Page 25 of Icing on Top
“You know,” I said, sliding off the bed and sauntering over to her, “we could just stay in instead of going out. I can think of plenty of fun things to do inside.” I started tugging at her towel playfully while I bent down to lick water from her shoulder. “You wouldn’t even have to get dressed.”
“Oh, no,” Nova laughed as she squirmed away from me. “You had your chance to stay in last night and stayed away instead. Today, we’re going out.” She started shoving me toward the door and veered off to grab Ben and pull him off her bed. “Out! I needto get dressed, and if you stay here while I do, we’ll never leave this room.”
“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” Ben asked.
“Out!”
Big fat snowflakes started falling when we stepped out of Nova’s house. “Dibs on the backseat with Nova!” I yelled as soon as we were outside.
“Dammit!” Grant complained. “I was just about to say that.”
“You snooze, you lose,” I laughed as I held the back door open for her. Nova climbed in the Jeep, and I slid beside her while Grant and Ben sat up front.
“So where are we going?” Nova asked as Ben pulled away from her house.
“It’s a surprise,” Grant replied, a teasing lilt to his voice. I didn’t know about Nova, but I got whiplash from Grant’s attitude shifts. Knowing my brother as well as I did, his behavior showed me how conflicted he was about his feelings for Nova.
“I had better distract you so that you don’t figure out where we’re going,” I told her. I pulled her into my lap, and when she tried to protest, I covered her mouth with mine. As my tongue twisted with hers, my fingers were busy with the buttons on her shirt. I didn’t break the kiss until I had her shirt spread open. Pulling her closer, I bent my head to capture a taut nipple with my teeth, moving my tongue against the imprisoned bud through the sheer lace.
Nova moaned as she arched her back to give me better access. Grant twisted around in his seat at the sound.
“You couldn’t have sat on the other side of the car so that I could watch?” He grumbled.
“There’s room in this backseat for another,” I suggested as I moved to Nova’s other nipple.
“Don’t you dare!” Ben growled as Grant twisted to climb into the backseat. “I’m serious. I’ll pull over and make you two sit in the back alone. Linc, knock it off!”
I sighed with defeat. I knew that tone, and Ben could be a royal pain in the ass when he sounded like that. I did not doubt that he would pull over and refuse to drive until Nova was sitting up front with him and out of our reach. At least this way, I could still snuggle with her. “You’re a real pest sometimes, you know that?” I said to him as I rebuttoned Nova’s shirt. “Sorry, Sugar. My brother is being a real cock block right now. Any frustration you’re feeling can be directed toward him.” I moved Nova off of my lap and onto the seat beside me. I threw my arm around her and pulled her into my side before she could scoot to the other side of the car.
A comfortable silence fell over the car as we drove. Nova perked up when Ben slowed and turned onto a gravel road. We had thoroughly researched this place, and I hoped she hadn’t been here before. When Nova didn’t indicate recognition of where we were, I knew she hadn’t. The Christmas trees of all sizes surrounding either side of the road should have tipped her off to what we were doing, but it wasn’t until the road opened up to a large lot that she squealed with glee.
“Are we getting a Christmas tree?” Nova asked excitedly.
“Surprise, Sugar,” I replied.
“We thought we owed you a big Christmas tradition after standing you up,” Grant told her. I smirked to myself at the smile on his face at her excitement. He could say this was just business until he was blue. The only person he was fooling was himself.
Run
Nova
Ijumped out of the car as soon as Ben parked. It was still snowing, and as I took in the cute little buildings and people milling about, I felt Christmas magic wrap around me like a comforting blanket. I took a deep breath and exhaled happily, the smells of the trees, nature, and hot chocolate warming my heart. Ben exited the car and linked his fingers with mine as we joined the crowd. It took a little while to get set up for our adventure. While Grant and Lincoln got in line to rent the side-by-side vehicle and chainsaw we would need to cut our tree down, Ben pulled me to the hot chocolate line.
“What’s your stance on marshmallows in hot chocolate,” Ben asked. “Yes or no?”
I looked at him in mock horror. “What do you mean, no? The only option is extra.”
“Agreed,” he grinned. “Whipped cream?”
“Of course,” I replied. “Only aliens don’t like whipped cream on their hot chocolate.”
Ben snickered, but I didn’t know what he found so funny until we brought four hot chocolates with extra marshmallows and whipped cream to where Grant and Linc were waiting.
“Did you get mine without whipped cream?” Grant asked as he accepted a cup from Ben. I was just lifting my cup to my lips to take a sip when I started laughing and blew whipped cream everywhere. Ben started laughing with me, and Grant looked at us in confusion. “What’s so funny?” he demanded, making us laugh harder.
“Have you always known you weren’t from this planet?” I sputtered.
“What?” Grant asked, his annoyance growing.
