12 Naughty Days of Christmas 2018

by Isabella Kole

  “I thought we were going to your place. I feel like now that I’ve stopped, I can’t maintain steam to keep going. I’m pretty tired.”

  “It’s an adrenaline drop. I don’t have much by way of groceries at home. I’ve been away for a while. I did ask my assistant to stock some things, but I didn’t want to take chances on what she would get. Besides I am not leaving with you until I know that someone knows where you’re going and whom you’re going with. So, let’s get on that first and I’ll order us some wine and an appetizer.”

  “You’re a little bossy. Not a judgment, just an observation.”

  “I’m a lot more than a little bossy, honey. It comes with the job, it comes from being the oldest, it comes from being raised by parents with inexplicably high expectations.”

  Leah smiled and blinked as he turned toward the counter to get someone’s attention. She dialed her best friend from work and was a bit surprised when she picked up after the second ring.

  “Are you calling me from the plane?”

  “Hello to you too, Yvette. No, I missed my flight. Before you say anything, it didn’t have a thing to do with what time I left. I happened to make all of my connections.”

  “Then what happened?” Yvette’s inquisition continued.

  “My flight was bumped up and left early. Not to worry, I’m leaving on Friday afternoon. I met a friend and he’s helping me out. Say hi.”

  “Hi, friend. Take me off speaker right now.”

  Adrian slipped away with his own phone as Leah put in her earbuds. He watched her from outside the small eatery as she engaged in the highly animated call. After a few minutes, she waved him back over.

  “She wants to talk to you. FYI, she thinks I’ve lost my mind and is nowhere near as convinced that you’re not a serial killer.

  “Hi, Yvette. I’m Adrian. Yes, we did. No, I am not. Well, I’m from Japan and California. No, it isn’t a special trip. I was heading there to see my family anyway. It’s an hour to two max off my path and I don’t mind. Please take down my number and I’ll send you a photo of us together and of my American license, if that will make you feel better.”

  He kept things serious because this woman didn’t pretend to be romantic or impressed by any of his choices. At least she wasn’t yelling or calling the police. She probably wanted to, but she didn’t and that was a plus. Pictures taken and sent, phone numbers exchanged, and a series of check-in call times agreed upon and the two were left to enjoy their meal.

  “You feel like some dessert?” Leah had already made up her mind regarding the tiramisu. She’d share a forkful or two if he wanted, but anything more than that and he was going to have to get his own. She took dessert seriously and was convinced that a full stomach didn’t mean there wasn’t space in the dessert corner of her belly.

  “I love your appetite. I wouldn’t guess someone so small didn’t live off lettuce.”

  “Yeah, no, that’s not me. Remember, those brothers I grew up with. My mom cooked for a house full of boys and she wasn’t cooking separate light meals for me.”

  “What’s that look about? Is something wrong?” Her momentary spaced out look had given him pause and made him ask.

  “Any number of things, but I was looking at all the garlic floating in that oil. I guess we won’t be having another kiss until we both brush.”

  “You’re thinking about kissing me again, nice. Well, I told you I wasn’t wound as tightly as you think.”

  Adrian raised up, leaned over their empty plates and kissed her again. It was a little tamer, but she could still feel his desire and she hoped she was returning the interest because she was, in fact, very interested.

  “We should get out of here, huh?” Adrian asked.

  “Where exactly are we going?”

  “I have a condo in Shinjuku.”

  “Sounds good. Can I ask you, now, what you were paying for at the counter? I’m not looking to owe—”

  “I haven’t asked for anything and I wasn’t planning to. Like I said, I just want to help. There was a small fee to change the ticket to an open-ended one that you can use anytime. No big deal. Oh, and you should hold on to these.”

  When he handed her the airline envelope, it took supreme self-control not to rip it open and see exactly what was inside. It felt crass and ungrateful, so she slipped it in her bag and thanked him in Japanese.

  “We really do need to go. I need to check in with my assistant and I’m certain I need to return calls to both of my parents. My father will pretend it’s about work, but it will be ten minutes of roundabout personal questions. My mother doesn’t possess a single subtle bone in her body so it will be a full on interrogation. I’ll set you up in the guest room and we can both freshen up.”

  “I need to call home too. My mother and Eric will rival your mother’s interrogation.”

  “You know what you’re going to say?”

  “No clue. It’ll come to me. I’ll have to tell Juju the truth. He’s my twin. People don’t believe it’s true, but we can tell when the other is shoveling shit. Sorry. One swear word in all these hours is a record for me, trust me.”

  “Let’s go.”

  They headed back through the terminal and into the train station pathways to the local commuter line that would take them into his neighborhood. There was no way to explain it, but Leah felt like she’d known Adrian for a lot longer than a half a day and it didn’t feel strange at all to be headed home with him.

  A man of his word, Adrian was a perfect gentleman. She wasn’t sure how she felt about all of his honorable behavior. Of course, it was the right thing to do and she didn’t want to give off too much of a slutty vibe, especially after what she’d told him, but the man was gorgeous.

  Once she got settled into the guest room, which was quite put together for a bachelor, Leah walked around the condo’s open floor plan and investigated the kitchen. The entire time she was clutching her phone, knowing that she was putting off the inevitable. So, when the vibrations went off indicating that she had a call, her jittery nerves propelled her from the couch and into his bedroom. When he turned around, glistening from the top of his head to the divots in his hips, where the towel hung too loose to hold up for long, the panicked words that were on her tongue simply dissolved into unintelligible, nonsensical squeaks.

  “Sorry, I don’t normally take that long in the shower, but all day travel makes me want to scrub a little extra.”

  Adrian kept going because the girl was just staring at him, even though the way she’d barged in had a purposeful energy attached to it. Something had sent her his way without knocking, but she was standing there like a fish out of its bowl. If she started to flop around on his floor he wouldn’t be all together shocked.

  “Are you feeling refreshed? Hopefully getting everything to work wasn’t too much of an adventure. I love all the extra bells and whistles, but truthfully it took me a minute to learn what everything in this place did. They call it a smart home and they were so right. It outsmarted me for months.”

  Leah was just nodding. Her internal dialogue went something like, Close your mouth, you look like a lunatic, breathe before you pass out, dumdum, and say something before he thinks you’ve lost your mind barging in here.

  She was saying all of those things to herself in her head, but all that was making its way outside of her body was air and ums. She found herself mentally calling on deities of all faiths to give her strength to keep her clothes on. Five months had been way too long to go without. Her mouth watered for him the same way it had for the wine earlier. The college boys and semi-serious boyfriend that came before Alex were fun, but with him, she’d learned that there were things an older man brought to the table that could only be learned through hands-on experience. Adrian was thirty-six (she’d peeked at his license), and looked like he possessed a similar know how and she was ready for some hands on tutoring.

  “Leah, not that I mind the company or the appreciative looks, but did you come in here to
tell me something? Ask me something?”

  Her nervous laughter filled the room and quickly turned into a contagious giggle that bordered on maniacal. Not knowing what was causing it, but still joining in, Adrian laughed along with her as he slipped into his closet to pull on some boxer briefs and a pair of worn-in low riding jeans. They were left over jeans for bumming around the house that he rarely wore anymore, but couldn’t bring himself to get rid of. When he re-entered the space, he found her sitting on the edge of his bed. Presumptuous, but not an unwelcome sight.

  She was in a cropped sweatshirt that showed off more than a little tan midriff and it was emblazoned with enough shop logos in glitter to light up a room. Her low riding, wide legged matching pants had the same logos in just as much sparkle. She wore nothing on her feet and he didn’t understand how she wasn’t freezing. Only the floors in the great room were heated and although he had rugs, there were enough spots of cold wood to make socks or slippers a necessity.

  On his approach, she thrust the hand holding her phone out to him.

  “Well, I’m guessing it’s not for me since no one knows I exist. Oh, unless it’s your friend Yvette. I’ll take her call. She scares me a little.”

  “Me too. It’s probably why we’re friends. I gravitate toward a type.”

  “Whew, you’re talking to me again. I have to admit I was getting worried. So, what’s on here that you want me to see?”

  “You sort of implied that we were in this together. I still don’t fully understand why you would volunteer to take on my crazy, but I am grateful and now I really, really want that support. Another DM came through from Alex. I saw the first few words and turned the phone off.”

  “What did it say?” Adrian had turned to fully face her and had bent his over six-foot frame into a pretzel. It wasn’t completely comfortable, but it worked. Leah didn’t realize it, but she had mirrored him and was looking a lot more relaxed. There was something to all the psychology and human behavior classes his dad “encouraged” him to take. He’d wanted Adrian to be able to read any situation that came up in court or in a negotiation, but using it to put Leah at ease had been the best practical application he’d experienced on a personal level in a long while.

  “He said he really didn’t want any uncomfort— It goes off into the void after a few words.”

  “How about you get all of the necessary things out the way, like calling your family and checking in with Yvette? Then I’ll open a bottle of wine and we can look and listen to all of his messages.”

  “The best thing you said was wine. That’s something I can really go for right now, but not until after I talk to Eric. I swear he’s a bloodhound and skirting the truth with them will be a lot harder under the influence. Believe me, it’s not something that has ever worked for me before.”

  When it came to family you had to believe the person with the most perspicacity. He scooted off his mammoth king sized perch and held out a hand to her as well.

  Standing at his wine fridge, he watched her pace his living room as she waited for her call to connect. He didn’t know who was up first, but he wanted to give her some space to deal until she signaled him she no longer wanted it.

  Chapter 7

  “Hey, big brother. No, I’m not fancy calling you from the plane. I’m not on my flight. Do not. It had nothing to do with me being late. Actually, they bumped up the departure time. Not by a lot or anything, but it was enough to make it a run through the airport. You know the potential I had of breaking my ankle running through the airport in three-inch boots with an overweight suitcase? I do. It was good, trust me. No, no. Do not call and freak Mom and Dad out. I’ll ring her later. Of course, I will be there.”

  She glanced in Adrian’s direction. “I have a friend in Tokyo I’m staying with and he helped me work out a new ticket. No, you don’t need to put money in my account. I have a job, you know. Like a really good one. You’re overthinking this, I swear. I’m not up to anything. Just stop. I’m not calling Mom and Dad right now. What for? You know you’re going to, the minute I hang up. I can deal with her wrath later. It’ll be just as strong in a few hours. I’m so glad you’re focused on what’s important here. Oh, good, I’ll still make the family Zoolights night out. It’s exactly like that. I know the kids are looking forward to it. Don’t play the guilty auntie card. I love you. Do you? Okay, yeah, I guess you do. Listen, tell them not to call me. I’m turning off my phone and going to sleep. No, not forever, but at least until tomorrow.”

  The couch collapse was a hair on the dramatic side. Leah reached an arm up over the back and waited for the glass to feel stable in her hand before sitting up to take a sip.

  “Did that go well? It was a little hard to tell.”

  “Let’s just say I could use some wine and maybe a kiss or three before the next call.”

  “It turns out I have access to an unlimited supply of both of those things.”

  “Well, you’ve handled the wine, so get over here with my kiss.”

  Watching him hurdle the sofa made her laugh out loud. “Anyone who can fly around on a private jet can surely afford a full size sofa. If you can hurdle it, then it’s probably too small for you.”

  “Funny, funny. I have tons of American full size furniture in my apartment in the States. The interior designer I hired here was more concerned with the aesthetics of the place then she was with my comfort. It’s also why my bed is practically a futon. I refused to sleep on the floor. The platform was a compromise.”

  “Looks like you made the same compromise in the guest room. Not that I’m complaining. Anymore.”

  “We’ll revisit that, but right now you have some messages to go through. Now, the question is, are you more motivated by the carrot or the stick?”

  “I’m going to need more words. Is that one of those old-timey sayings. You do have me by, let’s see, a little more than a decade.”

  “So sassy. I’ll give you an example. You come across like more of a visual learner, so let me demonstrate.”

  Alex leaned so close into her that his body was bent at a full ninety degrees. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in quickly with intentional strength. It took minimal effort for Leah to raise up ever so slightly before coming back down to straddle his lap. Adrian kissed her and didn’t leave any of his passion on reserve. They pressed their foreheads together, both taking a moment to draw breath back into their lungs.

  “That, honey, was the carrot. It’s the reward for being good. When you make good choices, good things come to you.”

  “Yes, I’ll take—”

  “Well, it’s not fair to choose uninformed. You learned about the carrot and now you need to understand the stick.”

  “What the— Oomph!” She couldn’t finish her sentence or her thought. Instead, Leah found herself staring down at his marble area rug. The pattern would’ve made her dizzy if she’d had more time to focus on it. When his hand came down on the fabric of her sweats she quickly regretted not throwing on at least a skimpy pair of panties.

  “Ouch! Why? Hey, hey. Would you stop that? It’s one thing if you do that to get me excited about the project, but this hurts.”

  “Something else for me to file away. For now, this isn’t meant to get you excited about anything but doing the right thing.”

  Adrian rounded out his sample of the stick with three more highly motivating swats before he righted her back on his lap in the straddle position. Their foreheads were pressed together again. Neither wanted to blink first. No one wanted to surrender to what had clearly shifted between them. They knew there was going to be a lot to talk about.

  Finally, her need to rub won out over her need to maintain contact. Moving her hands from his chest, Leah slid them back to her rear end. “I’ll take door number one, please. I’m definitely a carrot girl.”

  “Come on. That wasn’t anywhere near full strength and considering your behavior on that train you still got off lightly.”

  “Do I get another kis
s for being a trooper?”

  “No. Come on, no more stalling.”

  Leah took a deep breath and opened her messenger app. She read Alex’s words to herself. When she got to the last one begging her to listen to his voicemail, she turned into Adrian’s chest and sobbed.

  He wanted to ask what the messages said, but refrained. Doing someone a good deed did not entitle him the privilege to pry. Instead, he rubbed her back and let her have the release she obviously needed.

  Finally, she calmed and caught her breath. Adrian loosened his hold and reclined back to give her a bit of physical and emotional space. He wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with crying on a stranger or receiving comfort. People could get weird about stuff like that and he wanted to take his cues from her.

  Leah reached for her wine and didn’t say a word. She just tossed it back in one gulp.

  Adrian was the picture of open and ready. He was there to receive her, however she showed up next. His arms were spread the length of the back of the sofa and he simply watched. When she didn’t say anything and walked out toward the kitchen, he followed.

  “What now?” he asked.

  “Water. Wine doesn’t exactly replenish fluids.”

  “Right. Water. Here ya go.”

  “He left me a voicemail and wants me to listen to it until the end.”

  “You plan on doing that?”

  When someone kisses you the way he did, spanks your ass the way he did, and looked at you the way he was, you didn’t need to stand on ceremony. So, pulling him to his immaculate and clutter free counter, Leah hopped up and brought him between her legs. His arms bracketed her in on both sides. She kept thinking how he must be a killer in negotiations. He could watch her and wait her out with a level of patience that must’ve taken years of practice to master.

  “What if I changed my mind? I could stay here. We could spend Christmas together here in Tokyo. Maybe get a tree. You know, fa la la la la.”