Page 14 of Merry Mix-Up

I washed up and tried to straighten my hair a little, and when I walked back into the bedroom, Amber was propped on an elbow watching me. She looked sleepy. Her mascara had left smoky circles around her eyes and her lips were dark pink, rubbed raw by my stubble last night.

"Morning," I said as I climbed back into bed next to her. Her eyes never left my body until it was buried beneath a blanket, and then she met my gaze.

"Good morning," she said as she snuggled into my embrace. "How did you sleep?"

Her tits pressed against my chest in a most pleasant way, and I had to kiss her. Her lips were soft but needy, and the kiss lingered, but when I pulled away, I said, "I slept better than I have in years. You wore me out."

"I did?" she asked and snickered. "You were like robot-dick over there. I swear if you'd gone any longer that last time, I was going to cry."

I tickled her side and she giggled. "You loved it…" The closeness we had was otherworldly. I felt like I'd known her my whole life, and I had known of her for a long time, but not like this. This felt like a connection we had transcended time and space for. It was surreal.

"You're right. I loved every second of it." Amber kissed me again and then sighed contentedly.

"Except when I called you Amber. Man, you really hate your name, huh?" I laughed, but she rolled over and then backed into my chest so I was spooning her. It seemed like she didn't want to talk about it so I changed the subject. "You know, the last woman I dated hurt me really badly. I wasn’t right for a long time. So it's a miracle I even felt confident enough to get the courage to ask you out."

Amber took my hand and kissed my knuckles. "I'm sorry you were hurt, Newt. I hope nothing like that ever happens between us. I don't know what this is, but I like it, and I want to find out where it goes." She sighed hard, and I could tell there was something on her mind, but I didn't want to be pushy.

"What's going on is a little bit of Christmas magic, I think. You're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time, and I want to see what's going to happen too." I kissed the back of her shoulder and looked up at the tabletop tree situated on her dresser. It fit in with her apartment so well, I wondered why it wasn't out on a table in the living room, but I figured Jade didn’t like it or something. We hadn't even plugged it in last night. We were too busy obsessing over each other.

"You like the tree?" I asked, planting more soft kisses on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I do." Her voice was small and timid. She was thinking about something. I could tell it was troubling her.

"Did you enjoy dress shopping? Do you like the dress Naomi picked for you?" My stab at making conversation with anything that wouldn't make her feel pressured was failing. She had gotten really quiet when I mentioned her not liking her own name, but it wasn’t a normal reaction.

I had hated my name once upon a time, when kids in elementary school called me lizard because a newt was an amphibian. I got picked on so badly for a few years, and I hated my parents for naming me that, but this felt different.

"Uh, yeah. I might have to have Jade do alterations, but the dress is nice." Now her tone was empty and dull.

"Are you okay, Mav?" I purposefully used her nickname so as not to upset her more, and she turned and lay on her back looking up at me.

"No… There's something I want to tell you." She looked serious and almost apologetic, and I couldn't even fathom what she'd have to tell me that would make me desire an apology.

"Sure, anything," I told her, but as I said the words, I heard my phone ringing. It was a ringtone I had selected specifically for work calls, which meant they needed me for something. And on a Saturday morning, it had to be something important. "Hold that thought."

I rolled out of bed and dashed my naked ass out to the living room. My phone was on twelve percent, which meant I had only a few minutes of a call before it started screamingLow Batteryat me. I swiped and answered and heard my assistant's voice.

"Mr. Phillips, we have a problem. The Berkshires are requesting a live meeting with you in an hour, but I told them you were out of town." Peggy sounded a bit frantic, but I knew Harold Berkshire and he was just a stern businessman.

"Wow, okay, Peggy. Thank you for letting me know. Let me touch base with him and set something up for this afternoon. I'll have a bit of time to drive into the city to meet." I thought of the evening and the town's holiday parade complete with Clydesdales and the arrival of Santa Claus in his sleigh. I didn't want to miss that because I wanted Amber to go with me.

"Alright, are you sure? Should I send him a message that you'll be calling him?" I could hear her chewing her lip and I almost chuckled.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Peg." I hung up knowing I had just enough time to get back to Mom and Dad's, shower, drive into the city, meet with Harold, and get back to Danville in time for the parade that started just after dusk. No time to waste.

I grabbed my clothing and started dressing hastily as I walked back into the bedroom. Whatever it was Amber wanted to tell me would have to wait or I'd mangle my timeline. Ithought I'd have all day to bask in the glory of her presence, but it looked like a long day of driving and unhappy clients.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up. She still held the sheet over her chest shyly and yawned.

"Work… I'm so sorry. I have to go to Chicago for a last-minute meeting. Fires to put out and whatnot." I leaned down and kissed her forehead as I buttoned my shirt. "I wish I could stay."

The apprehension I'd seen on her face earlier was gone, replaced with a calmness that mirrored the afterglow I watched her enjoy last night more than once.

"No, it's okay. You’re important. Go work." Amber smiled at me and scooted back against the headboard where she leaned and let the sheet hug her tits. Damn. If I didn't have to go rushing off, she'd be getting spread for me again.

"The parade… It's tonight, right?"

"Yeah, why?" She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged the sheet around them, and I grinned at her.

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