A Very Grey Christmas

by T. A. Foster

  “Something like that.” I giggled. “I don’t know how he pulled it off without telling me. My mom was in on the whole thing too.”

  “That’s too cute. So what are you two doing all week?”

  “We’re getting ready to go out for a walk and tonight is the pageant at church. I don’t have a lot planned since I didn’t know he was going to be here. I guess we’re just hanging with my parents.”

  “Oh, wait. Are you staying together in your room?”

  “No. My mom put us in the guesthouse.”

  “Oh, thank God. You would have freaked your parents out with all the Christmas sex.” She laughed.

  “Taylor!” Although, I wasn’t sure why I was admonishing her. Christmas sex was all I could think about. It had started in spectacular fashion with that new move Grey and I tried.

  “I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to have any alone time with Mason. My mom is putting him in the guestroom. I guess I’ll be sneaking down the hall in the middle of the night.”

  “That’s one way to do it.” I was grateful my parents didn’t keep Grey and me separated. That would have been more torturous than him being in Texas. Taylor only met Mason two months ago. It was a different scenario in my mind.

  “So, you want to try to get together like we planned before, or are you worried now that Grey is here?”

  “I think we should do something. Grey and Mason see each other regularly now and no one has been punched. I think we’re ok over the holidays. Should we plan dinner?”

  “Oh, what about that farm with all of the Christmas lights and the hayrides?”

  “Wonderland Lights?” It was a local farmer who turned his working farm into a side business during the holidays.

  “Yes. And I heard this year they have bands playing.”

  “Cool. Ok, that sounds like fun. We can always grab dinner after if we go.”

  “I’ll tell Mason, and I’ll text you later about the time.”

  “Bye, girl. Tell your dad I said Merry Christmas.”

  “You too.”

  I tucked the phone in my pocket. Grey and I had an official double date with Taylor and Mason. I hoped he was as excited about it as I was.

  I turned the corner for the kitchen, to see Grey standing on a stepstool to reach something for my mom in the cabinets over the refrigerator. I didn’t know why those cabinets even existed; they were impossible to access.

  “Be careful up there,” I teased.

  Grey laughed. “Are you more worried about me or these china bowls?” He showed me a handful of red and green soup bowls. I couldn’t remember ever seeing them before.

  “The bowls of course.” I leaned against the counter, watching my mom take the bowls and then direct him to grab something else.

  “Grey, thank you so much. Frank would get them, but you’re so tall.” She beamed at him.

  I was happy my parents had taken to Grey, but I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. They acted like he was already part of the family.

  He folded up the stepladder and returned it to the laundry room. “Ready for our walk, darlin’?” He kissed the top of my head.

  “Yes, I’ve got all our snow gear ready to go.” I led him to the back door. I handed him a pair of gloves and one of my dad’s wool scarves. “I promise not to let you freeze out there, island boy.”

  “Oh, you don’t think I can handle it?” he taunted.

  “We’ll see.” I winked before ducking under his arm and out the door.

  The woods were quiet as if the snowy blanket had hushed all the usually sounds. Grey and I walked side by side along the trail.

  “So this is where you used to play?”

  “Yes, the other neighborhood kids and I would take the trail to the park. Our parents weren’t worried because we didn’t have to be on any major roads. It was like we had our own secret path.

  “It’s completely different here than the island.” He looked up at the trees towering overhead. Snow drifted from the limbs as a squirrel scampered up the side.

  “Yeah, it is. I miss the trees.” The beach was beautiful, but sometimes I missed the canopy of the woods.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it before.” Grey was quiet.

  I reached for his hand through our padded gloves. “I love Texas. You know that, right? And sometimes I’m going to miss being here, but that doesn’t mean I have any regrets. Being with you is where I want to be.”

  He stopped me in the middle of the trail. For a moment, I worried I had said something that hurt his feelings. All I wanted to do was reassure him that living with him was the best decision I ever made.

  “Sometimes I worry that you’ll want to come back here. That it’s not enough.” His eyes were dark. “That we’re not enough.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want you to ever think that. I can’t believe you would worry.”

  “Your parents are great. You have all these memories here. Friends. Neighbors. Your whole life is here.”

  I pulled the glove from my hand and traced the side of his face. It felt frozen out of the warmth of my glove. “Grey, I have all of that with you in Padre. Well maybe not the parents part, but I’ll still see them and I talk to them every week. It was time for me to move out and live my own life. I wanted that life to be with you.”

  I heard a branch crack in the distance. It was a sharp splintering sound in the quiet woods.

  My words must have soothed his doubts, because his mouth descended on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, reaching on my toes to bring our bodies closer. I started to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” He brushed the snow from my face.

  “We are in twenty layers of sweaters and coats.” I tugged at his scarf.

  “True.” He chuckled.

  I retrieved my glove and fanned my fingers, trying to get them covered again. “Come on. Let me show you the park. Unless you want to take me back and get out of all these clothes.”

  He laughed. “Nice try. Tonight, baby. We’ve got all night.”

  I recognized a lot of the kids I used to babysit performing in the church pageant. Mary was played by the little girl who lived at the end of the street, and her doting Joseph used to throw spaghetti at me whenever I fixed him dinner.

  The annual Christmas pageant was always a part of our holiday traditions. It started the first year I was cast as a sheep, and then moved up in the ranks to be a shepherd, and eventually the angel. In high school, I phased out of being a part of the ensemble, but by then, we were so used to going, it became a family Christmas custom. Tonight Grey was getting a full indoctrination into our family practices.

  Grey, my parents, and I sat in the middle of the church. The cast parents filled the first five rows. Grey and I had never been to church together, other than attending Marin’s wedding, and I didn’t think that counted. His hand felt warm in my hand, and he gave me an extra squeeze when the chorus started singing Silent Night.

  If I had tried to picture Grey here, with my family, meeting people I had known my whole life, it would have seemed foreign and out of place. Our life was in South Padre. But now that he was here, it was a seamless blending of our lives. He fit in as if he had been a part of the community as long as I had.

  We stood to applaud the performance while the mini actors and actresses bowed. The baby Jesus started screaming and the audience laughed. I saw his mother race to the side of the stage with a bottle, while the shepherds’ crooks became entangled.

  “Fun show.” Grey chuckled as we rose to file out of our pew.

  “Did you like it?” I wasn’t sure how he would take a bunch of amateur child actors shouting lines, and knocking over half the props.

  “Kids are cute.” He smiled as he slid his fingers through mine.

  My mom stopped us in the lobby. “I’m going to check in with the cookie drive committee. I’ll meet you all at the car.” She dashed off toward the church social center.

  My father turned to face us. “Why
don’t I heat up the car and meet you out front?”

  “Need any help?” Grey moved in front of me.

  “Well, if you want to help me scrape off the snow, that would be great.”

  The snow had started up again and the parking lot was coated in powder. It would probably take awhile to create any kind of visibility out of the windshield. I was glad my dad was the one who was driving. I hated trying to navigate the roads in the snow, even if we were only five minutes from the house.

  “No problem. See you in a minute.” Grey squeezed my hand before ducking out with my dad.

  I watched the two of them pull their collars up and dip their heads as the snow drifted around them. It looked like they were laughing about something. I’ve always heard that you date people like your father, but until this moment, I had never seen the similarities. I smiled as Grey followed my father through the parking lot. I thought I’d keep that little realization to myself.

  “Merry Christmas, Eden. Good to see you here.” Mr. Robinson, my high school math teacher appeared from the crowd.

  “Merry Christmas to you. It was a nice production this year.” I kept my eye on the parking lot. Mr. Robinson had been my number one crush for the four years I attended high school. Secretly, I had a feeling the reason I went into business was because of him. Who could ignore those dimples and how sexy he looked when he pulled on a pair of glasses at the overhead board?

  “So I heard you moved to Texas?” He grinned.

  “I did. In the fall, I left for South Padre.”

  “That’s pretty far south, isn’t it?”

  I nodded. “Almost in Mexico. It’s a small island.”

  “I never heard the story. What took you there? New job?” Mr. Robinson leaned in closer, and for the first time in four years, he was looking at me like I wasn’t a student.

  “Actually, I met someone.” This was one of the oddest conversations I’d had at church. Trying to tell my one-time off-limits high school math teacher crush that I had fallen in love with someone his age and moved to another state.

  “Really?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know.”

  “What about you? How are things going at school?” My dad and Grey must be having a hard time de-icing the windshield. There was no sign of the car.

  “I’ve got a few good classes, but no students like you.” He smiled lightly. “Maybe I’ll see you before you head home.”

  “Merry Christmas, Mr. Robinson.”

  “It’s Paul. You can call me Paul now.” He waved as he darted out the door.

  “No car yet?” My mom looped an arm through mine.

  “No, they said they’d bring it up for us.”

  “Was that Mr. Robinson you were talking to?” My mother arched one eyebrow higher than the other.

  I felt my cheeks turning crimson. “Yes. He didn’t know about my move to Padre. Just filling him in.”

  “Uh-huh.” She smiled. “I never had teachers that good-looking in school. Can’t believe he’s still single. But he’s young, only twenty-eight. He’s got plenty of time.” Her grip tightened against my arm.

  Was that supposed to be a single? Was she trying to tell me that since I was younger than him I had time to wait and settle down? Before I could ask her what the cryptic signal meant, the car pulled in front of the door and Grey hopped out to hold the doors open for us.

  “It’s pretty and all, but I think I’m glad we don’t have to deal with this mess in Padre.” Grey winked as he shuttled me into the car. His breath formed clouds of ice crystals; he looked like he was about to shiver out of his coat.

  “All right,” my father announced. “Let’s get this sleigh back to the house for a night cap.”

  By the time we finally said goodnight to my parents and Grey locked the guesthouse door, it was well after midnight. His arms wrapped around me and he kissed me lightly on the forehead.

  “You know what I want to do we haven’t done yet?” he asked.

  After last night, I was dying to know what other things we could try. “What’s that, cowboy?” I tipped toward him.

  “We haven’t watched any Christmas movies.” His smile was wide.

  “Christmas movies? You want to watch a movie, now?”

  “Sure. I’m starting to get into this Christmas thing. Which is your favorite?” He hooked his coat on the back of the door followed by his scarf.

  “That’s a tough one. All-time favorite Christmas movie?” I thought through the usual catalog. “Have you seen Christmas Vacation?”

  Grey had already turned on the TV and was repositioning the pillows on the couch.

  “Yeah, in high school, but let’s watch it.” He picked up the remote and started flipping through the iTunes movies.

  “Be right back.” I left him searching for the movie and walked into the bedroom.

  If Grey wanted to watch a Christmas movie, I had no problem with it, but I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. I pulled open the top drawer of the dresser and shuffled through what little lingerie I had. I lifted a sheer black lace bra and matching thong from the pile. It wasn’t much, but that was the point.

  I shed my sweater and ignored the chill bumps on my arms and legs. I strutted into the living room in my Christmas best.

  “Find the movie?” I asked and slid into the open spot on the couch.

  “Damn.” Grey chuckled. “I did, but you aren’t in the mood for a movie, are you?”

  “I’m in the mood for whatever you are.” My hand wrapped to the inside of his thigh. “If it’s Clark Griswold, then let’s watch it.” I stared straight ahead at the television, waiting for him to hit play, but hoping he’d accept my challenge and take me on the couch like he usually did at home.

  Grey inhaled, and raked his teeth across his bottom lip. I could see the inner debate brewing.

  “You don’t think I can watch this entire movie with you dressed like that, do you?” he taunted.

  “I’m just more comfortable this way, that’s all. Think of these as my pajamas.” I let my palm trail over my breast and across my bare stomach. I was crossing boundaries I hadn’t tried. “Let’s watch it.” I ran my tongue along the outer edge of his ear.

  Without reacting to a single advance, Grey pressed the play button and the movie started. Not what I was expecting. I sank back into the couch, realizing my seduction was going to have to wait until Cousin Eddie saved the day.

  But before the opening credits had finished, Grey turned and blazed a fiery kiss on my lips, pulling me underneath him with sudden fierceness. His hands raced along my sides, pulling the straps over my hips and knees until I felt the satiny fabric slip off my ankles. I moaned as his fingers swirled then dipped inside me, building a frenzy within me with only a few strokes.

  I reached for his belt, but he pushed my hands away. “Uh-uh,” he growled before his mouth descended between my legs, his tongue sending sparks of electricity through my body. My back arched, my pulse throbbed, and my hands reached overhead as I took everything he gave.

  Maybe this wasn’t a usual Christmas movie tradition, and probably Clark Griswold wouldn’t approve, but my God, it was the most incredible Christmas movie I had ever sat through.

  There was a note on the pillow.

  Gone to the store with your dad.

  Loved last night.

  XO,

  Grey

  I sighed and folded the note in half. I loved last night too. I’d have to suggest another movie. I stretched and looked at the clock. Shit. I was supposed to go to the studio with my mom for one of her morning yoga classes.

  I jumped in the shower and quickly dressed in a pair of yoga pants, sports bra, and tank top. I’d add plenty of layers to appease my mother, but I wasn’t about to try complicated poses with extra padding from clothes. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and ran out the door.

  “I was just about to come get you. You ready?” My mother’s long hair was styled like mine and she was wearing a sweatshirt that hung of
f her shoulder.

  “Ready.” I smiled. I’d have to grab a cup of coffee after class.

  On the way to the studio, my mother turned up the Christmas music and hummed along. Normally, her attempt to keep up with the lyrics would annoy me, but right now, it only made me giggle.

  “You’re in a good mood, aren’t you?” She turned.

  “I am. I’m glad Grey’s here.” I couldn’t tell her about our amazing sexual escapades that were keeping me up all night but still leaving me begging for more. It was the best possible unquenched desire I had experienced. It was hard not to wonder what we’d do tonight.

  “He and your dad are hitting it off. They’re going to work on Dad’s old motorcycle today.”

  “The one that’s been in the shed forever?” I couldn’t imagine how my dad roped him into that project, or better yet, why he wanted to get it running after all these years. As far as I knew, that thing had never made it out of our driveway.

  “That’s the one. The only thing I’m counting on is that he’s smart enough not to try it in the snow if they do get it running. I have a feeling your handyman will get it going though.”

  “Probably.” I smirked. “He does have an engineering degree and he’s naturally gifted at fixing things.” I thought about all of the things he had taught himself to do. “Well, most things.”

  “When he’s not fixing things and working at the motel, what do you do together?” My mother turned down the radio.

  I thought about our routine at the beach cottage. I was learning as much as I could about condo management and sales, while Grey was working with construction engineers on strategies to maintain as much of the Palm’s original structure as possible. By the time we got home, we were exhausted.

  “We like to cook together.” I chewed on my lip. “And we do this thing on the deck almost every night where we have a drink and watch the sunset. It’s become a daily ritual.”

  “Ok.” She nodded her head, but I couldn’t tell what level of approval that meant.