Under the Mistle-Foe (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

JETT

“Could it be her?” Remy muttered as we watched a woman add something to the arch. He’d been watching the mistletoe arch like a hawk since yesterday, determined to figure out who this mysterious Secret Santa was.

The suspense was driving him up the walls, and I’d been pulled in a random corner for kisses to curb his need for a smoke more times than I could count in the past few hours. Not that I was complaining. I was more than happy to be used for my kisses.

“Calm down, babe. Maybe this person doesn’t want to be found,” I replied, not really paying attention since we’d had this conversation at least ten times in the past hour. My eyes skimmed through the code I was studying, trying to figure out why it wasn’t working the way I wanted.

“Babe? Is that what we’re calling each other now?” Warm arms wrapped around me as Remy pressed against me in the booth seat and pressed a kiss to my neck. “Though I think ‘sweetie’ is better for you, considering all the sweets you eat. Which, by the way, I still don’t think is very healthy either.”

I blinked at him. “Wait, what? ”

He laughed. “I knew you weren’t paying attention. But no take-backsies. You called me babe, and I’m claiming it. I now officially go by ‘babe.’”

“ Babe , how about getting back to work? You’re making poor Rory do everything by himself back there,” Adam grumbled, giving Remy a whack on his head.

“Ow! And eww! Never call me that again, okay? Glad we had this talk.” Remy shot his dad a glare, which the older man returned with the most exasperated expression I’d seen on him. Remy ignored him, leaned into me, and whispered, “You, on the other hand, are legally required to call me babe.”

I watched his departing back, still confused about what the hell had just happened. Adam merely shook his head and returned to his seat behind the register. I quickly finished my work, then went home to spend some time with the cats.

The only complaint I had about dating Remy so far was the fact he had to work weekends. Tourists from nearby cities would make a day trip to our little holiday town, which meant weekends were some of the busiest times at the diner. Instead of moping at home, I made plans to have lunch with my friends. It had been a while since I’d seen them since they were also busy with the holiday rush at the pub and planning a wedding.

Jenna already had plans that day, so she couldn’t make it, but Kody and Nikita were excited to hear about my new boyfriend, practically grilling me about my new man. They were surprised to hear who it was though.

“Remy? I know you said you two were friends now, but didn’t you hate the guy in high school?” Nikita asked, pointing his fry at me.

God, did I really act that badly back then for everyone to think I hated the man when it was the exact opposite? I held my head in shame while I told my friends all the stupid things I’d done in high school all for the sake of getting Remy’s attention.

They caught me up with their lives too. Kody and Jenna had hired a wedding planner, who just so happened to be Jenna’s childhood best friend. Nikita was really excited about the bachelor party and chatted about it for the rest of lunch.

Before we left, Kody asked if Remy would be attending the wedding as my plus-one. I honestly hadn’t thought about it, but now that it was mentioned, I wanted him to come. One of my best friends was getting married, and I wanted Remy to be there to share the special memory.

I left lunch with my mind on how to ask him, wondering if it was too soon to attend a big event like this together. I grabbed my laptop from home and returned to the diner to work until Remy finished for the day. Remy found me in my usual spot after he finished getting ready for closing. The staff had gone home, and Adam had left with Rob a few hours earlier, leaving the diner empty save me and Remy.

I realized I was being silly worrying about Remy’s answer, so I straight up asked him to be my date for Kody’s wedding. He didn’t even hesitate to agree, which honestly made me laugh for worrying over nothing.

We sat in the booth, chatting about our day. I was shocked to find Remy had given up finding the mysterious Secret Santa since it was only the second day of his investigation.

He sat beside me in the booth, arms slung around my back, head slouched onto my neck as he gestured to the front where a giggling little girl was adding a tiny animal pinecone to the arch.

A woman, who I assumed was the mom, clapped, while the little girl puffed up her chest, looking so proud of herself.

“There’s been similar scenes all day and not just with children. I’ve seen teenagers hang up stockings and keychains. Couples have stopped by to hang up locks and keys. One couple even took a Polaroid picture kissing under the mistletoe and hung that up! Hell, I’ve even seen people hang around the arch, looking at all the different things decorating it. And the one thing they all had in common was they all left with smiles on their faces.”

Remy’s fingers absentmindedly played with my shoulder as he fell silent. He stared at the arch, lost in thought.

“I once asked Mom why we were putting things we loved on display, and it was only after I saw all these people come around that I remembered her answer. She said the same thing as the Secret Santa, that cherished memories grow when shared.” His fingers tightened on my shoulders, and I covered his hand with mine. “I think Mom would be very happy to know her tradition continues to bring joy to others.”

He faced me, eyes shining but a huge smile on his face.

“Yeah. I think she would too,” I replied and pressed soft kisses to each of his eyelids. They trembled under my lips, but his tears didn’t fall. I wrapped him in my arms, my head resting into the nook of his neck, getting as close as I physically could in this tiny booth seat so he knew it was okay to have these big feelings and he didn’t have to stumble through them by himself.

We held each other for who knew how long, watching the random straggler walk up to the arch and leave behind their precious memory to share with everyone.

After the third person left their addition to the community joy, we packed up to head home too. Remy locked the diner door behind me, then stopped under the arch and looked at all the items peeking out from the green plastic foliage that covered the entire thing.

He pulled something from his pocket, then found a spot on the arch and tied the item there. When he moved his hand, I saw it was one of my cherry lollipops I’d stashed in his jacket to help curb his urge for a smoke.

I laughed, and he pulled me against him, swallowing my happiness with his cherry flavored kiss. The moment made even sweeter with all the beautiful memories surrounding us and the mistletoe hanging above our heads.

Afterward, we returned home hand-in-hand. The cats greeted us by the door, meowing their protest about their late dinner, which had me adding an automatic food dispenser to my online shopping cart. Not like there weren’t already a dozen or so items in the cart for them.

Remy and I played with the cats for a while, well, mostly with Spice, since Sugar preferred to loaf around and watch us. When the cats decided they’d rather cuddle for a little nap, I pulled Remy into the shower, where I proceeded to lather him with soap. He melted under my hands, letting out soft sighs and moans that woke up a certain eager part of me.

I could barely wait to dry us off before pushing him onto the bed. Lust darkened his eyes and his hot hands grabbed at me, greedy for a release. But I didn’t let him have his way and took my time loving every inch of his skin. These feelings had been growing for longer than I could remember, and while it was too early to speak them out loud, that didn’t mean I couldn’t show him.

Kissing the path down his neck and to his chest, I gave extra love to his chest before following his light patting of hair down his treasure trail and moving around his leaking cock to mouth his balls. We hadn’t talked about butt stuff yet, so I pressed the briefest of kisses against his taint before kissing down his leg to show my love to each of his toes.

I kissed every part of his body except the hard pillar that stood tall and proud between his legs, crying with precum to be touched.

“Fuck, you’re such a tease,” Remy growled, eyes burning with desire as he watched me move down his body. “Can I expect to come at some point tonight?”

Laughing, I gently bit his nipple, causing a delicious gasp from above me. “Only because you’ve been so good,” I said with a wink, then swallowed his length deep down my throat. He hit that delicious spot again, but before I even had time to have my fun, Remy was shouting out his orgasm. His hands tightened in my hair as he came down from his high.

When his breathing settled a bit, he pulled me above him. His mouth ravished mine as his tongue dominated our tango. I’d noticed he liked kissing after I gave him a blowjob, and the idea that he was chasing the taste of his pleasure on my tongue had me so worked up that I’d spilled into his fist embarrassingly quick.

Our kisses turned languid and more tender as our heartbeats fell into a slow rhythm. The perfect moment was interrupted by insistent meowing outside my door.

“At least they waited until we finished,” Remy said. We shared a look, then burst into laughter as I went to let my little needy babies in.