Christmas with the Cole family, part 2.
“Beverly, what are you doing?” Rose had just come out of the bathroom when Beverly used her aspergillum on Rose.
“Your sins might be forgiven after this. Stand still.” Beverly ran after Rose. “Sex before marriage… What were you thinking?”
“Does it make you feel any better to spread lies about me?”
“Hm,” Beverly hummed, pretending she was in deep thought, “Yes.”
“Good for you.”
“Now everyone knows you’re not that innocent.”
When they entered the bedroom Rose was supposed to share with Raphael, he sat there on the edge of the bed, fully dressed. He looked up for a brief second, but didn’t really pay attention to the two.
“Lord, please forgive our dear Rose,” Beverly started again and started sprinkling throughout the entire room. “She repents for her sins, please forgive her.”
On purpose, she splashed Raphael’s face so she could touch him. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry.” She kneeled right in front of him and wiped all the water from his face. “Forgive me, please.”
Rose went back downstairs without saying a word to either one of them.
“Are you hungry, sweetie?” April asked Rose. She sat on the rim of the chair Rose sat on.
“No.”
“Sweetie,” April patted Rose’s back, “you really need to eat something.”
“Mom, I really want to go home.”
“Home?” Mama asked in disbelief and sat on the other side of the chair. “You’re not going home.”
“This is by far the worst Christmas ever. Evan isn’t here and everyone probably thinks really different of me now.”
“You’re not going to let Beverly ruin it for you, are you? That’s exactly what she wants.”
“But, Mama,” Rose whined, “I’m not enjoying myself.”
“You know, no one believes her.”
“Dad does.”
“Your father believes everything he wants to believe,” April snorted. “Don’t be fed up, sweetie.”
“Why aren’t you mad at me, mom?”
“Why should I? You weren’t having sex, right?”
“No,” Rose said, but it felt as if she was lying. If Beverly would’ve entered about five minutes later, Rose was sure about the fact that she’d be having sex since she was damn close to giving Raphael her virginity.
“Then there’s no need for me to be mad. You, my Rose, can make your own decisions. And I’m really proud of you that you’ve been waiting for so long and I can’t stop you if you feel like you’re ready. Besides, they can’t think differently of you. The majority of the people here have children and they didn’t get them the Mary way.”
“And I couldn’t have said that any better,” Mama added.
“Now come,” April grabbed Rose’s hand and pulled her off the couch. “Let me fix you something to eat.”
He sat upstairs all by himself, even after the breakfast April had fixed for him. Raphael just liked being alone. Not only that, he was also extremely frustrated. He was so close to having her and within seconds, it all went away.
Suddenly, the door opened and Rose walked in. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She had expected it to be awkward because of last night. “Do you want to come with? We’re going into town.” He shook his head no.
“Okay,” she said, but didn’t leave. Move, Rose, move! she thought, but her body did otherwise. “Okay,” she repeated and left for real.
*
“Let’s go in here!” Taylor pushed Rose into a small store, mainly because she was getting sick and tired of the rest of the family. Taylor and Raphael were quite similar when it came to certain things. They both liked being alone and they hated people and affection.
“Come with me. I’m going to try on these jeans.” Rose went into a fitting room and Taylor followed, waiting patiently on the chair inside the fitting room.
“An Alicia has texted you. She says ‘merry Christmas’,” Taylor read on Rose’s phone.
“Thank her and say it back.”
“Rose, what the fuck?” Taylor laughed as she read another text on Rose’s phone. “A Vince has texted you ‘Merry Christmas, love’ with a million lovey dovey Emojis.”
Rose froze as soon as she heard he had texted her. She thought she had made it clear she didn’t want anything to do with him ever again. “Read and ignore,” Rose ordered. “Then delete and block his number.”
“Who is he?”
“Oh… this guy,” Rose mumbled, looking at herself in the mirror. “Do these jeans make my ass look weird?”
“I get that he’s a guy, Rose, I’m not stupid. And no, your butt looks fine. Now tell me, who is he?”
Rose sighed in defeat, she knew Taylor wasn’t going to stop asking. “I went on this date with him once, and let’s say he wasn’t what I had expected.”
“Hm, okay.”
Meanwhile back at the cabin, not only Raphael, but also George stayed in. George felt sick, sick because of what happened, and in this case, what he believed happened.
Raphael was about to go downstairs when he saw George wandering through the hallway. That’s when he got an idea. Rose used to be holding back because she knew her father didn’t like them being together. Then that was solved. Now, since George was acting like this again, Raphael knew it was going to affect Rose again and the way she’d act towards Raphael. He wanted to prevent that.
By now, George sat downstairs at the dining table, staring at nothing in particular. Raphael sat opposite of him and slid a piece of paper in front of him.
George read the contract and froze. “What do you want?” he asked, slowly looking up at Raphael.
“One signature, my signature, and you lose all your belongings. So think before you start acting the way you do.”
“What happened last night?”
Raphael leaned forward in his chair and said, “What did or did not happen, is none of your business.” He didn’t say it to mess with George, it was just that he didn’t feel the need to inform others about what happened in the bedroom.
“So,” Raphael stood up and looked down at George, “Rose and I are going to stay in the same room, whether you like it or not. If I feel like you’re standing in the way again, know that I won’t hesitate to sign. Merry Christmas, George.” He then walked away with a smile. George was all bark, no bite.
*
“You guys,” Beverly started as she descended the stairs. “Can shampoo expire?” She had both her hands in her hair, occasionally getting them out of her hair to rub her fingers and look at the substance on her finger. “It is so damn sticky!”
“You could be washing it out of your hair instead of standing here,” Taylor murmured, trying her hardest not to laugh. Beverly groaned and walked back upstairs.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” April spoke as she noticed Raphael was watching Rose closely. Rose sat on the floor and had been playing with her little cousins, but she got way too distracted. She had been thinking about Evan for a really long time, wondering if he was okay since he hadn’t called.
April took her phone out of her pocket and zoomed in on Rose a bit. She tapped on Rose’s head on her phone, making her surroundings a blur, and took a picture.
“Can you send that to me?” he asked and the question even surprised him.
“Of course I can, honey.” He gave her his personal phone so she could get his number and she sent him the picture. “Take good care of it,” she said, but was obviously referring to Rose. “Go take her out. I think she’s still a bit upset about the whole Beverly thing.”
Right then, Beverly came running down the stairs while screaming like she had just seen a ghost. “My hair!” she shrieked. “Look at it,” she started dividing her hair into sections, showing everyone the pieces of dried glue on her scalp and in her entire hair. “I think I’m going to pass out.”
Everyone rolled their eyes and sighed at the scene of Beverly trying to seek attention.
“You’re so wrong for this!” Rose laughed.
“I know,” Taylor shrugged her shoulders, “but she deserves it.”
“Maybe just a little…” Rose trailed off as an outstretched hand stood in front of her face. It wasn’t hard to tell whose hand it was, one, because of the beads, two, because of the skin color.
She went from his hand, to his arms and then eventually looked at his face. That’s when she reluctantly took his hand. He led her upstairs to their bedroom.
“Go change, we’re grabbing dinner.”
“And what if I don’t want to?”
“Just go get dressed, Rose.” After a stare-off, she complied and went to go get ready.
“Let’s go through the back,” she started and instead of taking the stairs that led to the living room, she led him to the terrace that had a staircase that immediately led them outside.
It didn’t even surprise her that when they were outside, there was a car and a driver ready for them. During the ride, she was thinking about what had happened the night before. Though no one believed Beverly, it was still awkward for Rose to be surrounded by all her relatives. Maybe it was a sign, maybe it wasn’t the right time, or worse – the right person.
He hadn’t made any reservations since it was kind of last minute, but he still managed to get a secluded table. It showed to Rose how powerful he actually was, since the driver wasn’t Patrick nor was he Jean-Pierre. So, even being four to five hours away from home, he had another driver. And he probably did all over the country.
Once the waiter had poured Rose her glass of water and had given Raphael his glass of Jack, he raised his glass. “You need to look at me while we toast, Rose.”
“Or else?”
“Seven years of bad sex,” he answered and she slowly looked up at him. He had a slight smile on his face that just made her heart race. “And we don’t want that.”
Rose wasn’t sure if he actually meant what she thought he meant. She didn’t know if he was talking about their sex-life together or that she was just reading too much into it. “I wouldn’t know, don’t know what it’s like.”
“What? Bad sex?” It was more of a rhetorical question to him, he knew all along she was a virgin. She just never told him.
“No, sex in general. Like, I’ve only kissed before, nothing more. Wait… why am I even telling you this?”
He was getting more and more aroused by the second. To actually hear it come out of her mouth was unreal. He just couldn’t believe how pure she actually was and how… how perfect even.
“Then I’ll have to show you how amazing it can be,” he retorted and smiled at her sudden shyness. She too had a slight smile on her face as she looked down at her still empty plate.
She slowly lifted her glass and looked at him. His green eyes were twinkling a bit because of the dimmed light above them and his facial hair being somewhere between a stubble and a beard, yet it still looked perfectly kept… Hell, his entire appearance made her weak.
They slowly brought their glasses to each other – without breaking eye contact of course – and their glasses clinked.
“You actually believe in this?” Rose asked amused. He really didn’t seem like the type of man to believe in any kind of superstition.
“I just don’t want to take a risk, Rose, especially not with you.”
“Who says I even want to sleep with you? And for seven years?”
“I am and I know you do.” He placed his glass back on the table. “All you’ve got to do is tell me, Rose, that’s all you’ve got to do…”
Rose felt the dinner taking a very sexual turn and didn’t really know what or how to answer. She sure as hell got her answer about whose sex-life he was talking; he was obviously talking about theirs together.
Once the waiter had brought their food, Raphael continued, “I know for a fact that if… Belinda? Brenda?”
“Beverly,” Rose snorted.
“Yeah, that if Beverly wouldn’t have interrupted us last night, you would’ve known how good I can make you feel.”
“What even makes you think I want you?”
“Your body language, the way you look at me and the way you respond to almost everything I do. I might be quiet, but I’m not stupid, Rose.”
She ran her hand through her hair and looked down at her plate again. She thought she was doing a great job at hiding it, and she had no idea what to say now that he actually knew.
After eating, they spent time just talking to each other with a drink until he suddenly excused himself. “I’ll be right back,” he said and walked away.
She swirled her wine a bit, looking around the restaurant. It really was romantic, with a fireplace close to their table, and she smiled a little while looking around. A few moments later, a voice – his voice – snapped her out of her thoughts. “I know I’m a day late, but merry Christmas, Rose.”
She turned around and there he stood, behind her chair, with a large box and a dashing smile on his face. She stood up to face him and he handed her the box.
She could barely believe it. The box was orange and not just plain orange. It was the Hermès color and the box did not only have HÈRMES PARIS written on top of it in black bold, it also had a thin black ribbon with the logo all over it.
He watched her closely as she unwrapped the bow, opened the box and moved all the other things like a little folder to the side to reveal her actual present. She gasped before shifting her eyes between her present and his eyes.
“Is this for me?” she was on cloud nine, it was surreal to her. The fact that he had even thought about getting her a present was already mind-blowing on its own.
“Yes, Rose,” he chuckled at how flabbergasted she was. He liked to see her like this and he was happy he could make her feel this way. “It’s for you.”
She had gawked over this bag so many times and for so long. She wanted it so badly and knew that there was a nihil chance of her actually having it since it really was expensive, like, really expensive. He had bought her a Birkin bag, all white of course.
“It goes with my belt,” he teased, referring to the Hermès belt he had spanked her with.
She smiled, not only because he reminded her of that one time full of pleasure, but because it showed that he had put thought in the present. She felt special, because she knew he didn’t like Christmas at all, though he still went out of his way to get her a present. And that’s exactly how he wanted to make her feel; special.
She put the box with the bag in it on the table and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered before kissing him.
Since Christmas Eve, Rose had left her phone alone. She did bring it with her for emergencies and such, but rarely responded to any calls, just a few texts. But on their way back to the cabin Rose received a phone call from a blocked caller I.D. and picked it up. As soon as she heard the automatic machine speak, telling her that this was a phone call from a secret military base, she knew exactly who it was.
“Rose,” she heard the familiar voice say and all but broke out in tears. “Merry Christmas, Ace.”
“Merry Christmas, Evan. I miss you!”
“Just less than two weeks, Ace,” he reassured and it instantly made her feel better. “So how is my most favorite relative?” he asked, sarcasm dripping all over.
“Ugh, don’t start!” Rose whined. Evan’s hate for Beverly was gigantic.
“What did she do this time?”
“I’m not even going to tell you, it’s that embarrassing. But no worries, Taylor put glue in her shampoo.”
Evan died of laughter as he heard what his little cousin had done. Taylor and he used to do these pranks on Beverly together, since their hate for her was equal. They didn’t really care how bad it was. “Tell her I’m proud of her. Hey, I’ll try and call you during New Year’s, alright? The guys want to talk to you. I love you, Rose.”
When Rose was talking to Evan’s colleagues, Raphael just had the serious urge to snatch the phone from her. It was just something in him that made him feel so possessive over her. He wanted to be the one to make her feel happy, he wanted to be the one to make her feel good – and most of all – he wanted to make her smile. He had no idea why, he had never felt this way about anyone, ever.
“Is it raining?” she asked, but mentally cursed herself for even asking. Raindrops were all over the windows of the car and she could even hear it. “Never mind.”
He smiled before exiting the car. The driver stood outside with an umbrella for the two, so Raphael helped Rose gett out of the car from his side instead of rounding it.
“It’s freezing!” she squealed once the cold wind and rain hit her bare legs as her heels touched the pavement.
He closed the door behind her and to her surprise, he pushed her against the car and pressed his body against hers. Suddenly she didn’t feel cold anymore.
“What are they doing?” Beverly sneered. She started looking out of the window when she heard a car pull up. Then she saw Raphael and Rose making out against the car with the driver patiently holding the umbrella above their heads.
“Kissing, Beverly,” Taylor joined, “It’s called kissing.”
“I’m about to barf. What does he even see in her?” she scowled, distancing herself from the window as far as possible.
“What does she see in him, you mean,” George corrected. “She’s way too good for him.”
“No, I meant what I said.”
“Excuse me,” April fussed before anyone else could. “I’m not going to let you speak about my daughter like that. You’re a miserable woman, Beverly, I feel sorry for you.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled and ran a hand through her, but immediately flinched. The damage the glue did seemed to be minimal at first, but as the hours passed it actually damaged her scalp.
“Are you still cold?” Raphael whispered against Rose’s lips.
“No.”
“Good.” He grabbed her hand and went to the front door as, of course, the driver slowly following the pair behind up to the doorstep.
Inside, Rose conversed with her family while she sat on Raphael’s lap and rested her head on his shoulder. They had never been this close and tranquil together. Normally, he probably would’ve done something, like touch her on places he knew she enjoyed, just to make it hard for her to talk. But not today. He just looked at her and admired her as she talked and laughed.
“Do you want to go upstairs?” Rose whispered in his ear and he nodded.
He kissed her neck and told her the one thing that had her heart beating utterly hard. “You’re absolutely stunning.” She stopped moving for a while and didn’t really understand what was happening. He was so nice to her and she slowly started to believe that this man did have a heart. A small one, but he did have a heart.
“Can you help me get out of my dress, please?” she asked. He motioned for her to come to him and she stood in between his legs while he sat on the edge of the bed. He gradually unzipped her dress and made sure he touched her bare skin while doing it.
Once he had unzipped it he didn’t stop. He slid the dress off her shoulders and pulled it down as he left kisses on her back. Rose closed her eyes as she let the satisfaction take over.
He let the fabric fall to the ground and grabbed her by her waist, turning her around.
For the first time she stood just in her underwear in front of a guy and she watched him watch her, hoping he thought her body was somewhat okay.
He thought it was more than okay. It was glorious, sublime, marvelous, stunning, however you want to call it. He had been longing to see her like this. Not just without her jeans, or with her blouse unbuttoned; he wanted to see it all at once like right now.
She cupped his face and leaned in, making them fall back on the bed. He wanted her to take control for a while, he didn’t want to lure her into doing anything. He wanted her to say it willingly.
Her lips left his and went to his neck. She sucked and bit on his neck, making a moan escape from his mouth. She had never done anything like this before and was happy to hear that he was enjoying it.
While she unbuttoned his button up and trailed kisses down his chest and abs, his hand went from her waist, to play with the hem of her panties.
“Shit, Rose,” he grunted as her lips were dangerously low, caressing the skin around the waistband of his boxers when she had unbuckled his pants.
Being around each other made them forget about the cold outside. Just with one touch, their bodies heated up to the max.
She straddled him and they looked at each other for a while. He had a hickey on his neck and one on his chest, and it looked extremely good on him.
“Come here,” he demanded and cupped her face to close the space between them.
His hand went all over her body again and ended up on her ass. He squeezed it and she gasped, “Please, Raphael.”
“Please what, Rose?” he asked, but her eyes were saying enough. He knew it and he knew exactly what she was about to say.
“Please…”
A knock on the door interrupted them and Rose groaned. This was the second time already.
“Rose,” her mother called.
“Coming!” she yelled back and climbed off of Raphael.
He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his temple. So close, yet again so close, it started to get tantalizing.
Rose grabbed her robe and exited the room to talk to her mom.
Meanwhile Raphael took this opportunity to call Oliver. Oliver had been working for Raphael for years and in times of need, Oliver was the person to call.
“Oliver,” Raphael started. “I need you to follow someone around. Start by tomorrow, I’m giving you two days. If you don’t find any dirt by then, I’ll fire you.”
“Yes sir. Who is it?”
“Beverly, Beverly Cole. I mean it when I say it, Oliver. Find nada and I will fire you. Two days.” With that he hung up.
Right then Rose entered the room and she was kind of irritated since they were interrupted over something so stupid. Her mom wanted to make sure she was driving back home with them and not going home with Raphael. Raphael had to do some business out of town so she couldn’t go with him. That was it. That was all she wanted to ask.
“This is so frustrating,” she huffed.