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Taylor

T aylor made it to the bathroom and discarded the condom in the trash can. As he washed his hands and face, what had just happened played again and again in his head.

He’d had sex before, lots of sex. While he was not a player like Cash had been or like Sven still was, he’d had a healthy sex life since he was eighteen. But that sex felt different. When he saw her colorful dildo in this bathroom, he was in trouble, but he had thought it was just going to be sexual temptation for his Coach’s daughter... not falling in love with his Coach’s daughter.

This was not love. There was no way. He was just wrapped up in the magic of it all. Being snowed in with a beautiful woman on Christmas was romantic... he was just getting carried away.

But as he walked into her bedroom and saw her lying there and smiling at him, the bed rumpled, her rainbow hair a mess, and her sex-drunk gaze told him this was more. He’d never had a real relationship because he worried he wouldn’t be good at managing his time, but maybe it was time to see if he could do it.

Alice Wagner would definitely be worth it.

A pesky, lingering problem was, she was the coach’s daughter.

“Come back. I’m cold,” she said, patting the bed.

Anything he had just been thinking about sounded like a problem for another day. He had a cute girl to snuggle. He went straight into bed and held out his arms. She immediately came to him and laid her head on his chest.

“You feel so good,” he said as he rubbed her arm and pressed a kiss to her head.

A long, perfect moment shimmered between them.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“What on earth are you thanking me for?”

“For tonight. I know this whole situation is weird, but you made it so special.”

She sniffed, and he prayed she wasn’t crying.

“I’m glad. Although my motives may have been partly selfish,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh yeah,” she said, looking up at him.

“Umm, yeah... I just got laid,” he said with a chuckle.

The smile stretched across her face made him relax.

“But seriously. Thank you. For what you did downstairs... and, of course, what you did in here.”

He could hardly stand how amazing she was. She was precious, and he just wanted to keep her.

“Although... I think I might need more practice,” she said, grinning up at him.

“Oh yeah? I thought you were perfect, but if you think you need practice, who am I to argue? I know how important practice is,” he said, pretending to be serious.

She batted at his chest and yawned.

“Why don’t you turn off the light, and we can get some sleep if you want? I don’t have to go anywhere for a few days.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said on another yawn, turning over but holding onto his hand until they were spooning in bed.

Alice relaxed into Taylor’s arms. He wasn’t a particularly cuddly person. He enjoyed the connection after sex for a while but then he was always ready to turn over and go to bed, but he had a suspicion he wouldn’t want to let go of this soft, colorful rainbow of a woman all night.

If all they had together were these few days in this cabin, he would soak up every ounce of sunshine he could. But as he lay there, looking at this beauty in his arms, who was already fast asleep, he couldn’t help but wonder what had really brought her here to spend Christmas away from her family. Yes, she got fired and was hiding—he got that, but he couldn’t help but think there was more. Especially after he had seen her dim after a short phone call with her sister. There was so much more to her than people thought. Maybe he would figure it out over the next few days.

Looking over at the clock next to the bed, he saw that it was already past midnight. It was Christmas Day. The conversation they had on the couch earlier than night played in his mind. She had always talked about how magical Christmas had been here in the cabin. She wasn’t a Scrooge like they had been watching all day. He could tell she was someone who liked the magic of Christmas. That wasn’t why she was hiding away.

As gently as he could, he pulled his arm out from under her head and stilled as she shifted. When he was certain she was still asleep, he got out of bed and crept down the hall to where his suitcase was.

Opening it, he pulled the zipper back to the wrapped presents he had for his family. He had gotten his new little sister a pad of nice drawing paper and some high-quality colored pencils.

He went downstairs, cleaned up all the dinner dishes, and started the dishwasher. Walking back into the living room, he took in the room still aglow with all the Christmas lights he’d found. Part of him thought about putting them away and just leaving the ones she’d had out before he came but then remembered how amazing she looked sitting there on the couch with the glow of the lights everywhere.

If he could spend the next couple nights curled up in the warm glow of the lights and her soft inviting body, it would be enough to get him through the season and a better Christmas break than he could have ever hoped for.

Sorry, Mom .

But he wasn’t sorry for a second. He wasn’t sitting in a hotel room in Florida.

He turned off all the lights except the Christmas tree and put the present for her under the tree. Then he stopped to gaze out the window at the snow that shimmered in the moonlight.

Their snowman, with her colorful scarf against the backdrop of silvery white blanket of the snow in the moonlight, brought in a deep sense of peace. Closing his eyes, he committed this to his memory. Whenever he needed a peaceful moment to help him calm down, he could recall this feeling. He would remember this magical, quiet moment, this unexpected, remarkable holiday break.

After one more deep breath, he turned and headed up the stairs to climb back in bed with Alice. His footsteps fell silent in the hallway, but when he pushed the door open, it gave a soft creak. He winced, not wanting to wake her, but then saw her. He couldn’t help the soft chuckle that bubbled up. She lay there on her stomach, her pillow squishing her face and her lips parted, giving soft snores.

She was perfect.

He shut the door behind him, careful not to make too much noise. Quietly, he made his way across the room and pulled back the covers. Alice stirred as he got into bed. As he settled, she turned and snuggled into his side.

Yes, this was a Christmas to remember, and he could have never dreamed this one up if he tried.