Chapter 13
(Nova)
“Merry Christmas Eve,” I said as I opened my hotel room door in nothing but a reindeer antler headband and boxer shorts with Rudolph’s face on the front.
“I thought about answering the door with just the headband on, but I didn’t want to scandalize any of my neighbors if they happened to be coming or going. ”
“No, we certainly wouldn’t want that,” he declared as I stepped back out of his way so he could carry the large box in his arms through the doorway without smashing it into me.
A sharp inhale followed as he got a look at what I’d done to the room. “Whoa, you went all out on the decorating.”
“I wanted it to feel like Christmas,” I replied as I closed and locked the door behind him before doing a small spin, showing off everything from the lights and garland I’d run over top of the window, mirror, and headboard to the bits of mistletoe I’d taped to the ceiling in various spots.
“You certainly succeeded,” he said as he placed the box on the bed and began removing packages from it. “You even got a tree and everything.”
“Just a little two-footer that I plan to donate to a thrift store, along with the rest of the decorations,” I said. “I’ve passed it a few times when I’ve been out walking and picking up things from shops.”
“Still, you thought of everything.”
“Yup, look up,” I said, wanting him to see that he was standing under the mistletoe when he went to put drinks in the fridge.
A slow grin spread across his face as I skipped over to kiss him.
“Mmm, I think I’m going to like making trips over here to refill our drinks,” he muttered as I pressed my lips against his.
I giggled into the kiss and clung to him until we were breathless.
“Oh yeah, this is already shaping up to be an amazing evening,” he said as he ran his fingers through my hair.
“Let me get the extra drinks situated on the counter. We’ve got spiced cranberry lemon-lime, raspberry-cranberry ginger ale, blackberry ginger ale, and pomegranate-cherry 7-Up, and of course I brought the cake. ”
“That’s an awesome collection,” I said. “There’s just one problem.”
“Shit? Seriously? What did we forget?”
“We didn’t forget anything,” I said as I shimmied out of my boxers and left them on the floor at the foot of the bed before I flung myself across it. “The problem is that you still have your clothes on.”
“That is a problem, isn’t it?”
“It really is.”
“Then I guess I’d better fix that,” he replied.
“Yes, please… Daddy.” I said it partially to test out how the word felt rolling off my tongue but also to gauge his reaction.
He appeared stunned for about a second, then grinned and shed his clothes, folding them neatly before leaving them on the edge of the dresser along with my boxers.
He grabbed us each a soda and placed them on the end tables before he sat on the bed and held out his hand to me, still beaming over my calling him Daddy.
Since our conversation on the beach, I’d picked up more Daddy vibes from him and kicked myself for missing them at first. Megan was right.
I’d been so conditioned to expect the swaggering, in-your-face, uber-stern wannabe daddies that I’d missed seeing the signs of a real one, even when he’d been right there beside me.
The way Robbie not only listened but also asked pointed questions designed to get me to think about my wants and needs hadn’t registered as anything but chitchat at first. We were still getting to know one another; it made sense that he asked me those things, or at least, that’s what I told myself.
Until I’d been lying in my hotel bed talking to Megan on the phone one night and she’d started giggling.
It had taken almost a minute of gasping, snickering, and sputtered comments about how oblivious I was before she told me I’d found myself a Daddy, a real one.
Melting against him, it was easy to give in to the urge to kiss and touch, our fingers tangling in each other’s hair as we slowly made out.
Unhurried. Slow. He never treated our moments of intimacy like there was an end goal.
That was something else I’d never thought about until being with Robbie.
Partners in the past had always made each heated brush of flesh against flesh be a direct pathway to fucking.
Robbie just made me feel. As he tugged me on top of him, I realized that it wasn’t just because I was smaller than him; it was because he truly enjoyed looking up at me, feeling my weight against his body, and having me guide where our explorations went.
Oh my god.
In that moment, it fully hit me that I was truly the one in charge.
Gasping, I sat up and peered down at him, smooshed his cheeks between my hands, and peppered his face with kisses until he started chuckling.
“I take it you’re happy to have me here,” he said.
“It just dawned on me that in everything you’ve done to try to get to know me, you’ve also been making it easy for me to just relax and enjoy each day.
You’ve been planning things and setting up activities and adventures this whole time, all based off our conversations.
Is it because of how frazzled I was getting before I started tucking my phone away?
“That and simply because I enjoy seeing you smile when you come rushing out to the truck, excited to see what the day has in store for us.”
“Awe,” I murmured as I snuggled into his embrace, his arms locking around me, holding me in place as we lay sprawled across the bed. “Thank you for making every day together feel like Christmas.”
“And to think, we still have actual Christmas tomorrow,” he replied as he brushed a lock of hair back from my face when I sat up.
“Want to get cozy and pick the first movie?” I asked, feeling a little cool without clothes or anything covering me.
“And maybe get you warmed up,” he remarked, making me smile more.
No one had ever been so in tune with how I was feeling.
He propped the pillows against the headboard as I grasped the remote, hit the power button, and crawled into bed with it as the flat screen flickered, revealing the program guide I’d left on when I’d turned it off earlier.
Robbie tugged me against his side the moment we were in bed together with the blankets pulled up to our chins, his body heat immediately warming me.
“This is nice,” I declared, snuggling against him.
“And we have hit the jackpot when it comes to movies,” he declared, as I scrolled slowly so we could take our time and ponder all the choices.
“Oh my god, Deck the Halls is about to start,” I squealed the moment I spotted it.
“Sounds like we’ve got our first pick,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.
As we settled in, I thought about my last few Christmases and the way I’d stayed in the city, since my folks hadn’t been big on holiday celebrations, especially after my youngest sister had moved out, officially declaring them empty nesters.
“If you weren’t here with me, how would you have spent the day?” I asked Robbie, since I knew how I’d have spent it.
Takeout and movies with Megan unless she’d decided to hit a club and have a bit of pre-Christmas fun.
“Well, if the waves were gnarly, then I’d have been on the water trying to catch my fair share,” he replied.
“When they died off, or I got tired, I’d have headed to the crab shack, pigged out and picked up enough food for tomorrow, then headed home to flop on the couch and do just what we’re doing.
Watch a bunch of movies, though I’d have been sad and more than a bit lonely doing it on my own.
Your invitation was a gift I’ll always cherish. ”
“I feel the same way about your acceptance,” I replied, sighing as we watched the opening of the movie take place.
“I live in a city filled with people, and yet, it’s such a lonely place during the holidays.
With my friend group being as small as it is and all of us being burned out on overtime and obligations, we might have got together once, for a few hours, the day after Christmas, with some of them hungover or griping about how early they had to go back to the office the next morning.
Maybe we’d have made plans for New Year’s Eve, which inevitably would have involved copious amounts of alcohol and me making sure everyone made it onto the right light rail line since I’d have been the only one slightly tipsy instead of straight up staggering and squinting at the rail line map.
I guess it would have been fun, because we’d have been hanging out together, but this right here is perfect.
Soft, cozy, and relaxing instead of being bombarded by noise. ”
We watched half a movie in silence, cuddled up, heads pressed together, his arm around me, chuckling from time to time as the personalities of the characters clashed even as their families began to thaw towards one another.
“I’m going to decorate like that someday,” I muttered. “Cover the house with lights and set up a whole scene on the lawn, with Santa and the reindeer, and even Mrs. Claus holding a tray of cookies.”
“My old man used to be big on putting up the lights,” he replied. “Every year, he’d drag out boxes of them carefully tucked in plastic freezer bags so they wouldn’t get tangled and plug them in to make certain they were working properly before he started hanging them.”
“Was he big on celebrating Christmas?”
Robbie chuckled. “Naa, more like big on avoiding his father-in-law. I don’t think he ever cared much for the holiday itself, but he’d use those lights to avoid having to talk to my grandfather.
They never got along, and I never knew if there was a specific reason or if it was just because their personalities clashed.
My grandfather was a character; he was always telling stories about his travels and the things he’d seen. ”
“Oh yeah, what did he do?”