Page 19 of Claiming Candy

“Would you like to see what we’ve done so far?” Ethan asks, breaking our embrace after a few moments of silence from me.

“Yes,” I say, taking his outstretched hand and letting him lead me toward the dorms.

There wasn’t much work to be done in this area. All of the residents took pride in the places that they lived, taking care of repairs as they came up. Still, the walls have been given a fresh coat of paint, and the flooring has been replaced.

“Even though there’s no one living here right now, we all wanted to make sure that these rooms were homey when someone needed one,” he says.

“That’s so thoughtful,” I say, still unable to process that these rooms are going to be unused from here on out.

Ethan smiles, tugging on my hand to take me back toward the cafeteria. It’s the place that needed the most work. I’m excited to see what’s been done in there.

“We’re still working on this,” he says, stopping to let a line of people squeeze by us and into the room. “It won’t be finished today, but it should only take a few more days.”

I nod, grinning when he brings me into the cafeteria. The walls where the mold was growing have been torn down, and there are people helping clear the debris. One section has been cleared, and construction workers are putting up new drywall.

“We’re also replacing the air conditioning unit,” Ethan says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to pull me toward the door that leads to the kitchen – out of the way of everyone that’s working. “It was filled with mold. If we didn’t get that fixed, it would have contaminated the entire building.”

“I just can’t believe you did all this,” I say as the two of us stop in the doorway.

“Well, take all the time you need to process,” he says, tightening his hold on me before turning me to face him. “But when you’re done… I figured we could help out. That way we can get everyone home to their families on time.”

“I’d love to,” I say, tilting my head back in an attempt to keep the tears collecting in the corners of my eyes.

As I’m blinking away the mistiness, I spot something hanging above us. It’s an unassuming bundle of leaves with red berries in the center. I grin when I realize what it is – mistletoe.

“Would you look at that,” Ethan hums, pulling my attention away from the plant.

“You know what we have to do,” I say.

Ethan doesn’t reply, instead leaning down and connecting our lips. I kiss him back with everything I am, knowing that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with man.

Epilogue

One Year Later

Ethan

If you told me a year ago that the mansion would be decorated for Christmas, and I happily footed the bill for the preparations, I wouldn’t have believed you. But then again, I wouldn’t have believed that I’d be a father to a three-month old. And I would have called you crazy if you told me that I’d be married to a gorgeous woman with a huge heart.

Yet, here I am, happily wearing a tacky Christmas sweater and wrapping presents in my living room. Candy isn’t even here with me, she’s busy putting our daughter, Noelle, to bed. Still, I’m doing this willingly. It makes her happy, and even though I hate to admit it, the Christmas cheer is starting to rub off on me. Although, that might just be my deep, burning obsession with my wife – it’s never waned, and I’d do anything to make her happy.

Tomorrow, after we spend our morning together, we’ll be hosting Candy’s friends from the shelter. All of the people that I moved into housing last year are either still in the homes I paid for or well on their way to purchasing their own places. I never thought I’d feel pride for other people, but I’m almost as proud of them for their achievements as Candy is.

She’s still volunteering at the shelter. The board of directors has offered to put her on the payroll, but she’s turned them down every time. She’d rather that money go to someone who actually needs it, and I’m more than happy to fund whatever lifestyle she wants to lead.

I stare at the sloppily-wrapped gift and chuckle to myself. Candy’s so much better at this than I am, but I want to get better at it for her. We have every Christmas for the rest of our lives for me to improve, and I’m looking forward to that.

I reach for another box, a gift for Noelle, and start the process over again. This time, I’m going to get this right. If not, at least our sweet girl won’t remember how badly I did.

I’m so focused on my task that I don’t realize Candy’s standing behind me. In fact, I don’t register her clearing her throat at first, instead working on taping down the corner of the paper. Finally, a call of my name makes me turn around.

At first, I don’t quite believe what I’m seeing. My gorgeous wife is standing in front of me, wearing nothing but Christmas ribbons and bows. She’s wrapped up just like a present, entirely for me.

“Well,” she says, sauntering over to me, swinging her hips in the way she knows drives me absolutely crazy. “Are you just going to sit there and stare or are you going to come over here and get your gift?”

“All this for me?” I ask, my brain and my cock waking up to what I’m being offered.

I get off the floor and make my way over to her. She grins, pushing her chest out to display the bows that are covering her nipples. My mouth waters, and my dick presses against the front of my pants.

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