Chapter 26 #2
I shrug, allowing myself to feel the sadness and emptiness of my life.
“If I could have worked over the holiday season, I would have. But even Hollywood shuts down for a couple of days. So, I either took myself on vacation and got wasted, or went to some celebrity party and got trashed with people like me. Lonely folks getting drunk and pretending they’re happy not having to deal with families. ”
“What about Marv? Where does he go?”
“He used to go to his sister’s place in Missouri, but she died a few years ago. He always invited me, but I think it was more for protection, as she was a drunk and lived with about fifteen semi-feral dogs.”
“Jeez.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what he does now. Probably the same as me, just stays in his apartment and binge-watches shows.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Piper says firmly. “But from now on, both your Christmases are going to look a little different.”
“You’re inviting Marv as well?”
“Yes. Mom already said he’s going to be with us, and I know his heart’s in the right place, even if his brain got lost yesterday.”
My own heart’s so full it’s pressing into my throat. “I love you so much.”
“And I love you too.”
“You do?”
“Only for about the last sixteen years,” she replies with a grin. “It’s old news.”
My smile is so big it makes my cheeks ache. “Well, it’s new news to me. Do we need to tell Lady Lovewatch?”
“I’m sure she already knows.”
A few weeks ago, all I could see in my future was work, but now all I see is happiness.
“I want to do everything Christmassy with you that I’ve missed out on since leaving Hideaway,” I say. “Roasting chestnuts, movies, midnight mass, ice skating, sledding—”
“Sledding?”
“I bet you’ve still got the sleds your dad made when you were kids.”
She grins. “Yup. Think you can still handle Seller Hill?”
“Hell yeah.” I hold up my hand. “Last one to break their leg is a loser?”
She high-fives me as she laughs. “You’re on.”
A hundred years ago, there used to be a market at the base of Seller Hill, hence the name. Now it’s also known as Cellular Hill, since the top is the only place you can guarantee mobile reception.
After getting a sled from her folks’ garage, Piper and I take the salted path to the top and peer down the smoothest slope to the bottom.
“If we were alone, I might consider wussing out,” she says. “I haven’t done this since I was a teenager.”
The air is filled with shouts and excited screams as kids throw themselves down the hill.
“I don’t do my own stunts,” I say. “But the guys I know who do would love this. They’d go down headfirst.”
Piper shudders. “That’s the kind of thing Hudson and Mia might do. But only in an attempt to show the other up.”
“We don’t have to do this. We could just watch everyone for a bit?”
I put the sled down and sit on one side, patting the other for Piper.
She perches next to me, and I sling an arm around her, holding her close.
“I’ve had an idea,” I say.
“Should I be worried?”
I grin. “Hope not.”
“Okay, what is it?”
As I gaze at her, my heart races. Not just because I’m constantly hot for her, but I’m worried what I say next might scare her off.
But then again, what have I got to lose? And I don’t want to waste any more time.
I swallow. “I was thinking of giving up my apartment. Getting one across the river in Brooklyn.”
Her eyes light up.
“And because I’ll save a bunch of money moving out of Manhattan, I thought I’d get a three-bedroom place. So, there’d be room for family and friends to come stay, and a dedicated studio for you, my favorite artist.”
Now her eyes are glossy. Are these happy or sad tears?
“And I don’t want you to pay any rent,” I say quickly. “Save that money. You don’t know what’s happening with your job, and I’d rather you spend it on yourself.”
“You … want me to move in with you?” Her voice is a whisper.
Shit. “Yes,” I reply firmly. “As soon as you’re ready.”
She gulps in a breath, her lower lip quivering, then lets out a breathless laugh even as a tear streaks down her cheek.
“Is this a good thing?”
Piper throws her arms around my neck, peppering my face with kisses. “Yes! Oh my God, Brody, it’s a very good thing.”
My shoulders sag with relief. “Thank God.”
She laughs again. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”
Then her mouth slants greedily over mine, and my whole body roars yes.
I don’t think or care about anyone who might be around us as she shifts to straddle my lap. My blood as well as my brain has rushed south, and my cock is now in the driver’s seat.
Our tongues slick against each other and pleasure fizzes across my skin. It’s like we’re floating on a cloud of lust, the ground no longer stable beneath my feet.
I growl as I thread my fingers through her hair, anchoring her mouth on mine. This incredible woman rocks my world and no other woman has ever made me feel like this. Like I’m flying.
Piper rips her mouth from mine with a gasp, and I realize with a jolt of fear that the Earth is literally moving.
Or rather, we’re moving.
Straight down the hill.
“Brody!” Piper screams as I dig my heels into the snow, trying to slow our descent.
Snow and ice arc into the air from my heels like spray from a jet ski. However, gravity is not our friend right now, and the weight of two people on the sled means we’re hurtling faster and faster.
Piper’s clinging to me tighter than a barnacle on the bottom of a lobster boat, screaming so loudly my eardrums scream back. I don’t have a hold of the rope, so I can’t steer, and there are a dozen trees at the bottom that all have our names on them.
Engaging my quads like I’m maxing out on the leg press, I dig my heels in harder, feeling the resistance as we begin to slow.
At the bottom of the slope, people scatter out of our way. We’re not going to glide to a graceful stop anytime soon.
“Hold on tight!” I yell, even though if she clasped my neck any harder, it’d break.
Then I throw myself off the sled, keeping her on top of me, and slide the rest of the way down, finally coming to a stop with a thud against the trunk of a tree, whose branches promptly dislodge all the snow they were carrying onto us.
Piper’s making an awful sound, like she’s having an asthma attack.
I push up out of the snow, brushing it from her face in panic. “You okay? You hurt?”
People rush to our side, adults concerned, kids whooping with excitement.
My heart restarts as I realize Piper’s laughing.
“You sure you’re alright?”
She nods. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
I grin. “Meaning you never want to do it again?”
“Yup!” She glances at the crowd around us. “Please tell me someone got that on film?”
A kid comes forward, and we all squeeze around the phone screen to watch, laughing at the sight that was so terrifying just moments ago.
Piper gets the kid to send the video to her, then we turn for home.
“One and done?” she asks as we step onto Bay View Road.
I wince. “Now that the adrenaline’s wearing off, I’m starting to ache in all the wrong places.”
“Epsom salt bath?”
“Only if you join me.”
“Deal.”
The bumps and bruises no longer bother me. I’ve got my girl by my side, and she’s going to move in with me after Christmas. Nothing can burst my bubble.