Chapter 8
Tex
We ended up sitting at my kitchen table and talking until two in the morning.
It was the weirdest thing, but Chloe was easy to talk to.
Our conversation started off slow and subdued. But by the end, words were flowing between us freely, punctuated by pleasant pauses of silence.
Chloe was thoughtful with her words. And she seemed to study people and situations before interjecting her thoughts. I appreciated that about her. I was kind of similar, I guess.
Not that there weren’t differences of course.
And no matter how much I might enjoy this woman’s company, it didn’t mean anything.
Even if we did end up sleeping with each other—which the spicy heat between us suggested might happen—we still wouldn’t end up together. She’d already said she’d lived a life without roots.
And that was all I had. Roots.
But I was just trying to enjoy the present moment. I couldn’t think too far ahead.
The present moment said her eyes were starting to get sleepy.
“Maybe we should go to bed.”
That popped her wide awake. “Bed. Yeah.”
She almost looked nervous, so I made it effortless for her.
“Let me dig out an extra toothbrush for you. I have a new one that I haven’t used yet, still in its original package.
There’s soap if you want to wash your face.
Nothing fancy, though. Nothing that smells like fruity bubbles.
Or if you want to take a shower before bed—not that you have to!
But if you wanted to, you could. There’s shampoo in the bathroom.
I don’t have a clean towel, though. You’ll have to use mine. ”
“Yours?” she asked as she stood up and followed me to the tiny bathroom.
“I only keep one towel. It’s only me here usually.”
“Oh. Interesting. So you’re a one-towel kind of man.”
“Yup. I guess so.” I looked her up and down. “You probably have a dozen towels, all with pretty flowers on them and high thread counts. Do they make Egyptian cotton towels? You look like an Egyptian cotton woman.”
She laughed. “No. I haven’t seen Egyptian cotton since I left my ex. I have a few towels from a thrift store. My finances haven’t been… there hasn’t been a lot of extra room for luxuries lately.”
That made my brow furrow. She looked well put together, but I couldn’t deny that the car parked out front had seen better days, and her winter coat looked like it came from the one-dollar resale bin at a thrift shop.
I didn’t like the idea of Chloe living such a tight existence that she couldn’t afford a frilly towel or two.
Look at me, acting the fool.
I was practically ready to buy her some pretty towels myself.
I’d never been one to fall into the trap of rescuing beautiful women from their plights. But something about Chloe made me want to fix all her problems.
She’s the kind of woman who deserves to be spoiled.
Which made the direction of my thoughts even more ridiculous.
What did I have? Not much.
This place, and the few acres of woods around it, and an old pickup truck that I kept running well, even if it wasn’t a beauty queen anymore. Plus a seasonal job doing construction during the warmer months.
The idea that she could want a man like me for anything more than a night in the sack was preposterous.
After we washed up, I led her to the bedroom. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in a t-shirt instead of that costume? It doesn’t seem like it would be comfortable.”
Chloe flushed pink. “I’ll be fine.”
I got the impression she didn’t want to sleep without any pants on.
And it’s not like I could blame her. The woman was getting in bed with a stranger. It must feel uncomfortable for her. And maybe even a little intimidating.
But if she was worried about what I might do to her in the bed, she wasn’t showing it. Chloe seemed content and sleepy.
She crawled right on and shimmied under the covers, taking my pillow and wrapping her arm around half of it.
I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and folded them into a square for me to use as a pillow tonight. Then I grabbed another pair of sweatpants and, on second thought, an old t-shirt, too.
Normally I slept as naked as the day I was brought onto this earth, but tonight I’d cover myself up for her sake.
Sliding into the bed felt stranger than I’d expected.
This was intimate.
“Do you need anything else? Is it comfortable enough?” I asked as I flicked off the nightstand lamp.
Night descended on us, black as pitch, with the storm raging outside.
Quietly she said, “This is comfy. You have a nice bed. Thanks again for letting me stay here. This must be strange for you.”
“For me? I think it’s probably stranger for you.”
“Not for me. It feels perfect. I really like your place. It feels so grounded.”
“Grounded?”
“Like part of nature. I like that it smells like the woods.”
“You mean the wood-smoke smell? Normally, I have a fire going. I got carried away talking to you and forgot to get one started.”
“But it’s so warm in here.”
“I went to the expense of installing central heat and air. I like it warm in the winter. I work outside a lot.”
“What do you do for work?”
I could see how this was going. We were going to end up talking all night long.
“I mostly do construction for a small, local company. But that’s a warm-weather gig.
In the winter I supplement my funds with whatever work comes along.
I hang Christmas lights, then take them back down for people.
Shovel snow off driveways after storms. And sometimes I take tourists out on hunting trips.
We do some snow-camping, and let the city guys feel like real men for a weekend. ”
She laughed. “You’ve got quite an opinion of city people. Do I fit in that category?”
“You? You don’t fit any categories. You’re… kind of unique.”
Chloe’s eyes sought me out in the dark, and she rustled under the covers, shifting to face me. “You really think that?”
“Yeah. You have a certain… quiet about you I’m not sure I’ve experienced before. It’s… comfortable being around you.”
“Is that rare for you? Feeling comfortable around people?”
She was digging deep. I still didn’t know why I’d let her in so much in the first place. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
“Yeah. I think so. I’m comfortable around people I’ve known my whole life. My uncle, my friends. But so many people are into things I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Shopping. Accumulating stuff.
Status symbols. I hate all that. I’m not into it.
I like things to be functional. And don’t get me started on sports.
You know how many guys live and breathe football?
It’s a stupid game, and I don’t know why people have any interest in watching it.
I mean, at least the ones playing are getting exercise.
And Christmas. All those decorations. And the stupid-ass gifts people exchange. What’s the point of any of it?”
She let out a tiny laugh. “Maybe you should kick me out of your bed, because I am a Christmas elf. And I did show up at your house and sing you a Christmas song. Maybe you hate me, too,”
“That’s different, though. You’re just getting paid to do it. Like me, filling in for my uncle.”
“But I do like Christmas. In fact, I kind of love it.”
I groaned. “Really? You do all that gift buying and shit?”
“Mm. Not so much that. I don’t have much money for splurges like that.
But I do try to make things for the people I care about.
I knitted a wool scarf for Astrid this year.
She’s going to love it. It’s colorful, like a rainbow.
She gets into that sort of thing, and no one’s ever knitted her a scarf before. Isn’t that sad?”
That stopped me in my tracks. It sounded nice. And now I found myself yearning for it. I’d ripped my current scarf a few years back and never thought about replacing it. “No one’s ever done that for me, either. I don’t think it’s very common for people to go around knitting scarves for someone.”
Chloe’s voice was quiet, an unsung melody in the rhythm of her words. I could listen to her talk for hours. “What do you care about then?”
“Rod. Sally. My friends. This place.” I thought about it for a second. “And Red Oak Mountain.”
Her voice was getting softer, and I could hear that she was getting sleepy.
“Mm, that sounds like a nice list of things to care about. Those are the kinds of things I care about. My friends. My family, even though I don’t get to see any of them often.
But I don’t have a Red Oak Mountain. That part’s missing for me. Maybe someday I’ll have that, too.”
“Red Oak Mountain’s easy,” I rumbled. “It’s right here. If you want a place like this, it’s within grabbing distance. Friends and family are priceless, though. I can’t import your friends here.”
“No. But maybe they’d come visit me…”
And with that, her words trailed off. Her breathing softened, and I could tell she was on the verge of falling asleep, had maybe even dipped over to the other side between waking and sleeping life.
My heart was hammering in my chest. Had she just hinted that she would move here?
That was just random talk. She didn’t mean it. And even if she did, it didn’t mean she’d be moving here for me.
But something inside me held on to the idea.
I realized with some degree of shock that I liked the idea of Chloe moving here and living with me.
We could build a life together. A quiet life.
I hadn’t so much as thought about a woman since Tiffany.
After that train wreck of a relationship, I’d thought I was done with women for good.
But that had all been before Chloe stepped onto my uncle’s sleigh.
The second I’d seen her, I’d known. And tonight had proven it.
We had so much in common. And plenty that wasn’t in common, like her bizarre love of Christmas.
But even that felt comfortable somehow. I could see her coaxing me into decorating a tree, putting an elf up on the fireplace mantel.
Maybe even stringing some Christmas lights out on the back deck.
I bet the deck would look nice all lit up. Cheery.
That jolted through me, and I stared at her in horror. All I could make out was the soft halo of her hair surrounding her cherub face.
If she stuck around, she was going to ruin me. Before I knew it, I’d be running around wearing matching Christmas sweaters with the woman.
But even worse was the idea that she might not stick around.
How was it possible for me to feel so attached to her so quickly?
Something wasn’t normal about my reaction to her.
I could already feel that there was going to be a giant void in my life when she drove away.
Chloe shifted and snuggled up against me, moaning lightly in her sleep.
My cock had been hard ever since I’d climbed into bed with her, and now it strained against my sweatpants, demanding to be freed. It wanted some exploration time with this woman.
But that wasn’t happening. At least not right now.
I shifted onto my side so I was facing her, too, delighted as she snuggled even closer and laid her head against my shoulder.
Damn, she felt good.
It had been far too long since I’d had a woman in my bed.
It was going to be impossible to sleep. Not with her soft breasts pressed against my chest.
I wanted to wrap my arms around her. Bring her in closer. Wake her up from her sleep with a kiss. Then fuck her with everything I had in me. Then maybe I’d be able to go to sleep.
My cock set up a revolution, demanding that I press my hips against her, give her a few test pulses. Maybe find a way inside her elf costume.
But I did the right thing and stayed stock-still until sleep finally took me away.
Then she was in my dreams.
And in my dream she was completely naked, her full breasts on display, nipples achingly hard.
She didn’t say a word. She just beckoned me forward with the crook of her finger.
Then we made love, but the room we were in transformed and turned into a Christmas-themed factory.
All around us, busy elves knitted scarves…
impossibly long scarves made out of goat wool while I fucked her and fucked her and fucked her.
In my dream, it didn’t matter that I was in a Santa outfit, or that she was made of candy canes.
All of that felt perfectly normal. Even when I started licking her candy legs.
The taste of peppermint melded with the flavor of hot cocoa.
She tasted like a sweet treat, and I found her eggnog pussy and started lapping it up, while the Jingle Bells song played.
I woke up in a sweat, my cock pounding with need, my arms wrapped around the real-world Chloe. The one that didn’t have candy cane legs, but was still wearing a flirty little elf costume.
Holy shit.
I wasn’t sure I’d survive the night.