Page 27 of Home Between Homes

I sat up even though I didn’t want to.

Jack didn’t stop me from moving, but he made sure his hand didn’t lose contact with me. His left cheek looked crumpled, a dent resembling the seam of the couch adorning it. He blinked his eyes open, and a smile appeared on his face as soon as he saw me. “Morning,” he said, unable to keep both his eyes open at the same time. “What time is it?”

I fumbled for my phone on the coffee table next to us. I tapped on it, revealing a bold 6:01 a.m. “Six already.”

“Already?” he laughed. “Already!Oh, my God.” He closed his eyes and stretched his arms over his head. The blanket slid off his body, revealing his muscles and hairy armpits, thanks to his still being naked. “I didn’t expect you to be a morning person.”

“I didn’t expectyouto sleep naked.”

“Touché.”

Maggie rested her head on the couch as if to remind us she was still there.

Jack’s eyes darted between her and me as if he had to decide who should get the attention of his hands. But while his left found its way behind Maggie’s ears, his right remained on my arm.

“A special lady needs to go outside,” I said. “Do you think that’s wise?”

Jack tilted his head to glance out the window at the front yard. “I guess you could try to stay on the porch. That should be fine.”

“Yeah. Thought so, too.” I leaned my head over to get into Maggie’s line of sight. “So, should we try our luck? What do you think?”

She yelped, pulled her snout off the couch, and trotted to the door.

“I guess that’s a very reluctant yes,” I laughed and stood up.

Jack’s fingers wrapped around my wrist to keep me from leaving. He sat up and pulled me back onto the couch, wrapping his arms around me, his palms rubbing up and down my shoulders. “I can go if you don’t want to,” he whispered. “You know by now that I don’t care about the cold.”

“Oh, is that why you’re naked? And I thought you were just happy to see me.”

“Iamhappy to see you.” He pulled me into a kiss.

As our mouths parted, my eyes were drawn to Jack’s groin, where the blanket had formed a tent.

Jack chuckled. “Reallyhappy.”

Memories of our last night flashed through my mind, filling me with anticipation of what this day might bring. The blizzard was still raging, and while I hoped the worst was over, I wouldn’t mind if it lasted a little longer.

A scratch on the door reminded us we weren’t alone.

“Before I can take care of that,” I said to Jack, staring at his erection, “I need to take care of something else. And no, I will not let you take her outside. I must do something for my money as well.” I jumped up, and Jack’s eyes darted to my briefs, which didn’t hide my own erection. Heat rushed up my cheeks. “I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again: Merry Christmas.”

“Best present ever,” Jack grinned.

With a quiet but stern bark, Maggie scratched the door again, making Jack and I jump up to start our day.

My hopesthat the worst was over were quickly dashed. I was wrapped in three layers of clothes, and as soon as I opened the door, the cold crawled under them as if I had gone outside naked. Jack stood behind me, not shivering at all, even though he was wearing only the gray sweatpants I had lent him.

Maybe I should have taken him up on his offer.

The wind had blown so much snow against the door that a wall had formed in front of it. I kicked it down to clear the way. The porch was now level with the rest of the front yard. I couldn’t see the street. Only a small hill marked the spot where Jack’s broken-down pickup truck was parked.

Maggie glanced at me as she reluctantly placed one foot on the porch, accepting her fate.

We took three steps, far enough for Jack to close the door behind us, but neither of us wanted to see if we could go any further. The chances of being swallowed by the snow if we tried to step out into the front yard were too high. As soon as the door was closed, Maggie made it to the end of the porch, did her thing, kicked some snow back over the spot, and went back to the door. She was so fast that Jack didn’t even get to the fireplace.

“That was quick.” He laughed as he let us back in. He grabbed the towel from the shoe rack and squatted down to dry Maggie's paws.

“Can you blame her?” I said as I stepped onto the plastic shoe tray and closed the door behind me.

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