Tate Family Holidays

by Hope Ford

  I call my captain and ask for someone to be stationed at my mom’s house. When I pull in, they are already there. Ali was quiet the whole trip over and when I look at her I can see from the way her arms are hugging herself that she’s a little freaked out. “Sit tight, honey. Let me talk to them for a minute.”

  I jump out of the truck and give the police officer orders to watch the house and not let anyone out or in.

  I then go to the passenger side of the truck and open the door.

  “C’mon honey. Let’s go.” I undo her seat belt.

  “Wait. Why are we at your mom’s house? Why do I have to go in?” she asks me.

  “Can I explain inside?” I ask her as I pick her up out of the truck and set her feet on the ground.

  With my arm around her, I walk her into the house.

  “Mom! Hey, Mom, it’s just me,” I call out so as to not freak her out.

  She comes out of the kitchen. “Hey, honey, is everything okay?” She looks between me and Ali and immediately walks up to Ali, pulling her into a quick embrace. “Ali, honey, it’s so good to see you.”

  “You too, Mrs. Tate.” She tugs at the bottom of her sweatshirt and I can tell she’s uncomfortable.

  “Mom, uh, I hope it’s okay. I need Ali to hang out here for a little while,” I tell her.

  “Of course.” My mom shrugs. That’s one of my favorite things about my mother. She’s there for everybody. No questions asked.

  At the same time, Ali’s eyes widen. “What, why? I need to go home, Ford.”

  I look between my Mom and Ali. “So, Pete’s father has been stalking me and until I know it’s safe, I need you both to stay here. Mom, I have a policeman stationed outside.”

  “Who’s Pete?” Ali asks.

  “Pete is my ex partner. He got into some trouble and lost his badge. It looks like his dad is out for retribution,” I explain as I walk toward her and put my hand on her shoulder. Hell, I need to do something to erase the worry on her face.

  Not taking my eyes off Ali, I ask my mom, “When’s Dad coming home?”

  “He’s golfing, honey. He knows I’ll be cooking all day, so it won’t be until late this afternoon,” she explains.

  “Okay, I need you both to stay inside and don’t let anyone in.” I turn to my mom. “Okay?”

  She shrugs her shoulders and wipes her hands off on her apron hanging around her neck. “I know the drill.”

  Ali puts her hand on my arm, but as soon as I turn around, she drops it. “But I don’t get it. I understand that they might know your mom. But why do I need protection?”

  I release a long sigh. I move and stand toe to toe with her. Her eyes are full of sadness and worry. Damn, I would do anything to wipe that look off her face.

  I bring my hands up to the side of her cheeks and tip her head back to look at me, holding her there. When her eyes are on mine, I launch into a speech that is either going to make her realize exactly what I’m about or have her running for the hills. “Because by this point, he knows you mean something to me. Because I can’t do my job and be worrying about you. Because before anything else, I have to know that you’re okay. I need you to stay here and hang out with Mom. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

  “Uh, Ali, I’ll just be in the kitchen. Ford, take care of yourself, honey. Be safe. I love you,” my mom calls out before I hear her go back through the door she came in.

  “Will do, Mom. Love you too,” I tell her without taking my eyes off Ali.

  “So, will you please stay here and hang out until I can get this taken care of? Please?” I plead with her.

  Her normally bright blue eyes have darkened and I can see the emotion floating through them. She simply nods her head.

  I try to hold back. I stand there looking at her, lusting for just one taste of her, but my promise not to touch her until she asks me to rings in my head.

  “Ford,” she whispers and sticks her tongue out to lick her lips.

  “Yes, honey?”

  “Will you kiss me?” she asks as her face flushes a deep red.

  Instantly, I lean in the few inches and press my lips to hers. I can’t hold back, there’s no softness in this kiss, only a deep need that has grown inside me that wants to make her mine. I devour her. I’m begging for the taste of her and her arms go around me as her hands grip tightly on to my back. My need for her is huge and I pull back from her, gasping for breath. She tucks her head into my shoulder and I know she can feel my wild heartbeat against her cheek.

  “I have to go, honey.” I reluctantly pull away from her.

  “Please, take care of yourself,” she pleads with me. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Will I get another kiss like that when I get back?” I ask her.

  She nods at me, smiling.

  “I’ll be back before you know it,” I tell her and kiss the top of her head before walking out the door. I stop in the doorway to take one last look, then shut the door behind me, jogging to my car like a man on a mission. I need to take care of this so I can get back to her.

  5

  Ali

  I watch him through the window as he jogs to his truck. I touch my finger to my lips thinking about his lips on my own. I don’t know what we’re doing. I leave on Sunday and my future is so unsure. All the thoughts start to fill my head. I’m worried about Ford, about selling Gran’s house, school, my future. I can feel my heart racing thinking about it all. Once Ford’s truck pulls away, I step back and follow the noises to the kitchen.

  Looking around, every space on the counter is taken up with either already fixed pies or soon to be fixed desserts. “What can I do to help?”

  Mrs. Tate hands me a bag of apples. “Do you mind starting on the apple pies, Ali?”

  “Sure.” Everything seems to be in the same place as it was growing up. I open a drawer and find a knife and start peeling apples.

  “So, Mrs. Tate, I, uh, never got to thank you for coming to Gran’s funeral. I really appreciate you being there.”

  She stops what she’s doing and turns toward me. “You don’t have to thank me. I wanted to be there. And call me Janice.”

  I nod my head at her and pick up another apple.

  “So, how is school going?” She pours some milk into a bowl and then adds some butter, then stirs it all together.

  “Good. I’ll graduate in December,” I tell her proudly.

  “Oh honey, that’s great. Then you’ll get to come home.” She adds some dry ingredients and then keeps stirring.

  “Yeah,” I mutter to her. I don’t want to get into the fact that I won’t have a home to come home to.

  “So, how long have you and Ford been dating?” I look up at her, shocked, but she just smiles knowingly.

  “Oh, we’re not. I mean we’re just friends,” I stutter and concentrate even harder on cutting up the peeled apples.

  She laughs and when I look at her out the side of my eye, she says, “Oh, my boy’s smitten with you. If you’re not dating already, it’s not because he doesn’t want to.”

  I feel the heat flush across my face, but luckily she drops the subject. We spend the rest of the day working side by side in her kitchen. And it’s probably the best day I’ve had in a long time. Even though I’m worried about Ford, his mom assures me that he knows how to take care of himself. However, in the late afternoon, when I hear the front door open, I don’t even try to stop myself from racing to the door to see if it’s him.

  When I see it’s him coming through the door, the urge to cry hits me like a ton of bricks. My first inclination was to jump into his arms and wrap myself around him, but I don’t. I come to a halt before I reach him. He has that soft smile on his face, the one that I love that reminds me of when we were in school and he would catch me watching him.

  He stands really still and then holds his arms open to me. I don’t even hesitate. I launch myself at him and he catches me high in his arms. My feet are not even touching the ground, but I
don’t care.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I tell him, but it’s muffled because my face is pressed against his chest.

  “Of course I am. A pretty lady promised me a kiss when I got back.” He kisses the top of my head.

  I slap at his chest and pull away from him. “What happened? Did you get the guy?”

  His mom walks into the living room wiping her hands off on a towel. “Everything okay, Ford?”

  “Well, I couldn’t really ‘get him.’ He wasn’t breaking the law. I did go and talk to him. I think he just has some built-up hatred for me, but I think it will work out.” He blows it off like it’s nothing, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying.

  He walks over to his mom and gives her a hug. “Thanks for today, but I’m going to steal your help now.”

  She hugs him back before walking toward me and putting her arms around me. “Thank you for your help today, Ali. I expect to see you tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.”

  I start to argue, but decide to just give in. She’s told me all day that she expects me here tomorrow, so there’s no way I can disappoint her now.

  I just nod at her and Ford grabs my hand and walks me out to the truck.

  Ford

  Before coming to pick her up, I had grabbed a bag of clothes and a pizza. As soon as she gets in the car, I hear her stomach grumble.

  “Did Mom not feed you?” I ask her. Which I will be surprised if she says no. Mom feeds everyone.

  “She tried. I just couldn’t eat,” she confesses.

  I drive quickly across town and pull into her driveway. Before I get out, she puts her hand on my arm to stop me. “Thank you for today, Ford. I really enjoyed spending it with your mom, even if it was under bad circumstances.”

  “I can tell she had fun too. Look, so, uh I brought a bag with me. I want to stay and help you tonight since I wasted most of your day.” I get out of the truck and don’t wait for her response.

  Once I help her down, she asks, “I thought you said it was safe now.”

  I look her straight in the face. “He said all the right things. At this point, we can’t do anything, Ali. He hasn’t broken any laws. There’s no guarantee. But keeping you safe is not the only reason I want to stay,” I tell her honestly.

  “Well, why then? Why do you want to stay?” she asks me breathlessly.

  “Honestly?” I cup her cheek in my hand.

  She nods her head.

  Stroking my finger along her chin, I tell her, “Because all I think about is you. I know you leave on Sunday, but I want to spend time with you. I want to help you pack up your grandma’s house because it kills me to think you’re doing it alone. I want to get to know you better. I want to be here just so I know you’re safe. And well, uh, I want to kiss you again.”

  She’s stunned. I can tell by her wide eyes and her intake of breath. But I don’t budge. And I don’t let her look away. Only moments pass by and she huskily asks me, “Just kiss me?”

  I smile at her joke and lean down to kiss her nose before releasing her. “Well, you know I want more. But nothing will happen you don’t want to happen. Okay?”

  She opens the door to the back seat and gestures inside. “Well, let’s grab the food. I’m starving.”

  Carrying everything inside, we sit down at the table and eat. She talks about how much fun she had baking with my mom and I see a real, true smile for the first time. All evidence of sadness and grief is gone from her face. I tell myself I’m going to remember to thank my mother tomorrow.

  She takes another bite of pizza and chews it softly. Once she swallows it, she asks, “So are you off work tomorrow?”

  “Yep, I had requested off. You’re stuck with me,” I tell her cheekily.

  Once we finish eating, I start helping her go through a guest bedroom. We are almost done when I come across photo albums in the back of the closet. I pull one out and sit on the bed, pulling it onto my lap.

  When she sees what I have, she dives for it, but I hold it out of her reach. “No, no, Ford. That book is so embarrassing.”

  I start flipping through the pages and we both get lost in all the pictures. There are pictures of Ali and her gran, but a lot of them are of just Ali. Her cheering at the high school, her winning a debate, her going to prom, and her graduation.

  She’s sitting beside me now and I reach over and wrap my hand around her knee. “You’re beautiful, Ali.”

  She smirks at the book in my lap, ‘’You mean I was beautiful.”

  I turn sideways to face her and study her. I can see the insecurity in her eyes. “No. I mean you’re beautiful. Right now.”

  I lean in a little and there’s no way she has any doubt that I want to kiss her. But I don’t move any closer. I want her to come to me. When I’m about to give up, she hesitantly leans forward, closes her eyes and presses her lips to mine.

  6

  Ali

  I want him. There’s no doubt about it. But I’m hesitant to let things go too far. This isn’t my first time, but I haven’t been with a man since I’ve gained my weight and being self-conscious is never sexy, I know that.

  He puts the picture album on the dresser and then lays me back on the bed. His kisses are more insistent as he kisses up and down my neck. His hand slides under my shirt, and lazily strokes my naked belly. I tense underneath him.

  “What is it?” he asks, pressing kisses along my earlobe.

  “I want you, Ford,” I admit.

  He freezes against me, obviously surprised by my admission. “I want you, too.”

  “Do you really?” I ask him for reassurance. I sit up and pull my shirt down to cover my belly.

  He sits up and grips my hands with his. “Do you trust me, Ali?”

  I think about it and realize I really do trust him. I nod at him.

  He grabs the bottom of my shirt and starts to pull it over my head. He stands up and kisses the tip of my nose before he tugs my shirt the rest of the way off. Once my shirt is off, I start to shiver.

  His eyes never leave mine. He reaches behind me and unclasps my bra, pulling it down over my arms and then tosses it to a chair. And still, his eyes don’t leave mine.

  He puts his fingers in the waistband of my pants and tugs them down my legs. I hold on to him to steady myself as he bends down to let me step out of them.

  Immediately, he stands back up, still looking into my eyes. His are so dark, they’re almost black.

  He quickly takes off his shirt and pulls off his pants until between the two of us, I only have a pair of panties on. And still he doesn’t take his eyes off mine.

  His hands go down my shoulders, over my torso and his fingers grip the edge of my underwear. I inhale deeply, and try to keep my body from trembling.

  He pulls them down my legs and once I step out of them, he stands back up.

  He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “You with me?”

  I nod at him, but I am looking over his shoulder, too afraid to look at his face now.

  He cups my cheek and pulls my face toward him. “I need you to look at me, honey.”

  My eyes snap to his and I know he can see the fear in mine. “I want you, Ali.”

  I finally allow myself to look at his bare shoulders, down his naked chest and then my gaze lands on his hard rod that is poking straight out between his legs. I gasp at the size of him, but lose my train of thought when his hands slide down my back and grip my butt. He pulls me against him, and I feel his long, hard shaft poke against my belly.

  I gasp at the contact. He leans in and kisses me briefly before pulling away. “I’m going to spend the whole night worshipping your body. By morning, you will have no doubt how much I want you.”

  Ford

  She trembles in my arms. I pull her hand and lead her over to lie on the edge of the bed. Once she lies down I take a moment to stare at her. She’s pure perfection. Her body is full and curvy and I can’t get enough of looking at her.

  I stand between her legs and kiss her ne
ck, down her chest and suck her nipple into my mouth. Her hips buck against me, but I don’t release her. I suckle her until she’s begging for more.

  I kiss down her belly and then drop to my knees beside the bed with her legs over my shoulders. Her pussy glistens and I cup her mound, the drenched heat pulling me toward her. I kiss along her inner thighs and ultimately land on her swollen lips. Her head falls back and her body arches as I kiss and suckle her swollen clit. I lick along her slit and stroke her with my fingers and tongue. I put two fingers deep inside her and feel her stiffen against me. Her walls squeeze tightly on to me and when I latch my lips to her clit and her body starts to writhe and she screams her release.

  I dig a condom out of my jeans and tug it along my hard length. Sliding up her body, I nestle between her legs, slowly entering her. She opens her legs wider. With my eyes on her, I grip her hips and press down into her. The farther I go, the more I can feel her inner walls gripping me and sucking me in. Once I’m fully seated inside her, I give her time to adjust, but I can’t hold off. I can’t hold back any more. I pull out of her and then slam back inside. With each thrust, the pressure builds until I’m thrusting uncontrollably and when I know I’m not going to last, I apply pressure to her clit once more and instantly it pushes her over the edge.

  I keep sinking deep inside her until we both explode and I fill the condom as her tight cunt milks me. Home. That’s my first thought. As weird as it sounds, I’m finally home.

  7

  Ali