Mistletoe & Cocoa Kisses

by Stacy Eaton

Matt’s voice was low when he responded, “No, I guess not.”

  “I’ve extended the offer to her, it’s her decision to make, but we have to support whichever one she does make.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  I blinked back the tears that had formed in my eyes and hightailed it down the stairs and right to my room.

  Chris was right; I was going to hurt them all when I left. I needed to get out of here sooner rather than later.

  I spent the rest of the evening in my room, and when Chris came to check on me, I pretended to be asleep.

  The next morning, my stomach growled loudly, and I showered and dressed in jeans and a colorful sweater. I made sure to plug my cellphone in and recharge it before I left my room.

  The house was quiet, and I assumed the kids were still sleeping and Chris was either working downstairs or swimming. As much as I wanted to see him, I refused to allow myself to descend the steps in case he was in the pool.

  I was sipping my coffee when I heard someone enter the room. “Morning, Robin, you fell asleep early. Are you feeling alright?”

  I threw a glance toward Chris and tried not to think about the fact that he had wet hair, reminding me of our time in the pool and in the shower.

  “Sorry about that, Chris, I guess I just needed the rest.”

  He poured his coffee and then joined me at the table. “You’re sure you’re feeling alright?”

  “Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking.”

  Chris opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Geri as she shuffled into the room and climbed up on his lap. “How you feeling today, little guppy?”

  “Better,” she said sleepily.

  “She’s not a morning person,” Chris said to me.

  “Many people aren’t,” I agreed. “Do you want some breakfast? I’m kind of itching to do some cooking.”

  “Hey, you could teach me a thing or two,” Matt declared as he entered the room.

  “Really? You want to learn how to cook?” I asked him.

  He shrugged, “Sure, I need to know how to impress the ladies with something other than my good looks and incredible swimming talent.”

  I tried not to laugh but couldn’t help myself when Chris did. This was the first time I was seeing the cocky teenager in him, and I liked it.

  “Alright, how about I teach you something for lunch, and then you can help with dinner, too.”

  “Great! But can you make those pancakes again this morning. Those were incredible.”

  “Of course, I can.” I went to work making breakfast for them while Matt and Chris sat at the table and talked about sports. Geri had disappeared to watch cartoons. While she said she felt better, Chris didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be around the food.

  Matt ended up begging for more bacon and even came over to watch how I mixed the sauce and coated the meat. I had no doubt he’d be trying it himself after I left.

  After breakfast, I asked Chris if I could borrow his laptop and brought it back to my room to do some research. I had to figure out where I was going and what I was going to do.

  By the time lunch was rolling around, I had an idea and the start of a plan of action. I was excited for the first time in a long time. I was closing down the browser when an e-mail notification popped up. I went to swipe it off the touch screen since it was for Chris, but instead the e-mail opened.

  My eyebrow quirked as my eyes fell on the e-mail.

  You should have thought this through, Chris. But since you want to be an ass, I can be one too. Check out what is going to your clients now.

  There was a video attached to the e-mail and I told myself to close it and walk away. This wasn’t my business, but I was curious. Was someone threatening him? Did something happen in his company and a client was upset. I skimmed my finger over the screen, pulling up the message underneath it. It was an e-mail from Chris to someone named Molly.

  Cut the crap, Molly. I told you it was over. Let it go and stop contacting me. We are done.

  Was this a former girlfriend? My imagination was running rampant now, and I found my finger hovering over the play button. I worried my bottom lip for a moment and then touched the button.

  A video popped up on the screen, and I jerked back as I saw two people having sex, up close. “Oh, crap!” I tried to find the stop button, but just as I found it, something on the screen caught my eye and gave me pause. The man in the video had a scar on his lower abdomen, I leaned closer, ignoring the other body parts the best I could and stared at the scar. It was Chris. I remembered the scar from when we were in the shower. I had wanted to ask him about it, but forgot when we got busy.

  Holy crap! The man made sex tapes. My heart thundered in my chest as my eyes remained glued to the screen for a few seconds. I was on the verge of stopping the video when Chris burst in, his eyes going right to the laptop.

  “What the hell are you doing going through my mail?”

  I snapped the laptop closed immediately. “I didn’t mean to. I swear.” I slipped off the bed, “I was closing the computer down and hit the notification by accident.”

  He grabbed the laptop off the bed. “And your finger just accidentally opened the video, right?”

  I pulled my shoulder back and lifted my chin. “No, that I purposely opened. I didn’t picture you as a porn star.”

  His eyes widened and his nostrils flared. “That was private, Robin. You had no business looking at it.”

  I slammed my hands on my hips. “I believe that since we had sex twice, I might have a little business looking at it.”

  “That wasn’t me,” he stated firmly.

  “Bullshit! I saw the scar on your stomach. The same one that was on that guy in the video. That was you, Chris. Don’t deny it. Why would you let someone videotape you having sex? And why was that woman named Molly threatening to send that to your clients?”

  He sighed and wiped a hand over the top of his head. “She’s a girl I broke up with a few months ago. She’s pissed that I did. I can’t get her to stop. I didn’t even know she had a tape of us having sex.”

  “Did you give her permission to tape you?”

  “No,” he answered without hesitation.

  “Then you need to report that to the police. That’s wrong, Chris. She can be charged for recording that without your permission, especially since you have sound on that video.”

  “Yeah, but the sex was consensual.”

  “But the video recording was not,” I retorted. “I believe that is a crime.”

  He laughed derisively. “So you think I should call the police and turn over a sex video to them?”

  “Yes! If she is threatening to send it to your clients, then you bet your ass you should be filing a police report,” I said hotly.

  He studied me for a minute, “Why do you even care?”

  “Chris, I don’t want some crazy woman ruining your business. Christ, that’s not fair to you or your kids. Can you imagine if that somehow got on the internet and into the hands of other kids, friends of your son?”

  Chris

  Matt cleaned up the kitchen, and I went to my office to work after making some buttered toast for Geri. I sat in my chair staring at my computer but not seeing anything.

  The talk I’d had with Matt yesterday rang through my head. We’d all accepted Robin as part of the family within twenty-four hours. If Robin wasn’t interested in staying, then she should leave as soon as she could. I picked up the phone and called a friend to ask for a favor.

  After I took care of the details, I was about to check on Geri when my e-mail pinged, and I sighed as I saw who the sender was. Before I had a chance to click on it, I watched it turn from bold to un-bold as if I had already read it. What the hell? I clicked on the e-mail and read what Molly had written. I clicked on the video clip she had attached and bolted out of my seat as I realized that the reason it looked like it had been read was because Robin must have opened the e-mail.

  I tore up the stairs and down th
e hall, throwing open her door without knocking. She had her back to the door and the laptop faced her. I saw the video playing and practically lost my mind.

  I was furious that she had gone into my e-mail. Maybe that had been a mistake, but her playing a video that was attached to the e-mail, now that was just wrong, not quite as wrong as what Molly was threatening to do.

  Robin was right. I hadn’t given permission. I would never give permission for something like that to be done. Maybe a picture or two, but never a video—and what if Molly did load it on the internet? I’d never get it down, and it would be there forever. Crap! Was I really going to have to call the police and report it?

  “I’ll think about it.” I turned to leave the room but spun back around, “I can’t believe you went into my e-mail. Why would you do that, Robin?”

  “I swear looking at your e-mail was accidental, but when I read it, I got curious. I should never have looked. I really am sorry, Chris.”

  I left without another word, mortified that she had seen it. What must she think of me?

  I checked on Geri and found that her fever had returned and called her doctor to make an appointment for the next morning. By then, the roads would be clear enough to get my truck out, and the timing would work out for what I had planned.

  Robin came out of her room around noon to start cooking lunch with Matt, and I retreated to my office. I pulled up my e-mail and stared at the one Molly had sent earlier. That woman had balls. Instead of replying, I picked up the phone and called the state police. I was transferred to a detective, and I spent the next thirty minutes explaining to him what was happening with Molly. In the end, he asked me to forward all the e-mails to him as well as a written statement directly from me. Since I had not given permission, it was indeed a crime. I told him I would forward the e-mails and type up a statement I could send over so a trooper didn’t have to come to our house. I didn’t need my kids worrying about this.

  When Matt called down that lunch was ready, I sighed heavily in my chair and went up to eat. The pasta that they had prepared was filling but light enough for an enjoyable midday meal. Matt was proud of himself for his accomplishment and said he’d written down the recipe so he wouldn’t forget it.

  After lunch, I asked Robin to meet me in my office, someplace that didn’t have temptation. Mr. Emotional laughed heartily, Yeah, good luck with that.

  When Robin entered, I was replying to another e-mail from a client, and I asked her to hold a moment so I could finish.

  Robin was browsing the pictures I had on my bookshelf and when I finished, I came around the other side of the desk to lean on the edge.

  “What did you want to talk about?” she asked with a smile. Even though I had lost it on her earlier, she had still seemed to be in a good mood. I had figured she would have been angry with me, but she didn’t appear to be.

  “First, I wanted to apologize for yelling earlier.”

  She held her hand up. “You had every right to be angry. I should never have looked at your e-mail. I was getting ready to close the computer, and it popped up, and I clicked on the e-mail. I should have closed it immediately.”

  “I appreciate you saying that, but I still should not have gotten angry.” I paused, “I took your advice and called the police.”

  “You did?” Her eyes popped open. “I’m so glad, Chris. That kind of thing can ruin your reputation. I would have hated for that to happen.”

  “Well, thanks.” I wasn’t sure why she cared so much about my reputation, but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “Was there anything else?”

  “Yeah,” I cleared my throat nervously. “I was thinking about our conversation earlier, and I decided that it’s probably best if you leave sooner, rather than later.”

  Her brow furrowed, and she rubbed her hands together. “Okay, do you know when my car is going to be ready?”

  “No, they aren’t going to be able to dig it out until later today, but I made arrangements for a rental car and a hotel room not far from the dealership about forty minutes from here where your car will be towed.”

  “You rented a car for me?”

  “Just for a few days so you have something while yours is being worked on.”

  Her laugh was brittle and short. “Well, okay then. When is the car going to be here?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Tomorrow morning. Matt should be back at school, and I have a doctor’s appointment for Geri, so you can leave while they are gone.”

  She studied me for a few moments. “Alright. Just let me know how much the rental will cost, and I’ll write you a check.”

  “Don’t worry about it; consider it payment for the broken window.”

  She shook her head, “Well, thank you, I guess.” She turned to leave, and I began to stand to stop her. I did not want her to leave. Even Mr. Logic hesitated. At the threshold, she turned back, “I totally understand why you did this. It’s a good idea, I’m sorry I didn’t think of it myself.” She turned to glance at the photos on the shelf again, “Thank you for everything, Chris.”

  “Robin,” I took four steps and stopped myself before I pulled her into my arms.

  She held up her hand and winced, “No, please don’t, Chris,” and with that she turned and left the room. I stared for a long time at the space she had occupied and second-guessed my decision.

  Finally, I wiped my hands over my face and returned to my desk. It was the right thing to do, and she said she understood it.

  I forced myself to focus on work and didn’t realize what time it was until Matt came down and announced that dinner was ready. I could smell the spices as soon as I stepped out of the office, and when I got upstairs, I found only two spots at the table.

  “Robin made Geri some homemade chicken soup which Geri ate a little while ago. She put the leftovers in the fridge for us to heat up tomorrow.”

  “Where’s Robin?” I asked as I stared at the table.

  “She said she was getting a sore throat so she went to bed after she walked me through the directions for her chili. She even showed me how to make corn bread.”

  I had to wonder if Robin was really not feeling well. Was she avoiding me?

  The chili was incredible, and I ended up eating two bowls while Matt and I polished off half of the cornbread. They had made a massive pot of chili, and Matt told me as we cleaned up that Robin had already split it in half and put a large container in the freezer for later use.

  Matt excused himself after dinner and went up to his room to finish reading a book and to get his stuff together for school the next day while I returned to my office after checking on Geri.

  When I came up a few hours later, the house was quiet. Geri and Matt were both sleeping, and the lights had been dimmed or turned off around the main floor. I checked the locks and headed back to my room.

  I paused by Robin’s door and decided I should probably say something, so I knocked lightly on the door. A few seconds later, Robin pulled it open wearing only a t-shirt and I clenched my hands to keep from reaching out for her.

  I looked over her shoulder and noticed her bags rearranged. She must have spent the afternoon packing up.

  “Did you need something, Chris?” she asked, her voice husky, and I wondered if she’d been sleeping or if she really might have a sore throat.

  Did I need something? Yeah, I needed her, but I couldn’t say that. “I just wanted to tell you the chili was really good.”

  “I’m glad you liked it,” she replied.

  “Thank you for showing Matt how to make that, and for making extra.”

  She smiled wistfully, “You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do.”

  Neither one of us said anything as we stared at one another longingly. The sparks that had been there from the very first moment we met jumped between us like firecrackers.

  Finally, she shuffled her feet. “Did you want anything else?”

  I groaned and stepped forward, takin
g her face in my hands. “Yes, I want you, Robin.” Her minty breath fanned out over my face in a wave of surprise as I held her face inches from my lips. “Tell me you want me, too.”

  “Chris,” her voice wavered and she paused with her eyes closed for a second. When she opened them, I fell so deeply into them that I wasn’t sure I’d ever come back out whole. “Yes, Chris, yes.”

  I pulled her in for a long passionate kiss and walked her back from the door, pushing it closed behind me. When the back of her legs touched the edge of the bed, I pulled away and studied her face. “Are you sure?”

  She rose on tiptoe, wrapping her arm around my neck. “Positive,” she whispered before she brought our lips back together.

  My hands skimmed down the sides of her shirt to find the hem, and my hands fanned out lower onto her thighs as I bent down slowly. When I could back up, I peeled the shirt off of her and brought my lips to her neck. She whimpered in my ear and clung to me as I pushed her back to the bed.

  She tugged at my shirt, and with one arm, I reached over my shoulder and pulled it off of me, shifting to get it off my other arm as our chests came into contact.

  “Robin,” I brushed fine strands of hair back from her face as she put her fingers over my lips.

  “Just make love to me, Chris. Don’t say anything.”

  I kissed the tips of her fingers and did what she asked.

  Robin had fallen asleep shortly after we made love, and I lay awake staring at her for a long time. We hadn’t needed to say anything; our bodies had said it all. They had moved perfectly together, bringing sighs and gasps from both our lips from time to time. It was the most beautiful and passionate lovemaking I had ever encountered.

  I climbed out of the bed and picked up my clothes, pausing beside her to gently stroke her cheek once before I whispered, “Why couldn’t I have found you years ago?” I paused, “You stole my heart, beautiful woman. I’m going to miss you.” I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, “Goodbye, Robin.”

  Robin

  The door clicked, and I finally let the teardrops flow. How I had managed to hold them in until he was gone, I didn’t know.