AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I guess I’ll be left wondering for the rest of the winter break. Either way, it made me smile and straightened my back right up.
As if my day couldn’t get any better, I got another random visit from my favorite too-cool-for-school student—Frederick—who wanted to let me know that he was passing his classes, that he was tired of feeling sorry for himself, and that he appreciated my patience and attention with him. I told him congratulations and that I did notice he picked up his grades. Then he dropped a paper invite on my desk to a holiday piano recital he was doing over the winter break and told me he’d appreciate it if I could make it, then gave me a meek little wave and headed on his way.
Morris High apparently had quite a surprising way to deliver its Christmas presents to me early. I’m leaving the office, driving home with a smile on my face.
When I pull into my driveway, I get a whole new surprise. My house was dark and boring this morning. Now, it’s decked out in flashing, vibrant lights of every color. After getting out of my car, I stand there in the yard and stare, dazzled by my own house.
Of course this is Stefan’s doing. He’s clearly been busy today.
The moment I open the front door, Stefan appears in a tight red sweater and jeans, his light brown hair a mess and his blue eyes alight with mischief. Out of nowhere, he produces something from behind his back and dangles it over our heads.
He descends on my mouth before I can get a look at it. I’m hastily silenced as the kiss intensifies. A firm hand slips around my back, pulling me into the house as the front door slams behind me. When our lips pull apart, I glance up.
“Mistletoe.”
He tosses it into the wicker chair by the door and brings both of his arms around me, holding my body against his with the force of a hundred giants. I was a bit cool outside; now I’m downright sweating against his body.
“Jeez, Stefan! You’re acting like I left you caged up in this house without any food and you’re starving!” I laugh. “What the hell’s up with you?”
He grabs my ass suddenly, pulling me against him. “I got an early Christmas present for you, that’s what.”
I lift an eyebrow. “A new sexy outfit you’re gonna model for me tonight?”
Stefan grins. “That’s for later.”
“What? You do have a new sexy outfit? I was kidding.”
“I’m not. But that’s not the early Christmas present you’re getting. The one I’m talking about is behind me.”
“Oh?” I bend to look around him.
Stefan blocks my view. “Nope, nope. Not yet.” He unties my tie, peels it right off my neck, then wiggles his finger at me. “Turn around.”
Already, my stomach is dancing with excitement. I fucking love when Stefan gets all evil-playful on me. I do as instructed, turning my back to him and facing the front door. Gently, my own tie comes around to blindfold me. I feel Stefan’s fingers work at the back of my head to secure it tightly.
There’s something about being blindfolded with your own tie that is immeasurably erotic, like your own clothes are turning against you.
He takes my hand. “Ready?”
“Guess I gotta be!”
Stefan guides me blindly through the living room and toward what I perceive is the sliding glass door to the backyard. When I step through the doorway, however, my feet touch a hard wooden surface instead of grass.
Holy crap. Did he already finish his pet project?
“How much do you love me?” he asks into my ear, tickling the hairs there and sending a wave of thrill through me.
“Just take off the damned blindfold already,” I tell him through my excited smile.
He does, slipping it off my face in one deft movement.
Before my eyes is the completed deck he’s spent the last few weeks building. It’s a beautiful mahogany-colored deck that runs along the back of my house with a small section that dips into the yard. A handcrafted table that looks more like a piece of art rests under a pretty chandelier and fan, adorned with sparkling white lights. Along the perimeter of the whole deck is a smooth, wooden banister that is dressed in Christmas lights that chase each other, twinkle, and blink in random sequences, appearing so much like glittering golden diamonds. I’m overwhelmed by the sight.
“This is fucking gorgeous, Stefan.”
“See those steps there?” he asks, pointing toward the part of the deck that dips deeper into the lawn. “They’ll lead to a hot tub, which I plan to put right next to the sister trees there. I’ll get a few decorative stones, too. Big ones.”
“It’s a damned paradise back here.”
I can’t peel my eyes away from it all. Everywhere I look, I feel like I notice something new. A pretty, ornate birdhouse hanging near the edge. A glass table on which he’s set out some of my small collectible dragons, including a wooden one that Rudy made for me as a mid-semester project in his shop class. (It looks more like a water moccasin with wings, but maybe that’s just me and Stefan and our subconscious fears, thanks to a certain day we spent at Terry Park.) There’s even a centerpiece on the table in which five lit candles create a soft, natural warm glow amidst the twinkling Christmas lights.
