Her First Noel

I start to reply when out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of blonde hair, the curve of luscious hips, the sway of the world’s most fantastic ass, and I’m instantly hard.

My muscles tense, my already crazed obsession revving into overdrive, and I snap my head around like a predator catching the scent of his prey, all my senses suddenly on alert. The rest of the room fades, as I watch her moving at the edge of the crowd, before Martin raises his hand and waves.

“Holly!” The world snaps back into focus as he motions for her to join us in the center of the room. “Over here.”

I grit my teeth, trying to quell the filthy thoughts that are playing in my mind about my best friend’s daughter.

Bringing my Coke to my lips, I take a long sip, trying to keep my heart from thundering out of my chest as Holly waves back and her lips curve into that perfect smile that dances in my dreams every night. The same smile I’ve been unable to get out of my head since the first time I met her, three years ago.

As I watch, imagining all the dirty things I’d use those lips for, Amanda sashays by her and mutters something that makes Holly’s face fall.

If I wasn’t frozen to the spot, I’d stomp up there, find out what she said and make her apologize. Instead, I focus on the sight of my obsession and try to control the low-level rage I feel when she hands her coat to the girl at the cloak room entrance, revealing the outfit underneath.

Don’t get me wrong, I love what she’s wearing. A tight red skirt, red heels and a low-cut red and white striped sweater to match, making her look like a sex-flavored candy cane, all snugging around every soft curve and making my mouth water. Her ripe tits push up behind the sweater, cleavage that calls for my tongue to taste it on view for every fucker to see.

Except, her skirt is too fucking short. If she sits down, you could surely see her panties. If she’s wearing any.

Fuck. I’m going to lose my fucking mind.

“You didn’t tell me Holly was back for the holiday.” I growl at my friend, who gives me a confused look.

“Yeah I did…” He sniffs then finishes. “Shit, maybe not. Anyway, it’s not just the holiday. The damn newspaper she was working for closed their doors last week. Everyone showed up for work and there was a notice on the door. Just like that.” He snaps his fingers. “Week before Christmas, everyone is out of a job.”

I blow out a long breath, watching out of the corner of my eye as she works her way through the crowd, greeting some of the employees and pausing to chat, making me want to kill the guys that are even thinking of breathing the same air as she is.

“She’s staying with her mom?” I ask needing to know where she will be laying her head tonight.

Martin’s voice darkens. “Yeah. I’d love if she’d stay with me, but her mom…” He puffs out a breath. “MaryBeth has been giving Holly the guilt trip ever since she left for Philly for that job. I swear she’s happy she lost it. Means she can have free labor and another stream of passive income.”

“Shit luck. On many levels.”

It was similarly shit luck that threw MaryBeth and Martin together in the first place, from what I know of the situation. That was years before I knew him, when he was just a laborer like any of the guys in the room right now. He was working a construction job in the vicinity of a hotel where she was staying while she attended some fortune-teller conference or other; she’s not psychic, but she does have a gift when it comes to bullshitting.

Anyway, one thing led to another, they ended up sharing her hotel room for the night, then they parted ways. She went back to Indiana and that was the end of the story. Except it wasn’t, because six years ago she popped up out of the woodwork, telling Martin he had a daughter. Turns out she was married when they had their thing, then when her husband fell over from a heart attack, her meal ticket was gone.

Enter a DNA test and a child support order from the court and instant fatherhood. Which, to give him his dues, Martin took to like a duck to water. For the shit way MaryBeth handled the whole thing, Martin made sure Holly knew he took his responsibility seriously and if he had known from the get go he had a daughter, he would have fought for at least partial custody.

He’s a good guy. I’ve never known him to sleep around or even date that much. He’s too focused on work. But if he knew about Holly sooner, I know she would have been his priority.