Chapter 1
Holly
Ibit him on the dick. That wasn’t how we met, but I’m sure that’s what he remembers me for. In my defense, I was sixteen. That must have been, what, twenty years ago? I was getting old.
We hadn’t been officially going out—no holding hands in the hallway or anything.
But we had gone on a few dates and to a school dance together.
By that time, some of my friends already had serious boyfriends.
I felt left out of all the kissing, birth control, and sexy-time talk.
Besides, I really liked him. We had been friends for ages, and I felt totally comfortable experimenting with him.
We didn’t have the same search engine options back then. If you wanted to learn something about how life worked—and who didn’t?—there were only a few options. Watch a movie your parents didn’t want you to see, figure it out from vague references in books, or ask your friends.
I understood the basic idea of a blow job.
Mouth on dick, and sort of bob up and down.
It seemed simple enough. No one warned me about all the extra skin.
He had given himself a good stroke before I got started, and the skin slid down, exposing the head.
I was confused. Was I supposed to grip the skin with my lips and bring it with me as I bobbed away, or just kind of leave it to its own devices?
Bringing it with me made sense, but my spit made it slippery.
I didn’t really think it through. I used my teeth to get some grip, and, well…
things ended pretty quickly after that. There was no blood.
No trip to the emergency room. But there was no more fooling around either.
We went back to being friends, but not as close as we used to be.
It was hard to hang out casually in the cafeteria after you’ve had someone’s dick in your mouth.
Now, in a stroke of Murphy’s Law, he had just walked into the lobby of the hotel I was staying in for the holidays.
Cole Goodman.
Fuck, he was still gorgeous. He looked almost exactly the same as the last time I’d seen him, not long after we graduated high school.
He had a gray or two in his hair now. He might have filled out some, although it was December in Canada, so he was bundled up.
He was too far away to see much else, but I knew he had the kindest blue eyes and a little dimple that appeared when he smirked.
No wonder he was the first one I’d tried to give a blow job to.
Although I’m not sure it really counted.
The shocking part of the whole ordeal was that he didn’t tell a soul about it.
I had faked period cramps the day after the incident, and my mom had let me stay home from school.
The next day, I had shown up expecting every person in my grade to be calling me chomper or some shit, but no one said a word.
It was strange.
It was a very welcome kind of strange. Maybe he hadn’t wanted everyone to know that his dick now had teeth marks. Or maybe he was a nice guy and didn’t want to embarrass me in front of the entire eleventh grade.
I watched as he chatted with a man at the front desk before heading up to the little coffee bar in the corner of the lodge and disappearing once he had his cup.
I let out a breath. Had I wanted him to see me or not?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure. He was hot and I was hopelessly single, but I had no idea what he’d been up to over the last twenty years.
Odds were that I wouldn’t see him again anyway.
It was a big ski resort and—again, my luck—I had broken my arm a week before we left.
So I would be enjoying my very expensive ski vacation from the lodge, sipping hot chocolate, and glaring at everyone on the hill.
My parents, my sister Noelle, and my brother-in-law were all here too.
They felt bad for me, of course, but I told them to have fun.
I packed a bunch of books, and I had Wi-Fi, so I would survive.
It wouldn’t be so bad to spend some quality time with me, myself, and I.
The lodge was beautifully decorated. It was built log-cabin style with a big stone fireplace taking up an entire wall.
Garland had been hung from every available surface, displaying green boughs with little red berries.
Every inch of the place sparkled, not to mention the view of the thick layer of new snow that had fallen last night.
I was one of those insufferable Christmas-obsessed people.
Silly Christmas sweaters? I had a half a dozen with the tacky earrings to match.
I wasn’t big on the gifts and the parties, but I loved the look and the feel of the holiday.
Everything sparkled, including people’s willingness to give.
The whole month of December just felt a little more magical.
“I thought I knew that face.”
I jumped just enough to slosh my very rich, dark hot chocolate over my hand.
“Oh, shit. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
I turned to face him. Okay, my hand was officially not the only part of me that was wet. It’s not that he hadn’t aged. He had, just in all the best ways—looking stronger and more grown up, without all the negative effects of gravity.
“Oh my God, Cole. Is that you?” I said, as if I hadn’t already eye stalked him from across the room. I was assuming hugs were not appropriate given our history, so I remained in my seat.
“May I?” He gestured to the chair next to me, and I nodded eagerly.
I discreetly checked for a wedding ring as he took his seat.
No ring—or worse, ring tan line— detected.
So far, so good. He settled himself into the chair and I looked him over.
He was in coveralls. Navy blue with bright yellow stripes.
I could have guessed back in high school that he would end up working in the trades.
He took shop class every year and always seemed to be taking things apart and putting them together.
If I remembered right, he had bought an old beater of a car as soon as he got his license and spent every weekend trying to get it to run.
He wore big work boots, and a pair of gloves were sticking out of his pocket. His hands looked work worn, but his eyes had a light in them when he smiled at me. Oh, and there was that dimple. I took a quick sip of my hot chocolate to cover my excitement.
“Are you up in Sun Peaks for the holidays?” he asked.
I nodded. Sun Peaks was an adorable little town built around a ski hill about a half-hour drive from where I lived. It was a popular vacation destination, and I was still in shock my family managed to book hotel rooms over Christmas.
“I was looking forward to a ski vacation, but I’m stuck in the lobby thanks to this.” I gestured with my cast, almost spilling more hot chocolate in the process.
For fuck sakes, I should have asked for a sippy cup?
“Ouch, how did that happen?”
“A lethal combination of ice and high heels.” I shrugged. “It will heal. The timing is just the shits.”
“You always were a little accident prone.”
I blushed, but if he hadn’t given me a hard time—no pun intended—when the incident happened, I knew he wouldn’t tease me too much now.
“Guilty as charged,” I said.
The dimple appeared again, and he leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “So are you here with your husband or boyfriend or…”
I felt heat creeping through my core. He was flirting with me. Everyone who ever said - if you don’t find the one in your twenties you’ll die a lonely old cat lady - could shove it. Plus, cats are cute.
“I’m single, actually. How about you? Wife and kids waiting on you while you sit here watching me spill my drink?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I was actually hoping I could make some Christmas Eve plans with you.”
The corners of my lips crept into a smile. No point playing coy. “Well, it is a little boring being stuck in the lobby by myself.”
“And Christmas was always your favorite season, wasn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Well then, Holly, will you spend tomorrow with me exploring the village and doing adorable Christmas shit?”