Page 13 of Christmas Wish

"Someone who was avoiding his family?"

Izzy laughed. "I don't understand why you're still sitting here talking to me. You've been in love with Tucker Mills for as long as I can remember. You have to tell him. Now. It's Christmas Eve. It's so romantic."

"I was about to go over to his parents' house." I put my hand on the phone book. "But that's crazy, right? He's probably asleep. And I can't just knock on the door. I'd wake everyone up."

Izzy smiled. "I have a great idea."

***

When I arrived at Tucker's house, I was completely frozen. It was only half a mile away, but walking over in high heeled boots and barely any clothes on under my jacket was a terrible idea. Why had I listened to Izzy?

And now that I was here, I had no idea what to do. Tucker's house was dark except for the Christmas lights outside. Everything was silent, covered in a blanket of snow that was growing denser by the second. I had a fleeting idea to climb onto the roof and go down the chimney. But just because I was dressed in a slutty Santa costume didn't make me Santa. Besides, that would probably classify as breaking and entering. Spending Christmas morning in jail didn't seem like a good plan.

I took a few steps closer to his house and heard a crunching noise under my feet. Tucker's sidewalk was made up of a bunch of small pebbles. Perfect. I picked up one of the pebbles. I wished that Tucker was having trouble sleeping too so that his light would be on upstairs, but I had no such luck. I bit my lip. I'd just have to guess. His house was similar to mine. Maybe his bedroom was where mine was too. I cocked my arm and was about to throw the pebble when the front door opened.

"Julia?" Tucker was standing there, staring at me. He laughed. "Was that to throw at me?"

I laughed. "No, your window." I pointed up to where I was about to throw the pebble.

"My window is in the back." He smiled.

"Oh." I dropped the pebble back down on the sidewalk. Oh God, he's going to think I'm a lunatic.

"Did you walk here?"

"Yeah." I'm a stalker. "Like you said, it wasn't that far."

"Geez, come inside, you're shivering." He turned around and opened up the door. I followed him into his house. It smelled like gingerbread and hot chocolate.

"How did you know I was outside?" I asked.

"I didn't." He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward his fireplace, where a small fire was dwindling. There were at least a dozen stockings hung above the fireplace. The Christmas tree in the corner was decorated with tons of ornaments clearly made by little kids. I bit my lip. I was in Tucker's parents' house. Where he had grown up. Tucker probably had nieces and nephews waiting upstairs for the real Santa. Why had Izzy th

ought tramping over here in a slutty Santa costume was a good idea? I pulled my coat tightly around myself. This is so inappropriate.

Tucker tossed another log onto the fire to make the flames burst back to life. He pulled off his jacket and then turned to me. "Let me take your coat." The way he was looking at me made my body shiver even more. Somehow he looked even more handsome as the flames from the fire cast ever-changing shadows across his face.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No, that's okay. I'm still cold, so I'm just going to leave it on." I had gone over a whole speech in my head while I was walking over here. About how I had a crush on him since middle school. And about how the couples in those movies always fell in love. But how it was different for us because I was already in love with him. Now that I was here, I couldn't seem to find the right words. And how was he supposed to take me seriously in this ridiculous costume?

"Julia, your coat is soaked. You're not going to get warmer until you take it off."

I wasn't sure I'd ever have the confidence to tell him how I really felt, how I'd always felt. Maybe I could pick up where we left off in the car, though. I knew I could show him how much I liked him. And maybe this outfit would actually help with that. I slowly unbuttoned my coat. The costume that Izzy had loaned me was a super short red velvety skirt with fake white fur around the bottom. It had a matching velvety, midriff bustier. Please think this is sexy. I grabbed the matching Santa hat out of my pocket and put it on my head before letting my coat fall to the ground. I couldn't even bare to look at him. I was never this forward. But he had already seen the costume. There was no going back now. "I was hoping this might be a good way to thank you for everything you did for me," I said to the floor.

Tucker put his hand under my chin and tilted my face toward his. The intensity that I had seen in his eyes after our first kiss was there. "Honestly, I was just hoping you'd let me take you on an actual date. But this is so, so much better." He immediately leaned down and kissed me. I grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him back. I wasn't sure how many times I had dreamed of doing that.

His hands moved to the small of my back and dipped down to my ass. He squeezed my ass as his tongue collided with mine.

This should have been enough. But all I could think about was more. All I wanted was more. I moved my hand to the front of his jeans. I could feel his erection pressing against them, wanting to break free. I pressed my palm against his hard cock.

He groaned into my mouth and pulled back. He grabbed his shirt by the collar and pulled it off over his head. Tucker was the sexiest guy I had ever met. And he looked even better with his shirt off. He had more of an eight pack than a six pack. My eyes landed on his happy trail. I wanted to see all of him. Before I could react, he tossed his shirt on the floor and grabbed my waist, pulling me against him.

"Should we go to your room? Someone might come down."

"I don't care." He repeated the words backs to me that I had said early in his truck and looked down at me. The way he was staring at me made it seem like I was the only thing he wanted. Like I was the best Christmas present he could have asked for. No one had ever looked at me the way he was looking at me right now. He made me feel desired.

I gulped. The warmth of the fire, the way he was staring at me, and the feeling of his palms pressing against my skin made me forget all my worries. I felt safe in his arms. And I wanted him so badly that I was actually panting. I reached behind my back and unhooked the bustier. I just hoped he'd like his present unwrapped, too. I watched his face as the straps fell down my shoulders, exposing my breasts.

"God, you're beautiful." He grabbed my ass and lifted me up. I quickly wrapped my legs around his waist and clasped my hands behind his neck. When his lips met mine, there was even more passion than before.

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