Edible Delectables (16 page)

“Dinner’s ready,” Jennifer announced, as the timer on the oven sounded. 

“You guys are evil!” Kara chastised Jason in a whisper as he took her hand and led her to the dining room, followed closely by Ryan and Jaime.  The table was set with beautiful china, and holiday detailed place settings. To Kara, the room felt like something in a Martha Stewart catalog.  It was the perfect holiday set up, and once again she felt the pangs of loss of her own mother.  Caroline had always made the holidays a big deal, especially when Kara was little.

Walking around the table to the far side, Jason pulled out Kara’s chair for her, earning a nod of approval from his father.  Kara cringed when Ryan, who obviously noticed the exchange, went to help Jaime who had already pulled out her own chair and sat down.  Chancing a quick look Jeff’s way, she saw him shake his head slightly, as Ryan sighed quietly and sat down. Jeff glanced at Kara, and looked shocked to see her watching him. He gave her a sly wink to let her know he was just messing with Jaime’s new beau.

Jennifer interrupted Jeff’s antics by bringing the turkey to the table, placing it in front of him to carve.  He picked up the sharp carving knife and fork and sliced into the turkey, letting the juices flow.

“Now, what does everyone want?  Ryan?” Jeff looked pointedly at Ryan and raised his eyebrows. “Breast or thigh?” 

Kara actually felt bad for Ryan, as he sat there; a deer in the headlights.  Had she ever seen him look so uncomfortable?  Not Ryan, he was always so smooth and unruffled. Perhaps Jaime would be different, Kara smiled at the thought, but was distracted as Jason leaned in, close to her ear, “I think I actually felt his balls ascend, back inside, under my dad’s stare,” he whispered, earning a loud snort from Kara. 

Ryan looked in Kara’s direction before answering Jeff, “Neither, sir?”  It came out as more of a question.

“You don’t like turkey?” Jeff asked him, incredulously.

“Uh, I…I’m a vegetarian.”  Kara was sure she could actually see Ryan sweating as he swallowed hard, grasping for an excuse to avoid the breast or thigh question from the father of the girl he was currently sleeping with.  Still, she was shocked at the tactic he chose.

“Since when?” she asked.  Ryan looked to Kara, then to Jaime in a panic.  Jaime, as though sensing the imminent point at which the sweetest guy she had ever met would flee the table and she’d never see him again, glared at her father, and then her brother.  “I’m a vegetarian, too,” Jaime announced.  “It’s just something we’re trying. 
Together
,” she said pointedly, reaching over to hold Ryan’s hand on the table.

At Jaime’s declaration, Jason could no longer contain it and burst out laughing.  They could all see the sweat on Ryan’s brow, and nobody missed the lasers shooting from Jaime’s eyes.  Jason covered his face and tried to stifle his chuckles. After finally getting them under control he looked at Ryan, who now appeared slightly less nauseous by the save of Jason’s sister, and leaned in to whisper, “He was just fucking with you. Jaime should have just let him run another background check, like the one on the last guy she brought home.” Ryan just stared back, incredulously.

“Oh, shut up, Jason,” Jaime snapped, then turned her attention back to Ryan, giving him a demure smile, while gently squeezing his hand. Jason just chuckled again. Ryan simply nodded his head and returned the squeeze to Jaime’s hand. 

“Okay then,” Jennifer said, a little loudly, regaining everyone’s attention while handing her plate to her husband, “I’ll take some
dark
meat, dear, it’s always juicier.”  From the look she gave him, Kara knew Jeff was anything but a dear at the moment.  She imagined he was in for quite the tongue lashing later, but damn if he didn’t look like it had been worth it.  Kara noticed Jeff look over at his son, giving what could only be described as an internal high-five paired with a wink.  Jason obviously knew exactly what his father was saying with that look, probably due to years of unspoken communication, returned the wink with a nod. Kara, feeling slightly protective of her long-time friend, once again jabbed Jason in the ribs with her elbow after catching the exchange.

Jennifer placed her plate, now with turkey on it, back on the table then grabbed the bottle of wine Kara had brought, and opened it. She walked around the table filling glasses, and as she approached Kara’s, Kara declined, asking only for water, which Jason immediately got for her.  His mother paused, looking at Kara curiously for a brief moment as though running through the reasons a woman would decline a glass of wine. Kara could actually see the moment a possible pregnancy had registered, and was rather entertained how Jason’s mother’s features morphed from mild concern to excitement in the span of a nanosecond. 

“Just not a fan,” Kara explained, speaking clearly and without hesitation, and she snickered softly as Jennifer’s face fell slightly before she moved on to fill another glass.

After passing around the rest of the food, Jeff stood up for a toast:

“Here’s to a long life - and a merry one. 

A quick death - and an easy one. 

A pretty girl - and an honest one. 

A glass of wine - and another one!” 

They all raised their glasses in cheers, and Jason leaned in to kiss Kara on the cheek.  “Merry Christmas,” he whispered in her ear.

When dinner was over they gathered in the living room to open presents.  Jason’s parents had given Kara a gift certificate for a spa day downtown, and she was floored by their generosity.  She momentarily felt bad about the gift card for dinner she had gotten them in return, but Jason insisted his family was always like this, and they didn’t expect anything other than his and Jaime’s happiness.  Kara did an internal Snoopy dance at the implication
she
was gift enough to their son.  She was pulled from her internal celebration by Jaime’s squeal of delight.  Jason had given her tickets to Wicked, inside the box for a Ped Egg.  Kara snorted when she saw the box, giving Jason a questioning look, to which he just shrugged and smiled.

Jeff, clearly trying to make up for his earlier harassment of Ryan, pulled him aside and apologized for messing with him, before handing him an envelope with a gift card inside. 

“We didn’t know anything about you, so it’s pretty generic,” he half apologized gruffly, but Ryan waved him off and thanked him profusely for the gift.  Jeff smiled and gave him the same type of one-armed man hug he’d given Jason earlier, before returning to his wife’s side.

Kara’s attention returned to Jaime, when Jason’s sister once again clapped for joy after opening Kara’s gift.  Inside was a deluxe microplush Snuggie.  Kara smiled proudly as Jennifer declared she wanted one, too.

“Christmas Eve’s a little late to be adding to your list, don’t you think?” Jeff asked.

Jennifer just bumped his shoulder and shushed him, then told him it would be fine if he ordered it after the holiday.  Jeff rolled his eyes at his wife but gave her a chaste kiss.

~*~

As the evening wound down, Jaime announced she and Ryan were leaving, giving Jason and Kara an exit, as well.  He pulled Kara up from the couch to say their goodbyes, and soon they were back in his car headed for his townhouse.

“Your family is wonderful,” Kara stated, turning away from gazing out the window.

“Thank you, they liked you, too.” He reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips to brush a soft kiss across her knuckles before settling it in his lap as he drove..

Noticing movement, he glanced over to see her slowly reaching over and unbuckling her seatbelt, turning to face him as she pulled her hand free from his.  He returned his eyes to the road, but continued to glance at her, unsure of what she was doing.

“It’s past midnight,” she whispered in a sultry voice, “want one of your gifts?” Jason continued the rapid back and forth between her lustful gaze and the road, as he swallowed hard and nodded, unsure his voice would work.

Kara gingerly reached over and unbuttoned Jason’s pants, slowly slipping the zipper down, licking her lips as she did so.  Jason was sure now that spontaneous combustion was real, and it was going to happen to him at any minute.  Once she had his zipper down, she eased her hand into his boxers, pulling out his now fully aroused cock, gently stroking it up and down.  Jason’s breathing became heavy as he switched on the cruise control for the car, not trusting his multitasking skills that far; they’d be lucky if he could brake and steer at this point.  When she lowered her mouth to him and his eyes rolled back, he quickly signaled to pull into a vacant shopping strip parking lot.

This was the Best.  Christmas.  Ever.

~*~

The following morning Kara woke up at seven, still exhausted and completely sated from the night before.  Today they were headed to her father’s house, and for the first time in their Christmas history, she and her father both had dates.  Eva and Eric were going to be joining them for dinner, and Kara couldn’t wait to introduce Jason to everyone.  Evalyn had already met him, but that was before they had declared themselves a couple, and somehow it felt different now.

Chapter Fourteen

Waking up Christmas morning, Kara couldn’t imagine a better gift than lying naked next to Jason.  His warmth surrounded her as his arms held her close, and his legs entwined with hers.  Kara had never been one for snuggling much, preferring her space while she slept, but with Jason it was different.  His heartbeat relaxed her; his steady breathing and warm embrace a constant reminder of his presence.  His affections, which appeared to be growing daily alongside her own, reminded her she was no longer alone. 

She was in love. 

Of course she couldn’t say that out loud.  She refused to be one of those women who declared, weeks into a relationship, they were in love with every man they dated.  Having only been dating Jason a few weeks; she could only imagine what he’d think if she admitted these feelings now.

Shaking off her thoughts, Kara gently slipped out of Jason’s arms and tiptoed to the bathroom, careful not to wake him.  Quietly she took care of business and washed her hands, then tiptoed back to the bed.  Just as she was settling in beside him, Jason reached out and pulled her to him, snuggling her back to his chest.

“Good morning,” his voice was gruff with sleep, as he gently kissed her jaw and nuzzled his nose to her ear.

“Merry Christmas,” Kara replied softly, her arms covering his as they wrapped around her stomach and she looked back at him over her shoulder.

“Mmm … Merry Christmas,” Jason returned the greeting, gazing at her through his half open eyelids as he smiled; leaning forward he kissed her nose.

“Would you like breakfast?” she asked, rolling over to face him.

He chuckled softly, “Maybe…”

“What would you like?” 

“You,” he answered, as he rolled her onto her back, climbing on top of her, while settling himself between her legs.

Kara swatted his arm.  “Seriously, are you hungry?”

“Very.”  Jason gave her a mischievous grin, and then slowly began kissing his way down her body.

“Jason,” Kara tried to admonish him with a serious tone, but couldn’t stop the giggle that slipped out as his tongue tickled her navel.  He kissed his way over to her surgery scar, which was still rather red looking, and pressed his lips to it softly.  Kara ran her hands through his soft hair, earning her a moan as he looked back up at her with a lazy smile before returning his lips to the path they were on.  He inched his way downwards excruciatingly slowly, and Kara could feel her excitement burning her alive once he finally hit his destination.  Her hands returned to his hair, her knees came up on either side of his head, and she opened herself up as widely as possible.

“Jason,” she breathed his name again, this time merely a whisper as her head rocked back and forth.  He didn’t respond with words, instead using his hands and tongue to communicate.  He slipped his left hand under her leg, wrapping it around her thigh up near her hip and anchored himself to her.  His right hand caressed her other thigh as he moved to slip it inside her.  She immediately clenched around him releasing a loud moan of pleasure.  He began working her, slipping another finger inside, moving them around as her breathing increased.  Her hands tightened in his hair while her breathing became erratic.  He sped up his ministrations with his tongue, flicking it back and forth, up and down, over and over while his hand pumped her as deeply as it could.  Finally, his efforts were awarded with her orgasm as she came hard, pulling his hair roughly and yelling out profanities mixed with pleas to deities and his name. 

“Fuck, Jason,” Kara said breathlessly, her eyes still closed as she came down from her high.

“Okay,” Jason snickered as he climbed back up her body. He grabbed at the sheet, quickly wiping down his face before flipping her over onto her stomach, causing her to yelp in surprise.  He laughed at her reaction as he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a condom.

~*~

“Last one,” he noted, ripping it open and rolling it down his length.

“I made an appointment to get back on the pill,” Kara’s voice was muffled by her head in the pillow.  Jason couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face at the thought of being with her, nothing in between them.  He had never been opposed to condoms, in fact he’d always worn one, following the old adage ‘better safe than sorry’, but he knew with Kara it was different.  She wasn’t just some girl - she was
his
girl.  More than once he’d been tempted to forego wrapping it up; amazed the thought of her getting pregnant didn’t cause automatic panic down into his bones, though he knew neither of them were ready for that.  He would admit he was glad she was going to take birth control, it would allow for more spontaneity.  But just as he was grateful, he also felt certain one day they would go without any prevention.  One day.   That thought alone made his heart pound.