23
Layla
The next morning I wake up in Liam’s empty bed. It smells like him, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I’m not the type of person to jump out of bed first thing in the morning, I like to hit a few alarms, then lie there for a bit, enjoying the warmth and thinking about my day.
Today, I’m thinking about a million different things. What am I going to do about my cabin? I can’t impose at Liam’s all week. Also, how can I be leaving back to Sacramento in a week? What about Liam and Jackson? It hasn’t been very long…but part of me feels like I never want to go back to Sacramento. And not only because of Liam. I feel…at peace here. Or maybe that’s the vacation goggles talking.
I pull the covers over my head and lie in the cozy bed until I hear some clanging coming from what I think is the kitchen.
I pop into the bathroom to see what I can do about my hair and face in a rush. I rinse my face with water and comb out my hair with my hands.
When I enter the kitchen, I find Liam with his arms crossed, leaning back against the counter, chewing on his lip, and looking deep in thought. He looks good when he doesn’t know anyone is watching. His face is more relaxed.
“Morning,” I say in greeting as I reach him and wrap my arms around his waist.
“Morning beautiful,” he replies, resting his arms on my shoulders and kissing my head. “Sleep good?”
His voice is extra gravelly in the morning.
“Great,” I respond with a mischievous smile, tilting my head back to look up at him. He looks down at me like he’s staring into my soul, and I think I could melt in his eyes
“Good,” he says with a smile, then kisses me slowly. My stomach flutters.
We pull apart and I make my way to the coffee machine. “May I?” I ask.
“Already done.”
“How are you so good to me?” I smile.
“Easily,” he replies. Even though we had an incredible, intimate night, that simple phrase and the way he smiles at me with his messy morning hair is what really makes me realize how screwed I am. I don’t regret the night we spent together at all, but I might need to pull back before this turns into something more.
I take a seat in my new regular spot on the barstool and prop my arms up. Cocoa walks up lazily, looking for someone to pet her. I give her a scratch behind the ear. I’ve always been a big, fluffy dog kind of person, I just knew I wasn’t in the right place to take care of one the last few years. Even before my parents’ accident.
I turn my attention back to Liam and watch him, realizing he still looks a little troubled, though he might be trying to hide it.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Ah…well, the snowstorm got worse last night. And this morning. The roads are totally closed right now, and I was supposed to go to my parents tonight to pick up Jackson.”
“Oh, no. I’m sorry. What can we do?” I ask, feeling helpless.
He shrugs. “Nothing we can do. He’s in good hands with his grandparents. I’m just a little bummed because I told him I’d be there, and I have this thing about always being there for him when I say I’m going to…”
“I’m sorry. This is my fault. If my stupid heat hadn’t gone out, then you probably wouldn’t be stranded up here with me.” I sigh. I can’t help but feel like I’m imposing. He must see that on my face because he comes over to me, shaking his head.
“Hey, no. None of this is your fault. It’s really not a huge deal. I wasn’t planning on driving down there until today, whether you came over yesterday or not. So, if anything, you’re doing me a favor by keeping me company. If you didn’t happen to get stranded with me, then I would’ve spent all this time alone here. And you would have spent your days alone too. And that would have been a real shame. Plus, I kinda like having you around.”
I blush and wrap my arms around him again, squeezing tight. “So…I’m stranded here?”
“Fortunately, yes. Don’t worry, I’m a very attentive host,” he says with a wink.
And to think, I was just considering pulling back from this before one of us gets too attached and gets hurt when I leave in a week. And now I’m stuck at his house for another day. Yet, I’m not all that upset about it. “So…how about that coffee?” I question, trying to distract myself and lighten the mood.
“Cream, two sugars?” he turns back to ask me as he reaches for them.
I raise my eyebrows at him, and he returns with a steaming cup of dark coffee for me. “Princess,” he teases, offering it to me with the sexiest grin. Suddenly, an image of him between my thighs from last night pops into my head.
I blush. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Layla.” I swoon at the way he says my name. This man has a hold on me, and I may be heading for some real trouble.
“So, what does one do all day when they’re snowed in? And they have no change of clothes or any of their belongings, I must add.”
“Well, as far as the clothes go, I personally don’t care if you don’t wear any at all. Please, make yourself at home. As for the other part…I don’t know.”
I give him a playful, scolding look.
“Okay, fine. If you must, we have a ton of extra things in the guest room. Some of my mom’s old things, a couple of Lace’s old things…” at my expression he holds his hands up reassuringly. “It’s fine, I promise. Use anything you need. Or use some of mine. Whatever you want.”
He shows me to a guest room, where I spend very little time picking a few things, not wanting to rifle through their stuff too much. Then I take them to the bathroom to shower and freshen up.
I return to the kitchen dressed in some sweats that fit nicely and a worn navy crew neck sweater with “Lake Tahoe” on it, featuring the mountains and the lake. I find Liam already showered and changed into some grey joggers and a crew neck. His messy dark hair is still wet, and I realize he seems to have a little more stubble on his face today than he did yesterday. It’s sexy. Everything about this man is sexy. How is he so intelligent, handsome, caring, and more? He's too perfect.
He stands in the kitchen waiting for me, holding out a champagne bottle and orange juice. “Mimosas? I know you love them…”
“Sure, why not.”
We make breakfast while drinking mimosas and listening to some music, take our time eating and talking, then cuddle up by the fireplace with a movie on.
We don’t make it halfway through the movie. I start feeling the champagne a little too much, so he heads to the kitchen to whip together some snacks. Even though I insist on helping, he makes me sit while he does everything. I snack on the leftover cookies while I wait.
He’s in the zone making grilled cheese sandwiches and I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy merely sitting here admiring him. He has a baseball cap on now, and as he gets in the zone flipping those sandwiches, he pulls his cap backwards. Immediate swoon. Plus, the shape of his firm ass is showing through those grey sweats nicely.
All I can think as I look at him is, Happy holidays to me.
“Are you checking me out?”
My gaze flicks up to his. I didn’t even notice his head turned back toward me. The alcohol has definitely kicked in. “Maybe,” I admit, shrugging. “Can you blame me?”
He smirks in satisfaction and resumes flipping the sandwiches. “A glass or two of champagne and you unabashedly check me out, huh? I don’t normally drink much, but I’ll have to remember to stock up for next time.” He winks.
After we eat, we spend the afternoon playing card games and board games, and even attempt to create our own drinking game. It doesn’t go well. We give up way too fast.
Jackson calls from his grandparents’ and we try to act cool, but we can’t stop laughing. He loves it though. He’s so thrilled that I’m spending the day with Liam since he can’t be there. Yes, the six-year-old actually said that. My heart melts.
After that, we decide, for some reason, that it’s a good idea to trudge through two feet of snow to the hot tub on the back patio. It’s freezing out and it’s still actively snowing, but the patio cover blocks most of it.
I’m sobering up as we sit in the roasting pool of water. Liam and I are looking at each other, and he’s gently caressing my thigh. I tell him about how deep a pit I was in all of last winter, and how this vacation is turning out to be a great start to this holiday season. He looks at me with sympathy and understanding in his eyes.
“I get it,” he says softly. “The first holiday without them is always the hardest. Not that it isn’t hard beyond that, but over time, you learn to live for them, rather than letting the sadness consume your life. It’s still there, but not as intense.”
“Yeah,” I agree, nodding, because it makes perfect sense. Though I planned this trip with hope and optimism, I fully expected to have a few sporadic meltdowns along the way. I’m surprising myself with how well I’m doing so far. I think I have Jackson and Liam to thank for that partially, but I’ve also done a lot of work on myself this past year that I’m proud of. I’ve been slowly learning how to be okay by myself and to live with my grief.
Liam fixes me with a stare that, deep down, scares the shit out of me but also ignites a fire within my body. It’s filled with all kinds of emotions that I refuse to comprehend right now.
My gaze travels across his torso and shoulders, and then I conjure in my mind what I can’t see under the bubbly water. He recognizes my look of need, because suddenly his hands are traveling farther up my thigh. He gently tugs along the seams of my shorts, and I pull my lacy bra aside, exposing my pert nipples to him and the frigid air. His lids grow heavy as he takes me in.
I climb onto his lap and suddenly we’re ravaging each other with kisses and impatient touches. I’m grinding against his hardness as he groans deeply in my ear, sending a vibration through me.
“Fuck, the things I want to do to you, baby,” he whispers in my ear so softly, yet it doesn’t seem soft at all.
He gets out and lifts me out with ease, quickly carrying me through the thick snow and inside. We spend the night making a disaster of his room until I’m crying out his name.