Chapter 15
THEA
Having a twelve-year-old who has friends I have no qualms about her staying overnight with is amazing.
Most times, it means I get to lie around on the couch alone, eat raw cookie dough straight from the tube for dinner, and binge-watch The Righteous Gemstones with no alarm clock set for the next morning.
This time, it means waking up next to a naked fireman.
I really like raw cookie dough and Adam DeVine, but this beats all of those Saturday nights.
“Do you want the leftover pecan rolls?” I ask as I tip my head to the right so Josh has better access to the spot on my neck that he’s kissing.
The hand he has under the hem of my T-shirt, stroking back and forth across my bare stomach, inches higher. I put clothes on—well, a T-shirt and panties—to come down to the kitchen, but he didn’t wait for me to come back to bed. He came after me.
“I am definitely hungry for something soft and sweet, but you said you had something else for me, I believe. Want me to make some requests, or did you have something specific in mind?”
“I did have something in mind, but I love your dirty mouth, so why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking?” I ask.
“Sure,” he says conversationally as he cups one breast, plucking, then tugging on my nipple in a way that sends ripples of heat to my pussy. “I want to lift you up on this breakfast bar, strip this T-shirt and these panties off of you and feast on your warm, sweet cunt—”
My gasp and giggle cut him off.
He chuckles against my neck. “How has no one talked dirty to you like this before?”
“I don’t know. You're scandalizing me.”
“I cannot keep from thinking about and talking about this body and everything I want to do to it,” he says, sliding his hand from my breast, over my stomach, and between my thighs, where he cups me, bringing me back against his hard body.
He’s in jeans, but they are unbuttoned and unzipped, resting loosely on his hips, and he’s shirtless. I want to run my hands and tongue all over every ridge and plane of his shoulders, chest, back, and abs. I want to trace every line of his tattoos and hear what each means.
I could easily reach back and slip my hand inside the front of his jeans and underwear. I know I would find him thick and hard. I’ve never especially loved giving oral sex, but I have the sudden urge to sink to my knees for this man.
I turn on the stool and look up at him. “All day today, while we are supposed to be doing fun and sweet Christmas activities with two eccentric but adorable little old ladies, every time you smile, I’m going to think about how much I want your lips on my clit.”
His eyes are hot, but he grins as he cups the back of my neck in one big hand, the rough pad of his thumb, stroking up and down the side of my throat. “Are you trying to scandalize me, Danger?”
I nod. “How was that?”
“Amazing. Keep it up.”
“Every time I look at it, I’m going to think about how your ass feels under my hands when I’m gripping it while you’re thrusting into me.”
He looks pleased and very turned on. His thumb pauses under my jaw, pressing slightly to tip my head back. He leans in, his mouth hovering over mine. “Is that because I am going to be in front of you all day? Winning?”
I laugh, but then have no choice but to pull him in and kiss him.
Just as the kiss turns hungry, my phone pings with a text.
I sigh and pull back. We’re still in the middle of Merry Mayhem. That text could be anything. It could be my daughter, too. As much as I would love to be Josh’s breakfast buffet, I need to be responsible.
I note that his phone does not vibrate, so this isn’t a surprise challenge text.
It’s from Nora, though.
Nora: No morning surprise challenge. You’re welcome.
Nora: I assume you were up late. *winky emoji* You didn’t want to get up early.
Nora: By the way, I totally noticed how you and Josh were looking at each other last night. I don’t think I was the only one. You guys need to watch it. It was VERY obvious.
I smile, but then that fully sinks in, and my stomach flips over. I look up at Josh.
“No morning challenge. Nora’s gift to us. She assumed we were up late.”
Josh grins. “I really like Nora.”
I nod. “But she says we were a little obvious last night.”
He shrugs. “Probably. It’s going to get harder and harder to hide how we feel. But she already knows about us. It’s just more obvious to her.”
“That’s probably part of it,” I agree. “But we need to be careful.”
“You’re right,” he says with a sigh. “But this can’t go on much longer.”
I completely agree and want to come up with a solution, but I’m distracted by his naked torso, the fact that we have a little extra time now this morning, and…
A new text comes in on my phone.
This is from my mom.
She’s awake!!!
My breath catches in my throat. My eyes immediately well with tears.
“What’s wrong?” Josh asks, noticing instantly.
I look up at him. “Violet’s awake.”
He doesn’t look shocked. “That’s awesome. That’s about the right timing.”
Another text comes in from my mom.
Everything looks fantastic! All vitals and tests are normal. No memory loss!
I repeat the message to Josh.
His smile is genuine. “That’s wonderful news. She’ll probably be coming home in the next couple of days. She’ll have some precautions for a short time, but it sounds like she’s going to be back to normal quickly.”
I’m so relieved. I believed him all along when he said that she was going to be okay. But having her awake and everything coming out normal, I feel a huge weight lifted off my chest. I don’t think I realized how worried I was.
I am, of course, familiar with concussion protocols.
I know that for the next few days, Violet will need to limit her screen time, excessive activity, and anything that requires a lot of cognitive effort.
But if things continue to improve and she feels good, she will slowly return to her normal activities and routine.
She is young, healthy, and seems to be coming through this well.
She shouldn’t have any permanent effects.
“We should go and see her,” I say. I already feel bad that I haven’t been there. My whole family, and all of my friends, have encouraged me to stay in Rebel and have assured me it’s fine. And I know, practically, that it is. It still feels weird.
“Yes, for sure,” Josh agrees. “We also need to let her know what’s going on with us.”
I consider that. We do. She definitely needs to know before anyone else figures it out.
I don’t want to keep this from my family or any more of my friends. But it’s only fair to fill Violet in first.
“I’m going to head up and take a shower and get dressed,” I say, sliding off the stool.
“I could join you,” Josh says, not giving me much space.
I smile up at him. “If you join me, we’re never going to make it out of this house.”
I can tell he likes that. “We actually don’t have time to get to New Orleans, see her, and get back,” he says, glancing at the clock.
Dammit, he’s right. Even without a surprise challenge, we have to be downtown for the obstacle course at ten.
“Okay, I’m going to tell Nora about Violet.
She won’t schedule a surprise challenge between the obstacle course and the gingerbread building challenge this afternoon. We can go see her in between those.”
“Great plan,” he says. “Maybe we’ll even get a chance to see her just the two of us.”
Yeah, I’m going to have to find a way to distract any other visitors so that Josh can talk to Violet about what’s going on under the guise of being a concerned boyfriend who wants a few minutes alone with her.
Crap, this is so complicated. Even to tell Violet the truth, we’re going to have to fib to the rest of the family for a short time.
We want to tell everyone the full story, but Violet needs to be a part of that.
We clean up and dress separately, then head for the high school, where the obstacle course is set up.
A lot of people have already arrived, and the general atmosphere is festive.
Muriel and Patty are already there, of course.
Patty is wearing a lavender tracksuit, bright white tennis shoes, and has a lavender scarf around her hair that matches her lavender sunglasses.
Muriel has a turquoise tracksuit that’s so bright it could easily be seen from six blocks away.
Her tennis shoes are hot pink, the baseball cap on her head is sunshine yellow, and she has bright blue goggles covering her eyes.
They look like swim goggles, but I suppose they probably make goggles for biking or other outdoor activities.
In any case, they are blue plastic with clear plastic centers and a wide blue strap that secures them on her head.
The strap makes her hair stick up in all directions, reminding me of white dandelion puff.
“Good morning!” Patty greets with a huge smile.
“Good morning, ladies,” I say. “Are you ready for this?”
I look around, trying to find Andi. I trust my friend to come up with something to help the ladies get around, and since I haven’t heard from her, I assume the plan is on track.
“This is going to be great,” Muriel says, surprisingly perky.
“You stretched and hydrated?” Josh asks her, holding out his fist.
She bumps his fist and then says, “I’ve had four cups of coffee and I don’t need to stretch. My chariot awaits, and I have a big, strong charioteer here.”
Josh glances at me with a confused frown, and I shrug.
“Chariot?” I ask. “Does this mean you’ve seen Andi this morning?”
“Yup. She’s right over there.” Muriel points slightly past my shoulder, and Josh and I both turn.
Andi and Everly are headed in our direction.
And they’re each pushing a shopping cart.
Or what used to be shopping carts.
My eyes get wider even as my grin grows.
My friend is a genius.
“What do you think?” Andi asks. “I got inspired and just forged ahead. But I knew you were busy at karaoke last night, so Everly came over to help and give me some input.”
I circle around the two carts and my friends. “I am amazed.”