Chapter 11
TYLER
Lying on my side, I rest my head against my propped elbow while I watch Lainey sleep. The sheet is where it should be, haphazardly wrapped around her naked body. The morning light streaming through my large windows somehow indicates a cold day ahead.
I need to wake her, and as much as it’s because of my morning wood, I remember she mentioned having to pick up Enzo this morning. The back of my knuckle feathers a few strokes along the length of her arm, and her body begins to stir.
“Lainey,” I whisper.
“Hmm.” She sounds groggy and tries to pull the sheet up under her chin, but I’ll have none of that, and I yank it down.
“Wakey, wakey.”
She begins to squint her eyes until they are fully open. “What time is it?” Lainey is still in her sleepy daze.
I sit up and glance at the clock on the side table. “Eight.”
Slowly, she sits up. “Okay. I should probably get going.” She rubs the side of her head while she yawns.
I’m kind of amused, as I’m waiting for something.
She seems to be more awake, and her hand plops down on the mattress. She looks down then up before her eyes swing side to side. “Oh yeah. I’m here.”
I sputter a laugh. “You forgot?”
It causes her lips to curve up into a soft smile. “No. I’m just not… wait. What? I mean, we slept together and got something out of our systems…”
I throw her a brazen look. “Want me to kick you out at the speed of light?” I tease.
She finds my antics humorous enough. “Well, it’s been fun.” She swings her legs to the edge of the bed and drags the blankets with her.
Okay, she’s leaving? Meaningless sex, right?
When she stands, she has a sly smirk on her mouth when she glances over her shoulder at me. “Gotcha.” She’s joking with me.
Getting out of bed while shaking my head, I walk to my dresser to find a pair of sweatpants, meanwhile Lainey gives up on trying to fix the zipper I broke on the side of her dress.
“Want a coffee?”
“Tempting, but I actually need to go shower, change, and pick up Enzo at 10.”
“You could shower here if you want,” I offer.
She wiggles her finger side to side. “Nuh-uh. I’ll never leave then.”
A cocky grin hits me instantly. “Ah, so I am good.”
Lainey bites her smile. “I mean, not bad.”
Rolling my shirt down over my body, I dangerously meet her eyes, and her little joke just won’t do this morning. “Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”
Her breath gets caught somewhere inside of her. “Next time.” I can barely hear her, but I do. “So, there will be another time?” She sounds doubtful.
Taking another step closer to her, I refrain from shaking her because she already knows the answer. “Why not?”
“I guess we know what this is.” Her bottom lip is trapped between her teeth.
My hands land on her shoulders, and I direct her to turn. “Exactly.” Walking behind her, I lead her straight to my kitchen. “You don’t need to run away if that was actually what you were doing. Remember, I have decent coffee.”
“Okay, okay. You win.”
“I always win.” I’m not sure my vigor of an answer is about this or my natural hockey talk.
She giggles, either way.
My hands vacate her shoulders when we are in the middle of the kitchen, and I begin to think about the coffee machine but stop and catch her off guard with a kiss. One where she loses her balance, but I wrap my arms around her.
Fuck morning breath. We both had enough candy canes last night to keep our breath fresh until New Year’s. That means we don’t need to delay a morning kiss.
But we escalate, and next thing I know her hand sneaks between us and heads down to the waistband of my sweats because I’ve been hard since 0.02 seconds after kissing her, and her body is pressed against mine.
Our noses touch and our mouths part. Our breathing is heavy, and the urge to rush into throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her back to my bedroom runs strong.
However, I’ve been on Santa’s naughty list, which is why fate decided that my cell should start vibrating on my counter where I left it on the charger overnight.
I groan, but I feel Lainey smile against my mouth. “Go.” She pushes me slightly away.
“Not cool.”
Walking to my phone, I see the name on the screen as clear as day, and I know that my mom will not relent. It will be a call, voicemail, text, then another try in about an hour.
I grumble a noise and bring the phone to my ear. “Yes?” I dryly greet her as I stare at Lainey.
“Ho-ho-ho to you too.” My mother is too cheery for me at this time of the morning.
Lainey must hear because she stifles a laugh.
“What is it?”
“Great news. Your guest room is going to be put to good use.”
Dread. Absolute dread fills me.
“Yep. We are coming for Christmas. You’re welcome. No need to work on our invitation.” I can hear it in her voice that she is smiling and she is sarcastic today, lovely.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and digest the news. Being a big boy and staying firm that my guest room is off limits is hard when your parents are good people and have only ever supported you. Most of my friends have always said my parents are fun, and I happen to understand their views.
“Okay,” I agree tightly to becoming a host with definitely not the mostest.
“Perfect. You have the tree and decorations, right?”
“Is that really needed?” I press.
She laughs, and Lainey smiles with her. These two women don’t even need to meet; they are both throwing my morning off.
“Of course. If we are going to have a proper Christmas Day, then at least put in a little effort,” she chides.
I bite down my protest. “Guess I’ll find a tree,” I grind out in response.
“Wonderful.” Her peppiness is back in full swing. “One more thing…”
“Yes?”
“Your Aunt Harper and Uncle Max are visiting Illinois since your cousins are with their respective in-laws, and they will be staying in a hotel near you. They managed to get the last room. So please plan accordingly to host us all during the day.”
My jaw goes slack as I take a few beats to adjust to the new situation. “Are you kidding me? We’re adding Hanukkah to the day too?”
Lainey’s eyes grow big, and her beaming smile hasn’t changed.
“You know how she gets. Over the top is the only way, so yes, menorah, dreidels, not a morsel of pig even if it’s candy-shaped. Just do vegetarian. Make it happen.”
“Two years ago, she made the entire family go on a gelt scavenger hunt.” My voice rises.
“Cute, huh?” My mom is oblivious.
“It lasted three hours!”
“Only because it turned into a drinking game,” she defends.
Shaking my head, I feel the need to point out, “And Passover? Should I not remind you of the year that went down in the history books.”
“Hey, it is not my fault that we are required to drink four glasses of wine… and I thought it was grape juice. That stuff almost tastes the same, and it is damn good,” she snaps in her defense before calming.
“I’ll call you later. I’m going to check the bakery here for what I might be able to order and bring with us.
Love you.” She hangs up before I can absorb any more details.
My hand with my phone drops to my side, and I look at the floor as I come to terms with the change of events. But my eyes quickly draw up when Lainey bursts out laughing.
“This isn’t funny.”
Her hand flies up as she tries to calm her hysterics, but it is an easy fail. “I’m sorry, but it is.” She plants her hands on her stomach as she continues. I just watch, not amused in the slightest.
Finally, she grasps my demeanor and swallows a laugh and then attempts to keep back another. “What?” A chuckle escapes. “But this is hilarious.”
I stomp to my coffee machine and begin to work on my cup of coffee with blunt movements.
Lainey walks behind me, and her lone finger scratches my upper back before crawling to my shoulder and urging me to turn and face her. Her face is subdued, but she is still fighting a grin.
“I remember you mentioned the Jewish family factor.”
I shake my head. “Yeah, well, my aunt converted when she met her husband. She had one of those crazy mothers-in-law who taught her to cook and traditions. It has equated to my aunt acting batshit crazy on holidays that involve food, alcohol, and games. That basically describes every Jewish holiday on the calendar. News flash, there are a lot of holidays. Then it was discovered when someone in the family did one of those genealogy test things that apparently our grandmother’s second cousin of another cousin, I lost track who, is Jewish on our side of the family, and imagine how that upped my aunt’s crazy. ”
Lainey shrugs. “I get it. Gracie has a similar background. Her mom is Jewish and dad not. But just order a menorah online. It will probably get here by tomorrow. The big store off the highway is sold out. They were next to the Hanukkah gift bags that were squeezed between Kwanzaa and the snowmen-themed decorations. I had to look for school, we needed a few supplies.”
My fingers comb through my hair. “And a fucking tree? What should I do about that? I will get the third degree if it isn’t a real tree. My parents are all about aesthetic and visuals since that’s their career.”
She squares my shoulders to her. “No biggie. You are off now, and they arrive, what? Tomorrow night?” I nod. “You have plenty of time to get a tree. I know where.”
“Then what?” My voice rises an octave.
“You need to decorate,” she deadpans and looks at me as if I’m a moron.
My response is to sigh heavily. The smile painted on her lips is a tad comforting.
“I have to pick up Enzo, but we can go with you. It might go faster because I have a strange feeling that you don’t know what you are looking for.” Her face screws up.
“No shit.”
Her smile wobbles because she wants to laugh again, I know she does.
“You can do this.” Excitement begins to spread all over her face.
“It’s been fun.” She points between us. “But I’ve gotta run.
I fucked like crazy last night and now I need to help the guy find a tree. What a random hookup experience.”
All I manage is a few scratchy sounds that escape from my throat when she winks at me before skipping away, giving me zero chance to tell her to stop and let us have sex to cure my distraught state.