AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yep,” I say, popping the “p” proudly.
He leans back, taking another drink of his beer. The tree lights light up his face in distinct colors. “I was like that for a long time. You have to have a strict schedule to play professionally. Eating, working out, studying, practice, team meetings. I even scheduled downtime.”
I raise my brows, but I don’t know why. I do the absolute same. On Saturdays, I read a book for two hours, and that’s what I call my “me” time.
“It’s exhausting,” he says, peering over at me.
“But worth it,” I say with a smile, holding up my mug.
He clicks his beer glass against it and nods. “Totally worth it.”
He looks away, face somber as he stares at the lights. I join him, snuggling into his side, and gaze at the tree until my eyes close.
seventeen
I awake to a foreign feeling.Blinking, I wait until my eyes come into focus. Bending over me is Uncle Cam. He’s tracing his fingers over my cheeks with a smile on his face. I turn over, stretching, still blissfully in my morning haze until I see him with a towel around his hips, his naked chest on full display.
“Hey,” he says. “If you don’t wake up now, the guests are going to be forced to eat whatever disastrous concoction I come up with.”
I shoot up in bed, and he has to jump back. My stare lingers over the unfamiliar things in this room. It doesn’t look like the other rooms. It’s actually lived in, personalized. “Am I in your room?” I practically gasp.
He chuckles. “You fell asleep on me last night, and I…didn’t want to carry you up the stairs.”
“I slept in your bed?” I ask, unable to believe it.
“Is that okay?”
It hits me then that I didn’t once wake up in the middle of the night. I slept like a baby. It could’ve been the alcohol.Yeah, probably the alcohol.I whip the sheets off me. “Yeah, fine. Absolutely fine.”
My toes dig into the plush area rugs surrounding his bed. There’s a dresser in the corner with a book titled, “Walking Miracle” on the top. I run my fingers over it as Uncle Cam retreats to his closet on the opposite side of the room. His room is well-kept and clean. Instead of the country decor in the rest of the house, his sheets are dark blue, almost silky to the touch.
Uncle Cam drops the towel, and my stare immediately finds his muscled ass. Despite the fact that he doesn’t play professionally anymore, he’s still in amazing shape.
“You can use my shower,” he calls out over his shoulder. “I’ll run to get some clothes from your room.” He pulls on a pair of boxers and turns, catching me staring at him. “Just tell me what you want.” He quirks his lips.
“Yeah, um.” I make myself look away. “Just a pair of jeans and that gray sweater I have? Everything should be put away in the dresser.”
Reaching behind him, he grabs his own pair of jeans and starts pulling them on. “Great. I’ll be right back down.” He picks out a collared shirt from the hangers before leaving the room. He’s still pulling it on as the door closes behind him. I let out a breath, but then the door opens again. “I forgot,” he says, smiling in at me. “Merry Christmas Eve.”
Merry Christmas Eve? How is it almost Christmas already? Nothing’s the same as previous years, but this also feels so good. “Merry Christmas Eve,” I respond, stomach clenching. Yesterday must have done him some good. He’s…happy.
He shuts the door, and I immediately head into the shower. By the time I’m done, my clothes are laid out on his made bed. I can smell bacon seeping in from under the door, so I hurry and change. I dry my hair as much as I can, thinking the whole time about how I can’t believe he let me in his bed. I slept next to him.
The only bad thing about it is that I don’t remember it at all.
Uncle Cam and I cook breakfast for the guests. Everyone is in happy spirits, just like last night. Mrs. Williams proposes we all go to the Christmas fair, and instead of balking at the idea, Uncle Cam agrees.
I guess miracles really do happen during Christmas.
The older woman winks at me. “They don’t put Kahlua in their hot chocolate, but it’s still good.”
“Oh, calling me out, are we? That’s not very festive,” I tease.
“Festive was the way you were singing ‘Deck the Halls’ at the top of your lungs last night,” the man from the second couple jokes.
All I can do is laugh. He’s not wrong. I playfully cringe. “So, are we all agreeing that I shouldn’t drink today?”
“No,” Mr. Williams says. “Please do. That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
