck, “Regretfully, I should really get going. I bet I can get a couple of fares tonight. People tip generously during the holidays.”
Sara leaned back to look at him, her face in a pout, eyes cloudy with arousal. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Do you think I made a good first impression with your family?” Adam asked, changing the subject.
“They are smitten.” Sara said.
“Are you?” His eyes twinkled.
“You have no idea.” Sara smiled. She sighed shaking her head. “Honestly. I’m getting very nervous about how smitten I am. I don’t know how dating works these days. I don’t know how to play games or be coy. And… are we dating? I don’t know. I know I like you. It’s scary. You’re too young for me and if I get all attached… you could really break this mature woman’s heart.”
Her eyes were sad as she ended her statement.
Adam leaned in slowly and kissed her. She tasted like honeyed gin and ginger. Adam heard her heart speed up and his body reacted. He wished he could fuck her brains out right there in the kitchen. He deepened the kiss. Electricity flowed through him. He knew he needed to break the contact before someone walked in. He ended the kiss, his hands holding the sides of her face. Her lips were slightly swollen and thoroughly kissed. Her eyes shimmered.
“Sara, I’m not playing a game.”
Adam rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “I’ll prove it to you with time. I’ve got all the time in the world.”
She didn’t know how true that really was, but for now he knew he needed to leave this perfect night as is and let her have time with her family without him. Time for them all to process the evening and gossip about him.
“Thank you for a wonderful Christmas Eve.” He gave her a simple peck on the lips.
“I wish you would stay,” Sara said with big blue puppy dog eyes.
He didn’t answer, but took her hand and led her back into the living room. Everyone turned to look at them.
“I can’t thank you guys enough for including me in your Christmas. I had a great time tonight. I’m going to get going and hopefully catch a few Ubers tonight.”
“It was nice to meet you, man,” Shawn gushed. “We are going to enjoy the hell out of that Nintendo Classic. That was fucking awesome. So glad you alre
ady had one.” He gave Adam a handshake and pulled him into a manly, back slapping hug.
Adam had given them one of the mini video game systems that had been rereleased. He’d gotten one for himself months ago. Luckily, a friend had sent him another one for Christmas. Obviously, he knew what another forty-year-old man might enjoy. It was the perfect re-gift.
Everyone said their goodbyes and Adam collected his present from Sara. The sweetheart had gotten him four dishes, four bowls and all the basic kitchen utensils you could ever need. She’d also gotten him a basic cookbook geared toward dudes. His empty kitchen must have bothered her. He couldn’t help but smile as he picked up the box.
Sara walked him to the door. In the foyer Adam turned around to face her. He knew he needed to secure some future plans with her.
“Can I take you out this weekend?”
“Actually I was thinking…” Sara paused.
Adam held his breath anticipating his worst fears that she was about to let him down.
“Yes?” He urged.
“…Hazel will be at her Dad’s house this weekend. Maybe we could have a slumber party?”
Sara looked up at him expectantly.
Adam began breathing again.
Yes! He celebrated in his head. Victorious!
He smiled and said, “A slumber party huh? That sounds fabulous. Can we do each other’s hair and play Truth or Dare?”
“Definitely Truth or Dare,” Sara smiled suggestively.
Adam set his gifts down and drew her in for a goodbye hug. He leaned back and tilted her face up to him. He was going to leave her wanting more. His lips descended slowly. She went up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway. The kiss consumed them both. Adam’s blood ignited. His intention to leave her wanting more was working on himself. He wished he could throw her over his shoulder and take her to bed right now. His tongue danced with hers. The atmosphere seemed to swirl around him. He rocked his pelvis forward pressing himself to her soft body. She melted into him, moaning into his mouth.
He rubbed his erection against her for emphasis and said, “Consider me RSVP’d.”
Sweet Nightfall Page 14