“So, this tree is up the road you say?” The signal light makes a clicking sound.
“Yeah. Take a right at the second stop sign after taking a right out of the restaurant.”
“Done and done,” he says in a light tone. “I’ve probably seen a million large, lit Christmas trees, but for whatever reason, I’m super excited to see this one.”
“It’s a good one,” I say between chuckles, and my heart skyrockets when he laces his fingers in mine.
“This okay?”
“Yeah.” I lick my dry lips, taking the bottom one between my teeth. “I’m excited too, and I’ve seen this one way more than I’ve seen any others.”
“You haven’t gotten to see it in this way, though.”
“No.” I smile, turning my face toward where his voice is coming from. “Not in this way, or with you.”
His fingers squeeze mine tighter as he drags them over to his knee. “I’ve wanted to grab your hand this whole time, but I wasn’t sure if you’re the hand-holding type.”
“I am. Way more than anyone I’ve ever dated.”
“Then we’ll get along great, holding hands while we visit all the places we’ve already been, this time together.”
When we reach the park ten minutes later, he rushes to open my door and holds my hand while we walk to where the tree is. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, those sexy, warm lips brush their way up my neck to my ear, and he says, “Nine feettall. Red ornaments with gold embroidery and gold balls with red ringlets. Red velvet trim and a partridge in a pear tree.”
I laugh, nudging my head into his neck and leaning so close his entire body heat radiates around me. It really does feel like I’m coming here for the first time. He tells me more details, not forgetting all the fake presents and lit-up reindeer around it. The picture is painted more perfectly whenever he goes on about the two men looking up at it with twinkling lights hanging above them.
“The taller man with darker hair looks at the one with honey-colored strands, wanting badly to kiss him.”
So that’s why he calls me Honey. Makes the term more endearing. His hand falls lower on my back, and he goes on to say, “He lowers his face to his, gripping his chin.” His fingers hook under my face. “And he waits to see if he lifts himself on his tiptoes to meet him the rest of the way.”
My breaths come in and out too quickly, legs shaking as I lift myself on my feet, finding the corner of his mouth with my thumb to help guide me. It doesn’t take much for my mouth to figure out where to go. A magnetic force works overtime between us, sealing my lips perfectly over his, and they move against mine slowly. Warm and soft, he parts them to welcome my tongue into his mouth. I’m buzzing from head to toe, feeling like I’m sparkling and glowing brighter than the star on the top of the tree.
He tastes like candy canes and the hot chocolate we shared at the restaurant. My toes curl in my shoes as his fingers tangle in my hair to deepen the kiss. Our tongues grow hungry and desperate, each needing more from the other while taking it. Minutes later we pull away at the same time, breathless with our foreheads pressing together.
“What else do they do?” I ask, sounding exasperated.
He presses his lips to my nose and then to my lips. “Want me to show you instead of telling you?”
“Yeah.”
It’s all he needs to hear me say before he grabs my hand and drags me back to the car. We run as snow falls from the sky. I lift my face to catch some flakes on my tongue and then climb into the passenger side. “I love the snow,” I say as he’s sliding in beside me.
“That makes one of us,” he says a little too quickly. “But I’ve never been a fan of the cold in general.”
“But you moved to a place with cold winters. Really cold winters,” I say pointedly.
“Yeah . . .” He pauses for a beat. “It wasn’t because of the weather, though.”
“What was it for?”
“A change, I guess.” The engine roars to life and the steering wheel rubs hard under his hand as the car moves backward. “And I guess to make sure I don’t like the cold.”
“And you’re sure?”
“Pretty damn sure, but I don’t mind it as much today.” He brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the back.
“I don’t mind stumbling around and being in a car today either.”
“Good. Want to listen to some Christmas music?”
