Fighting 'round the Christmas Tree (Fighting #4.5)

by Nikki Ash

  I huff in frustration and walk away but before I can get far, Marco stops me and says so only I can hear, “Double or nothing, Belles?”

  “You’re on.”

  Ashley

  “Hello? We’re here!” After dropping our stuff off at our house, where Tristan and Mason insisted on staying saying they were both jetlagged, Kaden, the girls, and I went over to Bentley and Kayla’s place. Kayla’s mom answered and said everybody was at Bentley’s parents’ place so we headed over there to join everyone. It’s Christmas eve and we have come from having dinner with Kaden’s family.

  “Ashley?” Kayla yells out. “Get in here!” Kaden closes the door behind us as the girls run upstairs to find the other kids while Kaden and I join everyone else in the kitchen, where they are all drinking.

  “What are we celebrating?” Kaden jokes, grabbing a beer from the fridge. Liz hands me a mixed drink straight from the blender.

  “Well, it is Christmas Eve,” Cooper says.

  “And Ryan is finally talking!” Kayla gushes. “You should have seen him talking to Santa. I’ll have to show you the video later.”

  “What? He’s talking? That’s amazing!” I give Kayla a hug.

  “I don’t know how Marco did it, but for some reason Ryan opened up to him and got him to talk. It’s only small phrases and sometimes only one word answers but for the last few days he’s been talking.”

  “Where is he now?” I look around realizing there’s only adults in the kitchen.

  “He’s asleep at the house. My mom had a headache so she offered to stay home with him. Marco put him to bed. I hope once the trip is over and Marco goes back to California, Ryan doesn’t regress.”

  “Mom, I’m going to see Tristan! He texted me and said they…” Bella enters the kitchen and sees us. “…arrived.”

  “I don’t want you walking over there in the dark,” Cooper says.

  “He’s meeting me half way. Bye!” Bella runs back out the way she came in.

  The next hour is spent drinking and reminiscing. Everybody is drinking too much and we all know come tomorrow morning, we are going to regret it when the kids are up early and wanting to open their gifts, but for now we are enjoying ourselves.

  “Biggest regret?” Liz asks.

  “That’s hard!” Kayla whines.

  “Easy. Not giving you my number or getting yours,” Cooper admits.

  “Mine is not kissing Hayley back, the night at the club,” Caleb says.

  “The night we played truth or dare?” I laugh. “That was hilarious! I completely forgot about that night. Now that I think about it, I never even got to get a dare!” I pout.

  “Only you would be upset about not getting to participate in a teenage kissing game.” Kaden rolls his eyes, taking a swig of his beer.

  “You’re just mad because you didn’t get dared either.” I laugh and take a sip of my very strong strawberry daiquiri.

  “I wouldn’t have needed to be dared to kiss you, Ash.”

  “Who says I would have wanted it to be you, anyway?” I stick my tongue out at him.

  Everybody laughs like I just said the funniest thing, ever.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You,” Hayley says. “It was so obvious how much you were pining after Kaden. If we could go back all those years and finish playing truth or dare you would be begging to kiss Kaden.”

  “That’s not true!” I say defensively. “I wasn’t pining over Kaden. There’s a lot of other people I would have kissed that night.”

  “Yeah, like who?” Kaden asks incredulously.

  “Like…” I think for a second but my brain is fuzzy from all the liquor and I know better to name a man, so I say the first name that comes to mind. “Hayley! I would have rather kissed her than you that night. You were talking to all those women back then. At least I knew where her mouth had been.” Ha! Take that!

  “Now that’s a kiss I would have loved to see!” Caleb raises his beer to Kaden who smirks and nods in agreement.

  “So, you’re saying you would have rather been dared to kiss Hayley than me that night at the club?” Kaden quirks a brow.

  “Maybe.” There’s no way I’m backing down now.

  “So, kiss her,” he taunts.

  What? “What?”

  “Kiss her. Kiss Hayley. Right here. I dare you.” Kaden grins thinking I won’t really do it. Game on!

  “Fine.”

  “Wait? What?” Hayley suddenly realizes she is a part of all this. “I don’t know…” And before she can finish her sentence I close the space between us. With one hand holding my drink, I grab the back of her head with my other hand and bring our lips together.

  The kiss is stiff at first, but the alcohol quickly kicks in and seconds later, Hayley’s tongue is seeking entrance. I part my lips, adding my tongue to the mix. Her lips are soft and gentle unlike Kaden’s strong and firm ones. The kiss isn’t bad but it’s not Kaden, but I’ll be damned if I tell Kaden that.

  “Mom!”

  “Oh my God!”

  “Hot damn!”

  Hayley and I pull apart and both turn to face the voices. Bella, Tristan, and Mason are all standing in the doorway.

  Tristan’s face looks sour.

  Bella is shaking with laughter.

  Mason is smiling ear to ear.

  “Did you finally get tired of making out with dad after all these years?” Tristan asks, his face still showing his disgust.

  “No, but he dared me!” I point out, and yes, I’m aware I sound very much like the teenagers who just caught us kissing.

  “I’m assuming this is one of those moments when we should do as you guys say and not as you do?” Bella smirks.

  And everybody bursts out in laughter.

  Hayley

  “What did I miss?” Marco comes walking through the back door into the kitchen.

  “Nothing,” I say quickly as Caleb says, “Your mom making out with Ashley.”

  I shoot Caleb a glare and he waggles his eyebrows.

  “Someone should have videoed that shit,” Mason says.

  Marco looks around the room like we have all lost our mind until his eyes land on Bella, then something in his face changes, pain maybe. I’m not sure what it is but call it a mother’s intuition, something serious is going on between the two of them, and whatever it is, it can’t be good, especially with the way he spoke about how badly he messed up the other day.

  Unfortunately, I am too drunk to have this conversation with Marco now, and if I’m honest that kiss with Ashley got me slightly turned on. Not for her, but for my husband.

  “I’m ready for bed,” I inform Caleb and he gives me a knowing grin.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Everybody agrees it’s time to call it a night, and I vaguely hear everyone saying goodnight and goodbye but I am too focused on getting upstairs and into the room with my husband.

  Once we get inside, he locks the door behind us.

  “Damn, Hayles. I didn’t think you had it in you to kiss another woman like that.” Caleb grabs me by my hips and picks me up, carrying me to the bathroom and setting me on top of the counter.

  “Did it turn you on to see me kissing Ashley?”

  “Fuck yeah it did. I saw your tongue go into her mouth. You were totally into that shit, babe.” Caleb smirks then peels off his shirt, revealing his perfect abs. We have been together for almost twelve years and I swear I am even more attracted to him than I was all those years ago.

  “Arms up.” I comply, lifting my arms up over my head and Caleb lifts my shirt up then reaches behind me, expertly unclasping my bra. Leaning in closer to me, Caleb gives me a kiss, his tongue wrapping around mine. I’m prepared for him to fuck me right here on the counter but he backs up taking his warmth with him, and turns the bathtub water on, then dumps a bath bomb in to create bubbles.

  “A bath?” I ask. “How romantic.”

  Caleb glares. “I can be romantic.”

  “I know you
can. I’m just joking.” I wrap my arms around him and bring his lips back to mine. For the next few minutes we make out like teenagers, our limbs entwined in one another. Once the tub in almost full, Caleb taps on my thighs. “Lift.” So, I do, and he takes my panties and jeans off before stripping himself of his bottoms.

  Picking me up, he carries me to the bathtub then sits down against the back of the tub, placing me in between his legs, my back to his front.

  The water is hot and feels divine, warming me up from the chill of the outside Colorado winter. Caleb doesn’t waste any time. Taking my loofah, he squirts body wash on it then starts to massage the soap onto my neck and shoulders. Everywhere he massages and rinses, he gives a kiss afterward, sending chills up my spine and down to my core.

  I squirm a little and feel his hard length poke me in the butt, so I purposely wiggle a little more to feel it against me. Caleb moves the loofah over my shoulders and to my breasts, massaging them. He stops at my nipples and gives them extra attention causing me to squirm some more.

  “Caleb.” That’s all I need to say for my husband to know I need more. With his other hand, he spreads my legs open—the water sloshing around us—and sticks a digit into me.

  “Mmm… more,” I moan out. He pulls his finger out but immediately pushes it back in, adding two more to the mix, filling me. He starts to finger fuck me, still massaging my breasts with the loofah. With his chin, he pushes my head to the side and suckles on the sensitive part of my neck. My body feels overstimulated from his touch. It’s like there isn’t a single part of me that isn’t being pleasured by Caleb. My climax quickly approaches and I come hard all over his fingers.

  Before I can even come down from the orgasm, he grabs ahold of my hips, turns me around to face him, and places me on top of him, his dick entering me in one swift motion. With my legs feeling like jelly, it’s hard to participate but Caleb takes control, lifting me up and down. Caleb leans forward bringing our lips together in a searing kiss.

  “Hayles, I need you to come again, baby. Massage that clit.”

  So, I do. Holding on to the side of the tub with one hand, my other hand comes down massaging the already sensitive nub. I’m so wet, even in the water I can feel how slick my arousal is.

  “Caleb, I’m going to come.” He picks up his rhythm, the sound of our wet skin slapping against each other, the water splashing out of the tub. It’s all too much, and seconds later we are both coming.

  We sit in the tub for a few minutes, our breathing heavy, coming down from our orgasmic highs when my phone vibrates on the counter. We both look toward it. Me, scared what it might contain but needing to know. Caleb, having no idea to even be scared for me.

  “Hey.” Caleb nudges me with his chin. “What’s going on?”

  I swallow thickly. “Nothing.”

  “Hayles, don’t you dare lie to me. I’ve seen you check that phone a million times the last several days. Talk to me.”

  I sigh. “I went to the gynecologist a few weeks ago and they found a spot during my pap smear. My doctor thinks it could be cancer. So, she had me come back in and she did a colposcopy.”

  “What the hell is a colposcopy?”

  “It’s a procedure where the doctor checks my cervix and takes a piece to biopsy to see if I have cervical cancer.”

  “Hayley!” Caleb booms. “You’ve been going through this all on your own?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you if it was nothing.”

  Caleb wraps his arms around me tight. “When do you find out the results?”

  “Any time now. That’s why I’ve been checking my phone. The results will get uploaded to the patient portal.”

  Caleb grips my hips and lifts me off him, standing us both up. Then grabbing two towels, he wraps one around me and the other around him. He steps out of the tub first then helps me out.

  I go to my phone and click on the mail icon.

  “The results are in,” I say nervously.

  “Hayles, whatever the results are, we will handle it.”

  I click on the email and log into the patient portal then click on the results. I read the results three times to make sure I’m reading them correct.

  “Negative.”

  “Negative?” Caleb repeats.

  “It says the biopsy concluded I am negative for cervical cancer.”

  “Jesus, Hayles.” Caleb drops his head to the top of my head and I wrap my arms around him, my face seeking comfort in his chest.

  “I’m sorry, Caleb. I should have told you.”

  “Fuck, baby. I love you so damn much, Hayles. I only knew of the possibly for thirty seconds and I felt sick to my stomach. I can’t believe you kept this to yourself for weeks. Don’t ever do that again.”

  “Okay,” is all I can say. We stand like this for God knows how long and then Caleb backs up a little and looks at me with a serious look on his face. One I don’t see often.

  “What?”

  Caleb shakes his head and graces me with a small smile. “I’m just so fucking happy. I never imagined my life would be like this and to think it could all be taken away from us at any minute... Fuck. You are my entire world. You, Marco, and Mackenzie. You guys complete me.”

  Bella

  It’s late—probably almost midnight on Christmas eve—when everyone says goodnight. Like everyone else, I go to my room and lay down to go to sleep. Only, I can’t make myself go to sleep. I can’t stop thinking about Marco and I wonder if this is my last chance to talk to him before I move to California. I know two people can live and train in the same city and avoid each other, but that’s not what I want. Marco has been in my life for so long. The idea of going another year or more without us talking makes me sad.

  Deciding to stop dwelling and obsessing, and just go to him so we can talk, I grab my cell phone and head out back, making sure I’m quiet, so I don’t wake anyone up.

  I get to the guest house and knock before I chicken out. About a minute later Marco answers the door.

  “Bella.” One word. My name. Yet it has so many emotions behind it.

  “So, about that bet…”

  “You here to pay up?”

  “I’m here to discuss payment options. Can I come in?”

  Marco studies me for a moment. What he’s looking for, I’m not sure, but whatever it is, he must find it, because he opens the door wider to allow me access.

  Marco

  This woman is going to the death of me.

  Kaden

  “Merry Christmas, gorgeous.” I roll over in bed to face my beautiful wife. I can’t imagine ever getting tired of seeing her lying next to me in the morning, her caramel colored hair splayed out across her pillow, her body tucked into mine like I’m her body pillow. It’s Christmas morning and it’s also the last Christmas we will have together before Tristan moves out of the house, so it’s bittersweet.

  “Mmm… Morning… Merry Christmas.” Ashley gives me a kiss that makes my cock twitch. But before I can get her under me, there’s a knock on the door.

  “Mom! Dad! Santa came.” While I’m pretty sure the girls no longer believe in Santa, since there are so many kids among our group of friends, it’s an unwritten rule that it’s always Santa who delivers the presents.

  “Coming!” Ashley yells back to them.

  “I wish,” I mumble.

  “Oh stop!” She smacks me in my chest and gets out of bed. I follow her out the door and down the stairs. We are opening presents from Santa as a family then everyone will be meeting at Bentley and Kayla’s place to open presents together and have dinner.

  The girls begin tearing through their gifts. Because they are younger, they have tons of shit. Coloring books, makeup, clothes, some board games.

  Ashley grabs a thin box from the corner where we keep a small fake tree, which gets pulled out of the closet when we don’t have time to get a real one. “Here’s one of your gifts, sweetie.” She hands the box to Tristan. “It’s for you and Mason.” Mason looks shocked. W
e don’t know much about him or his past other than him not seeming to have any family. He won’t discuss his past and we have accepted that.

  “Here Mason, you open it,” Tristan insists.

  Mason takes the gift and unwraps it slowly. “Two tickets to New York?”

  Tristan grabs them then looks in the box, pulling out a piece of paper. “A week in New York? Are you serious?” He looks back and forth between Ashley and me.

  “Hell yeah!” Mason and Tristan fist bump. “When is it for?”

  “It’s for spring break. Bella is getting a ticket as well. We know you guys were talking about going to California to find an apartment but Cooper and I can find a place without going over there. We want you guys to enjoy your last spring break before you start college.”

  “Thanks, guys.” Tristan and Mason both reach over and give Ashley and me a hug.

  The girls open the rest of their gifts in record speed. Mason of course, messes with the girls, telling them he is stealing their makeup. Tristan smiles but stays silent. I have a feeling he’s thinking about the same thing I was earlier. This is his last Christmas before he moves out.

  “You okay?” I bump him with my shoulder.

  “Yeah, I’m going to miss them.”

  “You aren’t moving across the world. And you know anytime you want to come home, you can. Speaking of which. Here’s one of your other gifts. It’s not really a gift so to speak but well…”

  I hand him a small box.

  “It’s from your mother and me.”

  Tristan opens the box and inside is a credit card and a pair of keys. He lifts the card and looks at me confused.

  “The card is linked to the money we set up for you for college. We want you to go to college and focus on school. If you want to fly home, you purchase the flight. Whatever you need, this card will work. And if for whatever reason you don’t feel California is working for you, you can always come home. The key is to your new Ford Raptor. I know you like your truck but we want you to have something reliable.” I get choked up on the last word.