The Chocolatier (Man Card Holiday Short Story)

by Terra Kelly

  Ten

  Weston

  “Fuck.” I threw down the phone and let my body fall back onto the bed.

  There was a knock at my hotel room door. “You okay?” Devon said.

  “Fine. Sorry to wake you.” Devon tapped the door in understanding and went back to his room. I threw my arm over my eyes and tried to visualize Rylee’s naked body moving up and down over my cock. The image had been easy to see over the last two weeks. For some reason I was finding it difficult to get the image in my mind this time. Instead, all I could see was her walking away from me.

  I sat up in bed. “I have to make this right.” I mumbled to myself.

  The day after having sex in the office with Rylee, I received a call from chef. He was checking in on the status of the class he had missed and wanted to discuss the rest of the tour dates. I made a commitment with chef and I planned to stick by it to the end. Any dates after the two-month commitment were off the table. Then last week he started rambling on and on about a title sponsor for the next tour. He shared how much I would make and the amount made me pause. For the last several days I was trying to decide if the money was that important.

  When I called Rylee; I wanted to tell her when I was coming back home. Instead I was left with a dial tone in my ear. She obviously thought I was disappearing just like before. That was the farthest from the truth though.

  I told chef I was done with the tour after the last date which was this week. Chef blew up and started cussing at me about commitment and how he thought he could rely on me. As he yelled, I was scrolling on my phone looking for houses to rent.

  I literally didn’t care anymore.

  I wanted one thing.

  Well, one person.

  Rylee.

  And I planned to make her mine.

  It took several phone calls before I was finally able to connect with Ally, Rylee’s roommate. I knew where she worked because Rylee mentioned it once. Finding the number and connecting with her was a whole different story. For all I knew, she would think I was that crazy guy who only thought with his dick.

  “Ally,” I said and waited to make sure I finally had her on the line.

  “Yeah,” she said and sounded curious.

  “Sorry to bother you at work. This is Weston, Rylee’s friend.”

  “So you’re just her friend?”

  Well, that was a poor choice of words. “I’m sorry, boyfriend.”

  “You’re not that either.” I knew from her voice she was pissed. “Why are you calling me and how the fuck do you know where I work?”

  “Please just hear me out for a moment. Can you give me five minutes?”

  “That’s all I plan to give you. You don’t deserve any more than that.”

  “Fair enough.” I quickly regrouped my thoughts because I only had five minutes and an angry woman on the phone. I proceeded to share with her about my last phone call with Rylee. “I was about to tell her I wasn’t going to accept the offer.”

  “Wait, come again?”

  “I have one more class with chef in Michigan and then I’m done.”

  “Where will you go?”

  “Columbia.” I paused for a beat. “I fucked up not calling before. I don’t plan to do that ever again.”

  “I’m listening.” Her words made me chuckle.

  “I’ll be back in town on Easter Sunday.” Then I continued to share my plan. Ally never once interrupted me. When we reached fifteen minutes in the conversation I knew I had moved from shit list status to hopeful status. “Do you think that’ll work?”

  “Seriously, why couldn’t you have been around when I was kid.” She sighed. “Yeah, I’ll talk to Julia and make sure she’s around. Rylee’s mom and dad will be on board, too.”

  “Thank you, Ally.”

  “Hey,” she said. “She wants the fairytale.”

  “She’ll have it all.” Now I just needed to get through this week, then I could think about my new life with the only woman who had my heart.

  This time we would be together forever.

  Eleven

  Rylee

  “This is my failed attempt at raspberry truffles.” I held out the plate with twenty sad looking chocolates that were misshaped and had uneven lines from the gold paint. “Bonus, they still taste good.”

  “I think they’re beautiful, darling,” Mom said and leaned over the plate to kiss my cheek.

  “You always know how to make me feel better.” I sat the plate on the kitchen island next to all of Mom’s prepared food for our feast. My family was not religious, so we didn’t celebrate Easter in the traditional way. Instead, we made a lovely meal together, had an Easter egg hunt, and enjoyed the day as a family.

  “Will Ally and Julia stop by?”

  “Of course,” I threw my coat on the back of the chair at the kitchen table. “They wouldn’t miss your food for a second.”

  “If you keep talking like that, it will go to her head,” Dad said and stepped up beside me. “Hi, sweetie.” He pulled me in for a hug and kissed my cheek. “You made those?” He pointed at the sad group of chocolates at the end of the kitchen island. Before I could answer he popped one in his mouth. “Wow, how did you learn to make truffles?”

  “I told you about the class she signed up for a few months ago,” Mom said and grabbed one to try.

  “Oh yeah, that’s right, Justin mentioned it was taught by Weston Gray.” He smiled and leaned against the counter. “How’s he doing? It’s been a long time.”

  “Fine.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk about Weston. “Mom, do you need help making anything?”

  She combed her fingers through my hair and wrapped her arm around my waist. “Everything’s done. We just need Ally, Julia, and your brother to arrive.”

  “Looks like they’re just pulling in now.” Dad pointed out the window where you could see two vehicles pulling into the driveway. “Talk about timing.” Then a third car pulled in. “Who else are you expecting?”

  “No one,” Mom said and stepped up beside Dad.

  I walked away from the window and sat down on a chair at the kitchen table. It had been several days since Weston had called or sent a text message. A part of me was trying to move on. The other part of me wanted to know why he couldn’t pick up a phone.

  There was a gasp from Mom. “What’s wrong?” I stood and walked over to where they were still standing by the window. Mom pushed me away before I could see what they were looking at. “What the…?” I stumbled back. “Mom.”

  “Sorry, baby.” She placed her hands on my shoulders. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

  “Okay,” I said and tried to step around her to look out the window. She continued to step in the exact direction I was stepping. “What the hell, Mom?”

  “Let’s go outside,” Dad said and pulled my mom toward the door.

  The moment my feet hit the porch step I knew something was off. Ally and Julia ran my way. Justin was still by his car. Then I noticed the mystery person in the third vehicle. I squinted trying to see who it could be. Was that? Could it be?

  “Hey, girlie,” Ally said and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Sorry we’re late. Someone was primping a little too much.” She was pointing at Julia.

  “Who is that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you should go check.” Julia grabbed my hand and tugged me forward. I almost stumbled down the steps but managed to get my footing.

  I scowled at her words. What the fuck was going on right now? Everyone was acting so weird. Then the mystery person stepped out of the vehicle and I stopped in my tracks. Weston. He was here.

  When I reached him, he was holding a green plastic egg. “Do you still do Easter egg hunts?”

  I grabbed the egg from his outstretched hand. “Sometimes. Why?”

  “There are two more eggs I need you to find. Interested?”

  “How did you hide them?” I glanced up trying to read his expression but he had the perfect poker face. I turned the egg over in my han
d and looked over to where my family stood on the porch and wondered if they knew about this little egg hunt?

  He took a step toward me. “My little secret. First you have to open that one.” He tapped on the egg.

  I looked down and inspected the outside before finally opening it. There was a piece of paper that said, behind the shed. “You’re going to make me really work for these clues?”

  “Maybe,” he said and leaned in to kiss me. “What does it say?”

  I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the shed that was positioned behind the house in the back corner of the yard. There was a purple egg sitting on top of the grass. When I opened that egg, it said, chocolate truffle. I looked over at Weston. “My sorry excuse for truffles or yours?”

  “I’m not sure. You should go check.”

  I ran into the house where my family was standing in the kitchen. It was silent as I approached and my family didn’t know how to be quiet. I glanced around and then over at the plate of truffles I had brought. Except they weren’t my truffles. The ones sitting on the counter were perfect. There was gold paint, beautiful designs, and each truffle was the exact same size.

  When I stepped closer, I could see lettering on each chocolate. Then I read the words will you, and gasped. Someone cleared their throat from behind me. I spun on my heels to find Weston down on one knee. “Marry me?” He smiled and held out a hot pink egg. “Rylee Nelson, will you do the honors of being my wife so I can spend the rest of my life with you?”

  There was this lump that formed in the back of my throat. I didn’t know how to respond. Was this really happening? I looked over at Justin, my brother, who was standing about two feet away. “Did you ask him first?”

  Justin burst out laughing. “I told him he better ask you soon or I was going to kick his ass.”

  I closed my eyes and tried to take in this moment. When I was ten I created a wedding day scrapbook. The book was still tucked away in my closet. How was my childhood fantasy becoming a reality?

  “Yes, yes I’ll marry you.” I dropped down and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I thought…”

  “You thought.” He kissed my nose. “You didn’t let me finish telling you on the phone how I declined the chef’s offer.”

  “You what?”

  “Yeah, turns out there’s this really hot chick who I can’t get enough of back here in Columbia.”

  “Who is she? I plan to kick her ass.”

  He wrapped his arms around my waist and stood up. “I’m not going anywhere without you by my side, Rylee.”

  “What about your career?” I started to feel worried I was holding him back from what he always wanted.

  “I can be a chocolatier here, too.” He leaned in and kissed me lightly. “You’re what I want most in my life. Everything else is gravy. It’s you Rylee. It was always you.”

  Epilogue

  Weston

  One year later…

  “We need more chocolate than that,” I said and pointed to a box full of milk chocolate. “That fountain will need triple that.”

  “I’ll put a rush on the shipment now,” Devon said and ran in the opposite direction.

  When I told chef I wouldn’t be continuing with the mall tour, Devon followed suit. We had worked together under the supervision of Chef Jake for so long, we were both ready for a change. Devon mentioned staying in Columbia. I made a joke about opening a business together. Now, here we were making the desserts for my own wedding.

  A few days after I asked Rylee to marry me, she showed me the scrapbook she created when she was ten. It took me by surprise. I knew the moment I fell in love with her, I just didn’t realize we were both in love with each other the whole time. There were already too many years wasted, I planned to give her everything she ever dreamed of and more.

  When I went back through the scrapbook I noticed a chocolate fountain sitting on a table in one of the photos. Of course, I had to take it further than that and make it a full-blown fountain with several hundred pounds of chocolate.

  “Are you yelling at your business partner again?” Rylee stepped into the office. She had on tight fitting jeans and a white T-shirt that showed off her perfect tits.

  “Who me?” I walked around the desk and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Did you wear these jeans for a reason?” I rubbed my hands down over her ass and squeezed. “Because I may not let you leave this office for about an hour.”

  “Oh, is that so,” she said and circled her arms around my neck. “What are you planning to do in that hour?”

  “Fuck you and then fuck you some more.”

  She flashed a smile and slid her hands down over my ass. I could feel where her hand was heading. “Bummer. You only brought two.” She held up the two condoms I always stored in my back pocket. “It sounds like a three-condom meeting.”

  There was a light knock on the door. “Sorry to bother you, Wes.”

  I dropped my forehead to hers. “We may need to reschedule.”

  She kissed me and turned to open the door. “Don’t wait too long, you know how I get impatient.”

  Devon walked around Rylee and entered the small office. I noticed his eyes follow her as my fiancée walked away. “Focus, Devon.” He jumped at my words and handed me a sheet of paper. “Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you received this immediately.”

  “Tomorrow. They can rush the order. That’s fantastic.” I squeezed his shoulder. “Wait. What did you promise them?” He stepped back. “Oh shit, what?”

  “You would teach two classes in Paris for the company.”

  “Are you fucking with me?” The company had warehouses all over the world. The fact that they were interested in me teaching chocolate making skills to their employees was a huge surprise. “Free trip to Paris with Rylee. Hell yeah.”

  Devon’s eyes went wide. “They need you to go one week after the wedding.”

  I shook my head. “And you told them yes?” He didn’t respond. “It’s fine. I’ll talk to Rylee.” I wanted the chocolate. Devon made that happen. I had no reason to complain.

  One week later…

  I watched as the one woman who had my heart all along walked down the aisle. She was wearing a gorgeous sleeveless dress with a diamond necklace wrapped perfectly around her neck. Her hair was tied up with wisps falling around her face.

  As she approached me I could hear her whispering something. “Are you okay?” I bent my head closer so no one could hear me.

  “Just repeating all the reasons why I love you.” She smiled and reached for my hand.

  Rylee always knew the perfect thing to say. “Is it a long list?”

  “Very,” she winked.

  I glanced at her flowers and noticed they were different from the bridesmaids. “Are your roses chocolate color?”

  She pulled the bouquet close to her chest. “It was on the second page of my scrapbook.”

  “You really are getting everything you dreamed of?” I was determined to make this day everything she had ever wished for and more. Knowing that included chocolate colored flowers made everything perfect. The ceremony lasted for about five minutes. When the minister announced we were husband and wife, Rylee actually screamed and leapt into my arms. “We did everything in the scrapbook, Rylee. What’s next?”

  “We live happily together.”

  “I promise you forever, Rylee.” I spun her around in a circle. “Plus, five years.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We lost out on five years. I plan to make sure we never let that happen ever again.”

  “Should we seal that with a kiss?” she said and wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “A chocolate kiss.” I carried her over to the fountain and dipped my index finger into the flowing chocolate. “I believe this was in the scrapbook, too.” I traced my finger around her lips with the warm melted chocolate.

  “You remembered everything.” She bent her head and kissed me. The taste of chocolate invaded my senses.

&
nbsp; “I love you so much, Mrs. Rylee Gray.”

  She was finally mine forever.

  What a great start to the series, right?

  Wait, there’s more! You can enjoy an extra epilogue that is chocolatey delicious. Grabbing the bonus will add you to my newsletter. Devour it here.

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  Dear Reader

  Dear Reader,

  Chocolate heaven. Am I right?

  Rylee and Weston were always meant to be together.

  This is the start of a fun collection of short stories and novellas. Man Card series will not disappoint.

  The next story coming your way soon you’ll get a closer look at Rylee’s roommate, Julia. She only believes in one-night stands until she meets Denver…

  Add Mr. Reporter to your TBR list here.

  Sending love, Terra

  Steamy Sensations Holiday Shorts

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  10 Steamy shorts for each one.

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