Page 36 of The Grinch who Loved Me
She loved Christmas and he refused to be the grinch again.
And as they made love beside his fireplace and their new tree, he was glad once more that he had gone all out for the love of his life.
When Aria finally drifted off to sleep, Ryland picked her up and she snuggled against his chest and he brought her to his room and placed her on his bed.
Then he covered her with his blankets and climbed in beside her.
She turned into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her and shut his eyes.
He was beyond grateful that her car had broken down right at his door.
It was the best thing that had happened to him.
To make him, the person who didn’t like people or holidays find the person who did.
It was perfect. And as he drifted to sleep with her in his arms he would never look back at his old life.
—-
Ryland woke to the sound of his front door opening and then shutting.
He looked over and saw Aria, still fast asleep in his bed, her hair spread over his chest and his pillow.
He could see the beginnings of a hickey on her neck and one on the top of one of her breasts and felt pride that he had put his mark on her soft skin.
She always believed that love wasn’t for her and to be honest, he felt the same, but now that he had her? He was never letting her go.
He heard someone rummaging around in his kitchen and he very gently extracted himself from Aria’s arms and swung his legs over the side of his bed.
He pulled on a pair of jeans and then walked out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.
Whoever was in his kitchen wouldn’t get to Aria. Ever.
Ryland had a small bat in his room and had grabbed it first and walked down the hall quietly to the kitchen.
But when he walked in the room, he stopped in his tracks when he saw who was in the kitchen.
“Dad? What are you doing here?”
Ryland put the bat aside and walked to where his dad was shutting the fridge.
They hugged briefly and then Ryland leaned against the counter as his father did the same.
“I came home. I saw what I needed to see and decided it was time to come back and help you in the garage. I missed it. And though I was away from most people, I missed my son.”
Ryland clapped his hand on his dad’s shoulder, “I missed you too.”
His dad looked him up and down, “You changed since I left. You are bigger.”
Ryland chuckled, “That I am.”
Rick shook his head, “And the house has decorations. Since when did you decorate for Christmas or even give a fuck about the holiday?”
Ryland rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and then looked at his dad, “Since this year.”
His dad studied him, and then stood upright, “You met a girl. Didn’t you?”
Ryland nodded, “I did. I love her.”
