Page 5 of Christmas Craving
“I’m twenty-eight years old, born and raised in Seattle, and when I’m not taking care of big, goofy dogs for my friends I work as a social worker for a nonprofit that that helps homeless families get back on their feet.”
A bleeding heart social worker. Yeah, that tracked.
Lanie paused, then gave me an impish smile. “And I’m single, in case you’re wondering.”
I started to protest, but the fact was, I did want to know that. No sense denying it. She was too young for me of course,and definitely not my type. And yet, there was something so appealing about her. I’d never felt this drawn to anyone in my life. I had the strangest urge to take her home with me and never let her go.
“Your turn,” she prompted.
“I’m thirty-seven,” I answered reluctantly. “No kids, no pets, no significant other.”
“And what are you doing for the holiday?”
“Nothing. As I said before, I don’t care for the holidays.”
“Well you’re in luck, Miss Scrooge,” Lanie said cheerfully. “Arthur and I are going to adopt you for the holiday.”
I reared back in surprise.
“I don’t want to be adopted,” I said firmly, pulling out the domme voice I used at the club.
It had no effect on her.
“Too bad, we’re doing it anyway,” she rejoined. “Now how do you feel about Thai food? I was thinking about ordering something from Door Dash for dinner.”
I had no idea how I went from coming over to yell at Lanie about the noise to us ordering Thai food together. Not that I knew itwas her blaring Christmas music when I knocked on the door -- I assumed it was my neighbor John -- but for some reason, hanging out with Lanie was the most fun I’d had in ages.
As a rule, I hated being spontaneous. I liked my life calm. I liked to be in control and follow a strict routine. I had a plan for everything. But apparently today, I was just going along with the whims of my temporary neighbor. It would have freaked me out if I thought about it long enough. Fortunately, I didn’t.
Lanie continued peppering me with questions while we waited for the food to arrive, each one stranger than the last. It was almost a relief when the courier arrived with our food. I tried to pay, but Lanie just gave me a wink and told me she’d already charged it to John and Amy’s account.
I’d have to write my neighbor a check when he returned from out of town. I didn’t like to be beholden to anyone, especially people I didn’t know well.
“Do you want to watch a movie while we eat?” Lanie asked as she set out the take-out containers on the coffee table in front of the couch.
“Okay,” I surprised myself by saying. “But nothing about Christmas. Or love. Or dogs.”
Lanie rolled in her lips like she was trying not to laugh at me. “So, something light-hearted then? MaybeSchindler’s ListorApocalypse Now?”
“You have a smart mouth on you, don’t you?” I said.
She arched one eyebrow, her expression pure brat. “What do you watch when you’re alone?”
“I don’t have a TV.”
She frowned. “At all?”
I shook my head.
“Do you just stream on your laptop then?”
“I don’t stream.”
She flung herself back against the couch with a dramatic sigh. “Wow, I can see I have my work cut out for me teaching you how to have fun.”
Once again I wondered why I’d agreed to stay here. I couldn’t explain it, but for some reason I was loathe to leave.
Lanie perked up. “How about if we watchUncle Buck? That’s a classic and there’s no love story or holidays. There may be a dog though, I can’t remember. If so, it’s not a major part of the story.”
