Chapter Ten

Carter

Getting out of bed proved to be a surprisingly—or perhaps unsurprisingly—difficult task. In no time Remmy had discovered my weakest spots, and taking advantage of having me at his mercy was apparently something he enjoyed a great deal. I didn’t mind at all. There had to be worse things than being wrapped around Remmy’s little finger. I found comfort in his embrace and sought out more of his kisses. The day looming ahead of us frightened me a little, and I gladly would’ve hidden away under the covers, in Remmy’s arms. I rather liked pretending the outside world didn’t exist.

Reluctantly, I untangled myself from Remmy but couldn’t hold back from tickling his side one more time, where the shirt had ridden up. Who could resist that tempting bit of exposed skin? So tan and so soft. He retaliated with another round of kisses, and I had to hold on to his wriggling fingers so he would let me get a word out. “Wait, wait. We should get going soon, Remmy. If you want to shower, you better get to it.”

“Okay, you’re the boss,” Remmy said, grinning. “Today.” He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head and flung it toward the chair. I spotted a reddish, faint purple mark on a patch of skin below the ribs, and another on his shoulder. I did that. My heart started thumping away behind my ribcage, faster and faster when Remmy stretched and stood, parading his beautiful body around the room. His glowing skin was a light bronze under the cheap hotel light. Shamelessly, I admired him as he strolled into the bathroom buck naked, remembering how warm and soft his body had felt under my lips.

I finished packing the few things we’d brought while Remmy showered and got ready for the day. Less than ten minutes later, he bounded out of the bathroom, stark naked, and made quick work of throwing on the clothes from yesterday. When a knock sounded at the door he slid into a pair of dark jeans in record time. We shared a look.

“You didn’t order room service by any chance, did you?” Remmy asked.

I shook my head, saying, “I don’t think they actually do room service here.”

Remmy’s hopeful expression fell. Going for the door, he opened it. A tall, tanned man, in his late forties perhaps, moved closer as Remmy stepped aside to let him in. His mouth hung open.

“Dad! What in the world are you doing here?”

“What do you think, son? Your mom told me to get you before you decide you’d rather spend Christmas in a hotel than with your family.”

“She what? I wouldn’t. I talked to her on the phone last night, and we texted earlier,” Remmy sputtered. “She didn’t mention you coming here!”

Their interactions were amusing. Remmy’s dad was nothing like I’d pictured him. They shared the same dark skin but his dad was taller, bald, and had what people would refer to as a beer belly. I remember Remmy telling me about his dad’s health issues and how he had to quit alcohol and caffeine years ago.

“Your mom isn’t taking any chances, huh?” I chuckled. I couldn’t help it.

At the same time his dad spoke, “She was worried you might be hurt and not tell us.” He hugged Remmy. “Boy, what happened to your hair?”

“My hair? Oh!” Remmy flustered. Had he forgotten all about the dye job? He summoned a cheeky grin for his dad. “Isn’t it cool? Mom will so freak!”

Remmy’s dad shook his head, like he couldn’t believe what his life had come down to. I noticed they had the same nose and his dad’s forehead crinkled exactly like Remmy’s. “Oh, you got that right. I don’t want to be around when your mother sees this.”

Then Remmy introduced me to his dad, and we exchanged pleasantries and grabbed our things, then headed downstairs to check out. Remmy promised his dad we would be following him in my car. It was still snowing, but we only had a short distance to go, and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as last night.

Remmy fastened his seat belt and fell back against the seat. He groaned. “I can’t believe he did that! Did they think I would not come home? How…” He shook his head. “We’re already this close to home—why would I stay at a hotel?”

I started up the engine and said, “I think they were worried about the snow getting worse again and then we would miss Christmas after all.”

“Ha! That’s ridiculous, like my Dad’s car is Kit or something and can get us out of a blizzard.”

I laughed and reversed out of the parking lot. I spotted Carlos’s white SUV and followed him as promised.

“Oh well, we’re on our way now.” Remmy glanced at me and our eyes met for a second as I maneuvered the car around a corner. Snow covered the streets and trees and, well, everything. “Oh, hey, I have an idea. Let’s stop at a CVS or Walgreens.”

“Okay, sure.” I shot Remmy a curious look. Then I smirked at him. “Do you want to get condoms and lube?”

“What? Dude. Gutterbrain!” Instant flush. “Uh, I might actually have some in my old bedroom…” Remmy’s lips curved at the side, his cheeks glowing red. “But no, I was thinking…We could pick out some small gifts for each other. I mean, I don’t have anything for you since we hadn’t exactly planned on spending Christmas together.”

“You want to buy me something?” I hadn’t meant to sound so startled, but he caught me by surprise. Two days ago we hadn’t even been friends, and now he wanted to get me a Christmas present?

“Well, yeah. You’ll have to get me something too.” Remmy shoved my shoulder. “Obviously. And the rules are whatever we choose has to be silly, small, and under ten dollars, because that’s all I’ve got with me.”

I laughed, liking the idea a lot. “Okay, let’s do this.” I wanted to get Remmy something for Christmas. It would be fun to exchange gifts, even if they were last minute.

“I’ll let my dad know.” Remmy reached for his phone. To me he said, “We could start a new tradition even—my family is all about traditions!”

“Like what?”

“Last minute drugstore Christmas gift shopping.” Remmy sounded so excited, it was contagious. I couldn’t help but smile too.

A few minutes later I followed Remmy’s dad into the nearest Walgreens parking lot.

“I hope you’re a faster shopper than my sisters. Dad says we have like fifteen minutes before he’ll come looking for us,” Remmy told me with a grimace as we entered the store.

“Does he think we’ll escape through the bathroom window like two criminals on the run?” I joked and Remmy burst out laughing, startling an old lady in a neon-orange bomber jacket and huge sunglasses which covered half her wrinkly face.

“Who knows with parents, right?” Remmy said and I nodded in agreement, but I couldn’t recall what it was like having overbearing parents. I didn’t want to dwell on it.

“Hurry then and meet me at the entrance in fifteen.” I nudged Remmy who was beaming with excitement. Then he was off, and I had barely enough time to come up with a unique gift for Remmy. Unlike me, he probably lived for the thrill.

When I walked up to the cashier, Remmy was handing his ten dollar bill over to a bored-looking redheaded teenager. I hid my pickings behind my back. Whatever he’d purchased had vanished into a plastic bag before I could get a glimpse of it. Pocketing the change, Remmy picked up a small bag of Hershey’s Kisses and addressed the girl behind the register.

“I hope you like chocolate,” he said and held out the pack of Hershey’s Kisses to her. Surprise colored her face. Remmy looked uncertain. “Oh. Maybe I should have also gotten something savory so you could pick and choose whichever you preferred.”

“I’m sorry, what?” The girl stared at him with wide, uncertain eyes like he’d suddenly transformed into a two-headed monkey in front of her.

“Oh, wait, I hope you don’t think—I’m not coming on to you; I swear.” Remmy’s cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. Likely he hadn’t considered she might mistake his gift as a come on. “I…uh…I wanted to do something nice for you since you have to work on Christmas Eve, and…well…it must suck.” Remmy shrugged.

His rambling speech earned him a shy smile and a “Thanks, that’s very sweet of you” as the cashier accepted the Hershey’s Kisses. Remmy stumbled away, cheeks blazing. Another customer got in front of me. When Remmy looked my way he waved, trying to look around the tall middle-aged man to see what I’d gotten him.

“Close your eyes!” I called out and drew the attention of a few other customers. I didn’t care. Remmy laughed but didn’t move or close his eyes. I said, “Go and wait outside, Remmy.”

He stuck out his tongue and then turned around, disappearing as it was my turn to pay.

♥