“It’s called Sea Water Stone, or Aquamarine. Grandma brought it from the ocean when she emerged for an entire week for my birthday.”
“She doesn’t live on land?” Rick sat straighter, his expression full of fascination.
“No. Most times she comes out for vacation too, especially if we go on a cruise and she can spend a lot of time in the water. She’s a kraken, but can shift fully into a human. She’s coming for Christmas too, so I’ll see her and the entire extended family. It’s usually a full house and complete chaos.” I grinned, thinking of the ruckus that always accompanied that time of the year.
“How do you celebrate once you’re all together?” Rick asked.
“It’s not a religious celebration for us, but a mix of traditions from different countries and households from different branches of the family. This year my parents are hosting, so even distant cousins are coming from all over Greece, Poland, Germany, and Spain. A few families arrived several days early to help with preparations, with cooking and dressing the Christmas tree, and all that.” I nudged Rick with my elbow. “But I could do that here.”
“So that’s what you’re missing, being stuck here with me.” Rick pulled me over his lap, his hand resting on my hip underneath the sweater.
“I’m where I want to be.” I placed my tentacle over his chest and he stroked it gently. Fuck, how I loved his touch. “They’ll all still be there when I arrive on the twenty-sixth. And they would all be disappointed in me if I didn’t help you do something about this sad, big-ass fake tree in your living room that you put up but didn’t decorate.”
“I thought I’d be alone for Christmas, so why bother?” He stuck his tongue out like a brat.
“Why did you put it up, then?”
“It’s what my parents used to do when I was little. We lived in a flat and didn’t have space or money for a real tree, so we pulled out the same fake one every year. We decorated it together, and it was magical.” Rick smiled, but his eyes shone with sadness.
My heart hurt for him and his loss. He wouldn’t be sad on the holidays. Not on my watch.
“Do you have decorations?”
“In the basement.”
I grabbed his hand, shot to my feet, and pulled him along. “Let’s go.”
We hauled several boxes and deposited them in the middle of the living room.
“One more thing is missing.” Rick extended his hand, and I slid mine into it. “Ozzy, play classic Christmas songs.”
WhenJingle Bells Rockfilled the room from the surround-sound speakers, Rick took me by the waist and spun me around. We swayed to the music as I wrapped my tentacles around him, holding him close. He rested his head on my shoulder and I inhaled the scent of his hair. If only I could bottle this moment to open it and relive it when I was down and missing him. Because I would miss him terribly. This grumpy man had made his way into my heart and carved himself a space there. I wouldn’t let him leave, but I couldn’t let him take over the entire thing. My throat constricted, and I forced myself to think about today, to live in the moment.
“Let’s start with tinsel,” I said when the song ended and Frank Sinatra told us to have ourselves a merry little Christmas.
I unwound the silver string and handed the other end to Rick. “You go right and I’ll go left.”
We rounded the tree, moving to the music, until the tinsel wound from the tip to the very bottom.
“It’s so uneven.” Rick snorted as he sat on the floor amongst the boxes.
“It will look better with ornaments. Show me what you got.” Rick opened the first box to unveil neatly packed baubles in the colors of blue and silver. Some were simple and round, others had intricate designs and shapes ranging from a tree, an angel, to a… merman.
“These are gorgeous.”
“I got them as a gift. They’re from some fancy store.”
I chuckled. Of course he only cared about brands when it came to musical equipment.
Once the colorful baubles hung on the tree, we added the lights and collapsed on the shaggy rug.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, snuggling to Rick’s side. “We could string some lights outside on your palm trees too.”
“Don’t push it.” Rick dug his fingers into my sides, tickling me.
I writhed, giggling until I wrapped my tentacles around him so tight, he couldn’t move. His eyes grew hooded as I straddled him. It was way past midnight but I didn’t feel like sleeping and by how Rick’s hard-on poked me, neither did he.
Chapter Fifteen
