Page 41 of A Little Christmas: Rivi
He laughed. It was a magical sound.
We got up, stacked the dirty dishes onto the tray and took it back to the kitchen. It was late and all the lights were out except for nightlights along the counter tops and coming from underneath the cupboards. I wasn't sure what to do with the dishes, so I filled the sink with water and together we stood side-by-side soaping them up, rinsing them and letting them dry on a towel on the counter by the sink. Once or twice, our hands encountered each other in the soapy water. I didn't think doing dishes could be sexy. Guess I'd been wrong all this time.
By the time we were done, I felt even closer to Rivi. Doing a domestic chore didn't seem like work when someone you cared about was right beside you helping out.
17
Rivi
Even as we did the dishes together, my body was still tingling from what we'd done in front of the fire. It might not seem like much to Briar, but to me kissing the way he had done it to me felt like making love. Sex. We still had so much further to go, and that excited me more than I had ever dreamed of.
“All right. Now it's off to bed for you. And for me.” Briar smiled. “In separate rooms, of course.”
He beckoned me toward him where he stood at the entry to the kitchen. I went up to him and took his hand.
“Perfect,” he said.
“Wait….”
“What?”
“We have to get Santa.”
We went back down the chilly hall and retrieved the lost Santa. Briar still carried my present from Trent for me.
Together we went up the stairs.
When we reached my door, Briar let go of my hand and put both palms on my shoulders. I looked up at him. He leaned down and I prepared myself for another one of his miraculous kisses. Instead, he kissed me on the side of my head like I was his friend. His affectionate friend. It startled me and pleased me at the same time. It communicated respect and a kind of proprietary gesture that made me feel like I belonged. It wasn't just about lust. It wasn't just about how he could get my clothes off me and into his bed. It was more than that.
I was new to all of this, so I questioned if I was reading the signs correctly. But it felt right. Like everything was just clicking into place. Santa was on his way and my life had just changed completely. It was the best Christmas Eve ever. At least, starting after my icy nap on the bench at the end of that cold, dark hall.
Like a perfect gentleman, Briar opened my door for me and gestured me to go inside.
“Have a good sleep, little Pan.”
My heart filled up to hear him say those words again. Little Pan.
“You, too.”
“Have dreams of sugar plums dancing in your head. And when you wake up, I'll be there with you for breakfast.”
Reluctantly, I let go of his hand. “You sleep well, too.”
“I'll try but I'll be missing you in my arms. I think that's where you need to be. But first we'll have our date. Deal?”
I nodded. “Deal.”
“Goodnight, little Pan.”
When the door closed, I set down my game box and Santa, and leaned up against the back of it, my arms crossed over my chest. It was as if my heart wanted to leap from me. I was tingling all over.
My first kiss. My first boyfriend. My first date which would happen on Christmas Day. I wanted to shout it to the world.
Once in high school, another boy and I started to fool around. He was all grabby and wanted to touch my crotch and ass. I’d gotten too nervous and ran away. We’d never gotten to the kissing stage, let alone talked about dating. That was all the experience I’d had, and it wasn’t good.
Now it was like a whole world had opened up. It had been such a good decision for me to get up the courage and go shopping last week. That kink store had been on my radar for a while. If I hadn’t gone when I had, I wouldn’t have seen the poster for Santa at the club. I wouldn’t have overheard the other customers talking about Uncle Trent. At that point, it was like everything in my life started to fall into place.
I picked up Santa and bounced over to my bed. I placed him on the pillow, then went into the bathroom to get ready for sleep.
