Red Hot Christmas (19 page)

“No, please.” She pushed his hand away.

“Sorry, sweetie, I need to cool you down. You're burning up.” Finally, when she settled back down and fell asleep again, he laid the cloth over her forehead and went downstairs to let Jackie out.

He saw a large container of soup in the fridge and heated up two bowls. Grabbing a bag of rolls, he carried the bowls up on a large tray. He'd brought a tall glass of orange juice, just in case she wanted some.

He forced her to down the entire bowl of soup and enjoyed every drop of his. Back downstairs, he heated up a second bowl for himself. He couldn't believe how perfect she'd made his grandmother's homemade soup. It had been years since his gran had made it. Closing his eyes, he could just see his gran standing in the kitchen, rolling the dough and cooking the meat off the chicken bones.

When he opened the fridge to put the rest of the soup away, he noticed a large container with a lid on it. He hadn't seen it before. He pulled it out and almost dropped it when he pulled the lid back. Brownies. He grabbed a knife and cut a huge piece off. When he bit into the rich goodness, his heart soared. He sat down and finished off his brownie, then he let Jackie out and watched her play in the yard. He went back up to check on Amber, and as he stood over her and watched her sleep, he knew he'd never let her go after this.

He let her sleep for a few hours, then checked on her again, making sure she drank plenty of fluids. He decided a shower would be just the thing for her. He knew how unsteady he'd been on his feet, so he helped her to the bathroom, then stripped down and joined her, holding her up as the spray worked wonders on both of their sore muscles.

“Did you mean what you said?” She leaned her head against his chest.

“What?” He ran soapy hands over her hair.

“That I'm your family?”

He didn't know what she was talking about, but to him it sounded good. “Sure, sweetie.” He tilted her so the spray cleaned the shampoo out of hair.

“Mmm, that feels good. I want you to be my family, because my family sucks.” He looked down into her face and could see that her blue eyes were cloudy. He felt her naked body next to his, and the heat was almost unbearable. He turned the water temperature down a little, trying to cool her skin.

“No,” she pulled closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. Her teeth started to chatter. “It's too cold.”

“Sorry, baby, I've got to bring your temperature down. You don't want me to call Aaron and have him give you a shot, now, do you?”

“No.” She buried her head into his shoulder. “Take me to bed. I'm so tired.”

“Okay, baby. Just a while longer.” He kept her next to him until he felt her skin start to cool. Then he carried her into his room, and laying her on top of the comforter, he quickly changed the sheets around her. Once half the bed was made, he moved her over to the clean side and covered her up as he fixed the other side. When he checked her again, her temperature had fallen, and she was fast asleep.

He sat down at this desk to get a few things done, and it was close to midnight before she stirred again. He'd woken her several times to push fluids into her, but this time, he heated up a bowl of soup.

“Wow, this is really good.” She sat up in his bed, spooning the soup she'd made him into her mouth. “I think it tastes even better the day after you make it.”

“Funny, I’ve always thought so, too. Gran used to freeze it in these small containers to keep some handy, and I always enjoyed it even more the second time around.”

“Maybe that's why I ended making so much. I followed her recipe and ended up with a huge pot full. Next time I can freeze some.”

He smiled. “As long as you promise me some. I think it should be some sort of rule that I get some of everything you make from that box.”

She looked at him, “Did you eat all those brownies?”

He laughed. “No, I was good. Do you want some?”

“Mmm, actually, a big slice of brownie does sound really good right about now.”

“I bet we can find some old TV shows to watch, if you want? I'll get the brownies, you find the shows.”

“Sounds like a date.” She fluffed the pillow next to her.

They sat up in his bed, eating brownies and watching old Gilligan's Island reruns. He'd never had a better date with anyone.

I
t took Amber a few days to recover from the flu. It had gone around town and half the staff of the Golden Oar had been out that week with it. Even Aaron had caught it and had to call in a doctor from Edgeview to cover his clinic until he recovered.

When she finally made it back to the Golden Oar, she was shocked to see the progress. The back room was painted, the ceiling tiles were in, and they were working on putting in the new hardwood flooring.  They had promised to be done in the next day or so. All that would remain were the finally touches.

The fish tank was set to be delivered and set up on Monday. Everything was going to be ready for the Christmas party just a week away.

Since she'd taken last weekend to be with Luke and had been knocked out with the flu, she'd neglected her Christmas shopping, so, she changed schedules with Thomas and cut out early one day to head into Edgeview get caught up. She didn't have a lot of people to buy for, mainly Luke and Jackie, but she did want to get each of the Jordans something small and something for each of the staff members she'd become close to.

She enjoyed the short drive to Edgeview, and by the time she was returning home, snow was steadily falling. The Christmas party was now just a few days away, and she felt she had plenty of time to wrap all her presents. When she got back, she spent an hour precisely wrapping each one and placing them under her tree. Even with the lights going and Christmas music playing, there was still something missing. Amber sat in the dark watching the lights and listening to the Carpenters sing about roasted chestnuts, and missing Luke and Jackie.

The next few days flew by fast. Luke had called her and confirmed that he'd be taking her to the party. He'd apologized that he hadn't been able to be around more, telling her he had a small side project that had been keeping him busy. She tried not to imagine him locked in a game, an endless battle on his computer screen, like Chris had always been.

The back room of the Golden Oar was finished and ready for the grand opening. Iian had locked the door and only allowed Lacey and Amber in to decorate for the Christmas party. The men were installing the fish tank that day, but since she was helping Lacey, she couldn't oversee their work.

“So, what's the deal with you and Luke?” Lacey asked while hanging decorations.

Amber almost coughed. “Well…”

“Don't mind me. I may not like being gossiped about in town, but that doesn't mean I don't like knowing what's going on with a close friend.” She turned back to her decorations.

“I know Luke means a lot to your family. I honestly don't have any intentions of hurting him.” She stood there, not knowing what to say to Lacey.

Lacey stopped what she was doing and looked at her, her brow furrowed and a slight frown on her face. “I was talking about you, friend. At least I’d hoped we were friends. The last few days, working with you, I could tell you'd been preoccupied with something. I just figured it had to do with Luke. I don't need to go over there and kick his butt again do I?”

Amber's eyebrows shot up. “Yes…no…I mean...I love that you're my friend, I'm honored. No, you don't have to kick Luke's butt.” She looked at the small five-foot-tall woman standing there with her hands on her hips. “You didn't really kick his butt, did you?”

“No, but I did gave him a fat lip once. Of course, we were playing basketball.” They both laughed.

“I don't know what's going on with Luke. I've had such wonderful times with him, two wonderful weekends I've spent at his house.” She sighed.

“What's the problem, then?” Lacey went back to her decorations.

“Well, my fear that he's a man-boy in hiding.”

“A...man-boy.” Lacey laughed so hard she grabbed her sides. “Man-boy. Luke?”

“Well, yes.” Amber watched Lacey try to stop laughing.

“Amber, Luke is the most responsible person I know. Sure, he and my brother like to goof off every now and then, but when he moved back to Pride, all boy-like qualities were taken away. Honestly, I think he's more mature than my husband and both my brothers rolled into one.”

“But…the video games? My last boyfriend was addicted like Luke is, and I'm just not ready to continue competing with a man who stays up all night to fight aliens.”

Lacey looked at Amber like she'd grown a second head. “Do you know what Luke does for a living?”

“Yes, he told me.”

“He told you what, exactly?” Lacey put down the large bow she'd been holding.

“Well, that he worked for the company that made the computer games.”

Lacey walked over to her and took her hand, then pulled her to the back game room area that Iian had overseen. The small room housed several stand-up video game consoles. One of them had a very familiar-looking alien on the front. Alien Engagement was written in bright purple letters across the front. The yellow planet Odge was in the background as Modark stood defending the side of the unit.

““Honey,” this is Luke’s baby.” Lacey pointed to the new machine.

“What do you mean?” She stood there looking at the impressive looking game.

“It's his. All his. From starting project to finish. He's Modark. Creator, inventor, programmer, defender. When he moved back to Pride, he needed something he could do to support his family without leaving Pride. So he and a buddy from MIT decided to create Modark. Less than a year later, they went public with it and well, the rest is history. His buddy runs the business side of everything while Luke creates, programs, and comes up with the games. Honey, Luke is no man-boy. He's simply a man-genius.” Lacey walked away leaving Amber to look at the shiny new machine and the spitting image of Luke as an alien that stared back into her eyes. The alien's copper eyes were a dead giveaway. She didn't know why she hadn't see the likeness before. She'd been a fool, and she owed Luke an apology.

The night of the big Christmas party came and Luke was excited and nervous. Tonight he'd put himself out there.

“It's all or nothing.” He looked down at Jackie as he fixed his bow tie. “If I don't do it tonight, I'll know I'm chicken and won't be able to live with myself.” Jackie whined and sat on her bottom, her tail wagging. “Sorry, girl. You've got to stay home tonight. But if all goes well, Amber will be coming back home with me.” When he said Amber's name, Jackie stood up and pranced to the door, looking around. “No, baby. She's not here, yet.”

When he drove up to Amber's apartment, his palms were sweaty and he felt his heart skip a few beats. Then she opened the door and his heart stopped.

She wore red—tight, glorious red. Her dress had a low V neck line that showed enough cleavage to make his mouth water. The thin straps that held the number up begged to be pulled down, and her soft skin begged to be touched and kissed. Her heels were tall enough that she and he almost looked eye to eye.  Her dark hair was pushed up on top of her head with wisps falling around her face. She wore silver dangling earrings that caught the light when she turned her head.

He must have stood outside her door for a minute before he finally could breathe.

“Well, I'll take that as a compliment.” She laughed.

He nodded his head. His tongue still felt tied up, and he was afraid if he tried to talk, it would fall out like in the cartoons, when the wolf’s eyes would bulge out and his tongue would roll out and lay on the floor.

“Well, do you want to come in or should we head out?” She held up a dark coat and looked at him questioningly.

“In...um...if I come in, we may never go to the party,” he finally said, sounding like a fool as he stuttered.

“Then you can help me on with my coat, and we can go.” She handed him her coat and turned around, showing him the back of her dress. The material plummeted to the middle of her back and he stood there with her coat in his hands, staring at her soft skin, desire hitting him full force.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Luke?” His eyes traveled up her back to her face. Her lips were as red as her dress and he couldn't stop himself from watching her tongue dart out and lick them. “Are you going to help me on with my coat or not?”

He nodded his head and held out his hands as she slipped the coat on. When her skin was covered, he blinked a few times and tried to steady his breathing. She turned around and smiled, and he knew he was a goner. There was no way he was going to make it through the night. “Can you carry the presents?” She nodded to a large bag full of wrapped boxes. He had a bag of presents to hand out himself, in his truck.

When they reached the restaurant, he pulled close to the door and let her get out with the two bags of gifts. “I'll park the car and be right back.” She nodded and rushed under the awning. He found a spot near the back of the lot and rushed through the snow to where she stood waiting for him. Shaking the snow from his hair, he smiled and held out his hands for the bags. “Shall we?”

“Yes, I'm so excited.” They entered the restaurant, and he was amazed at the transformation. Gone was the family friendly restaurant, and in its place was a winter wonderland. He helped Amber off with her coat and then removed his. Soft Christmas lights hung from the ceiling, making everything glow.

He spotted Iian and Allison right away. They stood a few feet from the door, greeting everyone. There were several employees standing around taking everyone's coats and taking all of the presents to a large Christmas tree that sat by the fireplace near the back. Other employees were handing out drinks to guests.

After talking to several friends, Amber pulled Luke towards the bar to show him the fish tank. He could tell she was excited that it had turned out so well. The blue lights and exotic fish looked good.

Then she pulled him into the back room where most of the guests were gathered. A large Christmas tree stood in the center under a large disco ball. There was a band playing on the stage and people were slowly dancing to Christmas music around the tree. He saw several of his friends dancing with their wives and some dancing with their children, spinning around the room playfully.

He could see kids of every age. Most of the little boys were in the back room playing video games as the little girls danced around in pretty dresses with either themselves or a parent.

“It's wonderful. Just what the place needed. And to think,” he said, pulling her close and swaying gently with her, “that none of this would have happened without you.”