Page 56 of Christmas Romance Galore!
“Can’t see any drawbacks at all, can you?” she asked, her voice croaky.
I shook my head, feeling gallons of emotion well up inside me. “None at all,” I said, pressing my lips to hers.
* * *
Two hours later and we were laying on the bed, the sugar rush of sex still coursing through our veins. My stomach rumbled as I lay beside her, one leg slung lazily over her thigh.
“You hungry?” She smoothed back some hair from my forehead.
“Seeing as I haven’t eaten since lunchtime, I think probably yes.”
Holly leaned back and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. She swiped the screen and the light made her squint. “Half eight,” she said. “We could order in. Or we could go out, go to that new Thai place down the road.” She put the phone on the table and rolled back, taking me in her arms and placing a kiss on the side of my neck. “You up for something spicy?”
I laughed. “That’s why we haven’t eaten properly for the past few days,” I said. “Anyway, going out? I’m not sure I’d make it that far.”
“True,” Holly replied. “Shall I order a pizza then?”
I nodded. “Sounds perfect.” I kissed her again. I couldn’t stop. I wanted to make every second count, seeing as I’d spent the last 16 years not kissing her.
She gave me a quizzical look. “What’s going on inside your head right now?”
“Why?”
“Because you have a really weird look on your face. Like you’re thinking about something and it’s hurting your brain.”
I shifted my position to stop my arm going dead. “Do I look gorgeous?”
Holly smiled. “You look constipated.”
I let out a loud laugh. “You see, this is the downside of getting together with someone you know — you would never normally say that to a girl on your second date.”
Holly grinned her lopsided smile. “Is this our second date? I just thought we’d muddled through a few days not leaving our beds. I wasn’t aware we’d ever actually had a date.”
I rolled on to my back and thought about that. “You know what, you’re absolutely right. We haven’t had a date.”
“We’d have to leave the flat and everything,” Holly said.
I waved a finger in the air. “Definite downside.” I leaned forward and kissed her, and the spark rolled down my body, down to my toes, then back up to my clit.
I really didn’t want to get up. But it wasn’t as if we couldn’t come back to this very spot later, now was it?
I pushed myself up on my elbows, then hopped out of bed. I stepped into my pants and jeans, and when I turned around, Holly’s expression spelled alarm.
“What?” I asked. I walked over and threw back the covers. “Come on, chop-chop. We’re going out on a date. Our very first date, in fact.” I bent over, picked up her jeans and threw them at her. “Get dressed, wench, we’re hitting the town.”
In response, Holly simply pulled up the duvet cover over her head and groaned.
I pulled it back down. “I’m going to splash my face and wash my hands. I suggest you do the same. Especially your hands because I know exactly where they’ve been.”
I knew that would draw a massive grin.
I was right.
We made it out of the flat 20 minutes later and were sat in Baker’s Bar by 9.15pm, burgers ordered, craft beer in front of us.
“I ordered you a Christmas beer — Rudolph’s Ruby Ale.”
I took a sip. It was bitter, but I smiled anyway. Maybe I would get used to the taste eventually. Or maybe I could tell Holly I’d stick to red wine in about a week, when I was sure things had settled down. Not that I thought she was going anywhere, but there was still beginning-of-relationship protocol to follow.
