Jamie Pope - Kissed By Christmas

“What did your mother say about me? ‘Where on earth did you find that dizzy girl? And do you always let women you barely know use your bathroom?’” She could only imagine what the beautiful, proper professor thought about the strange woman with the head injury who had somehow gotten involved with her son. “I can’t imagine a worse first impression to make.”

“She likes you.”

“She was being polite.”

Asa shook his head. “Trust me, Hallie. If my mother didn’t like you she would make it known. My mother may have excellent manners, but she has no problem stating her opinion. She had my last girlfriend in tears their first meeting.”

“Oh. I can see that. She scares me a little. Why didn’t she like your last girlfriend?”

“She called herself Bambi and when she met my mother she was wearing a top that was so low-cut you could see... All the gifts God gave her. Plus she wore jeans that were cut so low you could see her thong.”

“I think your mother should have made you cry. Why would you bring home a woman like that when you knew your parents would be disapproving? It’s like you set that poor lady up.”

“I didn’t. My parents were in the city and asked if they could take us to lunch. I wasn’t planning on introducing them that day. Bambi was dressed like that when I picked her up and I didn’t feel like it was my place to ask or tell her to wear something that would please my mother. Would you want a man telling you how to dress?”

He had a point. “No. My ex was like that. I was supposed to dress a certain way. Speak a certain way. Behave a certain way. All to keep up with the image he had crafted. I hated it.”

“What’s wrong with the way you speak, dress and behave?”

“I just wasn’t right. My ex-fiancé is a Realtor who specializes in luxury properties. It was a small family business that he had grown over the years. He wanted to cater to the wealthy jet-set crowd and celebrities and I was supposed to be.... I’m not sure who or what he wanted me to be, but in the end I couldn’t deliver.”

“Thank God for that. You shouldn’t be with a man who doesn’t think you’re good enough.”

“I knew it was going to end when he asked me to straighten my hair. I had worn it straight sometimes, but he asked me to wear it straight whenever I accompanied him somewhere special. I told him no. He barely spoke to me for three days. When we broke up, I cut it short and haven’t seen a flatiron since.”

“I like your curls. They’re beautiful.” He lifted his hand to her hair and sunk his fingers deep inside her ringlets. It was not something she normally let anyone do. But she didn’t mind him doing it. She liked his soothing touch and the way his fingers felt as they gently scratched her scalp.

She closed her eyes again. This was how she had fallen asleep before. He lulled her with his deep voice and calming conversation. She was comfortable around him. “Tell me more about Bambi.”

“There’s not much to tell. She was a cocktail waitress. Fun, sweet. Someone that was easy to hang out with but not someone you would discuss anything deep with. She was exactly what I was looking for at the time.”

“How did your mother make her cry?”

“She asked her a question,” he said evasively.

“Are you going to tell me what it was?”

“I don’t think my mother meant it the way it sounded. She’s an academic. She’s from a very conservative family. Her only option in life was to use her brain.”

“You don’t have to explain your mother to me, Asa. I can tell that she’s a good person.”

He nodded. “She asked Bambi what her future plans were. She wanted to know what she was going to do when her body stopped being in that kind of shape and she could no longer use her sexuality to get good tips. And then she said something about sagging skin and breasts and that’s the first time I had ever wished for a huge natural disaster.”

“You could have used a big meteor striking the restaurant.”

“I think Bambi said something about getting married and raising a family. I’ll never forget what my mother said then. ‘Being a wife and mother are wonderful things, but haven’t you ever considered that you have more to offer the world? Haven’t you ever thought about how you were going to leave your mark?’ Bambi burst into tears then. We broke up after that.”

“She never wanted to see you again after that meeting?”

“No. She was looking to get serious and I knew there was no point. I want to be with someone who has more to offer the world than their body. I hate it when my mother is right.”

Hallie smiled and leaned in to kiss Asa. As soon as she felt her mouth press against his, she realized what she had just done. It was just a simple kiss, just two sets of lips pressing against each other, but as she did it she knew she had felt more kissing him than she had felt kissing Brent for the last five years.

There was nothing sexual, nothing hot or explosive between them, but she felt a lovely warmth spread throughout her entire body and a very sturdy tug on her heart. Almost like it had been kicked awake.

“Oh.” She pulled away from him. “I didn’t mean to do that. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No. You shouldn’t have,” he said just before he tumbled her backward on the couch and kissed her again.

She knew that they shouldn’t be doing this, but his heavy body settled on top of hers and it felt right. His kiss was deeper. More sensuous. It was open mouths and tongues sweeping across each other. It was slow and shocking. She knew it was too much for her senses and yet she wanted so much more. She knew without a doubt that this was the best kiss of her life and then he broke it. She lay there with her chest heaving and her eyes closed. It was a beautiful moment.

“I’m not stopping because I want to, but because I know we shouldn’t go any further.”

She opened her eyes and looked up into his handsome face. “I know.” She let out a long sigh.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you all day. I wanted to be in the bathtub with you and run a washcloth over your naked back. I wanted to pull you close and keep you there more times than I could count today.”

Hallie felt another painful tug in her heart again. Why was this happening now? Why did it have to be him who responded to the call yesterday? She was still heartsore from her broken engagement. The last thing she needed was a romantic entanglement, especially if she wasn’t sure if she was going to last much longer in this city. “Asa. Don’t say that to me.”

“Why? It’s true. I won’t lie to you.”

“I don’t need sex right now, but I do need a friend.” She surprised herself by saying so. It would be easy for her to go back to her apartment. For her to ignore him, forget about this day and all he had done for her. But she knew that would be too hard. It wouldn’t be easy to just be his friend, but she knew she’d rather have him in her life like that, than to go back to being completely alone in this big scary place. “Can you be my friend?”

He sat up, pausing for a moment, before he nodded. “I can.”

“Good. You can start by walking me home.”

* * *

Asa got up and walked Hallie down the hall. He could still feel her lips on his, could still feel how her body went pliant beneath his. He could taste the sweetened tea on her lips and when she’d returned his kiss by sweeping her tongue into his mouth he’d felt jolted, a rush that he couldn’t put into words.

She’d curled his fingers into his shirt. She had wrapped her leg around him. She’d let out a little moan when he broke the kiss. He had wanted to kiss her all day—he just hadn’t expected it to be an experience.