Page 69 of Home for the Holidays

Heidi spread Iris’s legs with ease. She coated her fingers with Iris’s wetness, then found her clit. She rubbed lightly at first, then harder and faster, matching Iris’s breathing as it escalated. “You’re not done yet,” she whispered. “Come again for me.”

And Iris did as she was told. She clamped her thighs around Heidi’s hand, stilling her movements. “Holy shit,” she panted. “You… wow… fuck.”

“I want to do this all night with you.”

“Same.” Iris’s breathing hadn’t returned to normal. “I’m ready.”

Heidi laughed low and deep. “You are delightful.”

“And you’re fucking good at this.”

“Just wait until we get that strap-on.”

“Jesus fuckingChrist,” Iris hissed.

Heidi chuckled as she pushed her fingers back into Iris and slowly started to pull and push, with Iris’s hips matching her rhythm. She bit down on Iris’s lower lip before kissing her deeply. “I want to watch you riding it while I wear it.”

“Heidi,” Iris said softly. “You’re amazing. You know that?”

“No, babe, you are.” And she meant it. She really fucking meant it.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

Iris used to roll her eyes whenever someone said they didn’t sleep at all, not even a little bit. How could they not sleep at all? Like, not a wink? Being a therapist and working from sunup to sundown some days, sleep was her very best friend. Naps? Loved them. But crawling into bed at night, reading a chapter of some dumb guide to help her improve as a human being, and proceeding to pass the fuck out was her forte. Zac made fun of her for being the only person he knew who could go to sleep without being on her phone, without TikTok-ing, without endlessly scrolling through Twitter. She took pride in the fact that she was a champion sleeper. It was maybe the only thing she was truly good at.

And then last night happened.

After all that, she completely understood how some people didn’t sleep. It was the first night in her entire life where she literally did not want to miss a second. She had had more sex last night than she had had the rest of the year. It was like they were going through a playbook of sapphic sex positions. Heidi riding her face. Sixty-nine. From behind. On the floor once when they accidentally rolled off the bed. And then on the en suite bathroom’s floor when Heidi got up to go pee. And then again, up against the wall outside the bathroom.

At five, they peeled themselves off each other, completely spent, and decided it was time to give each other a break. Heidi was still handsy, though, and tried one last time. She succeeded. It was just as mind-blowingly incredible as all the other times.

“Merry Christmas,” Heidi whispered after she pulled her fingers from Iris’s wetness.

“God, yeah, Merry fucking Christmas. How are we going to survive today without any sleep?” Iris lazily kissed Heidi’s lips. “I mean, I’m thrilled about the reason, don’t get me wrong.”

“Caffeine, sugar, and a prayer. Lots of ‘em.” Heidi laughed. “We’ll be okay.” She lightly dragged her nails down Iris’s back. “I had so much fun with you.”

“Oh, Heidi,” she said softly. “I had the time of my life with you.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

After another string of soft kisses, Iris sat up. “I’ll get up first.”

“The coffee should be ready. I’ll be down soon.”

She slid out of Heidi’s bed, dressed herself, and grabbed her robe. She left the room like a cat burglar, hoping upon hope that no one else was up. She cleaned up in Zac’s bathroom and headed downstairs to get coffee and obsess over her stupidity in peace.

The coffee was brewed, no one was up, and she had the house to herself. She grabbed a mug and found a perfect spot next to the bay window in the living room. It wasstillsnowing. Three days straight of snow, snow, and more snow. She was going to be trapped in Vale Park forever if the storm didn’t let up. Not that being trapped with Heidi would be bad.

Iris shook her head, commanding herself to focus. Maybe she could use what was probably a minuscule amount of time before the rest of the family arose to try to wrap her brain around what had happened last night.

Last night had been so intense—yes, in all the best ways, but also in all the most confusing ways. What if this couldn’t continue? What happened to her heart then? Part of the reason she didn’t have a significant other was the fact that she could not handle heartbreak. She had learned that at a very young age. And this whole situation? It was a heartbreak waiting to happen. Heidi clearly wanted her. She clearly wanted Heidi. In a perfect world, that would have been the only signal she needed.

But of course she had to go and fall forZac’s mom.

How was she going to explain this to her best friend? He would never be okay with it. Heidi was right; he wasn’t good at sharing. Even when she had a night out with Stacey, he’d text her a thousand times about random stuff and get upset when she wouldn’t respond immediately. Iris wasn’t prepared to admit that she enjoyed being missed when she wasn’t around, but she never got annoyed with him for being impatient. Being missed was nice.

She couldn’t keep a secret from him, though. She had no poker face; she couldn’t keep a secret from anybody. She was going to have to come out and tell him. Even if nothing else happened, she’d have to come clean, right? What kind of friendship is built on lies, even if they were lies of omission?

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