I did. Like it was the first time seeing it, and then, a little too quickly—as if we hadn’t eaten in days—Craig and I jumped in. Champagne flowed, paper plates and plastic forks were snatched and we devoured stuffed mushrooms, parmesan Brussels sprouts and bacon wrapped scallops. The food was sumptuous and rich—even if it was lukewarm—a perfect complement to the crisp, cold bubbly.
“Great idea,” I said after a particularly savory bite of pasta alfredo, washing it down with champagne. “I can’t remember the last time I ate.”
He nodded, licking his lips after another Hawaiian meatball. “I didn’t dare join the others in the buffet line while the guests were here,” Craig said, setting down his plate before refilling our glasses. “It felt like everybody was watching us.”
I smiled, watching him take his full glass and ease back into the leather chair. With his tie loosened and the top two buttons of his shirt undone, Craig looked like a powerful businessman at the end of another long, hard day. “I know they weren’t,” I said, polishing off the last of my plate and setting it aside next to his. “I just kept thinking someone would spot me watching you—or you watching me.”
He nodded, taking a long, thoughtful sip of champagne. “I guess we’ll have to get used to that now, huh?”
I nodded as well, taking my glass and slinking back onto the love seat, my legs tucked under me as before. “I just keep waiting for everyone to discover our secret,” I sighed, feeling so comfortable in Craig’s presence that I could voice my deepest, darkest fears without fear of judgment or reprisal.
He nodded. “It’s just so hard to keep my eyes off you,” he said, warming my heart—and my cheeks—with the unadulterated compliment.
“Me?” I scoffed. “You should see what I’m looking at!”
He rolled his eyes, ignoring the compliment. “All night long,” he said, “all I’ve wanted to do is take off that dress.”
“You and me both,” I snorted, dismissing the comment offhandedly.
He sat forward, setting his glass down. “I’m serious, Avery. I’m not sure I can do this.”
“Me either,” I groaned, shaking my head and setting my glass down. “All my brave talk and bullshit, and I can’t get you out of my head. That’s why I’m so afraid of living in this house together.”
“You and me both.”
“I thought I could get you out of my system,” I confessed. “I thought I had enough time to talk myself out of falling in love with you. But it’s not just your body I crave, it’s all of you. I don’t know what to do without you.”
“It’s not fair,” he insisted. “None of this. Yes, I want our parents to be happy, yes, I want them to have their happily-ever-after in this big, beautiful house, but what about us?”
“I don’t know,” I complained, anxious with a mix of sorrow and joy. Here I had Craig all to myself, for two weeks, and I was more frustrated than ever. I thought our parents getting married would end this illusion, this charade, once and for all. But now that it had happened, I only wanted Craig more. Only loved him more.
“I just don’t know.”
“Me either,” he said, standing abruptly. “But I know I’m not going to sit here looking at you for the next two weeks.”
“Gee, thanks!”
He chuckled. “You know what I mean, Avery. I’ll go crazy!”
“I already have,” I shot back, stifling a yawn as the food, the worry and the champagne made me drowsy. “I feel like my head is going to explode.”
He chuckled, yawning as well. “I feel like mine already has.”
He was on the edge of his seat, stunning and handsome and way too tempting as I inched back further into mine. When he arched an eyebrow, I nodded to the stairs. “Maybe,” I suggested, needing some space from Craig before I did something I’d regret. “Maybe we should call it a night?”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said as if one of us might change our minds. “I’m not sure I can handle being in the same room with you tonight.”
“Yeah, big guy,” I teased despite my own anxious heart beating overtime. “How about tomorrow night, and the night after?”
“Don’t remind me,” he said, drifting toward the stairs. When he saw me easing back on the couch, he asked, “You’re not coming?”
“I don’t trust myself up there with you, either.” I chuckled dryly, watching him take the steps one by one and trying not to picture him alone in bed, tossing and turning as I know I’d be in a few short minutes.
Thirty-Eight
Craig
I woke with a start, hardly believing I’d fallen asleep at all. The thought of Avery in the other room, all alone, kept me tossing and turning for as long as I could remember. Lying in my own bed, the sheets bundled up as they clung to my half-naked body, I thought I’d never get to sleep.
I knew the minute my eyes popped open, the light of a cinnamon stick jar candle illuminating the room, there would be no more sleep for me this night. I sat up, peering around the cold, unfamiliar room, so clearly intended for me.
Dad and Melissa had to have been sleeping on their little surprise for some time. At least long enough to decorate the room in a way they thought I might like, with football posters on the walls and a masculine plaid comforter on the bed.
Melissa had also seen fit to decorate the room for Christmas, Avery’s too—I’d peeked. A trio of jar candles sat on the dresser, each with a holiday scent, next to a tiny tree decorated with twinkling lights. Now the room was bright even in the middle of the night, and standing slowly, I leaned in to blow out the candles.
Smoke swirled above them, the room filled with the scent of warm apple cider and cinnamon and I left the tree on, touched by Melissa’s parting gesture. I reached for the door and tread carefully so the hardwood floor beneath my feet wouldn’t squeak.
The door opened onto the upstairs hallway and I paused, surprised to see Avery’s room still lit up across the hall, the door as open as it had been when I poked my head in earlier that night. Inching closer, I saw the bed still made, Avery’s more feminine comforter untouched and the matching candles and tree on her own nightstand dark and cold.
By contrast, the living room glowed a vibrant bright white from the nine-foot tree, the fire dwindling, but still crackling as I stood on the upstairs landing overlooking the floor below.
There, nestled on a faux fur rug in front of the fireplace, Avery lay on her back. She was still in her prom dress, the one I’d been aching to slide down her body since the moment I saw her in it. One hand was behind her head, her eyes soft and lazy, but open. The other hand gently rubbing the carpet at her side. I inched toward the top of the stairs, not sure what to do next, but knowing I couldn’t resist a closer look. Step by step I walked down one stair and then the next. She heard me, halfway down the stairs, turning her head slightly, but not moving to cover up or play dead.
I didn’t say a word and went straight to her. “Craig,” she said, voice low and quiet as if we might wake someone.
“No,” I said, kneeling beside her. “No more talking, Avery. Not tonight.”
She opened her mouth to say something. I reached for the zipper on the side of her dress, closed her mouth with mine and kissed her lips while I slowly unzipped the dress. It slid free easily, as if it had a mind of its own. Sleeveless and strapless, she’d had no room for a bra and now, as I slipped the dress down from her chest, her breasts spilled free—pale and beautiful.
I sucked them tenderly, savoring every inch of her skin as I unzipped the dress as far as it would go and inch by squirming inch, dragged it all the way down.
She moaned as the dress came off, leaving her nipples wet and stiff. I kissed my way down her pale, quivering stomach until I savored the taste of her soft skin right below her belly button.
I kissed her there then dragged her panties down to savor her slick pussy beneath. As they slid from her ankles, Avery willingly spread her legs. Her hands moved to my head as she ground her ass into the faux
fur rug and guided my lips and tongue up and around her swollen clit.
She came in no time, as desperate to be pleased as I was to please her. And I did please her until she pushed me away, gently drew me on top of her.
I felt Avery’s pussy against me, so warm and wet.
I gently pushed inside, my pelvis grinding against hers. I peered down at her, completely taken by her beauty. The fireplace crackled, the slow burning logs illuminating her face with a soft, orange glow. That same glow highlighted her bouncing breasts as we fucked, our bodies warm as sweat bathed our skin and suddenly, I felt the swell and crest of an explosive orgasm.
It came without warning, but not without pleasure, draining me dry as I pumped hard inside of Avery until we both collapsed, side by side on the fur rug in front of the fireplace.
Thirty-Nine
Avery
The fire lit up Craig’s flawless body, sticky and sweaty as we lingered in each other’s arms. My heart hammered with the power of my emotions, my body trembled with the echoes of my orgasm, and his, still fresh and sticky inside me.
“That escalated quickly.”
“You don’t say,” I teased, still panting and regretful. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t fuck Craig. Not ever, never again, and certainly not on the living room floor the first night we’d ever even seen the house. And here I was, sweaty and sticky from his jizz… again!
He seemed to sense my regret, lifting himself up on one elbow to peer down at me. “I’m sorry,” he said, tenderly squeezing my shoulder. “I… I woke up and you weren’t in your room. So, I came out onto the landing and when I saw you lying here I couldn’t help myself.”
“I was thinking of you,” I confessed, looking up at him as he gently stroked my arm. “When you came down just now, I was lying here thinking of how not to go upstairs and slip in to bed with you.”
He chuckled, nodding his head. “I wanted to be strong, baby. I really did. But I can’t. I love you too much to keep away!”
I nodded, biting my lip at the words we’d never spoken before. “I… I love you too, Craig. And I worry… I worry that I won’t be able to live under the same roof as you anymore.”
“We don’t have to live here, you know,” he murmured, trailing the rough pads of his fingertips along my rib cage.
Shivering with delight, I was somehow able to focus on his words. “How do you mean?” I asked, my voice husky and raw from screaming out his name.
He sat up, his big hands whirling in the air as the sweat on his body shimmered in the warm firelight. “I mean, we’re not kids anymore,” he said. “They can’t make us live here.”
I rolled my eyes, sitting up so we faced each other. “Well, they can when they take their support away, Craig.”“Fuck their support,” he huffed, sounding crass. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for everything my dad’s done, but if it means not being with you, hell, I’ll go out and get a job first.”
“How? You’ve got a full schedule of classes, and let’s not forget a little thing called football.”
“Fuck football! I only have one year left anyway.”
The look in his eyes made me laugh. I’d never seen him so adamant about something before.
“I’m serious, Avery. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and my whole fucking life is upside down right now, because of you. But in a good way! Why shouldn’t I toss football along with everything else?”
I wagged a not-so-playful finger. “Uhm, because you love it,” I pointed out. “Because you’ve been playing it since you were a kid. Because the whole team’s counting on you. Because—”
Now it was Craig’s turn to roll his eyes. “Yes, I have been playing it all my life, Avery,” he confessed. “Even since I was a kid. But I haven’t loved it in years. In fact, the only reason I kept playing it was for the chicks. And now that I have you, the thrill is gone.”
I shook my head. “Craig, Craig,” I cautioned, both touched and concerned. “It’s the holidays, our parents just got married and told us we’re moving in together, you’re not thinking straight.”
“That’s just it,” he said, inching closer to me so our knees touched. “I’ve never thought straighter in my life. And besides, I met with the team trainer over Christmas break and he’s talking about months of rehab before I can even start again. More and more, with each passing day, I’m beginning to question how badly I want to get back on the field.”
I considered Craig’s life without football. “What about your teammates?” I asked, watching his face cloud over.
“Some team,” he said. “Only a couple of the guys bothered calling since the injury, and only Hard-on even bothered to stop by.”
“Hard-on?” I asked, wondering if I even wanted to know the answer.
“Long story,” he said, confirming my suspicions. “Just, suffice it to say they’ve probably already moved on. And even if they haven’t, babe, I can’t help but feel that… I have.”
I hung my head, my hand on my forehead, moaning silently. “I can’t be the reason you give up what you love, Craig.”
“You’ve got it all wrong, babe,” he assured me. “I’m giving up football to be with the one I love.”
I moaned with pleasure—and not from his touch. In all this time, he’d never said the word. And now, he was throwing it around like bubbles in our champagne. “You don’t mean that, Craig,” I murmured, though every cell of me wished he did.
“I mean every word, Avery,” he said. “And I mean it when I say that we can make this work.”
I shrank back. “What… what are you saying, Craig?”
“This,” he insisted, scooting along the floor to follow me. “Us. We’re grown now. Of sound mind and body and able to make our own choices. I can take a half-load next semester, get a job, find a place for us to live and pay rent.”
His voice trailed off, our faces close in the firelight. His eyes were wide and alive, his tone serious and unwavering, his grip tight around my arms. “We can do this, baby. We can have our happy ending without hurting anyone.”
“But our parents,” I said, shaking my head until he reached out to gently grab my chin.
“They never have to know, Avery,” he said. “I’ll get a place, you stay here six days a week and tell our folks you’re staying with a friend…”
“When of course I’m bunking at your place,” I murmured, already excited by the idea, even if it could never work. Not in a million years.
“Then,” he proceeded, growing more excited with each detail of his nefarious plan, “after a few weeks of that, you start spending weekends, then eventually you move in.”
“Together?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course, Avery,” he explained. “Where did you think this story ended?”
“I don’t know. This is all so sneaky. I don’t know if I could.”
He caught my glance leaving his, and felt my body shrink. Disappointed, he looked hurt and distanced himself as well. “You don’t want to?” he asked.
“Of course I do! I’ve wanted nothing more since the first night we spent together, I just—”
“Just what, Avery?” he asked, inching closer again. “What is stopping us from being grown ass adults and loving each other like we’re meant to? What is stopping us from taking classes, working part-time and pooling our money to pay rent? Hell, I’d live in a trailer and bus tables six days a week if it meant I got to come home to you every night!”
I chuckled, dizzy with the opportunities as they caused my heart to race. “How romantic,” I teased, making him blush before he peered back at me more cautiously.
“You know what I mean, Avery,” he said, his voice low and thick. “I mean I’d do anything to be with you.”
I nodded, biting my lower lip. Not to be coy, but to stop myself from saying something I’d regret. “Listen,” he said, taking the hint. “We don’t have to figure it out tonight, you know? We can take our time. Hell, we’ve got two weeks.”
; “I suppose you’re right,” I replied, relieved that I didn’t have to answer at that precise moment. As tempting as the offer was, and inevitable as being with Craig might feel, I had to find peace with the idea of keeping our affair from our parents.
“I want you to be happy, baby,” he said. “I make you happy, right?” He smiled when I nodded, and nodded when I smiled, as our hands laced together on top of my knees. “I know you make me happy and after all, we deserve a little happiness, right?”
“It is Christmas,” I reminded him, nodding toward the tree behind us. “Remember?”
“How can I forget?” he murmured, inching in for a kiss that started out innocent, but once our lips met we were panting and breathless all over again. “I want to celebrate every day our parents our gone. And then, when they get back, every day after. Will you help me? Will you help me figure out a way to do that?”
I nodded, feeling his hands on me once more as we sank onto the rug. “I’d love nothing more, baby,” I murmured, eyes half-lidded as his thick cock slid inside of me again. “Except this, of course.”
He chuckled, but I knew he was serious about our relationship, our future, and our life together. It finally felt like Christmas. Craig’s unwavering love felt like a Christmas gift.
One I was all too ready to accept, if only I could figure out how. Then again, his hands on my body, his words ringing in my ears, my legs wrapped around his waist, was a pretty good place to start.
Coming soon!
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