Her Secret Santa

by Kelli Callahan

  “So, you’ve never seen the whole thing?” I put my arm around her.

  “Nah, by the time I was old enough to stay up that late, they weren’t in the same house…” She sighed.

  “Maybe this wasn’t a good movie to start with.” I sighed. “I didn’t realize you had bad memories associated with it.”

  “We can make some new ones tonight.” She snuggled against my shoulder.

  It does sound like she’s willing to keep an open mind about it—that’s a good sign.

  Elly and I teased each other once the Griswold shenanigans were underway on the screen. I let her lead because I didn’t want to give her the impression that I was trying to push her into something she wasn’t comfortable with. I let my excitement get away from me at the wine tasting event, and when she asked if I wanted to come back to her place, a Christmas movie was the only defense I could really put up.

  Thank goodness I suggested it, otherwise, our evening could have gotten derailed if she just thought I came home with her for sex.

  I did want Elly—my body was aching for so much more than a kiss or the gentle teasing that we had been doing all night. The craving was strong, but I found the willpower to resist going further than her thigh when my hand found its way there. It might have been cold outside, but the heat between us was so hot that we could have melted the snow on an entire city block. The movie turned into background noise because the only thing I wanted to pay attention to was the beautiful woman in my arms.

  “I definitely won’t be thinking about my childhood the next time this movie is playing.” Elly leaned back from our kiss and grinned.

  “I hope you’re with me every time I put it on.” My hands traced the curve of her hips. “It won’t be the same without you…”

  “I’m sorry I got a little freaked out when we got here…” She looked down and sighed. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “It’s okay to be scared of something you’ve never done before.” I pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll never pressure you into anything that you’re not comfortable with.”

  “Are you sure about that?” She looked up at me, and her eyes drifted to the wreath that was hanging nearby.

  “That’s different.” I shook my head back and forth. “Besides, I didn’t really pressure you. You’re the one that wanted to hear a dirty joke…”

  “Yeah, I did.” She smiled. “I bet you squirmed the whole time you were typing it.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” I narrowed my eyes. “My humor might normally be appropriate for children, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know a few filthy jokes.”

  “Really?” Elly’s eyes lit up. “Tell me another one…”

  “You’re putting me on the spot!” I exhaled sharply. “Okay, let me think…”

  “Make it really dirty.” She leaned closer to me. “I’m going to need a shower before bed anyway.”

  “That’s a visual I’ll never want to get out of my head.” I squeezed her hips. “Fine, I got one for you. What goes in hard and dry—but comes out soft and wet?”

  “Oh wow…” She trembled. “That was dirtier than I expected. I don’t even think that’s a joke.”

  “Then tell me what it is?” I traced her arm.

  “Is it something…” She moved a hand to my thigh. “Really close to my hand?”

  “No.” I shook my head and laughed. “It’s gum.”

  “Gum?” Elly’s head snapped back. “Oh my god!”

  “What? Gum is dirty—especially after some people get done chewing it.” I had to close my eyes to stifle my laugh.

  “That’s so wrong.” She shook her head back and forth. “Tell me a better one…”

  “I’m gonna run out….” I raised my eyebrows in contemplation.

  I’ve heard my grandfather’s jokes enough to tell them flawlessly, but his were corny and clean.

  “I bet you’ve got a few more dirty jokes.” Elly narrowed her eyes and smiled.

  “God, this one is really bad. Okay.” I sighed. “Why does Dr. Pepper come in a bottle?”

  “All sodas come in a bottle.” Elly raised her eyebrow in contemplation.

  “Yeah, but Dr. Pepper’s wife is on vacation…” I chuckled under my breath.

  “Huh?” She wrinkled her now, and then her eyes flickered. “Oh!”

  “I told you, it’s bad. I’m running out of good jokes…” I looked back towards the television for a moment.

  Too bad Clark already told a few that I could have used…

  “Fine, I’ll tell you one that I heard in college—from a sorority girl, so don’t judge the quality.” Elly smiled.

  “I’m sure it’s dirty.” I laughed and shook my head.

  “Okay, so a sorority girl and a frat guy are walking in the woods at night. They decide to stop because they want to fool around. Have you heard this one?” Elly raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

  “No, I don’t think so.” I shook my head again.

  “After about fifteen minutes, the frat guy gets up and is like—damn, I wish I had a flashlight!” Elly grinned. “The sorority girl says—me too, you’ve been eating grass for the past ten minutes!”

  “Um.” My face twisted into a side-eyed stare. “Yeah, I don’t think he has any idea what it’s supposed to taste like.”

  “Or the sorority girls he’s normally with tastes like dirt.” Elly shrugged.

  “Perhaps…” I laughed. “I’ve never sampled a sorority girl—maybe they do taste like dirt.”

  “Let’s go with that.” She nodded quickly. “Sorority girls taste like dirt.”

  Elly and I told a few more jokes as we continued to watch the movie, but we didn’t stop teasing each other. I hated to see the credits roll across the screen when the movie finally ended because I knew our night was going to end along with it. We didn’t stop making out until the next movie tried to play, and I had to reach for the remote. I could see the hunger in Elly’s eyes, but I could also see hints of hesitation. She was torn between asking me to stay and accepting the fact that she wasn’t quite ready. That was all I needed to see. It was time for me to go, even if I did want her in my arms for the rest of the night.

  “I enjoyed spending time with you tonight.” I squeezed Elly’s hand. “I hope I get to see you again soon.”

  “I’ll be offended if you don’t take me on our second official date.” She smiled.

  “I have a few things going on during the week, but if you’re not busy Wednesday…” My words trailed off when I thought about what I was planning to do that night.

  “It’s a date.” Her smiled got wider.

  “It won’t be as impressive as a wine tasting.” I raised my eyebrows.

  “If we get to spend time together, then it’s good enough for me.” She leaned in for a hug. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

  “Okay, then I’ll pick you up after work.” I wrapped my arms around her.

  Hopefully, she doesn’t get upset when she finds out it’s holiday related…

  Chapter Fifteen

  Elly

  Ian and I said goodnight several times and kissed for what was supposed to be the last time before he left—until we said the same thing about the next one. It took almost an hour for him to make it from my couch to the hallway outside my apartment, and I loved every second of it. He had a way of setting my heart on fire every time his lips found mine, and when my heart wasn’t burning up in my chest, my skin was sizzling with desire. I was torn between letting him leave and pulling him into the bedroom, but I finally said goodnight for the last time and closed the door. My apartment felt like it was still steamed over with the passion that came ever-so-close to going further than the couch.

  I don’t know what came over me when we first got here…

  I was so convinced that I was ready for Ian to take my virginity that it caught me off guard when I had an emotional response instead of one fueled by lust. I didn’t know what that meant. Was I starting to fall in love with him?
Was it becoming more than just attraction and admiration? He made me smile. He made me laugh. He was the nicest guy I had ever met, combined with the hottest guy to ever fill out a suit with his impressive physique. Something had changed in the air—the heat was still there, but I was getting attached. Maybe that was why I wasn’t so eager to take our relationship further than any of the ones I had been in had ever gone.

  I teased him until he was so tempted that he agreed to come back to my place, but it was more than just desire…

  I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep without taking care of the problem that had soaked my panties, and I could have had something much better than my finger—if hesitation hadn’t seized control when I was in Ian’s arms. I didn’t regret my decision. I knew it came from the heart instead of my clit, even if the latter wanted more attention than the former when I got to my bedroom. I shut down stuff in the living room, cleaned up the kitchen, and decided to skip everything else—I was just too distracted to focus on anything except what was going to happen when I finally got to the bedroom.

  It would probably be a bad idea to tease Ian after our night didn’t end with both of us in the bedroom together…

  I was so turned on that it didn’t take me long to come. I barely got started before the pressure overwhelmed me, and the pleasure shot through my veins. The build had been so strong because of all the teasing I had with Ian that I immediately went for a second one. That was enough to make the afterglow sink in, and I was ready for sleep. I didn’t even have the energy to stand up and get rid of the towel I was laying on. I turned off the lamp next to my bed and closed my eyes. I was just starting to doze when my phone buzzed. I was groggy, but I realized it could be a message from Ian, so I reached for my phone.

  Ian: Are you asleep yet?

  Elly: I was getting there…

  Ian: I just wanted to say goodnight one more time and tell you that I had a lot of fun on our date.

  Elly: I had fun too.

  Ian: So we’re on for Wednesday?

  Elly: Absolutely!

  Ian: I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was going to say earlier. My plans are related to the holiday. I hope that’s okay.

  Elly: Hmm. I guess I have to be true to my word. I’m not going to turn down a chance to spend time with you.

  Ian: Maybe you’ll have fun?

  Elly: I’ll tolerate it. :)

  Ian: Sleep well. Can I talk to you tomorrow?

  Elly: Yes, I’ll let you know when I get done at the office.

  Ian: Perfect.

  At least he didn’t ask if I was being naughty this time. Not that I would have minded telling him…

  Mondays were always busy at Thornton Advertising, so I always tried to get to the office ahead of the chaos. I convinced myself that not going in over the weekend was going to be okay, but I felt frazzled when I parked my car. All of the things that I could have gotten done felt like albatrosses around my neck. I walked into the office and immediately noticed that something was different. There was way more Christmas decorations up than when I left on Friday. The tops of the cubicles had been covered in lights, there was garland hanging everywhere, and when I got to my desk, I found red and green bells that had been made from construction paper taped to the top of my monitor.

  Did the Christmas Mafia really come into the office over the weekend just to freaking decorate?

  I considered removing the lights from my cubicle and getting rid of the garland but decided against it. The bells on my computer were obviously supposed to be Jingle Bells, and they were a little distracting. I ripped the first one off, and when I reached for the second one—I felt a twinge of guilt. I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like I asked them to violate my personal space and cover it in Christmas decorations. They also didn’t ask permission before they stuck crap to my computer. Still, it was something that they worked hard on, and instead of ripping off another Jingle Bell, I taped the one in my hand back where it was.

  There are worse things I could stare at.

  I took care of the normal stuff I handled in the mornings and then moved on to the assignments that needed my attention. I really didn’t miss much by not coming in over the weekend. I had worked so hard at the end of the week that I was still ahead of where I needed to be. I did a quick review of the Dillinger’s Department Store ad-copy and then forwarded it to Mr. Thornton. I didn’t feel like I had missed anything when I completed it on Friday—if anything, I saved myself the stress of dwelling on it all weekend because I decided to stay home.

  I went for my second cup of coffee as the rest of the employees arrived. Mr. Thornton arrived before I did, so I kept checking my email throughout the day, waiting to hear something about the Dillinger’s Department Store ad-copy. When I finally got an email from him shortly after lunch, I immediately clicked it, but instead of feedback, it was a request for a meeting.

  Oh no… A meeting? He rarely meets with anyone directly unless there’s a problem. Did I screw the ad-copy up?

  “Elly, I see that you made some changes to your stocking. It looks so much better.” Mary walked past my cubicle and shot me a big smile.

  “Huh?” I raised both eyebrows.

  I hadn’t even looked at my stocking when I arrived. I was too focused on the lights, garland, and Jingle Bells. I slid my chair to the edge of my cubicle and peeked around the side. She was right—my stocking was different. Someone had traced my drawings and my name in glue then covered the stocking with a mixture of red and green glitter. I had no idea who did it, but it certainly wasn’t me. I might have taken a moment to try and figure out who was responsible if I wasn’t stressing about my meeting with Mr. Thornton.

  An hour to go until the meeting. Waiting is going to drive me insane.

  I pulled up the Dillinger’s Department Store ad-copy and carefully went over every slide that I sent to Mr. Thornton. Dread began to take over all of the other emotions. I could have spent the weekend looking over it—instead of lounging around my apartment—instead of spending time with Ian. Thinking about Ian calmed me down a little bit, and despite the possibility of getting in trouble at work, I didn’t regret spending time with him. If there was a problem, I was just going to have to face the music—I didn’t have a time machine, and I wasn’t even sure what I could have done differently. The ad-copy appeared to be as close to perfect as I could have gotten it, even if I had spent the entire weekend going over it.

  Okay, it’s time for my meeting.

  “Hello Jillian, I have a meeting with Mr. Thornton.” I put a smile on my face as I walked up to his secretary’s desk.

  “Yep, I have you on the calendar.” She smiled and stood up. “Let me see if he’s ready for you.”

  It only took Jillian a couple of seconds to confirm that Mr. Thornton was ready to see me. The sense of dread returned when I took the last few steps towards his office. I hadn’t seen the inside of it much—a handful of times at most. It was where I sat when he offered me my job after I interned at Thornton Advertising, and where I sat a couple of weeks later when he told me what I would be working on. Since then, he had just stopped by my desk when he wanted something that was too important to email.

  “Elly, please—have a seat.” Mr. Thornton was typing away on his computer when I walked through the door and immediately motioned to me.

  “Yes sir.” I tried to quell the nausea and swallow the lump that was rising in my throat as I sat down across from him.

  “I want to talk to you about the Dillinger’s Department Store ad-copy.” Mr. Thornton stopped typing and turned towards me.

  “Is there a problem?” I squeaked my words out and felt a tremble go through my body.

  “A problem? No.” He shook his head quickly. “I just wanted to tell you that it’s some of the best work I’ve seen in years. In fact, it’s so good that I want you to handle the presentation when we meet with them.”

  Wait, I’m not in trouble?

  “What?” I blinked in surprise
. “You want me to present it too?”

  “What you’ve created here goes beyond an advertising campaign. It’s a vision—and I’ve always believed there is a certain artistic approach to good advertising. The artist can always explain it better than anyone else.” He nodded and smiled. “Do you think you could be ready for a meeting with them next week?”

  “Wow, yes sir!” I nodded quickly and felt the uneasiness leave me.

  “Good, I’m going to move a few of the other assignments you’ve been working on to someone else. I want you to stay focused on this meeting. This is now your top priority—if you convince the marketing folks at Dillinger’s Department Store to move forward with your vision, then I have a feeling they’re going to want you working on their account exclusively from now on.” Mr. Thornton leaned back in his chair. “That goes beyond just doing their online campaign—I’m talking about magazines, billboards—the works.”

  “The entire account?” A mixture of nervousness and excitement shot through me.

  “You did good work here, Elly. I’ll remember this when it’s time to hand out raises next year.” He nodded quickly.

  “Thank you.” A huge smile spread across my face. “I won’t let you down, Mr. Thornton. Like you said—this is now my top priority!”

  I had a little pep in my step when I walked back to my desk after my meeting with Mr. Thornton. If I was put in charge of the Dillinger’s Department Store account, then I might be looking at more than a raise—there was a chance I could get a promotion. An exclusive account was a really big deal. I spent the rest of the day with my excitement growing, and every time I thought about my meeting with Mr. Thornton, it put a big smile on my face. I knew that I was going to have some long days ahead of me, but they would be worth it. Things were finally looking up for me—not just at work—but in my personal life as well.

  I have big news, and for the first time, I have someone to share it with.

  Chapter Sixteen