"Mine isn't working."
Aria glanced over at Vance's now burnt marshmallow and chuckled. "You're still doing it wrong."
"How? How am I doing it wrong. Show me."
"I showed you three times already! Just eat it like it is."
Vance took the burnt mallow off the poker and threw it in the ever growing pile of charcoal colored puffs. "Come on, Aria. Yours are perfect. Help me, please! I can't keep eating this burnt piece of—"
"Fine!" she sat her skewer down and grabbed the mag of marshmallows. "Okay, first you put the marshmallow on the skewer like this."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"Do you want my help or not?"
"Fine," Vance sighed. "I'm sorry."
Aria gave him a single nod of agreement before she refocused on the teaching lesson. "Now, stick it in the flames for no more than five seconds. But the trick is to make sure you rotate it. It should catch on fire right as you count to five—that's when you pull it from the flames and blow it out."
I watched in amazement as she showed Vance step by step what to do. I was a little nervous at the idea of those two hanging out at first. Vance told me before that he hit on her a couple times. I really didn't want there to be any awkwardness between the three of us. Thankfully, they seemed to get along great.
The more Vance got to know her, the more he seemed to like her. There were a few times when he and I would be alone and he would whisper that she wasn't as stuck-up as he thought and that he approved of my new girlfriend.
I told him repeatedly that she wasn't my girlfriend, but he wasn't going for it. Then he accused me of being in denial.
Maybe he was right.
As I sat here and watched the two of them argue over how to properly roast a marshmallow, I couldn't help but stare at her with fascination. She really was one of a kind. I wish I could honestly say I knew that since I first saw her. But it wasn't true. Freshman year of high school she came off prudish and snobby. It wasn't until sophomore year of college that I started noticing that there was a difference between the Aria Whitmore she broadcasted to the world, and the Aria that was sitting across from me right now by the fire.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and winked at me. If Vance wasn't here right now, she would probably be sitting next to me. Or on my lap. Yeah, my lap sounded better.
"Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna go to bed." Vance got up from his chair and clapped me on the shoulder before smiling at Aria. "Micah, Aria, it's been a pleasure. And thank you for the roasting lesson."
"Anytime," Aria chuckled.
Once Vance cleaned up some of the mess, he was inside the house and probably knocked out on the couch.
"Come here," I whispered to Aria.
She didn't hesitate to bring her chair around the fire so she could sit next to me. She reached out and twined her fingers with mine.
"This is nice."
I nodded as I stared at the dancing flames. "Yeah, it is."
As much as I loved my mom, this is a lot nicer than our Christmases usually were. Even Vance was a nice addition. Usually it was just my mom and I. Alone. That wasn't Christmas.
This Christmas is filled with laughter and...Aria.
"You know...this is another Christmas Checklist thing."
Her statement pulled me from my thoughts. "What is?"
"This. Roasting marshmallows. Having a bonfire."
That I found hard to believe. "Wait...you've never had a bonfire? Or roasted marshmallows?"
Aria laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? I basically grew up on Mars. My dad was..." She trailed off and cleared her throat. "Anyway, so thanks for this. For all of it."
"I told you already, Aria, you don't need to thank me for anything. Honestly, you did me a favor."
Her head whipped in my direction and she sported a look that told me she didn't quite believe me. "How the hell did I do you a favor? I'm staying in your house, forced you to give me a ride, and got you punched by my dad...Jesus. You should really consider kicking me out. I crashed your Christmas! I'm a Christmas Crasher!"
"First, you didn't force me to do anything. I offered you the ride. Second, you can't hold yourself responsible for your dad's actions. And third," my voice softened for this last part, "you crashing my Christmas is the best thing that's ever happened to me. To my mom, too. She's always wanted me to bring a girl home. Even one who's just a friend."
Aria looked away from me and focused on the fire.
Shit. Did I make her uncomfortable? "What is it?"
She exhaled a deep breath. "Well, your mom...doesn't think we're just friends."
I didn't get it. "What do you mean?"
"Well, she knows about...us."
"Us? She knows about...us? How?"
Aria shook her head. "I don't know. She's like Obi Wan or something! But she brought it up at the grocery store."
My mind was reeling. My mom knew about us. She had always been pretty intuitive. I just hoped she didn't hear us having sex.
"What did she say to you?"
Aria licked her lips. "Surprisingly, she said she was happy for us. She said she'd been rooting for us since high school."
What. The. Fuck.
"Wow. I honestly had no idea she was that aware of my love life. It's kinda disturbing."
Aria covered her mouth when she laughed. "It's fine. She's sweet."
"Yeah she is," I said with a smile. After a moment passed, I tugged on her hand. "Come here. I wanna hold you."
She hesitated before she got up and sat across my lap. I wrapped my arms around her as she leaned against me.
"I hope I'm not to heavy for you."
"Are you kidding me?" I turned her in my lap so she was straddling me. "You're perfect."
Aria smiled down at me. Fuck, she was beautiful. Everything about her was so incredibly beautiful. She leaned down to kiss me and I groaned against her lips. She also tasted fucking delicious. The sweetness from the marshmallows was still fresh in her mouth. That mixed with the fruitiness from the wine she drank made an interesting concoction. One that hade me sucking on her tongue as I sported a raging hard on.
She knew it, too.
She moved her body against my erection and I hissed before grabbing her thighs to stop her.
"If you keep doing that," I said through gritted teeth, "I'm going to fuck you right here."
"You wouldn't dare. We're outside."
"So?"
"So?" She arched a brow. "Someone could see us. Like your mom or Vance. Or...someone!"
I pulled her closer so that the hot center of her body was pressed against my dick. "No one will see us. The fence and trees are blocking anyone's view. Vance won't come out here again and my mom is sleeping.
"But still, Micah, you can't be—"
Aria gasped when I reached between her legs and ripped a hole in her pajama bottoms. Unable to resist, I dipped my fingers into her wetness.
"Micah...Oh, god..."
Her nails dug into my shoulders as she rode my fingers. I would never fucking get enough of her. I would never get enough of hearing the way she moaned my name. I would never get enough of the way her body responded to me.
Her body—fuck, her body. I would never get enough of that either.
I always wondered in high school what her skin would feel like. Now I knew. I knew that there was nothing softer on this Earth. Well, maybe there was one thing that was softer...
"I need you, Micah," she half whispered/half moaned against my lips. "Now."
I'd never done anything like this in my life. Sex outside? In my mom's goddamn backyard?
Never.
But the thrill and excitement of having sex outdoors overrode any of my common sense. Not to mention how good she felt coming on my fingers. Nothing could have stopped what happened next.
I reached between us and unzipped my jeans. I probably set the world record for how fast I freed my straining dick and got inside Aria's tight heat. We always used a condom when we had sex before. Well, except for the first time. At the drive-in.
And...now.
I knew we should be safe—hell, Aria brought home a random box of condoms from the grocery store even though I had plenty. But there was no stopping this.
Aria kissed me deep as she moved on top of me. The feel of her without the barrier of a condom...
My head fell back against my chair. "You feel so fucking good," I groaned.
Her eyes met mine and something changed.
No—everything changed.
There was something in her gaze that made my heart beat even faster.
There was something that made one hundred different possibilities of a future together flash before my eyes.
Something...
"Micah, I..."
My breath caught and I waited to hear the rest.
"I—I need you. I need you, Micah."
It was three words, yes. Just not those three words.
But it was in her eyes.
It was all in her eyes.
So I said what I was feeling, too.
"I need you, too, Aria."
***
Keep your eyes open for a double post today!
We are so close to the end of this story and I cant wait!
xoxo