She and Josh took advantage of the gate attendant’s offer to allow those traveling with small children to board early. Once they were settled in their seats, Cody told them about his new spirit acquaintance.
“In his day, pilots had to crank a propeller to start the plane.”
Honor asked, “So what does your new friend think about these big jet engine planes?”
“Ace says they aren’t that special…computers pretty much run them. Pilots nowadays never even feel the wind on their faces and, boy, oh boy, they don’t know what they’re missing!”
Honor smiled; certain that had been a direct quote. “What else did you talk about?”
“I told Ace that Spiderman can feel the wind on his face because he shoots out spider webs and flies from one building to the next one like this…” Cody pretended to shoot webs from his hands.
“What did Ace think of Spiderman?”
“He said he’d like to meet him and buy him a whiskey.”
Josh laughed. “I wonder if Ace understood that Spiderman isn’t a real person.”
Honor giggled at the thought.
When the plane taxied away from the gate, Cody waved wildly out the window.
“Goodbye, Ace! I’ll watch for you in the clouds!”
Honor was startled. “Can Ace fly, even without his old plane?”
Cody nodded. “Yes… but only to the places he flew in his day. He said it sure would be nice if he had flown to faraway places, instead of just flying the mail back and forth between here and crappy Cincinnati.”
Honor choked back a laugh. “Cody! You mustn’t repeat bad words that other people say.”
“What’s a bad word?”
Honor spent the next ten minutes trying to explain the difference between good words and bad words to Cody; thoroughly entertaining Josh, who pretended to be completely absorbed in a magazine article.
Honor was relieved when the flight attendant finally brought the conversation to a close by offering them peanuts and a drink.
She poked Josh in the ribs. “Thanks a lot for all your help there.”
Josh smiled innocently. “Gosh, I’m sorry… I didn’t realize you needed my help. You seemed to be doing fine on your own.”
“Yeah, yeah…you know what they say about payback, right?”
Just then, Cody let out a loud belch that brought disapproving looks from several people sitting around them.
Honor’s jaw dropped, embarrassed by the child’s lack of manners. But instead of chastising him, she batted her eyelashes at Josh. “Your turn.”
Josh narrowed his eyes at her in mock anger, but then addressed Cody firmly. “Cody! What do you say when a burp slips out?”
Cody, unfazed by the rebuke, paused from his drink long enough to mumble, “Excuse me.”
Josh grinned at Honor. “All done. Hey, I like this Mommy and Daddy taking turns thing… especially since it’s your turn again.”
Honor protested the obvious disparity, but without conviction. In her heart, she loved being Mommy.
***
It was dark by the time they arrived at the Belleview Biltmore. Much to their delight, the staff had decorated the resort for the holidays while they were away, transforming it into a winter wonderland, despite the warm temperatures. Rows of small pine trees, sparkling with white lights, lined both sides of the driveway to the entrance, where twelve-foot tall toy soldiers stood guard. Just inside, a huge Christmas tree, decked with gold and burgundy velvet ribbons, antique ornaments and artificial candles, filled the center of the lobby. Enormous swags of decorated pine garland were scalloped along the entire length of the main corridor. Still more garland was looped along the handrails of the grand staircases. A mechanical Santa sat in his gift-filled sleigh near the elevator, waving to passersby.
When at last Josh opened the door to their suite, another surprise greeted them: a Christmas tree stood in their living room, decorated with strings of red bubble-lights and silver garland.
Honor spread a blanket and pillows on the floor by the tree while Josh put on some music and made microwave popcorn. As they snacked, Honor told Cody a story about a magical forest, where fairies hung strings of popcorn on the trees to feed birds throughout the long, cold winter. Mesmerized by the story and the bubble-lights, Cody soon fell asleep. Josh carried his son to bed and then returned to the blanket to cuddle with Honor and reminisce about their favorite Christmas memories.
Josh rose up on his elbow, just high enough to be able to see Honor’s face in the glow of the flickering lights.
“Tonight…being here with you…this is definitely going on my list of favorite holiday memories.”
Honor purred. “I believe I promised you a special night when we got back here.”
Josh required no further prompting. He stood up and pulled off his shirt and jeans.
The red lights dancing across his skin had an erotic effect on Honor. When he knelt down to unfasten her jeans, she stopped him and patted the blanket, signaling him to lie down. Once he had done so, she stood between his legs and began to sway seductively with the music, stripping her clothes off slowly. As she stepped out of her panties, Josh sat up and kissed her inner thighs. When he teased her with his tongue, Honor felt her knees go weak. She allowed him to pull her down to the floor, where the bubble lights continued to cast soft, flickering pools of red light along the length of their bodies.
Honor craved the riveting sensation of Josh’s body merging with hers. He rolled on top of her and she opened her legs, waiting for him, breathless. She was not disappointed. The hard floor beneath her seemed to increase the intensity of his thrusts and she moaned with pleasure. He extended his arms, pushing up off of her while continuing to plunge in and out with almost reckless abandon. Unable to cling to him in this position, she arched her back and squeezed her breasts hard, licking her nipple as she climaxed. She heard Josh gasp at the sight of her pleasuring herself, just before he exploded into her.
Trembling, Josh lowered himself onto her. She caressed his back, relaxing as the room came back into focus.
Suddenly shy, Honor confessed, “I’ve never done a striptease before.”
“Then it was a first for both of us. No one ever danced for me before.” He rolled to her side and let his fingertips glide slowly back and forth over her breast and down her abdomen. “Yep, this holiday memory just moved up to number one on my list.”
She giggled and then stifled a yawn. “I love this, but I think we should move into our bedroom before we fall asleep here on the floor.”
“Yeah… Cody waking up and finding us naked on the floor is a Christmas memory we can all do without.”
“Oh my God... I hadn’t even thought of that possibility.” Honor immediately rolled herself in the blanket and struggled to her feet. “Come on, help me pick up our clothes.”
Josh chuckled. “You look like a human burrito. Don’t worry; I’ve got this.” He snatched up the clothing and followed her to their room.
Once they were in bed, he ventured, “You know, between Becky getting here tomorrow and your sisters coming in for the weekend, you have a busy week ahead of you. What would you think about me starting our search for an apartment?”
Honor gave a contented sigh and closed her eyes. “That would be outstanding.”