Eight
December Twentieth
Whitney
“Hey.”
The door swung shut behind her. “Is Shianne at work?”
On the couch, Emma shifted away from Thomas. “Uh, yeah. She’s there until eight.”
“Alright. I told her I needed to do laundry today since I was at Fade’s all weekend.”
“I believe the machine is all yours.”
“Thank you.”
Whitney headed toward the hall.
“Whitney?”
Emma called out.
She stopped. “Yeah?”
Emma tucked a dark, curly strand behind her ear. “Do you have plans for Christmas?”
Whitney shrugged. “No. I’ll probably spend it with Fade.”
“Oh, good. Shianne and I will be with our families, and I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t be alone.”
“I’ll be fine. Thank you.”
Whitney pressed the corner of her mouth up in gratitude and went to her room to grab a load of laundry.
Fade
Fade didn’t know what it was about Whitney or what had shifted between finding a friend with benefits and… whatever this was now. He wasn’t mad about it, but his goal had always been to keep women at arm’s length and to never give anyone the chance to destroy him again.
And yet, without knowing it, Whitney had slipped right through his defenses. She already had the power to break him because his emotions had gotten tangled up in the way she made him feel. She was a flicker of flame, and he was mesmerized.
She was the toughness he’d wanted from his ex and the softness he had craved from his mother. Fade had already succumbed to the thought of falling in love with her. It had happened the moment they met, he just hadn’t realized it then.
December Twenty-Fifth
Whitney
Fade melted into the mattress as Whitney slid up from beneath the covers. “Hm. Merry Christmas.”
She grinned down at him, arms braced on either side of his chest, her hair falling in wild waves around her face.
He smiled, reaching up to stroke the mess of it. “Merry Christmas to me.”
“Is this how you wanted to spend the day?”
“We’re off to a good start.”
He pulled her down for a kiss. “Don’t get dressed today.”
She laughed softly against his mouth. “Tempting.”
He sat up, keeping her close. “But first… I got you something.”
Whitney blinked. “What? You never said we were doing gifts.”
“It’s nothing special.”
He reached beside the bed and pulled out a plain cardboard box. “Sorry, I didn’t wrap it.”
Curious, she unfolded the flaps and peeked inside. A collection of toiletries and a thin, soft robe. She glanced up, confused. “I… already have this stuff?”
“I know.”
Fade’s voice softened. “I just… want you here more. Stay over more. The bed’s cold when you’re gone.”
Her smirk faded into something gentler. Touched, she set the box aside and leaned into him, palms sliding over his thighs as she kissed him. “Thank you, but I’ll need more.”
“More?”
He raised a brow when she pulled back.
“Well, if I’m staying over more, I’ll need pajamas. A couple of extra outfits. Maybe some snacks.”
He chuckled. “Whatever you want.”
Her cheeks lifted in a slow grin. “Take me shopping.”
“Alright. Next week.”
“You know I make more money than you, right?”
“And yet, if my girlfriend wants something, she gets it.”
His thumb brushed her jaw. “She makes me very happy.”
Whitney tilted her head. “So you’re admitting you like having a girlfriend and not just a friend with benefits?”
“With you? Yeah.”
Every day with him, she found a new reason to like him. A new reason to laugh. A new reason not to go home.
She knew she was falling in love with him — had known for a while now — but she denied it as hard as she could. Feelings weren’t part of their arrangement, and she wasn’t about to be the first one to break that rule.
Still… with a Christmas gift like this, maybe she wasn’t alone in the deep end.
Fade’s eyes locked onto hers, dark and intense, and the heat there made her pulse quicken. Round two was definitely happening.
December Thirtieth
Fade
“How much did all this cost?”
Fade rifled through the shopping bags as he loaded them into the car.
Whitney waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. I paid for it.”
“I said I would.”
“Fade.”
She grabbed the top of the car door, watching him. “I don’t care about your money. I have nothing else to spend it on and this just makes me more comfortable at your place.”
He shut the door and turned toward her. “I saw what was in some of those bags.”
His arms slipped around her waist, pulling her in for a slow kiss.
She smiled up at him when they broke apart. “Now get in. I’ll take care of the cart.”
He opened his car door to slide in.
“Can we drop some of this off at my place?”
“Your place?”
“Yeah. I have more space there, plus I can rotate some clothes and do some laundry.”
She buckled herself into her seat as he left the parking lot.
“Alright, are your roommates going to be home?”
She shrugged in her seat and then flipped the visor down to adjust her lipstick. “Who cares?”
He grabbed her thigh and moved his hand upward. “I just thought we could enjoy a change of scenery. Your place is new, that’s all.”
She dropped her lipstick into her bag as they rolled down her street. “Well, it looks like someone is home.”
Fade parked the car and wondered what her roommates were like since he had already heard some odd things about one of them. He grabbed the bags in the back and followed Whitney up the sidewalk and through her entryway.
She smiled at the blonde girl on the couch. “Hey.”
“Whitney, he–”
Her jaw dropped. “Is this the guy?”
“Shianne, this is my boyfriend, Fade. Fade, Shianne.”
She gestured.
Shianne looked at him up and down. “Wow. I understand why you’re always running off, I would be too.”
“Maybe you can have him next.”
She tilted her head down the hall. “Come.”
Whitney waved before heading into the back bedroom. He set down the bags next to her bed with blue sheets and a black comforter, black curtains hung along the window creating a dark room.
He stepped back and closed the door. “Uh, just so you know, I am not interested in your roommate. And you said she's obsessed with that guy I go to the gym with, Wolfgang.”
“That was a joke, babe.”
She turned from the bathroom door and walked back over to him.
“I’m not done with you yet, either.”
He gripped the front waistband of her jeans, dragging her towards him. She lifted her head to kiss him, “You just put a fresh coat of that shit on.”
He commented on her lipstick.
Whitney’s arms rested on his shoulders and she looked at him. “What, you think you’re in charge here?”
He smirked, knowing that he was firing her up. “Maybe I am.”
He gently wrapped around her throat, supporting her jaw between his thumb and index. His other thumb slid across her lips to remove the red applied to her face.
Her lips split as her eyes darted between his. “I don’t think you are.”
Fade twisted his hand to the back of her head, forcing their lips together, breaking his mouth apart against hers to graze his tongue along Whitney’s. His footsteps guided her to the neatly made bed, pressing her onto it before he pulled his lips back. “Get naked.”
He removed his shirt.
“Is that a demand?”
She propped up with her elbows digging into the mattress.
“Hm?”
He looked up from his belt at her and pulled the leather from all the loops in one motion. “If that’s what it takes, then yes.”
He held his belt in one hand and unbuttoned his pants with the other. Whitney shifted her weight back to her feet, pulling her shirt off and tossing it meticulously towards the closet. “You’re taking your sweet time.”
Fade groaned before he smirked and grabbed her arm. He turned her away from him, bringing her arm behind her back.
She suddenly resisted and looked back at him. “Wait.”
He released her, watching her hands meet in the middle of her back, before unclasping her bra. It dropped to the bed and Whitney gave her wrist back. “Okay.”
Fade’s spare hand ran up her chest and grazed her neck with his rough hands before running it down her other arm, lining it up with the other behind her. “Mmm, good girl.”
he gravelled in her ear. The steel buckle to his belt rolled down the leather, reaching her wrist to bind them together. “There we go.”
He backed her into him and reached her breast for a quick feel before breathing up her shoulder to bite her neck. His fingers found the button to her jeans, undoing it and sliding them down just enough to expose her. Fade positioned himself behind her.“Get ready.”
He muttered in her ear.
She lightly moaned as he tilted her forward and slid in with ease. After listening to her voice and his body against hers the first few strokes, he grabbed his belt and wrapped it around his fist, drawing her shoulders back to help her spine bow.
Seeing the front of her bounce off him in the mirror across the room made him wish they had come here sooner. Thinking about how hot she was, he sped up and held a steady gaze at her in the mirror resisting the urge to climax until she caught him. Those big hazel eyes had him pulling out and finishing on her sooner than he had hoped.
January Nineteenth
Whitney
“Wow.”
Fade smiled as she sat in the vehicle. “You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you.”
She pressed her palms against the black satin dress she had bought and crossed her legs, showing off almost every leg tattoo she had. Fade reached over, grabbed her leg and then her hand to interlace their fingers. She looked up from their hands, realizing it was the first time they had ever held hands. “It's nice to get dressed up and go out.”
“It is. Kind of makes me miss home.”
He proceeded to drive with one hand.
“This is the absolute polar opposite of Vegas.”
“That's not such a bad thing.”
He dropped her hand and gripped her bare inner thigh, fanning out his fingers over her snake tattoo while parking the car.
After being led to their table, they sat across from each other, “Holy shit. Look over there.”
He followed her gaze seeing a young man with a mature woman. “So, some guy’s taking his mom out?”
“No,”
she hissed, "Look under the table.”
He had realized that their knees were close and each hand was on the others knee. “Some cougar action, little freaks, I love it.”
He looked back at his menu with a chuckle. “I fucking love you.”
Her smile froze. Her eyes snapped to him, but he was focused on the menu like he hadn’t just said it.
The rest of dinner passed in a blur of second-guessing. Had it been a slip? A reflex? Or had he meant it? And if he had what was she supposed to do with that?
There was no way this was turning into something, he didn’t want a girlfriend at all but what if he really meant it and he was testing the waters? Whitney already knew she fell in love with him knowing she was going to get hurt in the end of this. She also loved the idea of not saying it back, for who knows how long, especially if he meant it.
Fade
He opened the door to exit the restaurant and watched Whitney's long legs under her short dress pass by him. Walking in front of the car he snatched her arm. Turning her to face him and his hands gently rested on the back of her hips where they began to curve out. His eyes glistened looking into hers. “Whitney.”
He began to repeat himself from earlier. “I don’t think you heard me… I love you.”
She leaned in to lightly kiss him and whispered, “Oh, I heard you. Let's go home and find out what's under this dress.”