Page 55 of The Bright Side of Christmas
No one insists after I tell them they don’t have to help me, not when I give them the easy out.
Except for Adam, apparently.
“Okay,” I say with a small sigh. It’s uncomfortable and foreign, but I accept his help either way. When a genuine, relieved smile spreads on his lips, I know it was the right choice.
“Good,” he says. “Now, when do you get home?” I hesitate again, biting my lip. “Wren.”
“Normally, the bell rings at two fifty-five, I should be home by three fifteen, three thirty.” I bite my lip.
“But…?”
I sigh. “But, I offered to cover after-school care today.”
His head tips up to the sky, and he sighs, sending up some kind of silent prayer for strength before looking at me again.
Guilt and nerves churn in my stomach at the sight. How long until he realizes I don’t have time for myself, much less amanin my life? Until he realizes I’m a lost cause?
Unless you start to value your own happiness over everyone else’s, Wren,a voice that sounds very much like my grandmother’s whispers into my mind.
“Okay. Okay. I can work with that,” he says after a moment, and my heart skips a beat.
“You can?” He must see the surprise mixed with a dash of hope I can’t seem to hide in my eyes, because his face softens.
“If I get you at the end of it, Wren, I can work with anything.” His hand moves up, tucking hair that was moved by the gently blowing wind behind my ear. “But we’re going to work on this whole offering yourself up to help everyone but yourself.”
With his words, I nod. “Yeah. It’s gonna slow down.”
Now it’s his chance to look shocked. “Is it?”
I shrug, playing off this moment that suddenly feels too big for a conversation against my car before work. “I’ve never hadany reason not to, Adam. Never had anyone who wanted some of my time.”
He likes my answer; that much is clear from his face. I expect him to try and pull more out of me, to ask me to expand or make some promises right here and now, but he doesn’t.
“Okay. I’ll get dinner. You bring your shit over here when you get home. Not sure if I’ll be great at crafting, but I’ll do my best.” He lifts his hand, brushing the back of it over my nose. “Now go, get in your car. You’re freezing.”
“Well,someonepinned me against my car and forced me to talk about my feelings.”
His smile widens to a grin. “Brat. Get in the car before I have to make you late for work.”
I have never been late for work.Never.
But god, right now I’m contemplating ruining my perfect attendance record.
Adam sees the hesitation and smiles wide, shaking his head before pressing his lips to mine. “Not this time, Birdie. Go. Then get back to me as quick as you can, and I’ll make good on all of those thoughts running through your mind.”
I nod, and he grabs my hand before walking me around to the driver’s side, opening the door for me. He turns me, then brushes off the salt from my back, paying extra attention to my bottom, which makes me giggle. Finally, he presses a kiss to my lips, watches me sit in the seat, and closes the door for me. He stands in my drive as I back out of it, waving as I drive off before he goes on his run.
And even though I love my job, I’ve never been so excited for work to be over that day.
TWENTY
Warmth slides through me as I come, moaning Adam’s name, head tipped back, eyes drifting shut. I’m straddling his hips, full of his cock. One of his hands is on my hip, the other rolling my nipple perfectly, pulling a few extra moments of bliss from my body.
After a moment, I come back to myself, my eyes open again, my breathing heavy as my head tips down again, meeting Adam’s wide grin, that dazed look I’ve become accustomed to seeing anytime I finish clear on his face.
“Good?” he asks softly.
I roll my eyes and push on his shoulder because we both know I just came hard. “Uh, yeah,” I say through a small, panted laugh and then grin down at him, my hair falling between us.
