“May I ask what the eight stands for?”
“I was born June eighth,” Levi confirms.
“I usually open the gift at night. When I am alone,” Victor adds. “That is why Levi reacted the way he did. But he’ll never do that again.” He gives Levi a pointed look.
“No, sir.” Levi sounds like a small child.
“I know he didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry I pried into something so personal.”
“You’re family, Presley. It’s not a secret. I love my wife and I know that she is gone, but I’ll buy a charm every year and hide it in the tree for as long as I live.”
I can’t help the tear that escapes my eyes and slide down my face. A love like they had is one in a million. I shut the lid of the box, stand, and hand it to Victor. I hug him tightly.
“Thank you for sharing that with me,” I whisper in his ear and kiss his cheek.
“I think we have some dishes to do,” Victor announces as we pull out of our embrace.
We all head back into the kitchen and clean everything up. I’m surprised that most of the food is gone. I guess we all were really hungry. Levi tells his dad that he doesn’t need to help and sends him back to the living room.
“Smarty,” Levi wraps his arms around me and places his forehead on mine. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Levi.” I pull back a little and look into his blue eyes. “I know. You would never hurt me.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. So, let’s finish this up and go watch some hockey.” I swat his ass as I walk past him and finish helping put the leftovers away.
When we are all done, we head into the living room where Victor has fallen asleep in his chair. I can’t help the yawn. I’m more tired than I realized.
“Wanna take a nap?” Levi whispers and I nod.
“A real one, this time.”
Chapter Eight
Levi
When I wake up, I groan. I feel terrible. My head hurts and I’m already tired when I just woke up. Presley cuddles into me, but I lean away as I start coughing. Plopping back onto my pillow, Presley props herself up on her elbow to look at me.
“I’m sick,” I tell her.
She has the nerve to smirk. “I gathered.” The smirk falls away when she presses the back of her hand against my forehead. “You’re burning up, Levi. I’m going to check your temperature.” She goes to my bathroom and comes back with a thermometer. Her frown deepens as she says, “102.”
I groan again and cough a few more times. “You should get out while you can. It’s probably the flu and I can’t have you getting it or my dad.”
“I can take care of you.”
“Nope. Keep an eye on my dad, okay?”
She kisses my forehead. “I’ll figure out a way to keep an eye on you both.”
I roll away from her and close my eyes. The sounds of her moving around and changing mix with my coughing. Some time after she walks out, I doze off. I don’t know how long I sleep, but Smarty wakes me up and I slightly jump at the sight of her. She wiggles her glove-covered fingers and she’s wearing a mask.
“What the hell?”
“This is how I’m going to take care of you both. Victor wants to know if you’re hungry.”
I shake my head. “You look ridiculous.”
“I don’t care. Sit up. I have some medicine for you.” She gives me something to take and then she kisses my forehead through her mask. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”
“Positive.”
“You look terrible,” she whispers, pushing my hair away from my face.
“Well, you look ridiculous. Sit down.”
She settles in next to me and I rest my head in her lap. Smarty runs her fingers through my hair. It feels weird since she’s wearing gloves, but it’s still soothing. I’m just so tired and my head is pounding. Before long, I hear her stomach growl.
“You should eat,” I mumble. “Shouldn’t be in here anyway. Dad needs the company.”
“I’m going to eat, but I’ll be right back.”
I fall asleep while she’s gone. When she comes back, I rest my head in her lap again, telling her she should be with my dad. But apparently, one of his friends that he’ll go fishing with is visiting him. I want to object to her being here, but she’s wearing her gloves and mask and she’s somehow making me feel just a little better.
“I love you,” I murmur. “Thank you for this. Even if you look crazy.”
“Anytime, Levi. Feeling any better?”
“No. Less talking, Smarty.”
I close my eyes as she continuously runs her fingers through my hair. Even though I told her no more talking, while I’m half asleep, I hear her talking softly.
“You’re still burning up.” After a few moments, she says something again. “My poor Levi.” And then, “You’re not supposed to get sick during Christmas.”
“Presley.” I cough. “Christmas is over and I told you to quit talking.”
“You are nothing but a grouchy grizzly when you’re sick, you know that?”
To keep from giving her more to say, I keep my mouth shut. Burying my face in the covers, I cough until my throat is sore and then I’m super tired and my head is still hurting. I try to sleep, but it’s near to impossible to be comfortable long enough to fall asleep and stay that way. Presley is seriously the best girlfriend ever right now, even though she will say something here and there. All day, she lets me rest on her as she pumps me full of meds and fluids.
“Levi, you owe me so many naps for this.”
“Whatever you want, Smarty. Just stay here with me,” I say, squeezing her thigh. Did I just beg her? It sounded like a beg. I need to get better and soon. The last thing I need is to babble weak nonsense while I’m sick for Presley to use against me later. But before I can stop myself, I open my mouth again. “Don’t ever go anywhere, but here.” I hug her to me and drift to sleep.
Four more days pass like this. Four miserable days, but I am so thankful that I have Presley. The days would have been worse without her. I hadn’t been that sick in a long time. I hope I’m never that sick again because I was a wimp! The entire time, I moaned and groaned and said things to Presley like I was a lovesick puppy that was about to die. She was amazing as always though. Hopefully, I can make up for her having to take care of me for New Year’s.
Chapter Nine
Presley
I roll over in the bed and the sun shines in my face. I groan. I don’t want to get up yet. Levi had been sick and was restless the last few nights. As I’m laying here, I can hear Levi and Victor downstairs. I stretch and head to the bathroom. Even though I’m happy that Levi is feeling better, I’m sad because we have to leave soon.
I push the sad thoughts out of my mind and think about tonight. It’s New Year’s Eve and my first with Levi. I wonder what he has planned for tonight. I’m hoping that we will go out, but I don’t know if Levi will leave Victor.
After I finish up, I head downstairs to the amazing smells coming from the kitchen. Victor is cooking and Levi is pouting in the corner.
“Why do you look like a little kid just took your toy?” I sit down next to him .
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“He is mad at me, Presley.” Victor sits a plate of eggs in front of me.
“May I ask why?” I look up at Victor and he starts laughing.
“Pops doesn’t want us to stay home and watch movies with him tonight.” He gives Victor a mean look.
“Levi.” He laughs. “You’re young and you sure as heck aren’t staying home on New Year’s Eve.”
“I don’t mind staying in.” Okay, I’m lying because I really want a night with Levi, but Victor is important to the both of us.
“Enough.” Victor slams his silverware down and I jump. “This conversation is over. You both are going out and going to have fun. You will not, under any circumstances, worry about me tonight. I’m not saying it again.”
No one says anything through the rest of breakfast. Levi and I clean up the kitchen, still not talking. When we finish, Levi heads upstairs. I figure that he needs some time alone, so I join Victor in the living room. He is sitting in his chair, watching a football game. I just sit there because for the first time, I’m not sure what to do.
“Presley, don’t act uncomfortable. My son is stubborn,” Victor finally says, looking away from the TV and at me.
“I just don’t like seeing Levi or you upset.” I look down at my hands.
“We aren’t upset. Levi is acting like I’m a helpless child and I’m not. He needs to live his life instead of babying me. I am a grown adult and I don’t need my son doing it all.”
“He’s just worried, that’s all.”
Victor nods. “I know that and I’m so thankful that my son cares so much about me. But he needs to go and live his life, just like I am.”
This time, I nod. I understand where he is coming from, but I know that Levi isn’t going to like it. I continue to sit there and watch the game on the TV. When halftime starts, and I still haven’t seen Levi, I excuse myself and go upstairs to check on him.
He’s on the bed with his arm covering his eyes. For a moment, my eyes don’t leave his washboard abs. Gosh, they are amazing.
“Stop staring, Smarty.”
I smile because I didn’t realize he had seen me. I walk over to him and sit next to him. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Levi, your dad just wants to have a little independence.”
Levi finally removes his arm from his eyes and looks at me. “It’s hard. I’m worried.”
“Well, you should be, but you can’t wrap him in bubble wrap.”
“I hate when you’re right.” He smirks at me.
“Well, get used to it, because I’m right a lot.” I lean in and give him a quick kiss. He pulls me on top of him. I smile at him and he perks his eyebrow at me.
“What is our plan for this evening? It’s our first New Year’s.” I run my fingers through his hair.
“I’m getting hard and you want to talk about going out?”
“Levi,” I whine. “We haven’t been out and I miss you. Don’t get me wrong. I love your dad, but I need some Levi time.”
He moans and then smiles at me.
“Plus, you’ve been sick and I need to get those images out of my mind.” I scrunch my nose up at him.
“Okay, you’re right. Let me figure out a couple things for tonight.” He kisses me so hard, my feet tingle.
“Love you, Smarty.”
“Love you, Levi.”
~
Okay, I know it was presumptuous, but I packed a nice dress. I wasn’t sure what Levi’s plans were, but later that afternoon he asked me if I had an outfit for a nice dinner. I said yes. He told me to get ready.
It takes me about an hour to get ready. When I come downstairs, Levi isn’t around.
“Presley, you look stunning,” Victor says from his chair.
“Oh, thank you. Where’s Levi?”
“He went to take care of a couple things for tonight.” He smiles at me. It is just at that time that Levi walks in.
He has on black pants, a yellow polo, and his black leather jacket. He smiles and looks me up and down. I am wearing a gray flare skirt with a pink blouse. I made sure to bring my black, knee high boots that Levi loves so much.
“Ready?”
I nod. We say goodbye to Victor and Levi helps me get my jacket on.
“Where are we going?” I ask as Levi gets in the SUV.
“Well, I thought about what you said. We haven’t had any time alone. So, we are going to be alone.”
We don’t really say anything as Levi drives. He seems to be heading out of town and more into the rural part of the town. After a while, he pulls onto a driveway. I get a little nervous when all I see are trees and nothing else.
“Levi-”
“Fine, Smarty. We are going out to Harper’s family cottage. They aren’t using it. Happy now?” I smile because he knew exactly what I was going to ask.
The cottage finally comes into view. It’s so pretty. It’s two stories and the windows are bright in the center of the home. With the snow all around, it looks like a Christmas card. Levi pulls up to the front and gets out. I jump out and I see Levi grabbing a bag from the back.
“Are we staying the night?”
He doesn’t say anything. He just smirks, takes my hand, and we head inside. The cottage looks like it popped out of a magazine spread. It almost takes my breath away. Levi explains to me that Harper and him came up here a lot in high school to have parties and hang out on the lake.
I follow Levi up the stairs and he heads into one of the bedrooms. In the room is a large bed and a couple of dressers. I shake my head because I know why Levi picked this room. It’s perfectly white and very clean. He’s such a neat freak.
After we unpack the few things that we brought, Levi leads me downstairs to the kitchen. I stop at the threshold. The kitchen table is set with candles and fancy china.
“Sit here, Smarty.” He pulls the chair out for me.
I sit down and watch Levi pulls stuff from the oven and refrigerator. It is a full out meal.
“When did you do this, Levi?”
He smiles and kisses my temple. “I still have some surprises in me.”
He piles the food onto our plates and sits down next to me. The food is so delicious and I eat every bite. Levi confesses that he didn’t cook it, because he didn’t have time, but it is still so good.
After we finish, we clean everything and head into the living room. Levi starts the fireplace and we curl up on the couch. We just sit there staring at the fire. We don’t say anything, because there is no need for words. I feel content and wonderful in Levi’s arms.
“Are you looking forward to the New Year?” Levi breaks the silence around us.
“I am.”
“Me too.” He squeezes me closer to him and I lay my head on his chest. I listen to his heart race and it brings a smile to my face. It might not mean much to others, but the fact that I can make him excited, pleases me.
“I love you, Presley.”
I look up at him and his breathtaking smile makes my breath catch. “I love you too, Levi.”
I kiss his lips. He pulls me closer to him and I straddle his lap. He moans as I settle into his lap. His hands squeeze my hips and my body rocks against his. He feels so good against me.
We break our kiss and Levi swirls his tongue and kisses down my neck. He nips at my collarbone and I moan loudly. His hands run up under my shirt and he pulls back enough to lift it over my head.
He unhooks my bra and slowly, with the lightest touch, pulls my straps down. He kisses down my chest and places my breast in his mouth. I’m not used to this sweet Levi, but I’m enjoying it. He gently bites my nipple and works my other breast with his hand. My body rocks harder against him and I can feel how hard he is between my legs.
He looks up from my breast and smirks at me. His blue eyes are full of desire and all I want to do is rip off every shred of clothes that he has on. Levi stands up, with me still on him, and I wrap my legs around him. He climbs the stairs and goes to the bedroom that we picked out earlier.
“You can be as loud as you want to be. No one is around.” Levi lays me on the bed. He stands away from me and takes off his shirt. I never tire of looking at his body. The hockey season has done him well this year. His abs are more defined and the deep ‘v’ in his hips just makes me pant with lust and desire for him.
He begins to undo the button and pulls off my jeans. He pulls off my underwear next. Then I am laying there naked in front of him. Though I should feel embarrassed on some level, I don’t. This is Levi. This is my Levi. He makes me feel wonderful, special, and loved.
I sit up on
the edge of the bed and bite my lip. I undo his belt buckle and his jeans. He moans as I pull them down and begin to stroke him.
“Fuck, I need you.” He grabs my wrist and pushes me away from him. A slight giggle escapes me as I lay back, watch Levi roll on the condom, and then he hovers over me like a predator.
“Levi,” I breathe out. I open my legs further as he settles above me. I drag my nails up his arms until they’re around his neck. I pull him closer to me and his lips brush mine.
“Smarty.” His soft lips touch mine as he pushes himself into me. I moan loudly as we rock together.
Levi pushes harder and harder into me. I latch onto his back and dig my nails into him. I’m panting loudly and Levi is groaning in my ear.
“Levi,” I say his name over and over, louder each time. I can feel myself tighten around him.
“Fuck, Presley,” Levi nuzzles into my neck as I wrap my legs tighter around his hips. I know that Levi is close as he bites down on my collarbone and I yell out his name. My release is almost instant and with a few more thrusts, Levi is there too. We lay there, not moving, trying to catch our breath and get our heartbeats regulated.
Finally, Levi pulls out from me and rolls off the bed. He heads into the bathroom that is attached to the room and cleans up. I pull the covers back on the bed and when he is done, he comes back and lays next to me. I curl up to him and he kisses the top of my head.
“I love you so much, Smarty.”
I smile and look up at him. “You better. I think I might be walking sideways tomorrow.”
His laugh fills the room as he pulls me closer to him. We lay there in silence, enjoying our time together until we drift off to sleep.
~
“We missed the ball dropping.” Levi sits a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. We slept in until the sun was shining high in the day. We had another round of morning sex before hunger took over and we got out of bed.
“I enjoyed our night more. Besides, I’ve seen the ball drop before.”
Levi sits down next to me with his plate of food. “So have I.”
“I’m ready for this year. I think it’s going to be great.”
Our First Christmas Page 4
