A Christmas Collin (Bringing Home Trouble)

Chapter 8

8

COLLIN

" H ey there, Jelly Bean. Where are you?" I can see her eyes blank until my voice pulls her back into this moment of us together. The soft curves of her silhouette feel magical under my touch, and I grip her waist while she rides me toward my second climax.

It doesn't take long before I'm spilling myself inside of her, and we're lying together in bed. That was insane, and it also made something shift inside me.

She lets out a yawn and sighs, her fingers tickling a trail down my chest. I grab it, sucking on her fingers and letting out a primitive growl of possession. She belongs to me, and letting her go is not an option. Not anymore. Not after last night and today.

"Where'd you go there?" I ask her after a few moments of silence.

"Just thinking about stuff that scares people."

"While my cock's buried inside you? I hope I ain't scare ya, Jelly Bean."

"No, of course not." She pushes herself up to rest on her elbow. "I scared myself. I started thinking about what's going to happen after the holiday is over. We both go back to our separate lives, and I … I don't want this to just stop."

"Being that I make weekly trips to D.C., I don't see why we have to stop. I can come to see you in Piedmont or Bahama. Whatever you want, wherever you want, Jelly Bean."

I stroke the side of her face, bringing her down to me for a kiss that leaves her breathless and me wanting more. Hours pass with us spending time together in my house. From our conversations to making love, being with Danielle is everything I imagined it would be and more. She’s always been a bright spot in my life. Like everything is lighter, brighter, and more colorful when she’s around.

Eventually, I get around to fixing her car, which doesn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. It would have been done faster had we not distracted ourselves with rule-breaking sexual punishments, but I wouldn't trade this time with Danielle for anything in the world. We’re trying to make up for all the time we lost, and we can’t get enough of each other.

The sound of her phone ringing interrupts our time together, and she convinces me to come with her to the bar.

"Are you sure you don't want to hang out with just your siblings?" I ask her on our drive over to one of the few bars in Heffen's Bluff.

"I'm sure. Besides, Ev said Josh got some news, and he's throwing them back. Hilary broke up with him in his DMs."

"Ouch. That sucks."

Danielle shrugs slightly, her lips curling downward. "He's going to be a mess. He was planning to ask her to marry him. We had lunch a few weeks ago, and he was asking about rings and how to propose. This really fucking sucks."

"Well, maybe we can help cheer him up."

"Are you going to sing?" Her eyes glisten with mischief. "Josh would love to hear me butcher a tune, so it's only right you join me in the karaoke shenanigans."

"I'll join you, but I don't think I'll sound too good. It's been a long time since I had to use this voice to carry a note."

"Wait, you get stage fright, don't you?" Her eyes light up, and she snaps her fingers. "I knew you were afraid of something. Okay, this is great. You get to see me work, and I can repay you for everything you're doing for me. Besides, if I help you, and Ev and Josh get to see me work, it will show them that my job is real, you know? Then they'll tell Mom, and even she won't be able to deny that I have a real job."

"Hold on, Jelly Bean."

The excitement about her work keeps Danielle from letting me get a word in. "Now that we have an idea of what to work on, I can give you some tools to deal with your fear of public stages. This is going to be an intimate setting, maybe fifty people at the most."

"Jelly Bean?—"

"So, I want you to focus on me. It doesn't matter if I'm on stage beside you or in front of you. Focusing on one person gives you the chance to tune everyone else out. It can feel like we're the only people in the room. When you get that nervous feeling, that anxiety, I need you to take three really deep breaths and focus."

"Danielle—"

"One thing to keep in mind is that this isn't as serious as you may think it is. A lot of times, we're often so critical of ourselves that we put astronomical expectations on our performance. We're waiting for our audience to be disappointed, which ignites the fear and stops us from performing altogether."

"Are you saying my performance disappointed you, Jelly Bean?"

"What?" Her head snaps in my direction, but I keep my eyes on the road. A smile spreads across my face as she stumbles slightly over her words. "No, you were great. You felt amazing. You were perfect."

"Punishment included?" I ask her, just to see the crimson creeping across her cheeks. Memories of her sliding back and forth over my cock brings heat to my face as well.

"Punishment performance was exceptionally good. I'd even say you can go a little harder next time."

"Well, now, Jelly Bean, that excites me. I'm looking forward to testing the limits of pain and pleasure between us."

"I'm open to that, but don't distract me with sexy time talk. We need to talk about your fear of stages and performing."

I chuckle to myself. "I already told ya, Jelly Bean. I'm not scared of anything."

"We'll see." She smirks and squeezes my knee as we pull into the parking lot of Lost & Found. It's nearly full, and music is playing through the outdoor speakers. The scent of fried food wafts through the air, and the aroma of beer hits us the moment we step inside the place.

A stage is set in the corner where live bands play, a poor excuse of a mini Christmas tree standing off to the side. Tonight, two people are laughing and singing into the microphone. The words they're supposed to sing along to scroll from a projector across the wall beside the stage. It's an off-key rendition of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You.

A table of girls cheers them on, and we're only here a few minutes before Evelyn calls us over to her and Josh. Josh slouches in his chair, dragging his finger around the rim of his glass. He doesn’t look too good, and I feel bad for him.

"Great, first Jake and now you, Collin." My name rings with disdain from Josh as he gulps the rest of his drink down his throat. He whirls his finger in the air to signal another round to the table.

"Maybe you should slow down, Josh." Danielle rubs his back, her eyes full of sympathy and her forehead creased with worry.

He shrugs away from her grasp. "You slow down. You should slow down. Because of you, I put brake fluid in the oil, and you lucked around with Mr. Right-On-Time here, but I'm stuck. Stuck like you were on the highway. I'm stuck, and Hilary's stuck sucking some guy’s?—“

"Enough, Joshie," Evelyn chimes in after taking a drink of the fresh beer brought to the table. "Don't let this get you down. Hil-fuckery is going to be out of your system in a few weeks, and you'll move on to the next double-D delight in a navy pinstripe pantsuit."

I pull a chair over with a laugh, but before I can sit, Josh clicks his tongue. "No song means no beer and no chair for you, Mr. Wright."

Danielle throws me a crooked smile and tips her head to the stage.

One of the bartenders grabs the mic. "Sign the list and sing the song. Titles are in the binder. Who's next?"

"I think that's our cue, Collin." Danielle beams, not even bothering to hide her excitement. She leans in close to whisper in my ear, "Don't worry. I sing so bad that no one's going to even pay attention to how nervous you are."

"Jelly Bean, for the last time, I ain't scared."

"Prove it."

Ah. Two words that always push me to make questionable choices. With a sigh, I walk away from the table and toward the stage. The bartender is an acquaintance, familiar with me since they get their car fixed at my shop.

Her smile widens as she announces me as the next singer. "Oh, this ought to be good. Come on up, Collin. Song choice?"

I flip the binder open and see the tune I'm going to use just to show Danielle how much stage fright I don't have. Karaoke isn’t my idea of a fun night, but there’s a secret thrill in knowing I’m about to surprise the hell out of my woman.

The soft intro of You're Just Too Good to Be True by Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons plays, and I hold Dani’s gaze, my mouth quirking up.

The lyrics come to me effortlessly, one wholesome foster home memory of long ago playing in the back of my mind. Each word hits the right note, and the melody builds until my favorite part of the song comes up.

"I love you, baby, and if it's quite all right, I need you, baby…"

Everyone's eyes are on me, full of shock, awe, and, more importantly, admiration. By the time I close out the song, everyone's on their feet, and Danielle's standing at the table, clasping her hands in front of her, her eyes shiny with tears.

"Aw, don't cry, Jelly Bean," I tell her as the next person takes over the karaoke stage. My thumb swipes the stray tear falling down her cheek. "Is my singing that bad?"

"How? When? It's beautiful."

"Mr. Fucking Perfect." Josh snorts and rolls his eyes.

"No." I turn to face him, tired of being the object of his scorn, even though I don’t remember doing anything to him. "Remember the whole ‘not having a family’ thing? You know the reason people call me Leftie, Josh? It's because when I was six, the boys' home I was placed in, an orphanage … Every kid got adopted but me. I was the only one left. So no, I'm not Mr. Fucking Perfect, far from it, and I don’t even give a shit." I shake my head with pity for him as I grab a beer, toss it back to take a long swallow, and walk away from the table.