Chapter 7
Mischa
With Christmas music playing in the background and my holiday lights twinkling around my condo, I stir the cider on the stovetop.
The snow is coming down heavier now, so I don't feel as guilty as I did earlier when I canceled last minute on my buddy Ryatt's Christmas Eve party.
But damn if I don't feel lonely tonight.
Staring at the simmering cider, I release a long sigh.
Maybe I was too harsh with Lorna the other day?
Hell, maybe if I agreed to go out with her, she'd be over here right now, and we'd be snuggling on the couch with the holiday music playing and the snow falling out the window.
I could actually be experiencing a Hallmark movie moment with her, I think.
Before I completely lose myself in self-pity, there's a knock at the door.
Who the hell would be out in this weather?
When I swing it open, I discover a snow-covered curvy goddess on my doorstep.
"Come in. Come in. It's awful out there."
Lorna hurries inside, holding a large box.
"Here. Let me take your jacket," I suggest as she puts the box on my dining table.
While I hang up her thick coat, Lorna surveys the warm living room.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to get your commission to you before Christmas. And the snow got much worse than I expected when I was driving over here," she says with a shrug.
Taking out a box from the larger box, she places it on the counter and removes the lid. Inside is the most gorgeous piece of stained glass artwork I have ever seen. It will look amazing in my kitchen window.
"You did this?" I breathe out.
"Yeah. Is it alright? Does it capture what you were hoping for your mom's tattoo?" Lorna asks, and I can hear the nervousness in her tone.
"This is the most stunning thing I've ever seen in my life. Wow. You outdid yourself, Lorna."
Watching her smile makes my stomach flip. This woman is beautiful.
She then whispers, "There's one other thing too."
"Another thing?" I say with surprise.
"An apology gift. I didn't mean to act shitty the other day, but I know I did, and I'm sorry."
She says this while lifting out a smaller box, shaped like a cube. Opening it, she lifts out a set of four glass coasters all decorated with the Department of the Army emblem.
"How did you know I was in the Army?" I ask in surprise, lifting one up and admiring it in the light.
Lorna says softly, "Ada. And she also told me you earned your purple heart."
Saying that, she reaches out and touches my arm, sending the electric thrills I felt when we kissed.
"These are gorgeous," I say.
"Thank you."
She smiles shyly at me, and my cock twinges. Looking out the window, I grimace.
"I don't know if it's safe for you to drive in this now," I say, opening the door and confirming what I assumed. "I can't let you leave in this weather."
"Oh, crap. Sorry. I appear to have gotten myself trapped at your place on Christmas Eve. I don't want to ruin your holiday," she says, her cheeks reddening.
"Not sure how having a beautiful woman at my place on Christmas Eve can possibly ruin a holiday," I say, my heart racing.
Lorna looks up at me with surprise, then takes two long strides toward me, holding my gaze with hers.
"Can we get a redo?"
"I'd like that," I say, cupping her chin in my hand and leaning down to savor the sweetness of her lips.
When we part, she giggles, looping her hands around my waist and pulling me closer.
"I'm still having a hard time believing that was your first kiss the other day."
"Why is that?"
"Because it was so fucking fantastic," she says with a laugh and I feel my neck heat up to my cheeks.
I ladle us two large mugs of mulled cider while Lorna sits down in the living room in front of the fire and Christmas tree. We chill on the couch, chatting about various things until I decide to take the bull by the horns.
"Lorna, I want to explain to you why I am a virgin at this age."
She shakes her head.
"You don't have to."
"No, I know. But I want to." I say, then after a deep breath I continue, "It's just that I was barely 21 the night I was on patrol in Kosovo when my unit was ambushed.
A rocket-propelled grenade, an RPG, hit our armored vehicle.
So you can imagine the explosion and fire that resulted because of that.
But I rescued three of my fellow soldiers, which I would do again in a heartbeat.
Anyway, that's when I was badly burned."
Lorna places her hand on my knee, giving it a supportive squeeze, and my cock wakes up, but I push on through.
"My legs were badly burned, specifically my thighs, and it took years of surgeries and rehab just to be able to walk around decently.
And then I, of course, had terrible PTSD, so my thirties were mainly me in therapy, trying to get my head on right.
So when I entered my forties, as a much healthier human, and able to open the ice cream shop with Frederick, I was then full of shame for being a virgin at my age," I say, shrugging, then add, "Anyway, here I am, a virgin at 49. "
"A very handsome virgin at 49," she says to me, giving me a grin that sends tingles to the tips of my toes.
Placing her glass down, she takes my hand in hers.