Christmas Tales - Brandon Witt Page 0,23
have to guess.”
His smile vanished instantly. “What?”
I rolled my eyes, enjoying finally letting out my disdain. “Oh, give me a break. Sure, maybe you’ve been all over the country and I’ve never left the goddamn Show-Me State, but I’m not some ignorant hick you can jerk around and toy with for your sick enjoyment.” Now that the anger was released, it wouldn’t stop. And my volume just kept increasing. “I’m over your stupid games. I’m sick of trying to figure out how you feel and what you want. You’re all flirty and promising sex and then you vanish into thin air like I’m the fucking plague. Well, I’m done. Finished. I don’t give a shit how you feel anymore, and I’m done thinking about your dick. You can just go dance around your stupid little off-grid house and build your wind towers and smoke your magic brownies, and leave me the hell alone.” It was only then that I realized my hands had curled into fists.
Raymond didn’t notice, but his smile slowly returned, as did the humor in his voice. “Holy shit. You’ve got a bit of crazy in you, don’t ya?”
I nearly screamed. Nearly grabbed that stupid pan out of his hands and bashed it over his stupid head. Instead, after a breath, my words came out in a hint of a whisper. “Get out.”
His smile never wavered. “I don’t even know where to go with all of that. But, one, they’re wind turbines, not towers. And you don’t smoke the brownies, you eat them.”
I took a step toward him, putting him less than a foot away. “I swear to God, if you don’t—”
“And, most importantly”—he waggled his eyebrows—“you’ve been thinking about my dick?”
I flinched again, feeling like ice water had been dumped over me. “What? I’ve not been thinking about your dick!”
“Uhm, yeah. You have. At least that’s what you said.”
“I most definitely did not say anything of the sort.”
Still more smiling. More stupid, sexy, stupid smiling. “Yeah. You did.”
“No, I—” Shit. I had.
Anger fled. Replaced by complete and utter shame. I looked down at the floor and backed away.
I’d not made it two steps before Raymond grabbed me by both arms. I looked up in shock and didn’t even have time to think before he slammed his lips over mine in a kiss.
Honestly, I’m not sure how long that kiss lasted. Or how long it took me to start to kiss him back. I stayed frozen in his grip, brain trying to keep up, to make sense of what was happening.
It couldn’t, so finally my body took over. Memories of years ago leading the way. My lips finally responded on their own accord. My tongue finally touched him. My hands, at long last, reached up and pulled him closer.
That warmth and ache he’d ignited weeks before and had turned to anger now burst forth, nearly making me unsteady on my feet. Probably would’ve if Raymond’s grip hadn’t held me firm.
His ice-blue eyes searched mine when he pulled back, his smile free of all play and humor. “Wow, Samuel. Wow. You got some fire in you, boy.”
My cheeks heated. Embarrassed again, though different now, and I wasn’t entirely certain why.
“I’ve been wanting that to happen since you showed up on my doorstep.” Raymond loosened his grip but didn’t stop touching me, instead running his hands lightly up and down my arms. “Do you still want me to leave?”
Part of me, a terrified… petrified part of me screamed yes, that he should leave and never come back. I shook my head.
“Good.” He finally dropped his hands, his tone growing serious. “What games, Samuel?”
More embarrassment. And some of the anger returned as well. “What games? Don’t act like you don’t know what games.”
“No. I really don’t.” Both his expression and his words seemed sincere. They threw me off.
Seriously? I focused on keeping emotion out of my words, or at least anger. “You made it seem like you… liked me or something. Like you… well, hell, I’ll just say it. You kept talking about getting into my pants and stuff. You made me food. You….” My voice broke, but I refused to be overcome. “You made me… feel shit I haven’t felt in years. In years. Stuff I didn’t want to feel again. I was fine. I was fine, Raymond. I was fine! I had exactly the life I wanted. I was fine.” So much for not letting anger slip back in.
He waited, but I didn’t have anything else to say.