Erica was complaining about her boss’s perfume and Shae was totally on board with that thread of conversation, but Sarah—the traitor—turned to her, eyes bright with excitement.
“Erica, I care. I really do, but Shae is now dating a super hot dude and I want details.” She spun around and grabbed Shae by the shoulders. “Okay, let’s hear it. You. The hot boy. Let’s hear it.”
“Yeah. Dish, dish, dish,” Joanna said.
“And then show us the nudes,” Meegan added.
“Um, no. Let’s see. We’ve been on two dates since last I’ve seen you all. Both dates were very fun. He’s very sweet. I told you he dropped by the store with flowers.”
“But have you fucked him yet?!” Meegan whined.
“We had adult intercourse last night. It was great. I’m not saying anything more than that and no, I’m not showing you the nudes. I already deleted them.” Which was a lie.
“Ah, man!” Meegan and Erica both said.
“We’re going out again this week.” She didn’t mention that she’d invited Aidan to Friendsmas Eve ’cause she knew they’d take that as a sign that she was developing feelings she wasn’t sure of yet. She'd casually mention it in the group chat a couple days before. “Enough about me. Someone’s getting married in less than two weeks.” She turned to Keira and flashed her a bright smile. “Let’s focus on the bride.”
“Eeeee!” Meegan squealed. “Are you excited?”
“Yeah, I—”
“Oh um, I still haven’t found a dress,” Erica confessed. Keira only asked that the bridal party wear silver, but the plus-size selection in silver formal wear ranged from something close to a skintight mini dress to clearly-mother-of-the-bride matronly. Luckily Shae knew just where to shop.
“Here. I got you covered.” She pulled up her phone and brought up the XXI And UP website. “They have three similar styles in silver. I got this one.” She showed Erica a long sleeve, knee length sequin dress. Then clicked over to a similar floor length dress with spaghetti straps and a sexy slit that rose to mid thigh. “Get this one.”
Erica grabbed Shae’s phone out of her hand. “Oh my god, that’s perfect. I’m texting this to myself right now.”
As the wedding chatter continued, Shae filled her chili bowl and faded into the background. Keira’s upcoming nuptials were important. Shae’s confounding stress about Aidan was not. She just had to sort out the butterflies from the rabid zombie reindeer and once she did, she knew everything would be fine.
✶
Santa or Frosty or whoever was just fucking with her. All Shae had to do was go to work and bake. That’s all she had to do, but no. The rapid reindeer had relocated from her stomach to her brain. How could someone worry so much about texting a guy? Hours, she’d spent literally hours, getting herself worked up about wanting to text Aidan and not texting Aidan too much. Shae got herself so worked up that she ruined at least two batches of chocolate and three batches of caramel just thinking and waiting for Aidan’s “well this has been fun, but you’re kind of annoying me” text that never came.
Every time one of them had a free second, they were asking each other about their day. Aidan felt bad about the ruined confections even though he had no idea why Shae had let them go to shit. And then she’d ask him how things were going in the world of online real estate. He sounded stressed, but happy. Shae completely understood. Starting your own business was no joke. She’d had her own adventure finding a storefront she could afford, even with a healthy loan from her parents and her grandmother.
One afternoon when Aidan sent her a picture of their newest listing, she knew he’d been bitten by that independent business bug. It was a simple craftsman with smoke damage and bad plumbing and electric, exactly the sort of listing they needed for their site. Shae felt herself smiling as she looked through the interior shots, thinking of the first batch of cupcakes she’d made in her very own professional kitchen. She hoped that PrimeRealty lived up to the dreams Aidan had for it.
The few nights they were apart, texting with him seemed like the easiest thing to do after a long day. Easier when those texts quickly turned to sexts and Shae found herself getting off to the simple, but ridiculously hot messages from this ridiculously hot guy she was seeing. The next morning it would start all over again. Aidan doing laps through her head, on the back of one of those rapid zombie reindeers, flustering Shae to the point where she knew all she could do was breathe and bake. She had to do something about it and she would. Soon. As soon as she saw Aidan one more time.
Date night arrived, and now that she was standing across from him she realized what the problem was. Shae liked Aidan. A lot and not in the way that made her feel light and fluffy and good, like the economy was suddenly going to bounce back and nations around the globe would start to practice the true meaning of democracy.
No, her feelings for Aidan made her feel completely out of her element and out of control. When she got to his apartment she assured herself it was just butterflies. That worked until she laid eyes on Aidan standing in his doorway, still in a dress shirt, sleeves rolled up and an actual “Kiss the Cook” apron draped around his neck. Shae held up a brown Sweet Creams bag in her hand.
“I brought lemon bars.”
“Hey. Come on in.”
“It smells great in here,” she said, setting down the sweets she’d made just for their night together.
“Not sure I’ve had those before—don’t take off your coat just yet.” Shae froze and shrugged her jacket back onto her shoulders.
“I thought I was a slow cooking genius, but my stew needs another hour,” he said as he closed the door behind her, then led her into his small galley kitchen that looked like it had seen better days. There was evidence of his culinary skills all over the counter. Bits of red potatoes, the ends of carrots and celery, and the fat that had been trimmed off of a whole lot of beef. Shae smiled as she glimpsed an unopened can of biscuits on the edge of the counter near the fridge.
“Are we going somewhere in that hour?” Shae asked and then almost fainted when she turned and saw the way Aidan’s face lit up at her question.
“Yeah. There’s something I want to show you.”
“Okay.”
Shae waited while Aidan shed his apron and grabbed his own coat, then pulled out his phone. “Let me just set a timer. O...kay. You ready?”
Shae swallowed and forced herself to smile. “Yeah, let’s go.” Her whole body warmed as Aidan took her hand and led her down to the parking garage where his car was waiting. After they pulled out on the road, he reached over and took her hand again. Shae looked at his face as he explained where they were going and all she could think about was the feeling of his fingers intertwined with hers. Then all she could think about was kissing him. Shae wanted Aidan so bad she knew nothing good could come from it.
7
Dear Santa, Please save me from myself…
If things kept up this way, Shae was going to let Aidan plan the rest of their dates for the rest of their lives. Not that they would be together for the rest of their lives, but she didn’t hate the way he seemed to know exactly how to dial up the romance and splendor. There were several places to view over-the-top residential holiday decorations, Candy Cane Lane in Torrance being the most well-known in the county, but Aidan took Shae to this small cluster of houses in Beverlywood that had really outdone itself.
There were a few other looky-loos cruising the neighborhood. Luckily it was a Thursday night and they were able to drive around unencumbered to check out the elaborate red, white and blue theme that stretched from one end of the block to the other. Aidan explained that during the weekend the house in the center blasted a few holiday favorites early in the evening and the lights on each house blinked to the beat. Shae only knew two of her neighbors. She couldn’t imagine coordinating something that spectacular with so many people.
Aidan held onto her hand the whole time she stared out the window in awe. Thousands and thousands of ligh
ts. Thanks to traffic, they couldn’t spend too long taking it all in, but Shae didn’t care. The neighborhood was so beautiful. She’d driven around Los Angeles plenty of times with her family over the years to check out the lights. Harvin had killed the tradition, choosing instead to spend time at her ex-brother-in-law’s house watching football and talking basketball. Not that Shae had anything against sports. Her ex just had a certain way of making the holidays...not fun. When Aidan’s thumb gently stroked over hers, she forced her mind back to the present, pushing Harvin and his bullshit to the dark pit in the corner of her thoughts where he belonged.
“What do you think?” Aidan asked.
“It’s amazing.”
“One day I’m going to buy a house. One that needs extensive renovations,” he laughed. Shae joined him with a smile. “And then I’ll figure out how to hang enough lights that you can see the place from orbit. Also, there will be enough room in the backyard for a bouncy castle.”
“I’m sure your kids will love that,” Shae teased.
“Who said anything about kids? Have you been in a bouncy castle lately?”
“Have you?”
Aidan nodded with a sort of hilarious cockiness. “Oh yeah. Last summer at my nephew’s birthday party. Time of my fucking life.”
“Well, you get that house and your lights and your bouncy castle. I’ll stop by with cookies and lemonade and make sure you haven’t twisted your ankle.”
“Never. I’m all about bouncy castle safety.” Suddenly Aidan leaned over and kissed Shae on the mouth. She returned the kiss, pressing closer to him for just a moment. Her eyes blinked opened when he pulled away.
“Let’s head back. I have to check on my roast.”
Shae snorted. “Okay.”
When they got back to his place, Aidan insisted that Shae let him serve her. He didn’t have a dining table so they ate the delicious beef stew at a loosely constructed coffee table made of plywood and cinder blocks in front of his television. Aidan pulled up his Netflix account and selected “Fireplace for Your Home S1 : E1 Crackling Yule Log Fireplace,” the scene perfect for a romantic evening in. They ate in silence for the most part, enjoying the sounds of the Christmas instrumentals and the crackling fire.
When Shae was done, she set down her plate and turned to face Aidan. He was still working on his large second helping.
“Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?” she asked.
He swallowed and then set down his plate. “Not yet. What do you have going on?”
“A wedding, actually. My cousin Keira is getting married.”
“Oh, cool. Where are they having it?”
“Malibu. Brother of the groom is a big actor. He’s on that show Galaxis. J.D. Song?”
“Oh, I know him. He just got cast in some superhero movie.”
“Yeah. He arranged the venue and everything. We’ll be spending the night out there.”
“That sounds like it’ll be a good time.”
“Yeah, it should be fun.” Shae bit her lip, toying with the idea of cashing in her last minute plus one that Keira would sure grant her, but she chickened out. “So, dinner was great.”
“That’s some high praise I’ll hold on to.”
“Well, slow down now. I know you didn’t make the biscuits from scratch. Pull that off and I’ll hand you the blue ribbon.”
“I’ll have to get back in the kitchen and practice.”
“I’ll be waiting patiently for your presentation.”
He winked at her as he reached for their plates, grabbing and taking them back to the kitchen. “You want anything else to drink?”
Shae eyed her half-empty glass of wine. “I’m fine. I, uh—um, I have a bag in my car. An overnight bag, if you would like me to stay overnight.”
She watched Aidan as he froze for a moment, then slowly set the plates down in the sink. He turned around and ducked to look at her over the small kitchen peninsula. “I would like that very much. You want me to walk down to your car with you? We can grab it now.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Shae reached into her purse, grabbed her keys and met Aidan by the door.
“And when we get back, I found something called a Very Merry Christmas.” He grabbed his own keys off a handy hook next to the jamb, then held the door open for her.
“You’re hooked on the holiday cheesiness, aren’t you?”
“I am and it’s all your fault.” Aidan took her hand and let her lead him out to the street where she left her car. As they walked, they talked about the weird, fluctuating weather and she mentioned that his work buddy Matt had ordered from Sweet Creams twice in the last two days. She laughed, trying to hide her nerves when Aidan told her that Matt had thought their newfound relationship meant he was getting free and frequent baked goods. Shae almost slipped and said that she only baked for free for people she loved, but she managed to swallow the words, laughing instead at the idea that she would trade Matt’s money for his good graces.
When they stepped back into Aidan’s apartment, Shae made for the couch to settle in for another romantic Christmas instant classic. She made it maybe two feet before she felt Aidan’s fingers gently wrap around her wrist.
She turned quickly. “What’s up…” The words died in her mouth when she saw the look on Aidan’s face. She went to him without question, her arms going around his shoulders as his hand went to her ass, pulling her closer, their lips coming together perfectly. Soon she was kissing him deeper, begging his tongue to tease hers, which he pleasantly obliged. Shae knew she could spend all night like this, just standing in his kitchen, kissing and kissing and kissing until she couldn’t breathe.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that all week. You wanna watch the movie?”
“No.”
Shae watched him carefully as his gaze roamed over her face. She didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on her lips. He reached up and lightly smoothed the hair at her temple away from her face. “Do you want to take this to my bedroom?”
“Yes.”
“Come on.” Shae followed Aidan to the back of the apartment. His bedroom was simple but clean and it smelled like freshly washed clothes. Just his bed on a high metal frame, no headboard, a dresser and an armchair draped with a pair of jeans and gym shorts. He had nothing on the walls except a Michigan license plate she saw hanging over his door when she turned back to face him. Aidan was already unbuttoning his shirt.
Shae figured she should follow suit. Sinking down on his bed, she reached down and started unlacing her boots. Next time, maybe next time, they’d get to the real down and dirty foreplay. She’d see how much of him she could fit in her mouth and he’d return the favor. Now though, Shae just wanted pure sex. She wanted Aidan inside of her. She kicked off her boots and yanked down her leggings and underwear.
By the time she got her shirt and bra off, Aidan had slid a condom into place. In perfect sync, Aidan climbed on top of her, kissing her lips just as Shae shuffled back into the center of the bed. For now, kissing and feeling his muscular bare chest pressing against her swollen nipples was foreplay enough. Shae was already soaking wet. With skill, Aidan’s finger slipped between her legs. She was more than ready for him. Her hand slid onto his, pushing his fingers deeper inside her pussy, grinding the heel of his hand harder against her clit. A pathetic whimper moved from her parted lips to his as they kissed and kissed.
Shae’s hand found its way between their bodies, brushing Aidan’s arm as she wrapped her fingers around his thick erection. She was so close to guiding him inside of her and letting him take control as he moved on top of her, but there was something she wanted more. Shae pulled back a bit, breaking their kiss and watching Aidan’s face as his eyes opened. He was in the same trance she was, drunk on lust, warmed from the inside out. Or at least she liked to think he was.
“What’s up?” he said, his breath a little out of sync.
Shae smiled and kissed him one more time. “I want to be on top.”
; “We can do that,” he said. “We can definitely do that.” Fingers let slip and they then untangled their limbs from one another, giving Shae the space she needed to move. She crawled to the foot of the bed, out of the way so Aidan had plenty of space to roll onto his back and stretch out. Shae crawled over her him, pausing just long enough to run her tongue up the length of his erection. She didn’t care much for the taste of the rubber, but even through the sheath she could feel the heat of Aidan’s cock, matched by the heat in his gaze as he looked down at her. His hand gently cupped her cheek. It was such a tender touch, Shae couldn’t stop herself from turning her head and brushing a soft kiss to his palm.
He kept his hand on her skin as she moved up his body. When her hips were hovering perfectly above his, Shae watched Aidan as he moved his hand lower. She felt his knuckles brush her inner thigh and then she felt the head of his cock teasing her entrance. The wet proof of her arousal was more than enough to help ease the first inch or so of him in. He released his dick and looked into Shae’s eyes.
“Go as slow as you need to.”
“Okay,” she replied. She’d barely moved, but she already felt out of breath. The anticipation had her heart racing. Bracing herself with her hand just above Aidan’s shoulders, Shae gently pressed her hips back. Her body instantly began to shiver. He was so big, but the slow stretch of her pussy around his girth felt so damn good. Shae closed her eyes and turned off her mind, letting her body chase the pleasure it desperately craved. The position was perfect. After a few slow moments, she’d taken every inch of him. Grinding her hips against his, Shae rode him hard and slow.
“Is it good?” Shae knew he wasn’t being arrogant. He genuinely wanted to know, she could hear it in his voice. He wanted her to enjoy this.
WRAPPED Page 8