Page 54 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
As it turned out, grilling was a bit more difficult a task than either of them had expected. Trixie had purchased a really nice black four-burner gas grill, but with neither of them being grill masters, they struggled with what temperature the steaks needed to be at. It also didn’t occur to them to spray down the grate prior to putting the meat on. A call to Mr. Wynn saved the potatoes. Thankfully, Trixie had supplied the house with olive oil, salt, pepper, and aluminum foil. One steak was ruined beyond repair, while the other was so far undercooked it practically mooed as Cayden cut into it.
“So apparently I need to watch some YouTube videos on how to grill steaks.”
Trixie found the whole experience hilarious. Or maybe she was just so relieved that he’d agreed to move in with her that she couldn’t stop smiling. Cayden didn’t care either way or if it was both. He loved that smile, and he would do anything to keep it on her face, even ruin a couple of perfectly good steaks.
They ended up throwing a steamable bag of broccoli in the microwave, fried up some bacon, and grabbed out some cheddar cheese and sour cream from the fridge. The steaks were tossed. Under the porch lights, they ate their loaded baked potatoes on her new patio furniture.
The backyard was easily three-times the size of the front. There was a rundown old metal swing set to the side and a large tree to the other. A tall fence separated them from their neighbors’ view.
Cayden pointed with his fork to the tree. “I bet you climbed to the top as a kid.”
She smiled mischievously. “I was the only girl among three boys. They also taught me to wrestle and burp the alphabet.”
Cayden laughed, his eyes glancing around from the yard to the patio to the house behind her. “You’re lucky, growing up the way you did. Not a lot of kids have all that.”
Trixie reached across the table to grab his hand. “You don’t speak about your childhood much. I know you were raised bytu abuela. No siblings?”
Cayden shrugged. “Don’t know. There’s probably some crazy kid out there that’s related to me. My dad wasn’t exactly a monk, and I never knew my mom. Gran won’t tell me her name. Just refers to her as ‘that selfish bitch’.” He turned his hand over under hers to grip it. “Don’t pity my life just because you had all this, Trix. I might not have had a swing set in my backyard, but Gran still took me places. Every year on my birthday she took me to the zoo. Didn’t matter how old I was, ten, twelve, nineteen, or how much I complained I didn’t want to go. Every birthday, we were at the zoo.” Guilt gripped his heart. “Well, not every year. The state wouldn’t give me a day pass for the last three.”
Her smile was weak. “She loves you very much.”
He nodded. “She does. She can’t wait to meet you, by the way.”
Trixie cocked her head. “You told her about me?”
“Baby,” he smiled, “I told her about you the day we met. I said ‘Gran, I met a girl. She’s far too good for me, but I’m going to make her mine anyway.’”
Trixie giggled, ducking her head to hide her blush. “No, you didn’t.”
He waited for her to lift her head again before saying, “Yes, I did.” Her cheeks blazed. Cayden indicated to her plate. “Are youdone?” She nodded. “Good, because I’d very much like to take you inside and make love to you inourhouse.”
They put their dirty dishes in the sink, ignoring the mess in the kitchen. He took her hand and led her towards the master bedroom.
Trixie had spent a lot of time redecorating herabuelo’s old room. She’d long ago donated his bed set, but she’d left everything else as he had. It had been years since his death, and she had only just packed up all of his clothing and belongings for donation. She kept a few things, like the pictures he’d kept on his dresser and his coveralls with the original Romero’s logo on it under his name.
There was still a hint of paint fumes in the air. When she’d donated the remainder of the bedroom furniture, she’d also had them take the old dining room table set, the living room couch, and lounge chair. Before her new furniture was delivered, Trixie had had new floors installed. The layout of the downstairs was mostly laminate hardwood flooring, leaving the only carpeting on the first floor in the master bedroom.
Herabuelo’s walls had been a light shade of gray. She’d repainted them to a light shade of lilac that had caught her eye. To keep the room from seeming too girly, she’d gone with a black and white comforter set. The four-poster king bed and matching dressers were dark cherry. Her apartment at Romero’s was a queen bed, but she liked the idea of getting a king for the house.
The master bathroom had dual sinks with a large corner tub and a shower stall. There was a small walk-in closet where she had her new towels, spare sheets, and laundry basket. She wasn’t sure what she would do with the apartment at Romero’s whenthey officially moved in here. Maybe she would keep it in case one or both of them were working late and wanted to crash at the shop instead of driving home.
Trixie smiled. They were actually doing this. In a little over two weeks, they would be moving in together. Like a real couple. Domesticated.
She felt his knuckles trail down her cheek. “What brought on that look?”
Trixie grabbed his callused hand and kissed his palm. “I’m happy. I was so nervous to ask you to move in with me. We’d never really talked about what would happen after your parole was up. We kept counting down to it, but we never said what would happen afterwards.” She gripped his hand to her chest. “I want this, Cayden. I want us to live here. Be that annoying neighbor couple who hosts outside barbecues but somehow always tricks someone else into manning the grill. I want us to drive into work together and maybe…maybe one day raise a family here.” Her bottom lip started to tremble. “Cayden, I?—”
He cut her off with a rough kiss. Trixie gripped him tight, only slightly perturbed that he’d prevented her from continuing. Cayden skillfully dipped his tongue into her mouth and dragged her lip through his teeth.
She felt her back hit the mattress and gasped. She hadn’t felt him move them. In a quick, practiced motion, he had her pants unbuttoned and unzipped. He kissed his way down her throat, past her breasts, over her belly and down to her navel. Trixie squealed when he yanked her jeans down, revealing her lacy panties.
He pulled off her jeans and then placed a knee between her legs on the mattress. Their eyes locked as he pulled off his shirt. She let out an appreciative sigh. She never got tired of seeing his well-formed physique. He leaned over to kiss that spot justunder her ear he loved so much. Basking in euphoria, Trixie dug her nails into the hard muscles of his back.
Together they wormed their way onto the center of the bed. He raised up on his knees to unbutton his jeans. He pushed them down to his knees before bending over to kiss the exposed valley of skin between her breasts. She used her feet to push his pants down the rest of the way. A kick on her part and they hit the floor by hers.
Feeling his bare skin, she tipped her head down to confirm with her eyes. “Have you been going commando all day?”
He nodded against her breasts. “It’s Friday. I try for less clothing to have to take off later than more.”
