On Sale for Christmas

I think that's what did it for him. Because I was still in the throes of my own orgasm when I heard his sexy groan, and the growls of pleasure that followed. I couldn't quite see from my window, but I imagined the spurts as they flowed onto his hand, and it made my climax even better.

"Mmmm," I said, squeezing my eyes shut to re-play his sounds in my head. Wow, okay, this might be the most random hook-up I'd ever experienced, but he really was a sexy beast.

"Think that'll tide you over for a bit?" Ben asked.

I smirked. "That and some coffee. I could use some right now."

"It's eleven o'clock at night…"

"Too late for you, Gramps?"

"Tomorrow I'm taking you down to the Sweet Shack for white hot cocoa."

I groaned. "Not the Sweet Shack!"

"Why not? It's got the best white hot cocoa in the county."

"It's got the only white hot cocoa in the county," I protested. It was a kitschy, country hangout with a Santa at Christmas time and a model train that chugged around the diner tables. Not only was it eye-roll inducingly tacky, but I used to wait tables there when I was in high school. "It brings back bad memories of my being fired for swapping out the salt and sugar when I was bored."

He laughed. "So that's why you got fired. I always wondered…"

I bit my lip. In the city, I never had to go public with a guy if I didn't want to. In this town, there were no secrets. I could already imagine our clucking mothers taking photos of us like we were going to prom. "Fine. I'll go with you. But I'm meeting you there in my own car. I don't want people to see us together and assume…you know…"

"Assume what? That I'm going to turn you into a call girl and make you come like a freight train?"

"Ben!" I sputtered.

Alas, I had no snappy comeback for that.

"So, for this call-girl game, do you have any preference on venue, customer, or price? Or do you want me to surprise you?"

I was pretty sure that one of us would break eventually. It just wasn't going to be me. So I said two fateful words: "Surprise me."

Chapter Three

The bell on the Sweet Shack's door jingled as I opened it, and the owner looked up from the countertop with a huge smile, as if he actually remembered me fondly in spite of the salt and sugar incident. Or the ceramic cups and saucers I accidentally smashed before he finally gave me the boot. "Why Becca Vincent, as I live and breathe…"

"Hi, Gus," I said, a bit sheepishly.

"Haven't seen you around these parts for a while. Are you finally home to stay?"

Pulling my white woolen hat from my head, I tried to smooth my hair back into its trendy straight style. "Just came back to see my mom for the holidays."

"How much longer until graduation?" Gus asked, wiping down the counter. "Your mom must be eager to have you back."

Did anyone actually believe I was coming back to Geece Grove after college? This town wasn't going to be my final resting place, but I just said, "I've still got another year before graduation."

"Did you hear? Ben White is back in one piece. Thank God."

I smiled tightly, remembering that Gus was a veteran, and feeling shitty that I hadn't really worried about Ben. He'd always led such a charmed life, I guess I never considered that he might've come home from some dangerous foreign place in a body bag. And that horrified me more than a little. "Actually, Ben's meeting me here this morning for some of your famous white hot cocoa."

Gus stopped wi

ping, flinging the towel over his shoulder to flash me an even wider grin. "You and Ben? Well, isn't that just the sweetest thing I've heard all Christmas! It's about time. I always hoped you two would get together—"

"Oh, we're not together," I interrupted, swiftly. "Just having a hot beverage."

Gus just shook his head as if he didn't believe me. "That boy has been sweet on you for as long as I can remember. The way he used to stop in here two, three times a day when you worked behind the counter. The big tips he used to leave for you…one of these days you ought to give him a chance."