by Lizzie James
“I don’t know.” She nibbled her lip. “Let me go and talk to Joy.”
I nodded, letting her escape. Joy would push her out the door. I grinned, jogging upstairs to finish packing. Things were looking better.
Hours later, we were on the road. Just me, Logan, Sammy and a sleeping Tillie. Her fingers were dusted with the smudge from her pink pastel. Tillie had had no clue what to get for Joy for Christmas, so she was working on a pastel flower sketch for her. She had become obsessed with flowers in her sketches lately and I was sure it was linked to Joy. She always referred to Tillie as ‘flower’. I knew she was going to love it.
Chunk had let us borrow his car, yet again, with the promise that we wouldn’t return straight away. Our house was no doubt going to become party central for the next few days and he didn’t want a stupid, loved up couple getting in the way.
Pulling up outside the house, I chuckled when I saw the curtains move. Mom had probably been sitting by that window waiting all day long. Turning the engine off, I grabbed Tillie’s hand, leaving Sammy and Logan to see mom first. I had never seen Tillie look so nervous.
“Relax.” I pulled her hand to my lips, pressing small kisses to each of her fingers. “She will love you.”
She took a deep breath, nodding her head determinedly.
Climbing out of the car, I grinned, opening my arms wide. Mom jumped into my arms, squeezing me around the middle.
“Look at you,” she said, beaming up at me. “You’ve gotten so big.” She pulled back, stepping a couple of paces away.
I laughed at her comment. “Yeah, the coach has been training us hard.”
Tillie walked around the back of the car and I immediately held my arm out for her. Tucking her at my side, I smiled over at Mom. “Mom, this is Tillie. Tillie, this is my mother, Gill.”
“Hi, Mrs. Baker.” Tillie gave her a small awkward wave, shuffling her feet on the spot.
“Hello, sweetheart.” Mom walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. “She’s gorgeous,” she mouthed to me over Tillie’s shoulder. She pulled back, taking Tillie’s arm in hers. “Let’s go and get you settled.” She began leading Tillie up the path before turning her head. “Fetch the bags, boys.”
I grabbed Tillie’s bag and my own, leaving the boys to sort their own luggage out. Tossing the keys to Sammy, I left him to lock up. I took the bags straight upstairs, wondering where Tillie would be staying. Every room was officially taken, and no way was she bunking with Sammy or Logan.
Walking back downstairs, I smiled when I saw Tillie sitting on the sofa. I sat next to her, taking her hand in mine.
“Your mom is really nice,” she whispered.
I grinned, giving her a quick kiss just as mom walked back in the room.
“Aw, look at you guys.” She smiled, carrying in a tray with five mugs. “I don’t know how you did it, Tillie, but I thought Johnny would never settle down.” She handed a hot chocolate to Tillie, leaving the coffees on the tray on the coffee table.
Logan and Sammy joined us, sitting on the floor on either side of Mom, grabbing a biscuit each and dunking it in their cups.
“Disgusting, isn’t it?” Logan laughed, getting an elbow in the ribs from Mom.
“Thank you for letting me crash your Christmas, Mrs. Baker. My dad had to work and…” She shrugged her shoulders.
“Don’t be silly. You’re welcome, sweetie.” She grinned at me before her eyes went back to Tillie. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name of the girl Johnny’s been going on and on about.”
I rolled my eyes. You’d swear there was a biological link between her and Logan. They were so much alike.
Tillie yawned, blushing when everyone stared. “Sorry.” She giggled, setting her mug down on the table. “It’s been a long day.”
Sammy cleared the table, taking everyone’s mugs out to the kitchen.
“So...” I cleared my throat. “What’s the sleeping arrangements?” I hated to have this conversation so openly, but Tillie had to sleep somewhere.
“Tillie is welcome to stay in your room. But remember...” She pointed her finger at me with a kind of stern expression on her face. “My walls are thin.”
I groaned, nodding my head. Taking Tillie's hand, I led her up the stairs after saying good night. My mom trusted me, but she sometimes had a big mouth.
She smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Can I have your shirt?” Her eyes trailed down to my chest.
I grinned, pulling it off and held it out to her. Without any warning, she lifted her top off until she was standing in only her jeans and white, lace bra.
I groaned, adjusting myself. We’d only had sex once, but her confidence had grown loads in the last few weeks.
“You’re testing me.” I smirked down at her, watching her slip my tee over her head.
She smiled, inhaling the collar and letting her eyes drift closed for a few seconds. “I like smelling of you.”
Watching her slide her jeans down her legs, I wanted nothing more than to christen my bed with her, but I never would with my mom in the house.
She climbed into bed, looking right at home. Doing a quick change, I slipped some basketball shorts on over my boxers and joined her in bed, turning the lights off as I did. Spooning her from behind, I sighed at the feeling that coursed through me.
Complete. Bliss.
This was where she belonged. Right there. In my arms.
Waking up the next day, I groaned when I saw Tillie wasn’t there. Her side of the bed was cold, so she had obviously been up for a while. Climbing out of bed, I pulled a pair of sweats on and a black tee before brushing my teeth. Going downstairs, I laughed at the sight in front of me. Sammy and Logan were both on their phones, Mom was in the kitchen and Tillie was sitting by the tree. She was dressed in a red dress, white cropped leggings and a festive Santa hat.
It looked like everyone’s presents had been separated into piles. This was a first. Usually everyone’s presents were beneath the tree. I guess the Christmas Nazi had been unleashed.
She looked up, beaming at me. She jumped up from her spot, coming toward me. She wrapped her arms around me until she was in my arms, her feet dangling inches from the floor.
“You’re looking very festive today.” I laughed at her. She didn’t care that people would think of her as strange. She was who she was, and nothing was going to change her.
She giggled before pressing her lips to mine and untangling herself from me. As she took her seat back by the tree, I wanted nothing more than to have her curled up on my lap but there was another lady I had to give my time to that day. She came in with a tray of five flutes of buck’s fizz before everyone dived into their presents. We all wished each other a merry Christmas before taking our seats around the tree.
Tillie looked over, smiling at me. Sipping her flute, she turned to look at Sammy, laughing at the excited expression on his face. He’d gotten the new Yankee’s jersey. Anyone would swear he had the winning lottery ticket in his hands instead.
A few presents later, Mom handed Tillie’s present to me and nodded her head toward her. I grinned, moving closer to Tillie and handing her a small box wrapped in red paper.
She smiled at me before grabbing a medium sized box wrapped in gold from behind her.
“Open mine first.” She held it out to me, fidgeting.
“Nervous, T?” Sammy asked.
“Very.” She sat back, waving me on to unwrap it.
I ripped the paper off, revealing a red box. Opening it up, I took out a brown football, much like the one I used on the field. On the ball was the printed stamp of the NFL.
“Turn it over,” she whispered.
I did just that, smiling at the badge imprint on the other side: #1—just like her jersey.
“I love it.” I took her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips. “Now, it’s your turn.”
She grinned, unwrapping the small box. It was tiny, but I hoped the gift inside would mean as much to her as it did to m
e. She turned the small green box in her hands and flipped the lid. She gasped, her eyes filling with water.
“Johnny…” The tears spilled over her lids, leaving marks on her dress.
“We’ll give you both some time.” Sammy tapped me on the shoulder before the three of them left us alone.
“Turn it over,” I whispered, repeating her words from earlier.
She did so, and I saw her bottom lip tremble in response. “Do you mean it?” she asked, lifting her head to look at me.
“Every word, baby.” I held my hand out for hers and pulled her over to me. She sat across my lap, holding the box close to her. “You are my missing piece,” I replied, repeating the words that were inscribed on the back of her necklace: a silver jigsaw piece.
I took it from her, fastening it around her neck. I smiled, loving the way it fell in the centre of her collarbones. She really was it. My missing piece. In every way.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” I pressed lips to hers, loving the way she melted against me.
The next day, we were all in the lounge watching some stupid cheesy film that Tillie had demanded we watch. Logan was snoring, and Sammy and Mom were cuddled up on the sofa. My phone rang with Joy’s number. Excusing myself, I moved Tillie’s legs off my lap, heading out the front door to take the call. I didn’t like the dreaded feeling that filled my gut at seeing her name flash on the screen.
“Hello? Joy? Is everything okay?” I asked, firing all the questions at her.
“Hello, sweet boy,” she replied, sounding okay. “How is your Christmas going?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Good to see Mom.” Silence. “Is everything okay?”
“I feel so silly calling but…” She sounded worried.
“What is it?” I was starting to worry now and really needed her to talk faster.
“We have a little problem.” She sounded apologetic.
“What kind of problem?” This didn’t sound good.
“I just don’t want Tillie to worry.”
“Okay.” I nodded before realizing she couldn’t see me.
“I’m just calling to say…”
Before she could get any further, I was shocked from behind by Tillie.
“Johnny!” She yelled my name and then came shooting out the front door. She had tears streaming down her face and was holding her phone out to me.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, holding my phone out.
“Joy. The hospital… she’s in the hospital.”
“What happened?” I asked, holding the phone back to my ear.
“This is silly,” she mumbled before continuing. “I had a little fall and Chunk called an ambulance. I’m fine but they want to do more tests.”
“Okay.” I sighed, frustrated. Just when things were starting to look up. “One second. Here’s Tillie.”
She took the phone off me and started firing questions. “Are you okay? What happened? Why didn’t you call me?” She ended with, “I’m coming home.”
A few minutes later, she disconnected the call before moulding herself to my chest. Looking up at me, her eyes filled with water. “I have to go home, Johnny.”
She didn’t want to, I could see it in her eyes, but Joy had taken Tillie into her home in her hour of need. They were family. Much like Mom and I were.
I nodded, before leading her inside.
15
Tillie
Sitting next to Johnny in the car, I wanted to cry. I hated pulling him away from Christmas with his mother. Sammy and Logan had decided to stay and spend the rest of the time with her and would catch the train back.
“I’m so sorry, Johnny,” I apologized for the thousandth time.
“Stop apologizing.” He took my hand before bringing it to his lips. He pressed soft kisses to the back of it before resting our clasped hands on his leg. “She’s family. Mom understands that.”
I smiled, loving the feeling of warmth that spread up my arm from his touch.
When we told Gill about Joy’s fall, she basically packed my bag for me telling me that family comes first. Before we left, she squeezed me so hard I thought I was going to bust. I had come to love Gill’s hugs. She made you feel so loved with just one hug. It reminded me a lot of my own mother.
I gazed up at Johnny, my fingers gently rubbing his leg. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes before smirking.
Fuck, he was sexy.
“Baby, you need to stop that.” He tried looking stern but the twinkle in his eye gave him away.
“Stop what?” I asked, rubbing my fingers harder against his leg and inching further upwards.
“If you don’t stop…” His hand grabbed my wrist, stopping my movements. “I will be pulling over and christening that back seat with you.”
I giggled, imagining him doing just that. We hadn’t been intimate since my sloppy hand job before Christmas.
“Maybe I want you to,” I teased, whispering in his ear.
He groaned, his pants starting to get tight. “If I didn’t know who else had christened that back seat, you’d already be back there.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust, pulling my hand away. “Fair enough.”
No way was I doing anything sexy with Johnny anywhere near where Chunk might have done it.
We arrived back in town but went straight to the hospital. I followed Johnny to the correct ward and we were quickly shown to Joy’s room. Johnny walked in with me behind. I hated hospitals. Ever since I was little, I’d classed hospitals as the place death came.
“Hi, sweet boy,” Joy greeted, accepting a hug off him. It was like watching a giant hug a smurf.
“I’ve brought a surprise for you.” He stepped aside so that Joy could see me.
I wanted to cry when my eyes met hers. She had bruises all over her face. I burst into tears and went straight to her. Within minutes, my feet were off the floor and I was sobbing into her chest. I couldn’t lose Joy. She had slowly filled the large hole that my mother had left behind.
“Hush now,” she whispered, gently smoothing the hair away from her face. “It’s okay.”
After a few minutes, my sobs subsided leaving me to inhale her fresh vanilla scent. I loved the way that she always smelled like summer. My eyes went to Chunk when he walked in, giving him a small wave. He grinned, responding with that cheeky wink that he always gave me. He looked at Johnny, nodding his head toward the hallway.
Johnny nodded, quickly following and leaving Joy and I alone.
“How did your Christmas go, sweet girl?” she asked, rubbing my back.
“It was good.” I tilted my head to look up at her. “I met Johnny’s mom.”
“And how did that go?”
“Good.” I nodded my head. “I think she liked me.” I was pretty sure that she did.
Before we left, she’d asked Johnny to go for a walk with her. He came back looking a little flustered. I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or not, but Gill looked so happy. Maybe it was something she had wanted to say to him and was now relieved that she had. He never brought it up and I never asked. I guessed he’d tell me if and when he was ready.
“Munchkin!” Chunk greeted me when he came in. “How about you and I go and get something sugary for Joy? This hospital food is crap and I say she needs some perking up.”
I nodded, pressing a quick kiss to Joy’s cheek before leaving her with Johnny. We took extra-long as Chunk couldn’t decide between pink iced donuts or whether she’d prefer plain glazed ones. I didn’t think I had ever met anyone who put as much thought into sugary products as he did.
Walking back in, I noticed that Joy had a flush on her cheeks. She kept grinning at Johnny strangely. I wasn’t sure what that was about.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, looking between them.
“Of course.” Johnny cleared his throat. He looked nervous for some reason. “Just talking about the next season.”
I nodded my head, playing along. Whatever it was,
he didn’t want to tell me.
“Stop fussing, missy,” Joy chirped in, smirking at me. “Now give me those donuts and you two go home and get settled.”
I nodded, placing the donuts on her bedside table, giggling at Chunk who couldn’t stop staring at them.
Arriving back home, I dragged my bag into Johnny’s, feeling too lazy to go home and unpack it just yet. I just wanted to crash. It had been such a long day. Johnny must have been more tired than I was from all that he’d done. He took my hand and began leading me up the stairs. I guessed he had the same idea.
I followed him into his room. His bed looked so comfy and I knew it was going to knock me right out. I turned to shut the door and the second it clicked shut, I was jolted from behind me. I gasped when I felt Johnny press himself against me, trapping me against the door.
“I have thought of nothing but being alone with you all week,” he growled. His lips quickly descended to my neck where he began to lick, kiss and suck my skin.
I groaned, arching my back and tilting my hips, rotating my ass cheeks against his erection. I could feel how turned on he was, and it was making me horny as hell. Considering we had only had sex once, it hadn’t dampened down how much I wanted him. Our first time had been slow and gentle. Judging by how roughly he was kissing my neck and holding my hips to his, I had a feeling this was not going to be soft or gentle.
“You want me…” I gasped as he thrust himself harder against my ass. His teeth sunk in to the column of my neck, making me moan.
“I always fucking want you.” His hand fisted in the back of my hair before pulling my face to his. He thrust his tongue into my mouth, sucking my tongue into his. “You have bewitched me.” He spun me around before lifting me up by my ass and grinding his jean-clad erection against my open legs. He held me against the door with his hips before grabbing the hem of my top and ripping it upwards. His lips quickly descended, sucking the tops of my breasts.
I groaned, grabbing his top and pulling it upwards. He pressed his chest against mine, making goose bumps spread all over my skin. His head dropped back to my neck, locking my legs behind him.