Healed (10 page)

“Em,” I shouted, pumping into her one last time before I came, taking her over the edge once again.

Not wanting to crush her, I did everything to hold myself up, but the muscles in my arms were toast. Pulling her tightly to me, I rolled so that we were lying on our sides, facing each other. The panting that was our breathing slowly calmed down to a normal rate. I reached up brushed her hair back from her forehead, smiling at her sweaty, flushed face. Nuzzling her neck, I whispered, “This has to be the best Christmas morning in history.”

“No kidding,” she said, snuggling deeper into my arms. “What time do we need to leave?”

“Mom said she’d have a brunch ready around 11:30, so we have time to cuddle for a bit.”

“That sounds perfect,” she mumbled, her voice sounding sleepy.

We must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, I woke up and Emily was no longer in my arms, but the shower was running in the other room. There was still a half an hour before we had to leave. As much fun as it would be to join Emily in the shower to help her wash, I knew that we’d never get out of the apartment in time if we did that. Stretching, I waited patiently so that I could take my turn.

I was excited about spending the day with my family, sharing all of our traditions with Emily, just like her family had the night before. From the moment I met Emily, everything about her called to me, and the realization that this time next year we’d be only months away from walking down the aisle had me ready to stand up and jump on the bed.

Emily

AFTER ONE OF THE
hottest rounds of sex we’d ever had, we both fell asleep. It was easy considering I was lying in my favorite place. Nestled next to Andrew, I was always so warm and cozy. I could have stayed there all day, maybe even all week. Unfortunately, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my head that told me I needed to get up. My eyelids fluttered open. Once they adjusted, I was able to read the clock on the nightstand. We had about an hour before it was time for us to leave. Deciding that if I stayed in bed much longer I’d never get up, I forced myself to pull out of Andrew’s arms, carefully, so as not to wake him up. He grunted a bit in his sleep, then settled back down.

I figured the easiest thing would be for me to get in the shower and wake him up when I got out. If he knew I was already in there, I was pretty sure he would join me, practically guaranteeing we’d be late.

Stepping into the bathroom, I grabbed my toothbrush to brush my teeth. That’s when I noticed the necklace again. It was absolutely gorgeous. I took a few minutes to examine it. I’d never seen anything like it, and it was absolutely perfect.

In record time, I’d brushed my teeth and showered, the hot water feeling amazing because although my skin had been blazing hot earlier wherever Andrew had touched, now I was back to freezing. Winter had to be the worst season of all.

Wrapped in a towel and shivering, I made my way back to our bedroom so that I could get dressed, surprised to see Andrew fully awake and sitting up in bed.

“Morning,” I said, getting caught up staring at the hard, defined planes of his chest. The worst part was knowing exactly what he
didn’t
have on underneath that sheet. My body began to warm—and it had nothing to do with the hot shower from a few moments ago.

“Morning,” he answered, his voice still husky with sleep.

“I’m surprised you’re still in here. I know you could hear the shower running.”

“It took every ounce of willpower that I had to stay here, trust me.”

Holding my towel tightly, I bent down and placed a brief kiss on his lips, before standing and moving toward the dresser to grab a bra and underwear. Pulling those on I looked around the room for a pair of pants. Normally, the mess in our room would have made me crazy, but most of it was stuff from my parents’ house last night. They really had gone overboard.

Finding my jeans in the middle of the chaos, I turned around to see Andrew still sitting in the middle of the bed, staring at me.

“Are you getting in the shower?”

“In a minute. Right now, I’m admiring the view.”

“Well this view needs to get dressed so we’re not late getting to your parents’.”

“Be my guest, I won’t stop you.”

Rolling my eyes, I put my jeans on and pointed to the door. “Get your ass out of bed and get in the shower.”

With one hand lifted in surrender, he used the other to throw the covers off, pausing because he knew I’d be looking, eventually leaving the room. Sighing, I looked around at the disaster before me. If I thought I had the time, I would start cleaning now, but as it was, we were already pushing it and I still had to finish getting dressed.

Looking through my dresser, I found the perfect cranberry-colored sweater to wear. Andrew’s parents were a little more formal than mine. My mom couldn’t care less if you showed up for Christmas in sweats, as long as you showed up. In fact, my guess was that she was still in her pajamas right now. Since Andrew was still in the shower, I decided to give her a call.

There was only one ring before Mom answered. “Merry Christmas, Emily.”

“Merry Christmas, Mom. I figured I’d give you guys a call before we got on the road.”

“I’m glad you did. Did you both have fun last night?”

“We did.”

“Good. We tried to get as much of our normal Christmas stuff in as we could.”

“I know, and you have no idea how much that means to me.” There was a slight quiver to my voice and I knew that if
I
could hear it, Mom could hear it as well.

And right on cue. “Oh, sweetie, don’t be sad. We’re going to miss you today, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“It just feels weird.”

“I know, but that’s part of being in a relationship. It’s not about two separate people anymore. It’s about you two, together, as a family.”

Family.

Such a simple word, but for some reason it never occurred to me to think of Andrew and I that way. When I thought about it though, that was exactly how I felt. Andrew was my family and wherever he went, I’d go too. Well, at least until he pissed me off—then all bets were off.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“For what?” I could hear the confusion in her tone.

“For making today seems a little less strange.”

“You’ll have a good time today.”

“I know. His parents are great.”

“Oh, I forgot to ask you last night. Aunt Debbie called, wanting to know if you were coming to dinner on New Year’s Eve.”

Aunt Debbie was Dad’s crazy, stuck-up sister. She thought she was better than everyone else, and while she was a fantastic cook, her condescending nature could be too much at times.

“Aww, I really don’t wanna go,” I whined.

“You didn’t go last year, and she’d really like to see you.”

“Ugh, I know, but it’s such a hassle and it’ll just end up being a nightmare.”

There was a noise by the doorway and I looked up to see Andrew standing there, except, the moment my eyes should have connected with his, he looked away, moving further into the room.

What’s that all about?

“Look, Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you guys later tonight to talk to everyone else.”

“Of course. You two have a good time today.”

“We will. Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too.”

Disconnecting the call, I let my gaze wander around the room, searching for Andrew. When I found him he had his back turned to me, getting dressed in silence. The playful Andrew from earlier gone, to be replaced by . . . who the hell knows what.

I went back into the bathroom to do my hair and makeup, and few seconds later he was standing at the door.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah, just give me five minutes to finish,” I said, pulling the straightener through my hair.

“I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready.” He turned and left without another word.

Oh shit. It was nice to see we’d landed in the town of Passive Agressiva, a place that annoyed me more than anything. If you’re pissed, just say something—don’t sit there and wallow, only to tell me three day later why you were pissed because, to be honest, by then I no longer gave a shit.

Giving him a minute to calm down, I finished my hair and makeup, finally going out to the living room where my purse and coat still sat on the back of the couch from last night. That’s where Andrew was, sitting with his arms on his legs and his hands folded between his knees.

“Ready?”

Without a word, he stood and walked to the front door, the bags I’d set out yesterday, full of stuff to take to his mom’s house, already gone. I was not going to do this with him the whole car ride, and especially not on Christmas morning.

By the time I’d turned and locked the door he was already in the driver’s seat with the engine running. Taking purposeful strides, I made my way across the lot to the car. Sitting down in the passenger’s seat, I reached over and turned the car off, ripping the keys from the ignition before he could stop me.

“Hey!”

“I’m not giving these back until you explain what the hell your problem is.”

“I don’t have a problem. Now give me the keys.”

I still hadn’t shut the door, wanting an escape if he tried to get the keys back.

“Bullshit. Ever since you got out of the shower you’ve been acting like a total asshole, and I don’t want to do this with you.”

The silence continued, stretching on, making things a little uncomfortable. Eventually, Andrew spoke. “If you don’t feel like spending the day with me, then why don’t you just stay here and I’ll go to my parents’ alone.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you going to your parents, and me going to mine, just like we did last year.”

“Now why the hell would you suggest that? You need to knock this shit off and just tell me what the hell is wrong with you.”

His head snapped in my direction, eyes flashing. “Me? What’s wrong with
me?
How about, after a fantastic morning, I get in the shower only to come out and find you complaining to your mom about having to go with me today.” His hands clenched the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles where white. He was pissed, but I could feel myself tensing, my nails digging into the palm of my hands.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You overhear one side of the conversation and decide that I don’t want to spend Christmas with you?” The feeling zipping along my nerves was the exact opposite to the ecstasy of a few hours earlier.

The vein in his temple pulsed while he glared at me. “If you didn’t want to go, why didn’t you just say so in the first place?”

“I didn’t say anything because I wanted to go, but now, if you’re planning on being a complete dickhead all day, then maybe I’d rather stay here.”

Stepping out of the car, I bent down to peer back in. The flaring nostrils told me he was still pissed. Yeah, well, so was I.

“And for your information, my mom was asking about dinner at my aunt’s house on New Year’s Eve. That’s what I didn’t want to go to.”

Without another word, I threw the keys at him and spun on my heel and stormed back to the apartment, my hands shaking as I unlocked the front door and slammed it closed behind me. I couldn’t calm down as I paced the living room. It was taking every ounce of control I had not to freak-out and start yelling and throwing things.

It was fucking
Christmas
. How could he such an asshole over something so stupid? The click of the front door sent me storming back to the bedroom. When I turned to slam that door, I saw Andrew following me down the hallway.

“Em, don’t shut that door,” he said, quickening his pace.

Ignoring his request, just like he’d ignored my feelings, I shut the door in his face and locked it, moving over to the side of the bed and dropping down onto it.

“Em, please open the door,” he pleaded.

“Screw you. Just go. I’m staying here.”

The knob jiggled. “I’m trying to say I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.”

“Shit,” I heard him mutter quietly through the door.

“Come on, Em, it’s Christmas. You don’t want to spend it alone, and neither do I. Open the door so I can apologize and we can talk about this.”

That was the problem with Andrew knowing me so well, he knew exactly which buttons to push to piss me off, but he also knew exactly what to say to calm me down enough so that I might listen to him.

With a sigh, I stood up and walked over to unlock the door. While I was willing to do that, he would have to open it. I took a step back, crossed my arms over my chest, and waited.

Slowly, the door opened a crack and Andrew poked his head into the room. He looked at me for a moment, almost like he was waiting for me to throw something at him, before stepping in. He maintained a safe distance, not looking me in the eye. He would start to speak and then stop. This happened a few times until, finally, he ran a hand through his hair and lifted his eyes to mine. “Please don’t be mad.”

I raised my eyebrow. Really? I was already mad.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked what you didn’t want to go to, instead of jumping to conclusions—”

“Yeah. Instead you made your own decision and acted like an asshole.”