by Claire Adams
We got in the truck, which took forever thanks to my gimp-ass almost falling five times. I buckled up and leaned back, grateful that Brian was comfortable enough around me to listen to tunes and let me have a moment.
The image of Chloe with her pretty pink lips around my cock raced through my mind and I steeled my resolve. I didn't need to relive her pleasuring me with Brian in the seat next to me. It wasn't good for anyone's comfort level.
"Burgers sound good?" I asked, turning my head to see what his reaction would be.
"Yeah. What are we looking for, anyway?"
"I want to get Chloe a necklace, Milly some new mittens, and Dad a new jacket. The mall might be our best bet."
"It's Friday night before Christmas. You realize it's going to be a fucking madhouse, right?"
"Yeah. It's all good. We'll be quick about it and get back to the house for some TV."
"Quick about it? With you trying to carry your big ass around on those toothpicks?" He huffed. "This should be good."
"Are you calling me fat?" I sat up as he pulled into the overcrowded parking lot at the mall.
"Yeah, a fathead." Brian glanced around. "You sure about this? Look at this place."
"It's all good. Come help me out of the car and let's get this shit over with."
"Fine. Let's get the gifts and eat." Brian got out of the car, and I opened my door and grunted as he helped me to my feet. "Be careful and don't slip. Busting your ass is funny when you’re healthy. Busting it now would be another trip to the hospital."
"Shut up, and stop treating me like a child." I positioned the crutches under my arms and moved toward the escalator that would lead up to the chaos.
"Let's swing by the old Vanning place on the way to get a burger." Brian suggested and reached out to help me, but I swatted him off with my crutch.
"Why? I can't afford it, anyway." I glanced to my left as three girl's going down the other side called out to me.
"Finn! Is that you? What happened?" The blonde in the group puffed her bottom lip out.
"You poor baby. You need us to take care of you?" the brunette threw in.
"No thanks, ladies. I'm good." I turned back up as Brian called out.
"I'm not good. I could use some TLC."
I laughed and got off the moving staircase. "Come on and stop looking needy. That's half your problem."
"I am needy." Brian moved up beside me and looked around at all of the people. "What are the odds that we're going to run into a hundred women that call out your name? This is going to be depressing."
Someone called for me behind us and I rolled my eyes. "We'll be done soon."
"Not nearly soon enough," Brian mumbled.
* * * *
We stopped by the old Vanning place on our way over to Burger Stop, but as I suspected, someone had purchased it. It was a beautiful old mansion that was built in the early nineteen hundreds. It would have been the perfect spot to turn into a ski lodge, the lodge I'd been dreaming about since I was a teenager.
"Hey, you still down about the old mansion?" Brian reached over and squeezed my shoulder as we walked up to the restaurant.
"No. It's going to be years before I can ever consider getting my own fixer-upper. Someone made a good purchase. I'll just be interested to see what they do with it." I shrugged and almost lost my footing.
"Be careful, man. Shit. Your dad will kill us if you get hurt again." He held the door for me, and I laughed.
We would always be fifteen in our heads, no matter how old we got.
The hostess showed us to our seat, and I ordered a drink before pulling out the blue box that had Chloe's necklace in it. I popped it open and ran my finger over the forever heart. "You think it's too much?"
"What? No." Brian reached across the table. "Let me see it up close."
I handed it to him, and let my hands drop back into my lap. "I love her."
"Really? Already? It's been two weeks." Brian looked at the necklace, shrugged and handed it back to me. "She's going to love that. It's pretty, and honestly, I think it's just about showing that you cared enough to get her something. You get extra points. You're on crutches and you got her something."
I smiled, knowing I could always count on Brian to make me feel better. I left the conversation on my feelings for Chloe for later in the evening, and if he wanted to talk about it, he was going to have to bring it up. I didn't want to have to defend something that made no sense, and yet it just was.
"This is true." I picked up my drink and took a long swig of it. "Oh, man, I found out what was up between my dad and Chloe's."
"What? Tell me."
"They grew up together, like you and I did, and then in college I guess Jonathan fell in love with some girl, and Dad stole her right beneath his nose." I shook my head, not being able to fathom something so horrible happening between me and Brian.
"Damn. That's awful. I don't know what I would do if you did that shit to me." Brian sat back, sipping at his beer and looking around.
"So, her dad totally got the girl drunk and slept with her in a place he knew my dad would find them." I sat my drink down, deciding that I'd leave the fact that it was my mother off the table. That was too personal to share.
Brian almost spit his beer, but caught himself. "Are you shitting me?"
"No. Crazy. It's been thirty years and they are still at each other's throats over it."
"I imagine so." He picked up his menu. "Do you think they'll ever fix it?"
"You know, I don't know. Dad was pretty torn up about it when he told me the other day, which means he still cares about Chloe's dad. I think between her and I, we can get Dad hooked up with Milly and help him work through this stuff with Jonathan. He mentioned something about talking to him to clear things up for me and her, but I told him no thanks. I need to work on that relationship myself."
We paused to order our burgers, but the minute the waitress left, “my big sister” Brian showed back up.
"Hey, look, I know this is absolutely none of my business, but what are you going to do when Chloe goes back to Cali? Long distance relationships suck for people who are mildly sexually active. You are what we would call extremely sexually active. How is that going to work out, exactly?" He lifted his hands as I gave him a stare. "I'm just concerned and wanted to make sure you’ve really thought through this. That's all."
"First of all, you're right. It's none of your business, but since I know it's bothering the hell out of you, I'll explain my thoughts on it."
Brian lifted his beer toward me. "You're a good man."
I rolled my eyes. "If she goes back, which I don't think she will, then I have two choices. I can stay here and we keep in touch, visiting when we can and spending a lot of time on Skype and the phone, or I go with her."
"Go with her? Are you insane?" He sat up and hit the table with his knees.
"Lower your voice. Everyone's going to be in our business, and I don't doubt that there are several girls in here that I don’t particularly want to see right now."
He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Right. Are you insane? You can't leave here. Your dad's here. You love it here. Fuck...I'm here."
I laughed, and sat back in my chair. "I don't know what's going to happen, Brian, but if she wants to be physically together and is willing to try things out, then we have to live in L.A. or here. That's going to be up to her."
"You are a snow-shoveler. What are you going to do in California?"
I leaned forward and pressed my hands to the table. "Go back to school and get a degree? I shovel snow because my old man needs help and I'm his only son. I have other talents."
"I know, dude. I didn't mean it like that." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I just don't like it. I mean, like, at all."
"I know you don't, but I really think she's the one. We'll find out as we get closer to the time she's supposed to leave, but her dreams are out there, Brian. She wants to design a line of clothing for people in warm weather
."
"And, you want to build a lodge for families who like to ski. That's here. You can't do that out there." He shook his head and sighed heavily again.
"I know, and for the first time in my life, I'm alright with that. I'm in love with her. Giving up my dreams to see hers come to fruition is okay with me. I want to give that to her. To support her fully."
"You're fucking crazy. This right here is why I don't date."
I laughed. "You don't date because you're scared to talk to girls."
He tipped his beer toward me and smiled. "That right there is the second reason."
Chapter 29
Chloe
It was incredibly hard to leave Finn the night before when all I wanted to do was curl up next to him. It took most of the night to calm my racing heart, but after a glass of wine and a movie with my brother, I was finally ready to crash. Having to respect his and Brian's relationship wouldn't have even been on my radar a few days back, but after seeing the hurt in my dad's face over him and Clark, it was something to be concerned about now.
I woke on Saturday morning to my phone ringing on my night stand. I yawned loudly and reached for it, too cozy to be in a bad mood.
"Hello?"
"Hey, baby. Where are you?" Finn sounded as if he'd been up for the last two hours.
I rolled over and looked at the clock, surprised to find it was ten already.
"I'm still in bed. I guess I stayed up later than I thought." I yawned again and sat up.
"Well, get your fine ass dressed, and get over here. Oh, and pack a bag. I want you in my arms tonight. I'm twenty-seven. I don't like guy's night. I want my woman with me," he growled.
"Mmm...I like the sound of that." I moaned into the phone playfully.
"If you plan on us doing anything today besides making love, you need to tread carefully. I've had you once, which was a teaser that's left me a grumpy ass bear."
"You shouldn't have thrown yourself down the side of that mountain, and we could have fucked twenty times already."
"I hate me right now."
I laughed at how cute he was. "Alright. I'm getting up and packing. Are we going out today?"
"Yes. I had Brian take me out last night for a little while, but I didn't find the jacket I want to get for my dad. You mind helping me find it today? We can have dinner at this great restaurant downtown that overlooks a deep gorge and then back here. Sound good?" His voice sent goosebumps running down my arms and legs.
"Sounds great. I'll pick you up in an hour."
"Thirty-minutes."
"You're so bossy right now."
"You like it," he chuckled.
"Actually, I love it." I let him go and got up, moving faster than I really wanted to, but the anticipation of seeing him drove me forward.
I moved through the kitchen and ruffled my brother's hair as he ate a donut and played on his phone.
"Where're you going?" He glanced around.
"To Finn's house. I'll be back tomorrow."
"You better. It's Christmas Eve. Dad would blow a gasket if you didn't." He extended another donut in the air. "Need food?"
"Yes. Thank you." I snagged it and held it in my teeth as I jogged to the door, pulling my bag over my shoulder as I went. "I'll be back tomorrow. Love you."
"Yep. All the girls do."
I rolled my eyes and walked into the garage to find Dad's car already gone. He didn't work on Sundays, so I had to assume he was out with a woman. Where we needed to get Clark to see Milly as a viable candidate for romance, I desperately needed to get my dad to stop whoring around. He was a handsome guy with so much to offer. It made no sense that he would not only use women like Finn used to, but let them use him. There wasn't any good in living that kind of life.
* * * *
I used my key at Finn's, not wanting to have him get up seeing that he was crippled for the time being. He wasn't in the living room, so I called out, not wanting to scare him.
"Hey. I'm here."
"I'm in the bedroom. I can't figure out how to get my damn pants over this cast." He grunted, and I walked in to find him sitting on his bed in sexy black boxer briefs with one leg in his jeans and the other not.
I pressed my fingers to my lips, not wanting to laugh, but he was so far beyond cute.
His warm brown eyes moved across my face as his expression turned to anger. "Really?"
"I'm sorry. You're so cute." I moved toward him and slid my hands along his face, pulling it up toward me and bending down to kiss him soft and slow. By the time I was done with my greeting, his expression was relaxed and he looked a little dizzy.
"Hot." He licked at his lips, and tugged at his jeans again. "What am I going to wear?"
"What did you wear with Brian last night?" I pulled the jeans off and tossed them behind me.
"Sweats, but I'm not wearing those with you. You're my girlfriend, and we're going to a nice dinner." He ran his fingers through his hair and grumbled under his breath.
"So, let's not go to dinner."
"No. I want to. It's the holidays, and besides, the restaurant is right by that festival of lights that I want to show you."
"Then, I'll cut the seam of your jeans and expand the leg where your cast is." I moved to pick up the jeans, but waited until he gave me the okay.
"Yeah. I forgot you were a seamstress. Shit. Is there anything you can't do?" He smiled, and reached for me.
I jerked out of his way and walked to the living room. "Where would I find scissors?"
"The drawer next to the stove in the kitchen. Hurry back in here. I want more of your kisses."
"If I give you more kisses, we'll be staying here today."
"Then, let's just do that. Dad sits in the damn office all day, anyway. He doesn't need a new jacket."
I laughed and worked on the jeans until I was satisfied that they would work. Walking back into the bedroom, I stopped to pick up a cookie from the plate I'd sent over.
"Did you like these?" I lifted it and took a bite.
Finn reached for it. "Hey! Those are mine."
I tossed his jeans at him and walked to the bathroom. "You can share, handsome boy."
"Anything for you, actually."
I looked out of the bathroom and smiled. "Anything?"
"Anything."
* * * *
It took far more time than Finn seemed okay with on finding his dad's coat, which left us having to pick up a hot dog at one of the street vendors for the festival of lights, but I didn't mind so much. The show was beautiful, and after a few minutes of walking around, someone felt bad for us and offered us half price on a horse drawn carriage ride.
We got in and leaned back, snuggling up to each other and letting the various colors and styles of Christmas lights lull us into a great mood.
"Oh." I sat up and looked around at him. "Dad told me what happened between him and your dad."
"Yeah, mine did, too. So sad." He reached for me and pulled me back down. "We need to get them to talk it out. It was thirty years ago."
I leaned in and kissed him, mumbling my agreement. The warmth of his fingers playing along the edge of my shirt caused my blood to burn, and looking at Christmas lights didn't seem so spectacular anymore.
"I'm ready to go," I mumbled against his mouth.
He licked at my lips and drew me down for another kiss before moving back. "Tell them to stop this thing and let's go home. I want to hold you all night. You up for that?"
"Yes. More than you know."
I helped him out of the carriage, which he didn't seem to enjoy at all. He was used to being independent, and the last thing he wanted was my help to get him in and out of places. He grumbled at me as I got him out of the truck at home and I whipped around on him, tired of his pride.
"Hey. I'm happy helping you." I poked my finger into his chest. "I would pick you up out of a wheelchair and move you around every ten minutes if you needed me to. This isn't going to last long, so stop bitching about me helping you and ju
st be grateful that you have someone that loves you and is willing to do it."
He pulled me to him and wrapped his strong arms around me, looking down at me as the snow started to fall all around us.
"You love me?"
I hadn't realized I'd said it out loud – moment of truth.
"Yes. With all of my heart." I touched his face as he dove in for a passionate kiss.
I opened myself up to him, turning my face a little to give him more room to play.
His hands moved down my back and squeezed my butt softly, kneading at it as he pressed his erection against my stomach. He broke the kiss and we both panted softly, knowing that it was beyond time to get into the house and share ourselves with each other.
"I love you, too." He kissed me again, this time softly. "Now, help me in the house and make love to me."
I smiled and moved back. "Gladly."
When we got into the house, he moved to the bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed and letting out a long sigh. "Damn, that was honestly exhausting. You'd think after me snowboarding all my life and working outside shoveling snow, these crutches wouldn't be that big of a deal, but they are."
Reaching for them, I put them against the wall and bent down, working his boots off as he watched me.
"It's a different set of muscles you're using, Finn. You'll get used to them, and by the time you do, they'll be gone." I moved up and kissed him as I tugged his socks off. There was an odd comfort of being in each other’s presence that let us move into doing common things for each other that I wouldn't have thought of doing for Seth. It was like we had been married for thirty years, and whatever he needed, I was ready to give it.
He pulled his shirt over his head, and then reached for mine, pulling it off of me. I wrapped him in a hug as he worked on my bra. He pulled it from my shoulders and pulled me back up against him, scratching at my back as I groaned softly.
"Move up on the bed, baby." I stood and worked my jeans off as he used his arms and good leg to push back against the mattress. His efforts caused his chest and stomach muscles to contract, and I watched intently, needing to drag my lips across him slowly.