Page 2 of Year-End Bonus
I snort out a laugh, and even Reid chuckles.
"You two can gang up on me all you want." Reid fills another plate and hands it to Holly with a shrug. "But Santa might bring you coal for being mean."
I laugh as I dig into the fluffy mountain dripping with golden syrup, groaning with appreciation at the first bite. "Hmmm. Thank you. I need to come visit more often."
"I won't argue with that." Reid grins at me before he pours more batter into the hot pan. "It's supposed to snow soon. What time is the party tonight?”
My entire body heats with my blush, and I can’t meet his eyes. "Um, later. Not sure."
If my brother clocks my cagey behavior, he doesn't mention it. Thinking about the party makes the butterflies start up in my stomach again, and I practically choke on my next bite of pancake. My heartbeat picks up, and I'm pretty sure I might burst into a spontaneous orgasm at the mere thought of what is going to go down later.
Preferably me.
On my knees.
With my mouth wrapped around at least one cock.
"Have you heard from your dad yet?"
Well, those seven words are designed to kill a lady-boner.
"'Tis the season," I quip, eyeing Reid, who smirks as he fills his plate with the last of the pancakes.
Reid is technically my half-brother, but we prefer not to use labels like that. Neither of our dads was in the picture much, so Mom raised us on her own. Reid's dad was a complete deadbeat, but my dad took me out every other Saturday until I was eleven. That was when he moved away, and I heard from him via a weekly phone call—every Monday night, like clockwork.
Dad lives in a remote little town near the Smoky Mountains, with no cell reception. The town probably owns the last working payphone in existence. It's pretty busy half the year due to the impressive tourism in the summer months, so it's not entirely podunk. In fact, it's quite cute, and the people are friendly and fun. I visited when I was in college. Once. It was kind of awkward being with Dad for any length of time, and after that visit, I decided our relationship was better over the phone.
Dad lives in the apartment above his friend's bar. He doesn't even have a landline. Says he prefers to use the payphone, so he can only call me, not the other way around.
These days, I usually get a call around Christmas and another near my birthday in May, so Reid is right; I'm due to hear from him soon.
"Why are you going to the company Christmas party again?" Reid asks around a mouthful of pancake. "Didn't you quit?"
I swallow hard. "Yes, but I worked there for four years, and they invited me, so I might as well attend one more work event."
"Yeah, go drink the good liquor and have some fun before you get off." Holly gives me a devilish grin.
"Get off?" I repeat, glaring at her.
"To the airport tomorrow," she clarifies with a smirk.
I grimace at her terrible attempt at a double entendre.
"Can't you wait and leave after Christmas?" Reid asks, blissfully ignorant of the other conversation happening around him. I can't imagine he wants to know that his sister is bouncing off the walls in anticipation of getting railed by three men.
"No. Unfortunately, this is the most expensive time to travel to Paris, and I found a deal, but I had to leave on Christmas Eve."
He frowns. "Choosing Paris over Christmas with your family?"
"Yes," Holly and I respond at the same time and break out into giggles.
Reid rolls his eyes. He says we gang up on him, but he's the one who fell in love with my best friend, so he can deal with it.
"Okay, I have a few errands to run, then I'm going to stop by to see Mom. I'll be back in a bit."
"Have fun!" Holly says with a wink. Her arms are wrapped around my brother, who seems to have cheered up with her snuggles.
I double-check the inside pocket of my purse, my fingers gripping the Amex card delivered via messenger earlier this week, with a note that read: 'Spend this on anything that makes you feel sexy.' H.
