Page 1 of Dealing With Christmas

CHAPTER ONE

CHRISTMAS EVE

DREW

I’m going to kill him.

I just pulled into the driveway of my best friend, Brody’s childhood home and the asshole isn’t even here yet. If I’m not on duty at the firehouse, I usually spend the entire holiday with my sister and nephew. This year, however, things have changed. Since my soon-to-be-brother-in-law came back on the scene, they’ve become their own little happy family of three. I didn’t totally get the shaft; the four of us will spend Christmas Day together, but tonight they are otherwise occupied with Riley’s parents. When Brody’s mom heard that I’d be alone, she insisted on including me in their celebration. There are few things I love more than eating, and from what I understand, there’s never a shortage of food in the Harris household, so I jumped on that shit faster than the motherfucking Flash.

I text the asshole in question to find out where he is and get an automated “I’m driving so leave me alone” reply. Hopefully that means he’ll be here any minute because I’ve been spotted—if the figure looking out the window is any indication. Since I can no longer sit in the driveway like a creeper, I get out of my truck and make my way up to the covered porch. I don’t even have the chance to knock before the door opens. I have to look down because she’s over a foot shorter than me, but once our eyes meet, Brody’s sister, Charlee, is giving me the sexiest fucking smile I’ve ever seen. Goddamn, she’s even more beautiful than I remember from our brief encounter a few months back.

“Well, hello there,” she purrs.

“Hi yourself.” I smile and hand her a bottle of Merlot. “I come bearing gifts.”

She takes the wine and winks. “Hopefully that’s not all you have to offer.”

Is it just me, or was that statement loaded with innuendo?

“Uh...I’m not too early, am I? I was supposed to meet Brody here.”

She rolls her eyes. “No, you’re perfectly on time. He texted me about ten minutes ago saying they were stuck in traffic.”

What a little shit.

Traffic was freakishly light, and considering we live less than two miles from each other, our commute is practically identical. Knowing Brody, his tardiness has more to do with his girlfriend and their affliction for banging on every available surface.

I clear my throat. “Oh...uh...”

Charlee laughs. “Relax, Drew. I know that’s bullshit. I checked my traffic app as soon as his message came in and it’s green all the way down I-5. Knowing B, he was too busy fucking Rainey to keep an eye on the time. But we’ll just keep that to ourselves so my mom doesn’t flip her shit, yeah?”

I smirk. “Sounds like a good plan. No shit flipping tonight.”

She steps aside to let me in. “So, come inside and get liquored up while we wait for them. Trust me; you’re gonna need it.”

Her eyes slowly travel from my head to my feet and back up again. If I’m not mistaken, her gaze lingers on my crotch both times, making my dick do a little jig in my pants.

Her breath hitches as I cross the threshold and stop right in front of her. I smile at the confirmation that she feels this crazy attraction too. “Like what you see?”

Charlee crosses her arms over her chest. She’s wearing a V-neck sweater so the motion makes her cleavage go from awesome to I-hope-I-don’t-blow-my-load-in-my-pants in two seconds flat. She doesn’t seem to realize what she’s doing but that’s not going to stop me from enjoying the view.

“So far, so good, but I’ll have to save my final assessment for a later date.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Care to explain why?”

Charlee looks pointedly at my zipper. “Because I don’t know if you’re built like an oak everywhere yet. It’s entirely possible that all of those muscles are compensating for a tiny cock.”

I can’t help but laugh. This girl is refreshingly blunt and my dick doesn’t hate it—not even a little.

I give her a salacious grin. “Honey, I’m six-five. Odds are in my favor from that fact alone. But let me assure you, I don’t need to compensate for anything. You just let me know if you’d like to see for yourself.”

She taps her finger on her lips in mock contemplation. “Hmm...I’ll have to check my schedule and see if I can fit you in.”

Thank God I went with the untucked button-up today because my boner is in full effect now.

I lean down to whisper in her ear. “Spoiler alert: no matter how big it is, or how little you are, it will always fit. I’ll make sure of it, sweetheart.”

I’m pretty sure she just shivered. Fuck, she smells good—like brown sugar maybe. Right before I give in to the temptation of seeing if her skin tastes as sweet as it smells, we’re interrupted.

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