“Hey, babe, what are you doing?”
“Just getting ready to take a bath then I plan to watch Christmas movies all night. What are you up to?”
“Andy asked me to go out with him for a while, a guy’s night out thing.”
“Sounds like fun. Don’t be picking up any stray chicks.”
“No chance of that, pretty lady. I just wanted to call and say hello before I leave the house.”
“Well, I’m glad you did. Have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, did you give Andy the gift from me yet?”
“I have it in my hand as we speak. I’ll give it to him tonight.”
“Good, I hate it that I won’t see him before Christmas to give it to him myself but that’s okay.”
“I’m sure he’ll be touched you thought of him. He tells me Missy is going to his folks’ house for dinner. I thought nothing was going on with those two.”
“She says they’re not involved. I don’t understand it, but to each his own.”
“Well, babe, I have to run. See you around five tomorrow?”
“Sounds good, have fun tonight.”
“Enjoy your movies.”
“Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams.”
She hung up and the thought crossed her mind, oh yes, Cody, my dreams will be sweet because I’ll be dreaming of you.
She filled the tub with warm water and bubbles, lit a candle, poured a glass of wine, and after turning the radio on slid into the tub. She relaxed in the warm bubbles, listening to a mixture of love songs and Christmas carols on a local radio station and daydreamed about the Christmas she’d be sharing with Cody.
When she’d finished her bath and slipped back into her robe, she decided to call her mother.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Mom, I just called to wish you a merry Christmas a couple days early.”
“I’m glad you did. Merry Christmas to you, too, honey.”
“What are you doing for the holiday this year?”
“I’m having dinner with friends tomorrow evening then on Christmas Day I’ll be getting together with some of the family. Are you still planning to be with Cody?”
“Yes, we’re having an early supper tomorrow night then going to church. I’m not sure what we’re doing Christmas Day. We’ll exchange gifts and he’s planning to cook, so that should be interesting.”
“Sounds like you’ll have a wonderful time, sweetie. Thanks for the gift by the way. It fit perfectly.”
“I’m glad you like it. Missy helped me pick it out for you. She bought her mom the same sweater and slacks in a different color.”
“Did my gift arrive yet?”
“Yes, I got it yesterday. The earrings are beautiful, Mom. You shouldn’t be so extravagant.”
“I only have one daughter. If I want to spoil her once in a while, I will. I’m glad you liked them. I picked emeralds to match your eyes. You have Daddy’s eyes you know.”
“I know, Mom. He had the most beautiful green eyes. I remember.”
“Yes, he did and yours look just like his.”
“Well I’m going to hang up now. There’s a Christmas movie coming on I want to watch.”
“You and your movies, I don’t think you’ll ever outgrow them.”
“I hope not. Goodnight, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Have a wonderful holiday with your young man.”
“I plan to. Bye.”
My young man…oh Mom, is that what he is?
The next day she arrived at Missy’s house at exactly twelve noon. The two friends exchanged gifts and decided on a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. After an enjoyable and relaxing few hours, Jessica rose from the table to go. “It’s been fun, Missy, but I’d better get going. I have to meet Cody at five and I need to do some things before I go.”
“Have a good Christmas, Jess.”
“You do the same, and don’t worry about meeting Andy’s family. It’ll be all right.”
She waved goodbye to her friend and stopped at the commissary on the way home to pick up a few last minute items for Christmas dinner. Even though Cody had told her he wanted to cook for her, she wanted to surprise him with a special dessert.
After making her purchases, she went home and packed everything she was taking with her. Then she brewed a pot of herbal tea and sat down to relax before going to see Cody. She thought about the evening and day ahead with anticipation. She was eager to see Cody’s reaction when he opened the concert tickets and wondered what he had come up with for her.
When it was time to go, she loaded everything into the car and drove to Cody’s. He greeted her at the door with a kiss then helped her with her bags.
“What’s this? I told you I was cooking,” he teased as he set the grocery bag on the bar.
“I’m whipping up a special dessert for us. Don’t you worry about it.”
“Okay, okay, never argue with a woman, especially on Christmas Eve. That’s my motto.”
She giggled as she leaned up for another kiss.
“That’s enough of that or we’ll never get out of here. Where do you want to go for supper?” he asked as he gently caressed her face and smiled.
“I was thinking seafood. Sound okay to you?”
“Fisherman’s Cove all right?”
“Perfect, you can drive my car if you like. I just filled the gas tank today.”
“Okay. By the way, did I tell you that you look delicious tonight?”
Jessica had chosen a pair of cream slacks and topped it with a festive emerald green sequined sweater. She was wearing the emerald earrings her mother had sent and her hair was pulled back with an emerald colored headband. She was a holiday vision.
“No you didn’t and thank you. You look pretty hot yourself.” He was wearing khaki Dockers and a maroon and tan striped sweater.
“Thank you. My sister Barb sent me the sweater. I’m surprised she could find a sweater in California, though.”
“It gets cold and snowy in the mountains there.”
“Yes, I guess it does.”
The restaurant wasn’t at all busy. Being Christmas Eve, a lot of folks were eating in. Cody asked for a corner table and the hostess led them to a secluded spot.
“I love this place. I used to come here a lot,” Jessica told him as they perused the menu.
“I like it too but I haven’t been here in a while. I believe I’ll have the catfish, how about you, babe?”
“That sounds good to me, too. You can order for me.”
He placed the order with the waitress and after she’d gone, Cody reached across the table and took Jessica’s hand in his. “I’m looking forward to spending Christmas with you, Jessie.”
“Thank you, Cody. I know it’ll be special.”
Their salads were brought to the table along with iced tea for the both of them. They talked easily while eating, discussing their families and past holidays.
After they’d finished the main course, he asked if she’d like dessert. “Yes, but not here. I’m making a special dessert when we get home.”
“All right, then I’ll get the check and we’ll go on to church. I think you’ll like the Christmas service.”
On the way to the church, he reached over and took her hand. He looked at her and smiled. Merry Christmas to me, she thought as she returned the smile, her green eyes shining.
“Here we are. This is the church my family attended for years,” he told her as they pulled into the parking lot of a quaint, old-fashioned little church. Christmas wreaths adorned the doors and a nativity scene graced the front lawn.
“It’s just like the old churches you see in the movies,” Jessica said as he helped her out of the car.
“I guess that’s why I like it so much.” He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and taking her hand in his, led her into the building.
The service was beautiful with the children’s choir performing a medley of traditional Christmas carols. When it w
as over, several people greeted Cody and spoke to Jessica.
On the way home, Cody asked, “So do you usually open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?”
“When I was growing up, we opened family gifts to each other on Christmas Eve, but Santa’s gifts were in the morning. What did your family do?”
“Believe it or not, that’s exactly what we did. Are we going to wait until morning to open ours?”
“I think I’d like that.”
“Okay if you insist…”
“What’s the matter, you can’t wait to see what I got for you?” she teased.
“More like I can’t wait for you to see what I bought for you, pretty lady,” he replied with a deep chuckle.
“You’re such a little boy at heart.”
“But you like that I’m a grown up boy at other times.” He gave her a look that warmed her to the very core of her being.
“What’s the plan for tonight?” she asked softly.
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
When they pulled into the driveway, he parked and walked around to the passenger side to help her out. When he’d unlocked the front door, he surprised her by picking her up and carrying her inside. Depositing her on the sectional couch, he turned the Christmas tree lights on and turned off all the other lights in the room.
“Oh, Cody, it’s perfect, so cozy and beautiful.” She gestured for him to sit beside her.
“Wait just a minute, Jessie.” He went into the kitchen and returned with two glasses of red wine. He set them on the coffee table and lit the three Christmas candles in the centerpiece, which decorated the table.
When he finally sat beside her, he handed her a glass and taking the other one, he toasted her, “To our first Christmas Eve.”
“How sweet, Cody,” She took a sip of the wine and leaned in for a kiss. She was not disappointed.
She leaned back and snuggled next to him, enjoying the sweet red wine and the tender moment. “Let’s watch Christmas movies or did you get burned out on them last night?” he asked as he gently rubbed her arm.
“Oh, you don’t know me very well, big guy. I never get tired of watching Christmas movies. Just ask my mother, it drives her crazy.”
“Well all right then, let’s see what’s on.” He reached for the remote and began surfing the channels until he found It’s A Wonderful Life.
Jessica jumped up from the couch suddenly. “I almost forgot my dessert, be back in a few.” She ran into the kitchen and unpacked her fondue pot. She placed chocolate in the pot and prepared it to melt then pulled marshmallows and graham crackers out of her grocery bag. She was planning to make s’mores. She searched his kitchen cupboards and finding a tray, placed everything on it, grabbed some napkins and carried it into the living room.
“Here’s your surprise dessert. I hope you like these as much as I do.”
He looked at the tray and said, “Is that what I think it is? I love s’mores.”
“Then big guy, you’re in luck, this is our Christmas Eve treat.”
“Is that the only treat I am getting tonight?”
“We’ll see, let’s watch the movie.” She laughed, kicked off her shoes and snuggled next to him on the couch.
They watched two movies, drank the bottle of wine and ate all the s’mores during the course of the evening.
The next morning, Jessica awakened early in Cody’s arms. As she stirred, he woke and smiled. “Merry Christmas!”
“I don’t remember coming to bed last night.”
“That’s because you conked out on me on the couch. I brought you to bed.”
“Oh, Cody, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, baby. You looked so peaceful, I almost left you on the couch but I just couldn’t bear to think of you downstairs and me up here all alone.”
“Aw…such a gentleman,” she teased as she leaned over to kiss him. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, immediately igniting her passion for him. Never had she been so drawn to a man physically as she was to this one. And never had she made love on Christmas morning, just one more first to be experienced with Cody. He loved her slowly and tenderly. As he pushed her hair back from her face, he looked deeply into her eyes. The tenderness and emotion she saw there brought tears to her eyes.
Cody wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and softly asked, “Why are you crying, baby?”
“Happy tears, Cody, you make me so happy.”
“Jessie…” He kissed her again and they lay in each other’s arms for what seemed like hours before he finally said, “Get up, woman. We have gifts to open and food to cook. I promised you a Christmas feast and that’s what you’ll have.”
“Yes, sir, I’m on it.” She got up and went to the closet. Pulling a robe off a hanger, she wrapped it around herself and tied the sash. “I’m glad I left this here, it’s chilly after being in that warm bed.”
“We could skip gifts and dinner and stay in the warm bed all day,” he joked.
“Not on your life, I can’t wait for you to open your gift.” She turned and ran down the stairs with Cody chasing her. She went into the kitchen and started the coffee. While she busied herself with making cinnamon toast, Cody set about taking a ham from the fridge and preparing it for the oven. Once the dinner was started and they’d had a quick breakfast of toast and coffee, it was finally time to exchange their gifts to each other.
Jessica ran into the living room and snatched his gift from under the tree. “You first,” she said as she handed him his gift.
“Santa Claus wrapping paper, really, Jessie?” he teased as he sat down.
She sat down beside him and said, “Well of course, what other kind is there?”
He chuckled as he tore open the package. When he opened the box, he looked at the tickets then looked at her with a look of sheer joy. “Jessie, I can’t believe this. This is great, Brad does a tremendous concert. You’ll love it. I assume the second ticket is for you.”
“So you like it?”
“I love it, you couldn’t have picked out anything better, babe.” He kissed her then got up to get her gift from under the tree. He handed her an exquisitely wrapped box.
As she touched the sparkly blue and silver paper, she said, “It’s too pretty to open.”
“But you’ll never see what’s inside if you don’t open it, silly.”
“Okay, okay…let me see.” She gingerly opened the small box and was delighted with what she found inside. It was a very dainty, small tennis bracelet. She held it up, amazed at the magical glittering of the tiny diamonds. He took it from her and fastened it on her wrist, planting a kiss on her nose as he finished.
“Cody, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” She leaned over and gave him a thank you peck on the cheek. He wasn’t settling for it and pulled her to him for a real kiss.
She spent much of the day admiring the bracelet. Cody did indeed prepare a feast as promised and the day passed by quietly. As the day came to an end, she thought, this is undoubtedly the best Christmas I’ve ever had.
Chapter 8
Jessica didn’t have to report back to work until the day after New Year’s so the next few days were divided between catching up on chores, spending days with Missy, and nights with Cody.
She and Missy drove to the mall to check out the after Christmas sales.
“So how did it go meeting Andy’s family?” Jessica asked as they relaxed with a cup of coffee after making their purchases.
“It was good. They’re nice people. Evidently, Andy had pre-warned them we’re only friends, because no one teased us. There was none of the usual trying to get us to kiss under the mistletoe or anything like that.”
“And he liked the clothes you bought for him?”
“Yes, he did. He bought me a really cute shirt and a necklace. He said his mom helped him pick it out.”
“Okay then, I guess all is good.”
“I l
ove the bracelet Cody bought you. He has good taste. Who would have thought it?”
“It’ll always be very special to me. The concert tickets were a big hit. I’m glad I finally figured out what to get him.”
“You’re glad? You nearly drove me insane, girl,” Missy teased her friend good-naturedly.
“I’m sorry, but it had to be just the right gift.”
“Jess, I’m going to sound like a broken record, but if you’re getting serious about Cody, you need to have a talk with him about your life.”
“Yes, I do. But not today, let’s go home. I’m ready to put my feet up.”
“All right, I’m ready, too. What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ve been waiting to see if Cody invites me out or not, how about you?”
“My mother is coming for a visit, so I’m not going out. She and I will have some quiet time together. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get together.”
“Is Andy going to meet your mom?”
“I don’t know, hadn’t really thought about it. I guess I’ll see what he’s doing.”
Jessica glanced at her friend. I believe she cares for him more than she is letting on.
And when New Year’s Eve arrived, Andy did, in fact, spend the evening with Missy and her mother. They attended a party at Andy’s family’s home. When Jessica heard the plans, her every instinct told her Missy and Andy meant more to each other than they were willing to admit.
Cody invited Jessica out for dinner and dancing. When the clock struck midnight, he pulled her into a kiss on the dance floor. Afterward, he told her, “You know what they say. The person you kiss at midnight is the person you’ll be spending the year with.”
“Is that what they say?” Jessica laughed and kissed him again.
Chapter 9
The holidays were over and life had gone pretty much back to normal for everyone.
Jessica had been plagued by numerous calls from Dan all week wanting to work things out.
“And then there’s Cody,” she told Missy over lunch one day at their favorite café. “We’re still seeing each other, a few nights a week and every weekend. The sex is still hot and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about him. We get along so well together. The holidays with him were like nothing I’ve experienced before.”
Unlikely Lovers Page 4