Christmas Box Set

by Nella Tyler

  I watched as her eyes averted my gaze and her cheeks reddened slightly.

  “Oh,” she answered, apologetically. “I’m sorry. Thank you.”

  I grinned, realizing that she was as nervous and unsure about this whole thing as I was and in some way, that made me feel better.

  “Listen, Mazie; I’m not going to lie to you. I can be a dick and sometimes, I think I’m even worse of a person because I kind of enjoy it, but I will never purposefully be a dick to you. I can’t guarantee that I will do everything right, or that I will never hurt you, but I have never and will never do anything purposefully to upset you. I want to be honest with you, Mazie, which is why I’m even giving this thing a shot.”

  “So, you’re not taking me out to ensure I haven’t told anyone about your secret Santa gig?” she grinned and spoke in a teasing voice, but there was something about the way she spoke that convinced me that there was an element of truth to her words. Despite the air she put on, she genuinely wanted to make sure this second date was not my idea of fucking with her. While that bothered me slightly, it was simply more motivating to show her that I wasn’t the man she seemed to be convinced I was.

  “Seriously?” I demanded, a little harsher than intended. “Mazie, you know me. I wouldn’t do that to you. Who the hell has been telling you this shit?”

  “So, I guess, that’s a no, then?” she grinned, now seeming a little more hopeful.

  “Hell yes, that’s a no!” I insisted, “Listen, you and I have known one another a long time, but we have grown apart. Even though I think our friendship is still as solid as ever, we need to get to know one another again. So, if you could put all of these preconceived notions out of your mind, if only for one night, I’d love to get to know the woman you’ve become and give you a chance to get to know me.”

  Damn, could you get any more fucking pathetic? Wear your heart a little lower down on your sleeve, why don’t you? I thought, but strangely, I didn’t feel uncomfortably vulnerable and from the expression my words incited, I was even more convinced after saying them that they needed to be said.

  The way her expression lit up made me happy, and I found it easy to be honest with her, where it wasn’t so simple with anyone else in my life.

  “Thank you,” she answered finally, brushing her hand against mine, causing a pulsing in my groin that I wasn’t exactly comfortable with, but also didn’t want to deter.

  God, I want you, I thought, staring deeply into her jovial eyes and imagining what it would feel like to kiss her.

  “Come on. Let’s eat. I’m starving!” I insisted, breaking the connection for fear I would do something she might not be ready for and ruin the moment completely.

  I got out of the car quickly, begrudgingly breaking the contact between our hands, and rushed over to open the door for her.

  “Thanks,” she replied, stepping gracefully out of the car that she seemed far more comfortable in than my other vehicle.

  I gave her my arm again, and we walked into the restaurant.

  The hostess smiled when she saw me and asked if I wanted my regular table.

  “Wow,” Mazie seemed impressed, “I guess you really do come here a lot.”

  “Often enough,” I agreed, “But it’s a family-run restaurant, so it’s not difficult to start to know the owners. Stacy, she’s the owner’s daughter.”

  “Oh?” Mazie replied as I pulled out her chair for her.

  “That’s right! For the most part, it’s a family business. In the summer, we hire outside help, but during the slower periods, it’s just us,” Stacy joined in, handing us our menus, “Which means that I will also be your waitress.”

  “Thanks, Stacy,” Mazie answered, taking the menu, “This is such a cute place. The ambiance is great!”

  From the way she was grinning and glancing around, taking everything from the candles on the table to the wall décor into careful consideration, it was obvious that she was being genuine.

  I hoped that meant that I gained a few brownie points.

  “What would you like to drink?” I asked Mazie as the hostess/waitress left the table, promising to return shortly after she’d given us a minute to get settled.

  “I don’t know. Red goes with Italian, right?” she giggled, though I wasn’t quite sure if she was having fun or slightly embarrassed.

  “Generally, but I like beer, so…” I grinned as she shook her head.

  “You are classy as ever, Dex,” she insisted.

  “What did I tell you? I’m a real winner,” I grinned.

  When Stacy returned, Mazie gave her order of merlot and linguine with clam sauce.

  I ordered a steak and received a strange look from both Stacy and Mazie.

  Maybe next time I shouldn’t go somewhere where I am severely outnumbered.

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head at the pair of them, but decided that I was not going to apologize for what I liked.

  Finally, the strange stares from the two women stopped when Stacy left the table.

  There was a moment of silence between us before Mazie stared at me in a serious manner.

  “So, I have to ask, is something bothering you?”

  “What?” I asked, trying to figure out if I was genuinely that transparent, “Why would you ask me something like that?”

  “You seem a little bit…distracted? I don’t know. I just get the feeling that something is bugging you and I want to make sure you are okay,” she offered.

  “Okay…” I offered, trying to figure out what to say next.

  “I mean, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. It’s just, if it’s about me, I’d like to know. I mean, I know this whole thing is a little weird, but…”

  “Wait. What? No. Mazie, trust me, this has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

  “But there is something bothering you?”

  “A helpful hint, more often than not, something is always bothering me. I live my life in a constant state of aggravation.”

  She chuckled, “Well, if it really doesn’t have anything to do with me, I’m not going to press for any more information. Your business is your own, I guess.”

  “Thanks,” I offered but instantly felt bad for not opening up to her. What bothered me most was that I wanted to be truthful with her, but I didn’t want to feel that vulnerable. Still, I recognized this as a perfect opportunity to try to start to build a relationship with her and so, after enduring her stare for longer than I was comfortable with, I started again, “Alright…if you must know, it’s my father. He’s being a dick…more of a dick than normal, and you’re right, it is really bugging me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mazie offered quietly.

  Grumbling, I started to let it slip, but staring into her eyes, I realized that I wanted to explain what happened. That way, she would understand and feel assured that my aggravation genuinely had nothing to do with her. I explained the whole situation about my father’s request and eventual ultimatum.

  The whole time, Mazie sat quietly, shaking her head and growing more passionately outraged by the situation the more that I talked.

  “That’s not right, Dex. Your father, of all people, should know how hard you worked on this project and he should want you to have the opportunity to shine.”

  At this, I burst out laughing.

  “Yeah. Maybe that’s how most fathers are, but if I’m not making money for my father, he likes to pretend I don’t exist and if he thinks I’m going to lose money for him…” I shook my head, “God, if I come back without that deal, he might not stop at firing me. He might actually kill me.”

  “Dexter, he’s still your father. I’m sure he cares about you.”

  “No.” I sighed, “Unfortunately, if it isn’t worth its weight in gold, nothing is ever useful to my father. He’s a greedy old man. The only regret I have is it’s taken me too damn long to realize that. Now, I have to deliver or face his wrath.”

  “Dex, you’re good at your job, and I have faith in you. If
you say you’re going to do something, you have always found a way to get it done. I am certain that if you think you can land this deal, you will, and if your father can’t see that, after all this time, it’s his loss.”

  “Not when the noose is tightening around my neck and my father is itching to kick the chair out from under my feet,” I grumbled, and in showing my annoyance, I threw my hand through my hair and looked away from her until I could take a deep breath and calm myself. “I don’t know,” I finally admitted. “If I hadn’t stood up to him, if he hadn’t made such a selfish request, I would have options if I lost the deal and my father flew off the handle. If I don’t come through now, though, I’ll still be filed as a spoiled child who bit off more than he could chew and my career would be ruined. No one is going to put up with the insubordination my father is going to claim I demonstrated. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he flat-out lied just to be certain that I was going to feel the same amount of loss that he felt he suffered.”

  “No, Dex! You can’t do this to yourself,” Mazie insisted, reaching her hand out and grasping mine gingerly.

  I looked at her when she did that and met piercing, serious eyes.

  “Do what? Acknowledge the truth? It was a stupid move, Mazie…”

  “What? Standing up to him? No. That was probably one of the best things you ever did. This way, not only will you get your deal, you will prove to your dad, whether he wants to admit it or not, that you aren’t gonna take his shit anymore. You freed yourself, Dexter,” she insisted.

  “Yeah, from any hope of employment,” I retorted as we both backed away while our plates were placed in front of us.

  “No, Dex,” she insisted when Stacy left the table, “You freed yourself from doing your father’s bidding. This is your chance to prove to him that you aren’t a kid anymore and that you can do this job, probably better than he can.”

  I grinned, feeling uplifted by the confidence she had in me.

  “Okay,” I answered after taking a few bites of my meal, “So, I lose the deal.”

  “You won’t,” she answered simply, staring at me, almost as though she was reprimanding me for thinking negatively.

  “But, let’s say I do…I would have won the battle but lost the war. If my father makes good on his threat, and I am confident he will, I will have absolutely no job prospects whatsoever.”

  Mazie shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

  “If all else fails, you can come live on my couch,” she gave a wicked grin as she teased. “Who knows, if you play your cards right, you might even make it into my bed.”

  Again, I felt a rage of excitement coming from my groin, which I shifted in an effort to try to ignore.

  “Well,” I joked, shoving the dirty thoughts that invoked my mind out of my head, “At least it would make our personal lives a lot less complicated.”

  She giggled as she sipped her wine and gingerly put the glass back down on the table.

  “That’s true, but honestly, I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about that. I know you’re going to score this deal and get the opportunity to react in any way you see fit.” I must have looked as doubtful as I felt because before I could give any of the many smart-ass answers I was contemplating, she continued, “You aren’t being a spoiled child, Dex; you are sticking up for yourself. You worked hard on this project, and you deserve the credit, not to mention the commission that comes with it.”

  “Yeah, I have no doubt my father would've taken all of it. This is the biggest client we’ve ever had, so I’m sure it kills him that his name won’t be on that contract.”

  “But you put in the work. Your name deserves to be on that contract. His doesn’t.”

  “Try telling that to him,” I chuckled.

  “Dexter, you already did. You stood up for yourself, and you should be proud.”

  “Yeah, soon to be proud and broke. Sorry, but I’d rather be a rich lackey than any kind of poor, prideful martyr.”

  “I don’t believe that,” she insisted, “Because if that were true, you wouldn’t have stood up to him to begin with. You would have simply kept your mouth closed and let him take all the credit.”

  I knew she was right, but I wasn’t about to admit that, so I simply lowered my eyes to my plate and continued to eat.

  Getting the hint that I was no longer in the sharing mood, Mazie quickly turned the conversation to something else.

  Instead of hard subjects though, we kept the conversations lighter and simply enjoyed the company of one another.

  We talked about our memories of growing up and a little more about our lives, outside the realm of our fathers and their business.

  Unfortunately for me, there wasn’t much else I could say about my life, other than work.

  Mazie, on the other hand, was filled with stories about teaching and the experiences she had, both in and out of the classroom.

  As I watched her talk, I noticed how she shined when she spoke about things that were passions and realized that I could listen to her talk all day.

  Where I was good at my job and good at making money, it was clear that Mazie had a passion for her career and genuinely loved what she did.

  Sure, it sounded like she was a good teacher too, but what entranced me so much wasn’t her actual achievements; rather, it was the excitement she had for the job.

  I admired that and hoped, one day, once my father stopped making it nearly impossible for me to enjoy my job to the fullest, I would get the opportunity to feel the same way.

  I didn’t have many goals left to achieve in that point of my life but sitting there, watching Mazie talk about the quality of her job, I aspired to feel that way about my career as well.

  After a long and engaging dinner, I took her home.

  We arrived at her house, laughing from the slight buzz of our drinks and enamored with one another’s company.

  I didn’t want to leave. I hoped that she would invite me in, but I wasn’t sure. After all, Mazie wasn’t that kind of girl, and I didn’t intend to pressure her into anything she didn’t want to do.

  However, when we reached her door, she lingered, playing with her keys as we continued to talk.

  At first, I thought that perhaps she might invite me in, easing her way into the intimacy I genuinely wanted with her.

  However, to my dismay, she stopped abruptly, as though she felt she was doing something wrong.

  “Well, you’d better go,” she insisted easily, fidgeting as though she didn’t like the thought of me leaving any more than I did. “You’ve got a busy morning, and I want you to get plenty of rest for tomorrow.”

  “Thanks,” I responded, trying not to sound too disappointed, telling myself that she was genuinely saying this for my benefit. After all, my whole life did ride on the decision of my presentation tomorrow. It could either be the best day of my life or the worst, so I should make it a point to be as prepared as I could.

  “Please, let me know what happens the moment you are able, okay?” Mazie offered sweetly, wrapping her arms around my neck as my hands instinctively surrounded her midsection, pulling her into me.

  “Of course,” I replied as I took in a whiff of her hair.

  When she pulled away from me, I noticed that her hand lingered, tracing down my chest as she gazed up at me and grinned.

  “Great! Thank you,” her expression was assuring, but I was more concerned with what her hand was doing.

  While she broke away from me farther, putting only a little bit of distance between us, her hand brushed against mine, lingering there, as though asking for an excuse to stay.

  “Thank you,” I told her, genuinely expressing my gratitude. Whether she knew it or not, she had helped me feel better about my decision to stand up to my father. It wasn’t that I was having doubts, but rather, I did start to question whether I was justified and Mazie’s reaction solidified my own reasoning.

  With the other hand, Mazie turned and started to unlock the door, but neither of us move
d our hands away from the brush that easily morphed into entwined fingers.

  When the door was opened, I knew that it was now or never. She had lingered, and if I was going to make a move, this would be the most opportune time.

  So, before Mazie could say goodbye, I clasped her hand in mine and pulled it back, to gain her attention. When she looked back at me, in a hopeful manner, I took that as the cue, tilted my head down, and kissed her.

  I started off gently at first, not wanting to overburden her. However, the moment I felt her lips reciprocate the kiss, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, intensifying the kiss and relishing in the taste of her.

  With a slight moan of excitement, she linked her arms around my neck again, and I eased her back, into her house. When we were inside, I was overcome with the throes of passion. I grasped her tightly and picked her up, pressing her against the wall as I deepened the kiss.

  I felt her legs wrap around me as our mouths sought each other ravenously for a deeper understanding of one another, while I gingerly reached my foot out and closed the door, shrouding us in darkness.

  Mazie

  The momentum was intense and immediate.

  One minute, we were kissing in my foyer, and the next, Dexter was laying me down on my bed and ripping off my clothes.

  Normally, I might have been self-conscious, but Dexter’s swift movements left little room for deliberation.

  Before I had a chance to fully grasp what was going on, I was laying naked in front of him, and his heated, bare body was on top of me.

  His muscles flexed as he moved, conjuring a sensual dominance that was alluring.

  I moaned behind his lips, feeling his manhood grind against the apex of my open legs, causing moisture seep out, which only intensified my need.

  I felt my body quake as his hands, which were surprisingly rough, glided along my skin, exploring it intimately.

  As his hands traveled down my cleavage, his lips tore off my mouth and started to descend downwards to suckle upon my breast.

  Intermittent kisses and playful nibbles caused me to shudder and groan while my hands discovered the rippling rope of taut muscle that secured the masculinity of his chest. My fingers coursed through the sprinkling of hair that spread across his barrel chest before my hands wandered downwards, toward his throbbing member.