Page 29 of The Holiday Hookup List
A reply from “Work Husband” pops up a second later.I fucking told you so!
Chapter 11
Gideon
Day 5: Porn & Presents
Valencia, as it turns out, has a subscription to a female-focused ethical porn streaming service. She seems embarrassed as she rambles out an explanation.
“Earlier this year, after ... Well, you know what happened. Anyway, this summer, I was embarking on my Hookup Era, and I’d never been with a woman before. But I wanted to, so ...” She gestures at the girl-on-girl scene playing on my TV. “Research.”
I want to ask about this Hookup Era, but all I say is, “I fucking love this about you.”
Her cheeks go pink. “You just like the idea of me eating pussy.”
My grin is wolfish. “That too.”
While the women moan on-screen, Valencia and I gather everything in the living room. Since we’re wrapping gifts for my firm’s toy drive, I bought the presents, and Valencia brought wrapping supplies made from recycled materials.
As we sit on the floor to work, Valencia eyes the pile of Nintendo Switches, iPads, and LEGO sets. “Don’t you think you went overboard with the gifts?”
“Valencia, look who you’re talking to.”
She snorts. “Remind me again why you work?”
“Because I don’t like being bored.” I glance at the TV and cringe. “How is that comfortable?”
Valencia tilts her head, mimicking the awkward angle of the upside-down woman’s neck. “She must do yoga.”
We get started, and to my surprise, Valencia is ... not the best at wrapping gifts. I, having been trained by Andrea Noble herself, wrap with the precision of an origami master. Or close to it. It’s nice to know Valencia isn’t perfect at something. Not so I can make fun of her, like I would have once upon a time, but just to know that she’s human.
I want to ask if she needs help, but I bite my tongue. Instead, I listen to her muttered curses, which sometimesmirror those of the women on-screen. Finally, Valencia tosses down a roll of eco-friendly ribbon and glares at me.
“Show me how to do it,” she demands, and I hide a smile.
I show her the way my mom taught me—measuring the right amount of paper, then folding the edges and creasing them with a fingernail before applying tape. Once she’s got it, she takes over wrapping while I handle ribbons and bows.
A threesome scene comes on next, and I watch idly out of the corner of my eye.
“Why no swords crossing?” I ask.
Valencia shrugs. “Missed opportunity.”
I turn the volume down. The woman in this scene is pretty loud, but I guess I would be too if I had two dicks in me.
Valencia passes me a wrapped iPad. “My mom always did this part,” she says quietly.
“Wrapping gifts?” I want to make sure I’m following.
She nods. “Mom was so creative. I wish I’d inherited that from her.”
“First of all, our list isextremelycreative. And second, I’d wager you got more from her than you realize.”
She shoots me a grateful look. “I just thought I had more time, you know? It was so sudden.”
“Did you talk to anyone about it? After?”
“I did grief counseling for a while. It helped. Maybe I should revisit it. The shock, and then being the only one leftto manage everything ... That was really hard. Like I said, I probably leaned on the Mulhollands too much. But they helped me with the paperwork and were really supportive. I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten through it without them.”
