You Had Me At Christmas: A Holiday Anthology (15 page)

Your phone.

I fucking love my phone right now.

Should we talk? Do you want my number?

Is that what you want?

Kate didn’t think so. Talking would make it all too real. What if he had a squeaky voice? What if he sounded like a total douchebag? In the written word he was perfect. Funny, charming, intelligent. Maybe a little wistful. A lot romantic. That was who she wanted. The picture and the words. Only more of them. Her very own fantasy come to life.

I like this. I like talking like this. No pressure.

Okay. No pressure. Can you tell me though what you would taste like right now if I kissed you? If I slipped my tongue inside your mouth?

I imagine I would taste like the red wine I’ve been drinking.

Delicious. Are you tipsy, Kate?

A little bit. You have to know… this, talking like this, it’s not something I do all the time. At all really.

Me either. You’re the first person on this app I’ve messaged with. Mostly I thought it was just a silly game to give people a boost of confidence every now and then.

Do you need that boost of confidence?

No, I already told you I have a VERY large appendage.

Sorry I forgot. :)

Oh no, don’t go all smiley face on me. Once we descend to emojis, there is no going back. I prefer words.

I prefer your words.

I’m going to kiss you on the side of your neck now, Kate. Your hair in your picture is red, is that the real color?

Yes.

There was no reason to tell him about the color she used to cover the gray. There was honesty and then there was a woman’s prerogative to not divulge certain secrets.

And your eyes… are they really that green?

Yes.

Then I’m going stare into those eyes, Kate. Those amazing green eyes and I’m going to lift your hair off your neck. Then I’m going to kiss you right under your ear. And you’re going to smell so good and feel so soft, I will lose my heart to you in that moment.

Can I kiss you back?

Yes, but you have to be aggressive. Your tongue in my mouth, your fingers in my hair, your hard nipples pressed into my chest. I want you to claim me.

Kate read the message, then again, and again. Had she ever done that? Had she ever been aggressive and taken what she wanted from a man?

No. Never. She’d always been passive in any sexual relationship she had. And while this could hardly be called that, she loved the feeling of power it inspired in her.

Alright. Once I’ve sucked your tongue into my mouth and after I’ve pulled your lower lip in between my teeth, then I’m going to want to run my nails down your back. You want me to claim you… then I’ll need to mark you.

Fuck yes.

Kate liked that part of him too. The crude part. It made him seem more real to her.

He sent another message.

Yeah, you’re going to want to take charge then. I can feel you reaching under my shirt, feel the bite of those nails on my back, but I can’t do it, Kate. I can’t let you take over. I’m in charge and we’re going to play this my way. Say it.

It was insane how turned on she was by that. Crazy that she instantly knew what he wanted to her to write back.

You’re in charge, John.

That’s my girl. Now I’m going to need you to get naked. Strip for me. And I mean for me. Every piece you take off, know it’s for me. You’ll hesitate when you take off your bra, but you’ll do it. You’ll slowly pull your panties down because you know that’s how I like it. Where are you?

My living room.

Stay there. Are there windows? I don’t want anyone to see you. You naked is only for me.

Kate shook her head. She’d lived alone for almost twenty years, and she’d never sat around in her house naked. The only naked she did was from the shower to her closet and back again. She couldn’t a recall a time she’d ever slept naked. Even with boyfriends back in college, there had always been a t-shirt and some panties.

Naked seemed too raw.

I don’t know if I can do this.

Then we won’t. Let’s talk about your job. What do you do for fun? I just want to keep talking. I’m not sure why but I have this crazy feeling… like we know each other already. I’m sorry if I pushed. I thought that’s where you wanted to go.

The last twenty years of her life had been all about her job. It’s why she was spending Christmas with a stranger on her phone. A stranger who wanted her to get naked.

Who are you?

I’m John. And you’re… safe with me. I promise.

I don’t want to talk about my work or what I do for fun. I want to go there.

Then take off your clothes and let me take you there.

Kate set the phone down. He said he wanted her to strip for him. That every piece of clothing she took off was for him. Her cashmere sweater. Her dark skinny jeans. Her Victoria’s Secret bra and matching lace panties. He thought she would hesitate, but she didn’t.

Her gas fireplace was on, giving her enough heat, but still she covered herself with a soft throw blanket, stunned by how good it felt on her bare skin.

Okay. I’m naked. What next?

First you need to relax, this is supposed to be fun Kate.

You sound like you’ve done this before.

Sex? I have, yes. Phone sex via an app, I have not. This is as crazy for me as it is for you but I do have a pretty active imagination.

But you’re not naked.

Hold on.

Kate took another sip of her wine and cuddled deeper into the blanket. Who knew something so simple could feel so good. The rub of the fleece material against her thighs, her stomach. Maybe she needed to hang out in her living room naked more often.

A minute later he was back.

There, now we’re both naked.

Where are you?

On my bed, pillows propped behind me.

She didn’t know where it came from, the courage. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the loneliness, either way she didn’t care. There was another person out there in the universe who she was connected to. Who was connected to her.

Are you hard?

Yes. I have been since I started kissing you. I want those nails down my back again. I want you to squeeze my ass.

You don’t want me to touch you? Pleasure you?

No. First I want to know you. And I like to watch, Kate. I want to see you touch yourself so I know what you like. Where you like it hard and rough, where you like it soft and slick. Do that for me now. Touch your breasts, pinch your nipples.

Kate ran her hand over her breast and wasn’t surprised that her nipples were already hard. It was the most sensitive part of her body. When she took the time to masturbate, which she hardly ever did, she always started with her breasts. There were times, if she was turned on enough, she could play and tug on her nipples and that alone would be enough to send her over the edge.

But that’s not what this was about. It wasn’t about her getting herself off. This was sex with someone else. Even if he wasn’t in the same room with her.

They’re hard. I’m pinching them now.

What color are they?

Dark pink. Darker now.

Do you like them to be sucked?

Yes.
Kate groaned then as she felt a deep punch of pleasure low in her gut. There was nothing she loved as much as that. A man’s mouth and tongue sucking her deep, her fingers in his hair. The tug and pull of desire running down her chest and into her pussy.

That’s what I would do then. Take them into my mouth, bite down ever so carefully. Suck on them until you screamed. You would feel it the next day, Kate. Your breasts would be a little sore and you would think of me and what I did to you.

Yes!

Now I need to know what else you like. Move your hands down your body, slowly. Touch your ribs, dip a finger into your belly button, run your hand along your hips.

I wish they were your hands.

They will be someday, but you’re not ready for that I think. Hell, I don’t know… it doesn’t matter. Touch yourself, Kate. Between your legs. Are you wet?

Kate could feel how wet she was and gasped. How long had it been since she’d been this aroused? What would everyone think of the stuffy boss lady now? Naked, stretched out on her couch and having phone sex with a stranger.

Her fingers between her legs. Touching herself even as she held the phone awkwardly in her other hand.

Now you
. She fumbled a bit as she typed, but she didn’t want to be doing this alone.

Okay. I’ve got my hand around my dick. I want you to slide your fingers inside yourself while I do this. Do you like pressure on your clit?

No. Not directly, it’s too sensitive.

Kate looked at the words she’d just sent. Had she ever told a man that? She didn’t think so. Always she just let them do what they wanted with her body, what they thought she wanted. Never being honest with them, or herself really.

No, she didn’t like it when a man pressed against her clit too hard. Like it was some kind of on or off switch to a climax.

He knew that now. John knew that about her. It seemed oddly intimate.

The barest of touches then. I wish I could taste you. Maybe you’re too sensitive for a finger, but instead you need the brush of my tongue. Can you feel me there? Between your legs, my hair brushing your thighs?

Kate leaned back her head and tried to imagine it. A man kneeling between her legs, his tongue brushing up against her wet slit. Because she was so sensitive, she’d never let a man do that to her.

Then it happened. Without even really touching herself, she crested over and felt the orgasm roll through her body. The phone dropped to the floor and she moaned aloud as it rippled throughout her. It took her a second to recover her breath as she let her body enjoy what had to have been one of the most intense sexual experiences she could remember.

A pretty sad commentary on her sex life, now that she thought about it. Bending down, she reached for the phone.

She had to tell him it was over. At least for her.

I came
, she typed bluntly.

It was a few minutes later.

I’m glad. I wish… I wish I could have heard you. Seen you.

Of course that wasn’t possible. They were strangers to each other. Just two lonely people on Christmas who had found each other. Kate wasn’t going to forget it, and she wasn’t selfish enough not to offer comfort back.

What can I do for you?

Kate started typing out a very detailed description of what she intended to do with her tongue when he interrupted her sext.

Meet me.

She looked at her phone as she tried to process what he was asking. He messaged again.

Not tonight. Maybe next week. Drinks or coffee. But let’s not let… this… fade away into the night.

Kate tried to imagine it. A blind date with someone who she sort of already had sex with? It would be strange and weird and not like her at all.

Let me think about it?

Of course. Text or call.

Kate looked at the phone number he sent like it was some kind of weapon. A knife that had cut through the curtain that had separated them all night.

Goodnight,
she wrote to him.

Merry Christmas, Kate. Sleep well.

Just like that, it was over. She clicked off the app and put her phone away and wondered if it was strange that she had already memorized his number.

“D
id you have
a nice Christmas?”

Kate looked at her assistant, Sally, and smiled. “I had a great Christmas.”

Immediately, Sally pulled up a seat in front of her desk. “Why do I think there is a story there?”

Kate leaned back and chuckled. It was one of the disadvantages of having someone working with her so closely for the last ten years. There wasn’t anything Kate could ever hide from her very perceptive assistant.

Sally’s head tilted. “You know, if I didn’t know you better…”

“What?” Kate asked. She refused to believe she looked any different. The ridiculous idea that somehow after sex a person had a glow about them was not supported by biological fact.

“Well, frankly I would say you look like you got laid. But I know you, and hooking up with a random stranger on Christmas is not your style.”

Kate’s jaw dropped and she had an immediate urge to seek out a mirror. Did she look different? It wasn’t possible. It was just an orgasm after all, not actual sex.

But it had been more than that. There had been intimacy… with John. Whose phone number had rattled through her mind all morning. Creating lyrics in her head like a bad remake of an eighties song.

“You didn’t. Did you?” Sally asked reverently, as if Kate would be handing her assistant some kind of present if she actually had. Sally loved drama.

Kate shrugged. “Well… I mean it wasn’t… real… that app you told me about…”

“O.M.G. You hooked up with a guy online and had internet sex. That is so awesome!”

Kate looked over Sally’s shoulder at the open door to her office, making sure none of her employees were walking by. She did have a reputation to maintain, after all.

As a stuffed-shirt spinster?

She didn’t feel like that today.

“Can we please keep this between us?”

“Oh, sorry,” Sally whispered. Then the younger woman clapped her hands in rapid succession. “Yeah! How was it? Did he give good sext?”