All I Want is You this Christmas Final

by Codi Gary

  Jared wanted a life with Anna Beth, and that meant taking his time.

  The oven went off and Anna Beth stood, stretching onto her tiptoes. “Pause it for me, please?”

  “Sure.” He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and hit the button without taking his eyes off her.

  Her arms clasped over her head, her breasts thrust against the t-shirt she wore, making him swallow hard. Her fleece leggings molded over the curve of her hips and ass as she walked away from him and disappeared around the corner.

  Jared flopped against the back on the couch, staring at the ceiling, thinking of anything else but his hands all over Anna Beth’s body.

  The oven door opened with a squeak and he heard her crow, “Woo, these are beautiful. I’m slipping the next batch in.”

  “Great.”

  “After the last sheet cools, we can decorate them.” She skipped back into the room and curled up next to him once more. “I haven’t decorated Christmas cookies since I was ten.”

  “Yeah?” Jared gritted his teeth when she wiggled her butt against his crotch in an attempt to get more comfortable.

  She looked at him over her shoulder. “You okay? You sound like you’re in pain.”

  “Nah, I’m good. Ready to resume the movie?”

  She reached out and pressed play, then leaned back once more. He hugged her waist with one arm, and watched the movie, keeping his body still. She wiggled her butt against him, the contact such delicious torture he bit back a groan.

  “Do you have any plans tomorrow night?” she asked.

  “Just the festival. Why?”

  “Do you want to go together? As friends, if you want. No making out in the town square.”

  Jared kissed the back of her head. “I would, but Olive roped me into being Santa Claus. Our other Saint Nick got a case of strep and she caught me in a moment of weakness last night.”

  “A moment of weakness?”

  “I wanted to take you home last night and she negotiated. I made sure you got home safe, and she found her Santa Claus.”

  “How did you get me home last night?”

  “I called Bill at the station to pick us up in his squad car.”

  Anna Beth groaned. “Oh, my aunt must have loved that.”

  “I’m pretty sure the lecture I got was meant for both of us and I was supposed to pass on the message.”

  “Fun. What did you do after you dropped me?”

  “Bill took me back to the bar to pick up my car and Vance, but he decided to go home with Olive. So, I sobered up, drove them home before disinfecting my back seat.”

  “Why would you…no! They did not have sex in your car.”

  “I wasn’t looking, but with the amount of noise they made, I wasn’t taking any chances.”

  Anna Beth broke into a fit of giggles. “Oh my God, that’s horrible.”

  “In their defense, they kept drinking after we left, so they were pretty hammered. I texted Vance and told him he could have my car detailed for Christmas.”

  “Hey, at least they aren’t constantly at each other's throats anymore,” Anna Beth said. “So, Santa, do you have to perform the whole time?”

  “Just for the two hours before the tree lighting.” Jared shook his head. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be a bench for a hundred rugrats telling me their hearts' desires.”

  “I think it’s sweet.”

  “If you got peed on, you wouldn’t be so excited.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Oh, yeah. Our other Santa’s tell horror stories. Its why replacement ones are so hard to find.” He cleared his throat. “On the track of asking you something, the mayor throws a Christmas party every year and I have the night off. Would you like to go with me?”

  Anna Beth rolled over so they were facing each other, her arm moving over his waist. “You mean like a real date?”

  “Yes, like a date.”

  She kissed the tip of his nose. “I’d love to.”

  “Good, because our dispatcher gets a little handsy when she drinks.”

  Anna Beth snorted. “I’m your buffer?”

  “You’re the Costner to my Houston, baby.”

  “Stop being so irresistible and the ladies won’t chase you.”

  “Please. You can’t turn all this off.”

  Anna Beth shoved his shoulder playfully. “I heard all about it at Tammy’s. All the ladies love them some Jared Cross.”

  “Any and all rumors about me have been exaggerated. I swear.”

  Anna Beth nuzzled his neck. “I don’t care about your dating history, I really don’t.”

  “You seemed a little put out about my dating history last night. 'Officer Friendly' ringing any bells?”

  “It seems you aren’t the only one with insecurities. When the ladies told me about your track record, I thought you might have been blowing me off like everyone else.”

  “Despite the scarlet brush I’ve been painted with, I wasn’t being a player. If I went out with a girl and we didn’t click, I let her know. I never seemed to click with anyone…except you.”

  Anna Beth ducked her head and he took her chin in his hand, listing her gaze back to his. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I feel guilty you never experienced a long term relationship with anyone else, while I—”

  “Don’t. I’m not keeping score. I’m not bitter that you married Ian. Well, not anymore, at least. I never had you in the first place and even if we’d started dating then, who knows if we’d be together now. Everything happens for a reason and in the right time. You needed Ian and I needed to find myself. Our pasts shape us and I just want to enjoy where we are right now.”

  Anna Beth slid her hand around his neck, pressing her lips to his. She kissed him hard, and he opened his mouth, his tongue playing with hers as his hands gripped her hips, his fingertips pressing into her butt.

  When they came up for air, both gasping, Jared whispered, “What was that?”

  “I’m enjoying the moment.”

  Jared smiled, dropping his head down to lay his forehead against hers. “Me too.”

  Anna Beth moved her hands from the back of his neck down to his chest, making her way over his stomach to the edge of his shirt. She slowly inched it up, every graze of her fingers against his abdomen making him crazy.

  Jared sat up and helped her by pulling the shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the floor. She knelt on the floor between his legs, her fingertips running lightly over his pecs, tracing a circle around his nipple. He let her explore his body, groaning when she placed her mouth in the center of his chest and left a series of kisses down over his stomach. He cradled the back of her head, his eyes closing as her warm breath reached the skin above his jeans. When her fingers unbuttoned his jeans, Jared’s heart kicked up ten notches and his cock pressed painfully against his zipper.

  Suddenly, the front door opened and a chorus of women’s voices erupted in the entryway. Rip, who’d been sleeping on the rug in front of the T.V., jumped up and ran into the other room, his whole-body wiggling. Jared lifted Anna Beth by her arms back onto the couch. He didn’t bother buttoning his jeans, but grabbed his t-shirt off the ground and slipped it back on.

  Sarah and several of her friends came around the corner, stopping when they saw them.

  “Well, what are you two doing?” her aunt asked.

  Anna Beth reached out and paused the movie. “Just watching Home Alone and baking cookies. What are you guys doing here?”

  “The heat went out at the Community Center and they had to call someone to come fix it, so we thought we’d set up a folding table in the kitchen and work here.”

  Jared stood, smiling. “I guess I should grab Rip and clear out then. Let you have some girl time.”

  Anna Beth climbed to her feet and glanced from their audience to him. “Thank you for breakfast and helping with the cookies.”

  “Anytime. Text me later?”

  “Yes. Let me walk you out.”


  Sarah waved her friends into the kitchen. “Why don’t you get started and Anna Beth and I will join you in a moment.”

  The ladies left the room, chatting amongst themselves. Jared shrugged into his coat and hooked Rip’s leash onto his collar.

  “Jared,” Sarah whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “You might want to button your pants before you go anywhere else.”

  Anna Beth covered her mouth and Jared’s cheeks burned. He’d hoped no one would notice.

  Sarah’s lips twitched. “I’ll let you say your good-byes.”

  When she left the room, Anna Beth buried her face in his chest.

  “Oh my God, I’m going to die.”

  Jared chuckled, holding her in his arms. “I’m right behind you.”

  Twenty-Two

  The town square of Snowy Springs glittered with fresh snow that morning and twinkling lights hung above and along the buildings. Small tents lined the edge of the square and each one held a different activity for the citizens attending the festival to enjoy. The blue spruce in the center had to be forty-five feet tall and at least twenty feet wide. Every year, the mayor flipped the switch and the multicolored LED lights wrapped around the branches came to life.

  Anna Beth carried three large containers of cookies over to the sweet treat station, smiling at Rachel and her husband, Dave. “Hi, Rachel. I have the goodies to contribute before this shindig kicks off.”

  Rachel stood up and took the containers from her, setting them on the table. Anna Beth, Sarah, Rachel, and the rest of her aunt’s friends decorated the cookies she’d made with Jared yesterday. Unfortunately, the ladies had to leave before the frosting hardened, so, Anna Beth and Sarah finished slipping each cookie into a plastic bag and tying it with a cute cookie ribbon Anna Beth bought.

  “You’re cutting it close,” Rachel scolded.

  “I know, I just got caught up with writing today. I was on a roll.” She turned to Rachel’s husband, who looked less than ecstatic to be there. “Hey, Dave. Long time no see. How is the leg?”

  Dave smiled below his full, silver mustache. Despite his gruff nature, he’d always been kind to her. “About tired of it, actually. How are you doing, little bit? Been a long time.”

  “Yeah, I got back into town last week. It’s been great.”

  “Glad to hear it. I wish more young people came home to visit their parents.”

  Rachel huffed. “He’s talking about our oldest boy, Edward. He opened a Bed and Breakfast in Florida, right on the beach. Keeps trying to get us to go down there, but Dave’s being stubborn.”

  “I hate Florida.”

  “Oh, you hate everything!”

  The couple glared at each other and Anna Beth cleared her throat. “You haven’t seen Jared, have you?”

  Rachel broke the stare-down with her husband and pointed down the row of tents to a red shed at the end. “I saw him head that way to Santa’s Shack. Don’t know how they’re going to make someone so young and handsome look like Santa.”

  “Honestly, I can’t wait to see it,” Anna Beth said.

  Dave, who sat in a chair with his cast covered leg propped up on a chair, reached out to steal a cookie from the container closest to him. Rachel smacked his hand without looking away from Anna Beth.

  “Woman, I’m not a child. Give me a cookie.”

  “Doctor told you to lay off the sweets, Dave.”

  Dave folded his arms with a huff. “I think you like having me laid up. You have me me right where you want me.”

  “Oh yeah, I love waiting on you and listening to you gripe. I’m trying to keep you out of an early grave, but if you want the cookies, fine!” She set one of the containers on his lap. “Have at it, ya old grump!”

  Dave scowled down at the wrapped cookies, before transferring that expression to his wife. “You drive me crazy, Rachel,” Dave grumbled, putting the container on the table.

  His wife leaned over and kissed him, dropping a cookie into his hands. “I love you, too.” Rachel turned back to Anna Beth with a wink. “I don’t really deny him anything, but I can’t have word getting around I spoil him.”

  “I don’t think you can spoil a husband with love, but I’ll never tell your secret,” Anna Beth said with a smile.

  “Appreciate that, darlin’. Thank you for bringing these by. Have fun.”

  “Thanks. Take care, Dave.”

  “I’ll do my best, if she doesn’t kill me first.”

  Anna Beth chuckled as she walked away, the sound of them bickering fading. She passed by an ornament creation station, a family selling handmade home décor, picture frame making, and the beverage distribution tent. When she rounded the town tree, she got a good look at Santa’s Shack. The red building had colorful wood candies all over it, making it look like a life size gingerbread house complete with gumdrops on the roof and candy canes along the doorframe. She headed up the ramp and knocked on the closed green door.

  It swung open, revealing Olive in full elf costume.

  “Well hello, little girl,” Olive said in a high, squeaky voice. “Are you here to see Santa?”

  Anna Beth made a face. “That’s creepy.”

  “Just getting into character.” Olive laughed. “He’s finished with his make-up.”

  “Make-up?” Anna Beth stepped inside and in the corner sat Jared on Santa’s chair, but he looked nothing like himself. His nose was bulbous and the white mustache and beard matched perfectly with his white, bushy eyebrows.

  “What the heck?”

  Jared turned her way and she could barely see his smile through the thick hair around his mouth. “Ho-ho-ho. Still think I’m sexy?”

  “Ew, gross,” Olive said behind them. “I’m going to get a cookie and coffee. Be back in a few. Behave, you two.”

  Olive closed the door behind her, leaving them alone in the shack. It looked like a real room with an electric fireplace off to the side, walls painted with fake windows and views of snowy hills complete with reindeer playing. A beautifully decorated Christmas tree graced the corner. A table with paper angels, pencils, and coloring crayons was beside the door.

  “This is pretty swanky. I thought Santa had to sit outside during the festival.”

  “Guess they finally realized poor Santa was freezing his ass off.”

  Anna Beth laughed and crossed the room to stand in front of him. “Whoever did your face is very talented.”

  “Believe it or not, it was Tammy. She used to be a makeup artist and theater major before she married her husband.” He placed his Santa hat on his head and fluffed the long white curls attached to it. “Think I’ll fool the kiddos?”

  “Hmm, I need to hear your Santa voice again. I’m not sure you can embody the jolly quality Saint Nick has.”

  Jared took a deep breath and said, “Why, hello, Anna Beth. Come and sit on Santa’s lap and tell me what a good girl you’ve been.”

  He waggled his eyebrows and Anna Beth groaned. “You’re going to give me nightmares about pervy-Santa.”

  Jared patted his red velvet knee. “Come on. Don’t be shy.”

  She walked over and sat on his knee, poking at his giant stomach. Her finger sank into the padding. “Is this a suit?”

  “Yeah, someone made it with memory foam and fabric. Weird, right?”

  “Very.”

  Jared’s hand rubbed her back, his brown eyes meeting hers. “I’m glad you stopped by.”

  “Aw, did you miss me today?”

  “I actually did. Is that too much?”

  Anna Beth placed her arms around his shoulders, which were also soft and cushiony. “No, it’s perfect because I missed you too. I wanted to see you earlier, but I was on a roll in my screenplay and couldn’t stop.”

  “I know. It gave me a chance to get a lot of stuff done. However, I could use a kiss.”

  “I don’t know. Seems a little naughty.”

  “I like naughty.”

  Anna Beth leaned over and kissed him, turning her head so
she didn’t mess up his nose. When Jared deepened the kiss, Jared’s Santa beard tickled her face. She didn’t care and lost herself in him.

  Suddenly, the door burst open behind them and an excited young voice screamed, “Santa! Santa! Santa?”

  Anna Beth jumped off Jared’s lap and turned to find a little girl about six-years-old staring wide eyed at them. A woman in her thirties ran in and took her hand.

  “Carly, I told you we had to wait.”

  Carly ignored her mother and scowled at Anna Beth. She raised a pink gloved hand and pointed. “Mommy, that woman was sitting on Santa’s lap and they were kissing!”

  Anna Beth wished she could melt into the floor. Thankfully, Jared stood up and walked over to the child. He knelt down on one knee in front of Carly, almost to her eye level.

  “Shh, don’t tell but this pretty lady is Mrs. Claus, in disguise.”

  Carly’s eyes widened. “She is?”

  “Yes. You see, Mrs. Claus likes to travel around the world bringing too, but she can’t do it looking like herself.”

  Carly looked from Jared to Anna Beth, then up at her mother. “Do you think that’s true, Mommy?”

  “If Santa says so, then it must be. Now, let’s go back outside and wait to be called.”

  Once Carly and her mother left, Anna Beth groaned. “Well, that was embarrassing.”

  “Nah, Carly’s fine. We didn’t traumatize her and now, she can run around and tell all the other kids she met Mrs. Claus too. She’s going to be a celebrity with the elementary school crowd, I guarantee it.”

  Olive came through the door, an amused expression on her face. “A concerned mother warned me that Santa and Mrs. Claus were inside and needed their privacy.”

  “On that note, I am out of here. I’m going to meet my aunt at the wreath construction booth.”

  Jared caught her hand and squeezed. “When I finish here, I’ll come find you.”

  “Should I look for Santa, or will you be back to yourself?”

  “As long as Tammy can get this all off, I’ll turn back after seven.”

  “See you then.” She let go of his hand and headed out the door. Anna Beth passed by a line of kids and heard a loud whisper, “That’s Mrs. Claus.”