Micah
Eating you for Christmas dinner.
It was Christmas Eve and three days since Fletcher had come home with Emery after their heart-to-heart, and was still reeling. She loved that her daughter trusted Fletcher enough to talk to him about things that weighed on her. But she hadn’t known how much worry Emery was carrying in her heart. The three of them spent a lot of time together—even if it was just eating breakfast before responsibilities got in the way, or movie night. She was glad for it. Fletcher Kelley’s return to her life hadn’t been on her bingo card for the year, but it was the only box she wanted to cross off. was happy. She was with someone who didn’t expect her to be anyone but herself. Someone who loved her daughter and was loved in return.
Santa duties and music lessons were over, so while they played board games and cooked together, the three of them also found ways to do their own thing. Fletcher had all but moved into her house, and she was waiting for the right moment to ask him to make it official. She knew that she loved him and would do so for a long time to come, but she hadn’t wanted to put that kind of pressure on him. Now knowing the things he and Emery had talked about, she was ready to ask him to move in with her. Or hell, they’d move into Hank’s old house together, if that’s what he wanted.
Except, she was rushing through the bedroom getting dressed for one last session with Mrs. Hershey. The old woman had improved in her reading, but that only meant she wanted to help her with a few more chapters before the book club discussion. knew that book cover-to-cover and Fletcher was benefiting from this newly developed Santa kink in a big way. So much so, the night before, had tied Fletcher’s wrists to her headboard using Christmas lights and rode him like the stallion he was. Afterwards, when his dick had twitched awake again, she’d dropped his Santa hat over it and collapsed into fits of laughter.
Her feelings about Christmas hadn’t changed, it was still a capitalist holiday where all the cheer felt manufactured. But , she had a new appreciation for Santa. And she still liked seeing the holiday through Emery’s eyes.
“Hey, twister,” Fletcher’s voice broke through her thoughts as she adjusted her belt. “Come here.”
She barely had a moment to respond before Fletcher’s hand was in the waistband of her pants and he was tugging her towards him. He pulled the belt out through the loops and started the process again. She was a little frazzled. And the bedroom did look like a tornado had swept through. sighed and dropped her hands, looking at him as he perched on the edge of the bed in nothing but his pajama pants. His hair was tied back in a ponytail—he and Emery did this quite often and thought it was cute as fuck—glasses were on and his chest shimmered thanks to the water droplets clinging to his skin after his shower. God, she loved this man. More than she thought it was possible.
She’d been so complacent in her marriage to Geoffrey because he treated her as such. But not Fletcher. He offered her smiles and kisses, touched her every chance he got and reminded her constantly that she was his. If you’d told her sixteen years ago, when she’d snuck out of that hotel room that she’d be with the same man again, would not have believed you. She was a realist and that meant reconnecting with the man who rocked her world seemed unlikely.
Smiling, she cupped his face and tilted it up to look at her. “You are the best thing that’s happened to me in a really long time.”
“That’s my line,” he said softly.
“Tough shit, stallion. I’m so grateful for you, in ways that I might not always be able to put into words.”
He leaned into one hand, his cheek resting against her palm and beard scratching against her skin. “Me too, Mick. Me fucking too.”
Dipping her head, she brushed her mouth against his and Fletcher’s hand moved from her waist to her ass, pulling her against him. Laughing into the kiss, she let him gently tug her into his lap so she was straddling him. With her thumbs tracing the apples of his cheeks, pulled back and sighed. “Thank you for loving my kid too, Fletch. That means the world to me.”
“You never have to thank me for that, Mick. It’s my honor to love and be loved by the George women.”
She kissed him again, forehead resting against his until her phone started ringing again. Groaning, slid off his lap and held the screen up to face him. “I think she’s taking me for granted,” she whispered before answering Mrs. Hershey’s call. After confirming that she would be there in thirty minutes, stole another kiss from Fletcher and finished getting ready.
“You have the list, right?”
Fletcher arched a playful eyebrow. “ Your list or something else, love bug?”
“Fletch…”
“I’ve got the list.”
“I hid my list, so if you found it, then we’re in trouble.”
He laughed and stood up as she slipped earrings on, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror. “I know where your list is, but don’t worry, I won’t look.”
rolled her eyes and grabbed the brown sweater off the clothes horse and tugged it on. “How do I look?”
“A hot, sexy teacher I’d like to be punished by.”
She gently punched him in the arm and turned to her reflection. Okay, maybe he’s not wrong . Light brown pants, white t-shirt and brown sweater paired with white sneakers and simple earrings. She was an off-duty speech therapist, helping out the old lady who had once been her childhood neighbor.
“Well, if I come home to an empty kitchen, you will be punished,” she threatened, voice low but playful.
“And I’ll like it?”
She snorted and shook her head, stepping around him to grab her things. “I’ll see you in a few hours,” she told him, stretching up to kiss him and then darted out so she wouldn’t miss her appointment with Mrs. Hershey.
As she predicted, the session with Mrs. Hershey ran late. had planned for it, but she hadn’t expected the old woman to drag the whole thing out that much. It started with a trip down memory lane and her favorite Christmases, then how her late husband used to dress up as Santa and “maybe that’s where my kink started, you know?” to how the Santa in the book was not doing enough to get her blood pumping. By the time she had put the book aside, was a bundle of emotions. She was exhausted from lack of sleep and incredibly horny—see: riding her Santa boyfriend like a stallion—and she was desperate to get home because it was Christmas Eve.
However, the upside was that Mrs. Hershey was able to read an entire chapter without fumbling. She might have been going slower than expected, but that didn’t stop her. loved working with her because of that. The old woman might be stubborn and difficult, but when it came to doing what she wanted, she powered through. And it was an absolute treat. Even if she sometimes said puzzy instead of pussy and cawk instead of cock. It was still quite entertaining.
Walking into the house, she dropped her things by the door and was hit with the scent of toasted cinnamon. “Oh my god, what is this glorious smell?” groaned as she moved through the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Emery.
“Ugh, Mom , I can’t breathe.”
She tightened her arms around her daughter and looked up at Fletcher briefly only to have him join the hug. Emery whined again, which turned into a laugh and the three of them held each other for a long moment before pulling apart.
“Sorry I’m late. Mrs. Hershey is dangerous,” she announced and then looked around the kitchen, smiling at the little stations Fletcher had set up for each dish. “Honey, this is way more organized than I expected.”
“Figured we could cook together and Em could help too.”
“The only station we didn’t make was one for dessert. Fletch said that you—”
She groaned loudly, interrupting Emery’s words and then touched her elbow in apology. “Sorry, kid. I didn’t make it to the store. Told you, Mrs. Hershey is dangerous.” She gathered her hair into a tiny ponytail and looked around the kitchen with a sigh. “Okay, let’s get started on dinner and then I’ll see what can be done.”
Her plan had been to whip up a Yule Log, because loved it and it was a dessert she’d made many times for Emery. But with how few of those ingredients existed in the house, she was going to have to figure something else out. Grabbing aprons for her family— her family , ’s heart exploded at the sight of Fletcher and Emery putting on their aprons and laughing together—she turned to her boyfriend.
“Okay, chef. Put us to work.”
Fletcher’s eyes flashed with something naughty before he started assigning duties. was working on the tarts while Emery handled the salad, and Fletcher was making the roast chicken. At some point, someone had turned on Christmas music and the soft sounds filled the kitchen. Despite her lack of interest in the holidays, she had to admit that Christmas music was sometimes pretty catchy. She found herself humming along as she made the tarts, until she realized the song—“You’re My Christmas” by Double Toned. After talking about Ambrose a few weeks ago, Tatum hadn’t brought him up again. Even when she was talking about the mess her ex-husband was now starting to cause. made a mental note to check in on her best friend later and then got back to cooking.
“Mushroom and feta tarts are in the oven,” announced, closing the oven door with a proud smile. “What’s next, Santa?”
He growled and she grinned at the realization that simple things like this got him all hot and bothered. Emery was singing and dancing along to the music, so Fletcher sidled over to and dipped his head low enough that only she could hear.
“If your kid was in a different room, I’d be spreading you out on this counter and eating you for Christmas dinner,” he whispered, eyes blazing with lust and she swallowed at his words.
“Jesus, Fletch.”
His face softened and he smiled. “Was that good? Picked up a Santa erotica the other day, thought I’d get to the bottom of this kink.”
“I love you so much,” said, laughing as she tugged his mouth to hers. “And I loved that. Make sure you use that voice on me later tonight.”
“Anything for you, love bug.”
The rest of dinner prep went smooth and while Fletcher and Emery plated everything and set the table, worked on putting together dessert. She might have learned very few things from her mother—the right way to fold a fitted sheet, how to not comb curly hair, why coconut oil is better for your skin than anything else—but she had definitely learned the magic of Desperation Pie. Thankfully she had more ingredients than vinegar and water, but it was still a bit of a hodgepodge of things that came together to make dessert. She had some condensed milk and cocoa powder, which she whipped together and used the remaining flour from the tarts to make the base. Then managed to scrounge up some pecans and walnuts in her pantry that were also tossed into the mix. It wasn’t going to be a spectacular dessert, but it would provide enough sweetness to round out their Christmas meal.
With the pie cooling, joined Fletcher and Emery at the dining table and was shocked by how beautiful everything looked. They’d finally finished decorating the house, including hanging a stocking embroidered with an F. The tree was sparkling and Emery had made sure to hang up mistletoe everywhere. Then there was the table itself, that Emery insisted on decorating. They so rarely sat at the dining table, always choosing to sit at the spacious counters in the kitchen, so the fact that her daughter worked her magic was wonderful. Red linen and crockery that was ‘saved for a special occasion’, wine glasses and holly leaves, sparkles and stars—the table was set beautifully. Emery handed her and Fletcher paper crowns, which they slid onto their heads as they sat down.
“I know we usually do this at Thanksgiving, but I’d like to talk about the things I’m grateful for,” Emery said as served everyone. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
Emery beamed and looked between her and Fletcher, before dropping her eyes to her lap. “I’m grateful for Mom. For doing this every Christmas even though it’s not her favorite time of year.” ’s heart jumped and she glanced at Fletcher who shrugged with a smile. “I’m grateful for Fletcher. For coming into our lives and making it even better than it was before, which I didn’t think was possible.” When Emery looked up at them, her eyes were brimming with tears. “I’m grateful for your relationship, too. For showing me that two people can truly love each other in all of the weird and beautiful ways. Gives me hope that one day I’ll have that too.”
set a hand over her heart and reached across with the other to grab Emery’s. Tears slipped down her daughter’s cheek and smiled. “I am so grateful for you, kid. You are the best thing in my life and watching you grow up? Nothing beats that. I admire you and am inspired by you constantly. You are my heart and my soul.”
“Don’t make me cry more, Mom! ”
“You started it with those ridiculously sweet words!”
All three of them laughed and then Fletcher was reaching for both ’s and Emery’s hands. “May I?” At Emery’s nod, he cleared his throat and smiled. “I love you both, that’s the first and most important thing. I am so grateful that I was welcomed into your home and your lives, because this is exactly where I was meant to be. I hope that this is the first of many incredible holidays we’ll spend together, because you two are everything to me.”
Sniffles went around the table and then Emery was on her feet, arms wrapped around Fletcher. blew out a shaky breath, using her free hand to wipe away her tears. Once her daughter was seated again, she shook her head and smiled at her family.
“I don’t remember Christmas being a time to cry,” she teased.
“I was making up for the lack of tears at Thanksgiving,” Emery said with a smug grin. “Besides, Fletcher should know that us George women cry very easily.”
Fletcher snorted out a laugh and squeezed his hand. “Okay, after all that hard work of shopping and cooking, we shouldn’t waste this delicious meal.”
Emery cheered and as Fletcher poured out the wine and finished serving the food, they dug in. moved her food around the plate as she watched them, talking and laughing, teasing each other. This is what she wanted for Emery. She wanted her daughter to have someone who loved her so much that they would be honest when they talked to her. Someone who would give her the opportunity to speak her mind and have opinions. Someone who wanted her as much as she wanted them in her life. knew she was a good parent and she’d provided Emery with a lot of good things. But she could see that Emery had been craving a second parental figure to guide her through everything else in life.
knew that there would never be enough words or ways to show Fletcher how grateful she was that he came back into her life. But she would try. Every single day, for the rest of their lives.