Teresa let out a heavy sigh. She did not look forward to several more days of her mother's rambling mannerisms.
Chapter 4
A Holiday Surprise
Teresa was on the verge of tearing her hair out when her mother returned with a thirty-pound turkey and an entire van full of groceries. While she understood that a Thanksgiving meal was supposed to be overindulgent, she did not have room in the house for as many groceries as her mother brought home. Naturally, Helen blamed her for the lack of room.
“You always make room in the fridge for Thanksgiving!” Helen exclaimed. “Lyle, haven't I told her this since she was a teenager? I swear, I've told you this since you were a teenager.”
Teresa rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples before slowly making her way to the fridge and starting to move things around so she and Helen could put away the holiday groceries. Lyle chuckled and settled into the lounge chair in the living room, refusing to take part in his wife and stepdaughter's one-sided argument.
“Lyle! Is this turkey the same one I picked out yesterday when we went window shopping? I'm telling you, I don't think it's the same one!” Helen shouted, hoisting the massive turkey onto the shelf Teresa cleared in the refrigerator. “It looks less round!”
“It's the same one,” Lyle murmured, crossing his legs and opening a magazine that he had brought with him.
“You aren't even looking!” Helen scolded. “Oh, whatever. It's too late now. Teresa, you plan on making the pies tonight, right?”
“Well, I was going to make them in the morning—”
“No, no, no,” Helen insisted. “They have to be made in advance or else they might not set on time if you start them in the morning. You know how you never wake up on time. I'll stay up and help you.”
“Mom, I have to go to work in twenty minutes,” Teresa said. “I won't even be back until nine o' clock because we have appointments until late. The holidays have really set us back with all the college kids coming back for break to get their teeth checked. I have grandma's recipes in the cupboard if you want to start—”
“No, you're the baker, Teresa,” Helen said, shaking her head. “Nine isn't even all that late. I'll help you and you'll be fine.”
Teresa took a deep breath.
Lord help me, she thought to herself.
* * * * *
When Teresa finished work, she was fatigued. All that she wanted to do was go back home and go to bed, but she knew that her mother would be there waiting for her, eager to make the Thanksgiving pies for the following day. She slid into her vehicle with a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead.
Although she was reluctant to go back to the apartment, she knew that she had to. She put her car into reverse and backed out of her parking spot before switching into drive and making her way back towards the apartment building, which was luckily only a short drive. After parking her car, she breathlessly walked up the stairs to her apartment, put her key, turned it, and opened the door. She stepped inside the room and looked around, frowning. It was quiet.
“What the hell?” she muttered, furrowing her brow as she closed the door behind her. She then called out, “Hello?”
There was no response. Teresa cocked an eyebrow. It was unlike her mother and stepfather to leave the apartment without talking to her about it. Even though they irritated her, she did care about them, so she took her cell phone out of her pocket and speed-dialed her mother. After a few rings, no one picked up the phone. With a concerned frown, she put her phone back in her pocket and scratched the back of her head. She started meandering around the apartment, looking for a note or something that her mother and stepfather might have left. The last thing she wanted was for the two of them to get lost in the Big Apple.
As her stomach contorted into a dozen knots, she seated herself on the sofa and tapped her fingernails on the end table. Her mother and her stepfather were hardly night owls, so she had no idea what they would be doing in the city so late at night.
God I hope they weren't mugged. That would really ruin everything, she thought to herself.
* * * * *
Teresa waited for several hours before she heard the buzzer to the apartment. Her eyes widened and she rushed to the buzzer box. She pressed her forefinger against the speaker button.
“Hello, who is it?” she asked, biting her lip.
“It's your mother,” Helen replied from the other end. “We had a little bit of an emergency and had to go out but we're back now.”
“Emergency?” Teresa asked. “What the hell—oh, we'll just talk about it when you get up here.”
Teresa pressed the buzzer button and waited for her mother and stepfather to come up the stairs. She was nervous about what sort of state they would be in when she saw them, but she was happy to know that they were both safe. Although they annoyed her ceaselessly, she was already sad that she would not be seeing Vince for the holiday.
After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door and Teresa rolled her eyes, opening it. Then, she came face-to-face with the biggest surprise that she could possibly have found at her door. There stood both her mother and stepfather, but there was a third person. It was Vince.
Her stomach turned, and for a brief moment, time stood still. She could not hug him. She could not kiss him. She had to pretend that he was her stepbrother and nothing more and she was well aware of how difficult that was going to be.
“We brought a surprise!” Helen shouted.
“Yep, he called the house to tell us to pick him up a couple hours ago,” Lyle muttered, wrapping his arm around Vince's shoulders and giving him a squeeze. “Traffic was a nightmare, but it's nice to have my son home.”
Vince waggled his fingers at Teresa to say hello and Teresa blushed. The situation was far too strange for her, so she acknowledged him in the most awkward way that she could.
“Uh, surprise? Well, it's lovely to see you. Feel good to be home...bro?” she asked, trying not to cringe whilst saying the last word.
Vince gave her a sad look and nodded.
“Yeah, feels great,” he murmured.
It was clear that he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but he could not do that in front of their parents. Teresa cleared her throat and averted her gaze to try avoiding the awkward situation.
She then asked, “Well, are we going to make pie or—”
“Pie? Pie can wait til tomorrow! Your brother is home!” Helen exclaimed. “We had no idea. Did you know, Teresa? You must have been trying to surprise us. Oh, you two!”
She pinched Vince and Teresa's cheeks and Lyle scowled.
“Stop coddling 'em, Helen. Let the boy have some room,” he said. “You blow up anything, son? How about the men go talk and you ladies can make pie like you wanted.”
Despite not exactly wanting to make pies, Teresa was quick to make her way to the kitchen before her mother could argue. Even though she wanted to display her affection for Vince, she found it easier to be away from him to avoid saying anything that may raise their parents' suspicions. The kitchen was her only escape from the inevitable hint she would have dropped.
Chapter 5
A Nighttime Meeting
Teresa was exhausted by the time that she finished making the six different pies her mother insisted they make. The variety made sense several years back when they had a larger celebration with the entire family, but six pies for four people seemed a bit like overkill to Teresa. Nevertheless, she had glad to be finished as she pulled off her apron and tossed it in the washing machine, clouding the air with flour.
“The pies look good,” a low voice asked from behind her.
Teresa jumped and turned around, blushing. Vince was smiling at her.
“Thanks,” she said, scratching the back of her head. She then looked around and quickly pecked his lips before whispering, “Are they going to bed yet?”
Vince bit his lip and chuckled.
“I sure hope so,” he murmured. “My dad has been driving me nuts. He keeps aski
ng me how to make a nuke and I'm like, 'do I look like a scientist?'”
Teresa chuckled and her face became a dark red.
“I'm really glad you made it home for the holidays,” she said. “I wish we could have been alone, though, you know?”
Vince laughed and nodded.
“They certainly weren't part of the plan. I had dinner reservations, but I canceled them,” he said. He then sighed and added, “They'll be gone for some of the time I'm going to be here. I'm staying for another two weeks, so you'll have me all to yourself by then.”
Teresa grinned.
“I'd like that.”
Suddenly, they heard Helen and Lyle's bickering growing closer, so they quickly made space between themselves and tried to act natural. Teresa turned the dial on the washing machine as Helen stomped through the small hallway. Vince cocked an eyebrow.
“What's going on, Helen?” he asked, trying to determine when exactly she would be going to bed. “Why are you two yelling at each other?”
“Oh, your father is just complaining because he wants the soft pillow and it was on my side,” Helen replied, rolling her eyes. “Nothing to be worried about. I gave it to him and he's putting his whining to rest now.”
“You two going to bed?” Teresa said, quickly exchanging glances with Vince.
“Yeah, after I have a shower,” Helen said with a sigh. “The miserable old kook started snoring the second he had that stupid pillow under his head so I get to look forward to that all night. Vince, you don't mind us taking your room, do you?”
“My room?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Don't you mean—”
Teresa lightly nudged his foot with hers as discreetly as she could. Vince took the hint and cleared his throat.
“Oh, no! Of course not! The air mattress is more comfortable than the cot I've been sleeping on, anyway. Enjoy,” Vince said, referring, of course, to the guest bedroom rather than his actual bedroom. “Don't wake him up on account of me.”
“Oh, the old bastard can move. You just came back from—”
“No!” Vince insisted, sweat falling from his brow. “Please, stay in there. I insist.”
Helen furrowed her brow, but nodded in an unsure manner, nonetheless.
“Alright...” she said. “If you change your mind, we can move, though.”
“That's fine, Helen,” Vince said. “I'll be perfectly happy on the air mattress.”
Helen nodded and made her way into the restroom. Teresa and Vince stared at each other nervously, hungry for each other, until they heard the water start. They let out a sigh in unison and pressed their lips together, kissing each other as passionately as they could. It was what they had been waiting for since Vince had gotten home.
“You aren't actually planning on staying on that air mattress, are you?” Teresa murmured against his lips.
Vince shook his head, feverishly, and took off his shirt and tossed it in the laundry basket beside the dryer.
“No, absolutely not.”
* * * * *
When Helen got out of the shower, Vince and Teresa were seated in the living room waiting for her to go to bed. They wanted each other more than anything, but they could not fulfill their needs until there was no chance of her walking in on them being intimate.
She emerged from the steamy room, nearly an hour after she first got into the shower, with a towel wrapped around her. Vince and Teresa exchanged mortified glances as she walked into the living room and let out a satisfied sigh.
“I feel so much better,” she said. She then rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, you two. Don't act like you haven't seen your mother in a towel before. Are you two gonna go to bed soon?”
Teresa gulped, nervously.
“Uh, I think we're gonna stay up for awhile, Mom,” she said, eyeing her lover. “We didn't really get to catch up and I wanted to tell him about the apartment I've been looking at—you know, the one I showed you?”
Helen looked suspicious, but she nodded, nevertheless.
“Alright...” she replied. “Just remember that we have Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so you two ought to get some sleep.”
“We'll be fine,” Vince insisted. “Night, Helen.”
“Goodnight, Vince. So nice to see you today,” she said before turning on her heel and walking towards the guest bedroom. “Night, Teresa!”
“Night, Mom!”
The guest bedroom door closed and they watched the gap between the floor and the door, eagerly, waiting for the lights to flicker off. When they finally did, Teresa quickly tore off her shirt and Vince began unbuckling his pants. They knew that they had to be quick, but they were so desperate to feel the touch of one another that they could not wait any longer. Teresa tossed her shirt to the side and pulled off her skirt. Vince pulled her close to him for another kiss, but she put her fingers on his chest and shook her head.
“Why don't we go to the bedroom?” she murmured. “They're old. One of them might wake up to go to the bathroom or something, you know? I just—”
“Yeah, fine, fine,” Vince said, hurriedly grabbing their clothes and making his way to the bedroom.
Teresa laughed and followed him. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor, exposing her massive breasts for her stepbrother to see for the first time since he had left. Vince bit his lip and pulled off his boxers before wrapping his arms around her large waist and kissing her lips. Teresa smiled against his mouth and lightly dragged her fingertips down her body to wrap her hand around his manhood. He groaned as she began to stroke him.
“God, it's been so long,” he murmured.
“Too long,” Teresa breathed as Vince looped his thumb around her lace panties. As they fell, she giggled and said, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, baby,” he replied, kissing her lips and reaching out to rub her exterior pleasure spot. “Feel good?”
Teresa groaned.
“So good,” she whispered. “You're making it hard to be quiet tonight.”
“Oh yeah?”
Vince smirked and removed his hand to take hers in his and lead her towards the bed. He pulled her towards him and they kissed, falling onto the mattress in a naked heap of bliss. Teresa grinned and crawled on top of him, jiggling her large breasts in his face. He moaned and pulled her closer to him as she straddled his waist.
“I want you,” he whispered. “Please, baby.”
Teresa smirked and lowered herself onto him, slowly. Vince groaned as she began to ride him, causing her large breasts to jiggle with each jerk of her hips. He reached up to massage them and Teresa moaned, tossing her head back. It was the confidence boost that she needed to speed up her hip movements. Vince's eyes widened as he felt the pleasure she was presenting him with and he let out a soft moan.
“It feels so good,” he murmured. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you too,” she breathed, bouncing on his member.
Her womanhood tightened around him and Vince moaned. As the warmth between her legs squeezed him, he moaned and bucked his hips against hers. Teresa shook her head with a smirk and slowed down her movements a little. She wanted to make it last longer.
“You're a tease,” he said, jokingly.
“No,” she whispered. “I just want you to be inside me for a long time. Sue me.”
Vince grinned, but his grin quickly turned into a loud moan as Teresa let herself fall on him, making all of his manhood enter her depths. Vince groaned loudly, and he was unsure how much longer he could last. However, it did not seem to matter. He was just happy to be with the woman he loved.
“Right there,” she moaned, moving her hips and finding a pleasing angle. “Oh my God!”
Her womanhood squeezed him once more and neither of them could take it much longer. Teresa began bouncing on him harder and faster. Sweat glistened upon her body in the moonlight pouring through the window. With one final hard jerk of her hips, they climaxed together and Teresa collapsed beside h
im in a sweaty mess. Smiling, Vince kissed her forehead.
“I love you,” he breathed. “That was amazing.”
Teresa sighed happily and nodded.
“Yes it was. Too bad I can't sleep here tonight. I missed sleeping in your arms,” she murmured, sadly. “Wish they weren't here.”
“Me too, baby, but as soon as they're gone, you can sleep with me every night. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Chapter 6:
A Feast and Goodbyes
Thanksgiving morning was much more pleasant than Teresa thought it was going to be. She credited the happy, early day partially to having fulfilled her sexual needs, but that was something she was going to keep between her and Vince.
The family was watching the Thanksgiving Day parade together on the television in the living room. Lyle was grumpy as per usual, but he seemed a lot more agreeable ever since Vince had arrived. It seemed that the Navy SEAL was the glue that held the family together, and Teresa was so very thankful for him for that reason.
“The turkey should be ready soon,” Helen noted. “But we can't eat until two!”
Lyle scowled.
“Come on, Helen! I'm hungry! For Chrissake, can't we eat when we want to eat?” he asked. “You're so hung up on this two o' clock thing. I'm starving. Are you two starving?”
Teresa and Vince nodded. Teresa was pleasantly surprised that Lyle was asking her about food without being rude to her about it. That alone was enough to make it a perfect holiday.
“But we always—”
“I don't care,” Lyle said. “Who wants to eat when the turkey is done? Show of hands, family.”
Everyone raised their hands but Helen. After a second, her stomach grumbled and everyone laughed.
“See, you're hungry too!” Lyle said. “Indulge, Helen! We can start dinner at 11:52 in the morning if you want.”
Reminding The SEAL (Navy SEAL Military Romance) Page 23
