I knock on the door, anxious to see my dad. When he opens the door, a rush of emotions covers me. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him.
“CeeCee,” Dad says, pulling me into a hug.
“Hey, daddy,” I tell him. “It’s so good to see you.”
I step inside his place, setting my bag in the foyer, looking around confused.
“This place seems like more than what you talked about wanting.”
“I tried to send you some pictures of it on my phone, but this damn smart phone is too complicated. I need you to give me a tutorial.”
“Dad,” I laugh. “You seriously don’t know how to text message a photograph?”
He shrugs, smiling. “Truth is, I wanted you to see it in person. Sometimes things can be misunderstood when you aren’t face-to-face.”
That when I notice we aren’t alone. Someone else is in this house.
“CeeCee,” he begins. “I didn’t want to say it over the phone....”
“You moved in with someone?” My eyes widen in surprise, but also grateful to know my dad isn’t all alone for the holidays. When I suggested Match.com a few months ago, he laughed it off. Maybe he didn’t laugh for long.
I’ve read the statistics; it’s very common for men to remarry quickly after being widowed. I’ve wanted my dad to find someone.
But this is a bit of whiplash.
“Are you guys married?” I ask seeing the ring on her finger.
“Not yet, we wanted everyone to meet.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“We wanted it to be a Christmas surprise. CeeCee, this is Shelly.”
Shelly smiles at me, warm and friendly. While she isn’t Mom, she does reach out and give me a hug, and when I look up at my father, he is beaming.
All my fears of my dad being all alone and heartbroken disappear, and relief washes over me. He looks happy, which is all I’d ever hope for him, especially at Christmas.
“Congratulations,” I tell them. “This is quite the Christmas surprise.”
Just then another cab pulls up to the house. With the front door still open, I turn and look to see who is here.
A man walks toward the house but it’s so dark I can’t make out his face
“Oh, my son is here, I can’t wait for you to meet him,” Shelly says walking out the front door with open arms.
My mouth falls open, and I wonder when the hell my life became a romance novel.
My mountain man is here.
What the Merry Christmas?
Chapter Eight
CeeCee
The idea of my father marrying a woman I’ve just met throws me for a loop. But it is nothing in comparison to seeing Bradley walk into the house with Shelly.
When he sees me, he drops his bag, his eyes wider than mine, shock is written plainly on his face.
“Are you?” he asks. “Is this some...?”
I realize he doesn’t connect the dots. He’s as thrown by his mother’s new relationship as I am.
“Did you know I was coming here?” he asks.
I smile. “No. I’m not a stalker.”
“Then what is this?” He shakes his head, looking around. My father stretches out his hand and offers it to him.
“I’m Donald.”
Bradley takes the proffered hand but then steps back looking at his mom.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, Bradley, you know I told you I was dating someone.”
“Yeah,” Bradley says slowly running a hand through his hair.
“Well, it got serious. We’re getting married and we moved in together last week.”
“CeeCee, did you know about this?”
I shake my head. “I had no clue.”
Bradley looks at me, both of us still clearly dazed. “This is insane, right?” he asks me. “What are the odds?”
“I don’t know but it’s kind of amazing, right?”
“You know CeeCee?” Shelly interrupts.
I bite my bottom lip, knowing just how well Bradley knows me.
“Are Thomas and Katrina here?” Bradley asks, avoiding her question, looking around the quiet foyer.
“They are, but it’s after two in the morning and they had a long day of travel as well. They’re already in bed.”
“CeeCee?” my dad asks. “You and Bradley have met?”
“We met on the plane,” I tell them. “And...” I look at Bradley, not knowing how he wants to play this.
But I know how I want this to go down. I want our parents to know that what Bradley and I have is not a one-time thing. This is too much of a coincidence to ignore.
“CeeCee is going to be my New Year’s Eve date,” Bradley says crossing his arms. “I hope that’s okay with you, sir,” he says to my dad. “But how could I not ask her out? I sat next to her for two hours and fell hard.”
“You have time to flirt with girls and go on dates but you give me a hassle about coming home for Christmas?” his mom asks crossing her arms playfully.
“So we’re going on a date?”
“Of course, we are,” Bradley says, nodding his head. “CeeCee and I, we have something special. And your relationship,” he says, pointing at his mother and then to my father and back, “isn’t going to fuck with that.”
My mouth drops open in shock. Also, I’m completely loving how forward he is. This could become some stepbrother secret relationship, but not with Bradley. He puts it all out there.
“You’re insane, Bradley,” I tell him.
“No. I just got the best Christmas present and I’m not letting her go.”
My dad and Shelly watch us, bemused and slightly shocked that their news has so quickly been usurped by ours.
“Dad, Shelly, I hope you don’t mind, but Bradley and I are exhausted. Can you show us the guest room?”
At this, it’s Bradley’s turn to look at me with both shock and pride. I just walked into my father’s new house, met his new bride, and asked to share a bedroom with her son.
I pick up my suitcase, full of confidence. Full of anticipation. Full of holiday spirit.
I smile at Bradley. “Let’s Merry Christmas.”
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His Sugarplum
Curves for Christmas
By Frankie Love
When I win a poker game on Christmas Eve, I never imagined the pot would be so damn good.
Sugar’s a prize I don’t deserve.
Her curves make my cock ache and her honey blonde hair has me wound up tightly.
I don’t make it a habit of treating women like they are possessions.
But if I leave her here, with these men, she’ll be devoured.
Now my job is to protect her. At all costs.
This year, it’s a dark-ass Christmas, but Sugar doesn’t seem bitter about her situation.
Truth is, she seems downright pleased to be shut up in my cabin with me.