Her Secret Santa

by Kelli Callahan

  Hopefully, Elly is in the mood for a night on the town.

  It was Sunday, which was when I normally called my parents, so I decided to do that before I contacted Elly to discuss our date. My mother answered the phone, and we talked for a little while before she handed the phone to my father. Both of them were enjoying the weather in Florida but looking forward to coming home for Christmas. It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was nice to talk to them—and even better to hear that they were doing well.

  The year Alexander Software launched its first successful app changed my life. I went from living in an apartment in what was essentially the ghetto to being able to afford a house. Two years later, I had enough money in the bank to buy any house in the state. I offered to share that wealth with my family because they were the ones that were always there for me when times were tough—both emotionally and financially.

  My grandparents on my mother’s side lived out west and were doing pretty well for themselves, so they didn’t really need anything from me. My grandparent’s on my father’s side had been poor most of their lives, and while they had each other, they finally agreed to let me set them up in a nice apartment in the city. My sister wasn’t one for charity, but she said it was okay if I spoiled her kids—I already planned to do that, whether I had her permission or not. My parents—they were a lot more open to my offer. They had always dreamed of living somewhere warmer and traveling the world after they retired. I was able to provide that for them, which made me feel like everything that brought me to that point was worth it in some capacity, even if I didn’t have the kind of love in my life that they had.

  Maybe I’ve got another shot at that with Elly. It’s too soon to be thinking about forever, but I can’t ignore the way that I feel about her…

  Elly and I talked in the afternoon, and she agreed to let me pick her up for our date. I wasn’t in the mood to drive, and there was a chance that I wouldn’t be comfortable behind the wheel by the time our date was over, so I requested a car. Elly lived in a pretty nice apartment building. I was surprised that she was able to afford it if she was just getting started in advertising. I assumed there was some sort of affiliation with her company that made it possible since I knew what real estate in the area went for. I tried that once with Alexander Software, but we weren’t able to make it work once the company started growing.

  Okay, this is her apartment…

  I knocked on the door and waited. A couple of seconds later, I heard Elly’s voice on the other side. I couldn’t make out every word that she said, but I pieced together enough to understand that she was still getting ready. I glanced at my watch, and we still had plenty of time, so I didn’t stress about her tardiness. One thing I learned from my parents was that there was no reason to sweat the small stuff—it was just wasted emotions that didn’t change anything.

  “Sorry.” Elly opened her door. “I lost one of my shoes…”

  “It’s fine.” I smiled and pulled her close. “I would have waited forever if that’s what it took for me to get another taste of your gorgeous lips.”

  I crushed Elly’s lips with a passionate kiss that instantly reignite the fire that burned between us before I was forced to pull away the night before. I didn’t care. I had been thinking about them since our last kiss, so I was willing to take another risk—and gamble on my ability to break the seal that formed before we ended up inside her apartment. It only took me a second to realize that my plans for the evening didn’t matter as much as having Elly in my arms, but the voice in the back of my mind told me not to let it go that far.

  “You can say hello to me like that anytime you want.” Elly looked up at me and grinned as soon as I leaned back from our kiss.

  “I just might…” I let my hands slide down to her hips. “You look beautiful.”

  “Are you admiring my dress or wondering how it will look on the floor later tonight?” Her grin got wider.

  “I already told you that we needed to wait…” I exhaled sharply, and despite my hesitation, I pictured exactly what she said.

  “What if I don’t want to wait?” She leaned closer. “I want to be on Santa’s naughty list tonight.”

  “Let’s talk about that later.” I looked down and sighed. “We’ve got somewhere to be right now.”

  “Okay, let me grab my coat.” She disappeared into her apartment and emerged a few seconds later.

  “All set?” I took her hand.

  “Yep! Where are you taking me anyway?” She looked over at me as we walked towards the elevator.

  “A wine tasting.” I hit the button that would take us to the bottom floor. “Well, technically it’s multiple wine tastings—it’s an event that’s being sponsored by several of the biggest vineyards in the state.”

  “Well now I know I’m going to end up on the naughty list.” Elly giggled and kissed me as soon as we stepped into the elevator.

  Elly and I kissed until the elevator doors opened on the bottom floor. An older couple got quite a shock when they tried to enter the elevator before we had a chance to exit. We managed to keep a few feet between our lips until we were in the backseat of the car, and then the heat really got turned up. I had to raise the barrier between the front and back of the car so that the driver didn’t get a show he would be thinking about when he got home that evening. Elly’s hands moved along my body and I explored her curves with mine. My cock was throbbing and telling me that waiting was lunacy—I had a gorgeous virgin in my arms that didn’t want to be one by the end of the night.

  “You’re making this so difficult…” I exhaled sharply and traced the skin at the bottom of her dress.

  I bet she is wearing the shortest one she owns—in the middle of winter.

  “You teased me too.” Her eyes flickered with excitement. “Don’t act like I’m the only one that was misbehaving last night…”

  “I didn’t say you were.” I tugged on her dress and squeezed her ass.

  We continued teasing each other on the entire ride to the location of the wine tasting event. I was just glad that I didn’t choose something outside. Elly’s coat was long enough to cover her dress, but that was about all that it covered. She would have been freezing to death by the end of the night if the wine tasting event wasn’t indoors. The car finally arrived, and the driver walked around to open the door for us. I managed to slide Elly’s dress down just in the nick of time, otherwise, he would have gotten an eyeful of the black satin panties that were probably going to be featured in a picture she tortured me with after I got home.

  “We’re here.” I stepped out of the car and extended my hand to Elly.

  “Is this a Christmas festival?” She looked at the decorations with concern.

  “You’re still going all-in on the holiday hate?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I just don’t like getting slapped in the face with it.” She shrugged.

  “It’s a wine tasting event in December. The entire world considers everything between Halloween and New Year’s Day a Christmas event.” I chuckled under my breath. “I’m sure you won’t care about the lights or the wreaths once you have a little bit of wine.”

  “That’s probably true.” She nodded.

  I wonder if she even remembers that being my Secret Santa means she’s supposed to buy me a gift. I guess it doesn’t really matter…

  We made our way into the venue, gave our coats to the guy at the door, collected our free swag, and walked over to the first table. Elly stuck with red wine, but I sampled several different varieties before we moved to the next one. Their wine wasn’t as good as the first vineyard, so we didn’t stay long. Elly seemed to be really enjoying the variety, even if she wasn’t stepping outside of the wine that she already knew she liked, and I made a mental note of the ones that piqued her interest. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to buy her for Christmas, and wine was definitely one of my options—provided that I didn’t have to step in and pay for a couple of bottles before we were done.

&n
bsp; “Wow, this is heaven.” Elly lifted a glass and took a sip. “I think I could stay here all night…”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to try some of the wine that you wouldn’t buy on your own? This is a good opportunity to expand your palate.” I picked up a glass of chardonnay and gave it a sniff before I took a drink.

  “I tried a few different ones in college.” She shrugged. “Red wine was the only thing I liked.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “I guess you know what your preference is.”

  “Yes, but feel free to try all of them if you’d like.” She leaned closer. “If I get you drunk, I might get lucky tonight.”

  “If I get drunk at a wine tasting, we’ve got bigger problems than whether or not you get lucky.” I chuckled under my breath.

  “It looks like they’re selling glasses over there.” She pointed across the room.

  “I don’t consider the bar part of the tasting.” I sipped a different glass of wine.

  “We only have a few more tables before we’re going to run out of options.” She nudged me. “Then we go to the bar.”

  “Do you drink wine every day?” I raised an eyebrow in concern.

  “Nah, not usually.” She shook her head back and forth. “Sometimes after a long day at work—the weekends are a different story though.”

  “I suppose it could be worse.” I nodded.

  “Yeah.” Elly picked a glass of wine from the next table. “Alcoholics need a glass of wine—I already have one.”

  “Wow, you told me a joke, and I didn’t even have to ask you first.” I smiled and picked up my glass.

  Despite my teasing, I didn’t really think Elly had a problem with alcohol. I had been around a few people with real problems over the years—people that showed up to work smelling like they slept in a distillery. I had a few bad nights myself after my relationship with Abigail fell apart. Elly was still young, and she was enjoying life. We finished the wine tasting and walked over to the bar area. Elly wanted to take a bottle of the wine that she liked best home with her, and she wouldn’t let me pay for it, despite my attempt. After a little back-and-forth, she finally did agree to let me pay for the glass that she ordered.

  “This bar is kind of loud…” Elly looked around. “Maybe we can get a table in the corner.”

  “I’ve got a better idea.” I took her hand and led her towards the exit.

  I had been to enough wine tasting events sponsored by the company that was running the one we were at to know that that the bar wasn’t going to get any quieter. They liked to turn it into a party—especially when people were interested in buying wine. A table in the corner might be okay for a little while, but there were a lot of people that still hadn’t finished the tasting. The upstairs area was roped off, but they didn’t have anyone there to make sure the crowd respected the barrier they put up. I shifted it to the side, and we walked to the top of the stairs.

  “I don’t think we’re supposed to be up here.” Elly looked over her shoulder nervously.

  “It’s okay. I don’t think anyone really cares. It’s closed off because the company that is sponsoring the event only paid for the downstairs.” I motioned for Elly to follow me. “I’m sure they couldn’t find anyone that wanted to just rent the upstairs when there was a wine tasting going on down there.”

  “You seem to know a lot about this place.” She smiled and took a sip of her wine.

  “My company has rented the venue a couple of times for our annual business planning retreat.” I nodded. “Let’s go in here. This room has a pretty good view.”

  “Were you just trying to find a way to get me alone?” Elly put down her glass of wine and turned towards me once we walked into the room.

  “Ah, you figured me out.” I put my glass of wine on the table beside hers and chuckled under my breath.

  “We could just take the bottle I bought back to my apartment…” She moved closer to me and grinned.

  “Tempting...” I put my hands on her hips and pulled her in for a kiss.

  Our lips seared together, and we kissed for several minutes before we sat down on the sofa by the window and immediately picked up where we left off. Tempting was a mild response for how I truly felt. I moved past simple temptation before we ever made it out of the car. Everything inside of me was screaming that I should just go for it. Every time I tasted her lips, my inhibitions lowered, and my defenses got weaker. It seemed like the angel on my shoulder had joined the devil, and they were both working against me. Even the voice in my head didn’t like my choice not to make a mad dash for the car.

  “We don’t even have to open it.” Elly moved her lips to my ear. “I can think of something I want a lot more than wine right now.”

  “Why are you so eager to lose your virginity?” I sighed and moved my hands to her ass.

  It’s sure as hell hard to resist giving you exactly what you’re begging for.

  “You’re the one that told me I should take a risk.” Elly leaned back. “I’ve lived my whole life afraid of getting involved with someone because of what I went through when my parents got divorced. I’m trying not to let those thoughts get in the way of what we could have. I really like you…”

  “I really like you too—more than I probably should considering that this is our first real date.” I smiled and brushed a stray hair away from Elly’s beautiful misty gray eyes. “Why don’t we try to get to know each other a little better first?”

  “I guess you’re right.” Elly leaned back in until her lips were against my ear again. “That just means it’s going to be even better when it finally does happen.”

  “We can agree on that.” I exhaled sharply and gasped when she moved her lips to my neck and kissed me.

  “So how do we get to know each other a little better?” Elly reached for her wine. “I’ve told you my life story—you’ve told me a lot about yourself…”

  “Hmm.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t we play a game?”

  “I don’t really like games.” She tilted her head.

  “This one will be fun.” I picked up my wine and took a sip. “Twenty questions—ten for you and ten for me.”

  “That could be interesting.” Elly grinned. “I can think of a few.”

  “Think of more than a few.” I took a sip of my wine and chuckled.

  “What if you ask a question that I want to ask?” She raised an eyebrow. “Do I have to waste one of mine?”

  “If the questions lead to discussion, so be it—that’s kind of the point.” I shrugged.

  “Okay, you go first.” She smiled and took another sip of her wine. “We might have to open my bottle of wine though…”

  “We can pick up another one on the way out.” I laughed and nodded.

  Maybe she’ll actually let me pay for it this time…

  Chapter Thirteen

  Elly

  I respected Ian for wanting to get to know me better before he took me to the bedroom—even if I was rather pushy because I was so turned on. I wasn’t the only one with things in the past that brought on a good bit of hesitation. Ian loved the girl he dated in college, and his heart had a scar that was going to be there forever. I had no interest in being her replacement, and I didn’t think Ian viewed what we had in that way. We were forging something new, and we were doing it together. His hesitation reinforced my feelings for him and made them even stronger. He wanted to make sure it was real before we took things to the next level.

  I think he knows that it is—but there’s nothing wrong with getting to know each other a little better first.

  “Okay, you can go first.” I shifted on the couch so that I was facing him.

  “Sure.” Ian nodded. “Why don’t we talk about your career? Are you planning to stay at Thornton Advertising forever?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” I shrugged. “I didn’t expect to get offered a job before I graduated from college. I’d like to stay at the company and keep moving up—provided that they keep giving me oppor
tunities.”

  “I’ve heard good things about the firm.” Ian took a sip of my wine. “But I’ve also heard that they don’t pay as well as they should—that’s why they keep losing their best employees to their competitors.”

  “I wouldn’t be there if they didn’t.” I shrugged again. “I owe them some degree of loyalty for giving me a chance.”

  “Loyalty is important.” Ian nodded in agreement. “Just make sure they’re not ripping you off.”

  “I guess I’ll know how much they appreciate the extra time I’m putting in when it’s time for my annual performance review.” I took a drink of my wine. “I guess I don’t have to ask anything about your career—you’ve already got the best office in the building.”

  “Yeah, but there’s always an option to expand the company.” He nodded. “That might mean a bigger building in the city—or a satellite office somewhere.”

  “That could be an interesting challenge.” I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “Maybe you could open an office somewhere warm—then it would be a vacation when you visited.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” Ian chuckled. “Okay, it’s your turn to ask me a question.”

  “Hmm.” I drained the rest of the wine from my glass and reached for the bottle. “Want to do the honors?”

  “Is that your question?” Ian took the bottle and picked up the commemorative corkscrew we got when we walked in.

  “No.” I smiled. “I can ask you anything?”

  “I’m an open book.” He shrugged. “Fire way—just know that I reserve the right to make you answer the question too.”

  “That’s fine.” I nodded and narrowed my eyes. “How many women have you been with? I know about Abigail—but surely there have been others since her, even if they were just one-night stands…”