25. Early Christmas Present

Early Christmas Present

Benjamin

6 Days Until New Year’s Eve

I finished wrapping the final gift we had gotten Nova for Christmas and checked my watch. We needed to get to her house and were dangerously close to running late. “Guys! Let’s go!” I yelled. I rolled my shoulders to relieve some of the tension in them. We have been working long hours preparing for the launch, and I was looking forward to having two days off to spend with Nova. Christmas was finally here, meaning it was only a week until New Year’s, and we hadn’t figured anything out yet. I wasn’t going to focus on that right now. I was going to focus on Christmas with our little Christmas Star.

Lincoln and Grant finally came downstairs with their overnight bags. I grabbed mine, and we each grabbed some gifts, loaded up the Jeep, and left. When we arrived, we let ourselves into Nova’s house and were greeted by Christmas music and delicious smells.

“Hey guys!” she called from the kitchen as we brought everything in. Grant took our bags to her bedroom while Linc and I added our gifts to the ones already under the tree.

“Smells amazing, Baby,” I told her when I joined her in the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around her, toying with the strings of her apron framing her ass.

“Thanks.” The alarm on the stove beeped. “Can you dump the lasagna noodles into the strainer in the sink for me?” Nova slid from my arms and reached into the fridge to pull out a charcuterie board she had already made for us to snack on.

“Sure can.” I grabbed the pot holders and carefully poured the boiling water through the strainer, avoiding the steam.

“Do we have to go caroling tonight?” Grant grumbled as he entered the kitchen and swept Nova into a kiss, dipping her playfully.

“Yes! It will be fun,” she admonished him when he released her.

“Fine. But I’m only doing this for you.”

“And I appreciate it. I’ll make sure to reward you properly later.”

“Oh, really? Well, I like the sound of that.” He reached for her again, but she skipped out of reach.

“You have to earn it first,” she teased.

A loud pop startled us all and had us looking in Linc’s direction. He stood there with a bottle of champagne and four glasses in front of him. “What?” he asked.

“Champagne? This early in the day?” Nova asked.

“It’s a holiday! We deserve to celebrate!” Linc chirped as he poured a glass for each of us.

“Plus, it will help us get through caroling,” Grant added sullenly.

Nova rolled her eyes as she accepted a champagne flute from Lincoln. “To a happy Christmas,” Nova toasted, raising her glass. We all clinked glasses, and she briefly sipped hers before putting the glass down and returning to the food preparations. Watching her assemble the lasagna for tonight’s dinner was like watching an artist at work. She added the ingredients layer by layer, using more cheese than I suspected the recipe usually called for until the disposable aluminum pan was nearly overflowing.

“How on earth will you get that into the oven without the pan bending and spilling?” Grant asked.

Nova winked at him as she pulled out a baking sheet. With practiced moves, she slid the lasagna from the counter and onto the baking sheet without spilling a drop. “And now we can easily put it in the oven or anywhere else without losing it,” Nova announced. She covered it loosely with aluminum foil and popped it into the oven. “Ok. We have about an hour to get some caroling in. Come on!” she said excitedly as she pulled her apron off and tossed it on the counter. Nova downed the rest of her champagne and rushed to the door.

“Am I the only one that isn’t looking forward to this?” Grant asked quietly as we followed her to the door.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked incredulously. “I am fucking dreading this. This is a living nightmare, but look at how happy she is. If I have to do this to put that smile on her face, I’ll do it every fucking day for the rest of my life with a smile.”

Grant sighed in defeat as we stepped outside. “I’m being an ass again, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Lincoln answered as he squeezed between us to run ahead and join Nova.

Thankfully, we weren’t the only ones out caroling. Apparently, it was an annual thing that some of the neighbors on her street got together to do. We caught up to Nova and Lincoln and blended into the rest of the crowd. “As long as we sing loud enough for Nova to hear us, we’ll be good,” I whispered to Grant. He nodded in agreement as our pack of merry singers stopped at a house. A little girl in a red dress ran up to the door and knocked three times before running back to her mother, grinning widely.

“Awww. She’s so adorable,” Nova gushed. I looked at Nova as the thought of children crossed my mind for the first time. Did she want kids? Did I want kids? I glanced at my brothers to gauge their reaction. Lincoln was practically drooling as he stared at her, so I guess that meant he was interested. I looked at Grant and barked a laugh that quickly became a cough. His face was white as his eyes bounced between Nova and the little girl. So the thought hadn’t occurred to him either. Good to know.

I didn’t get the chance to broach the subject because the moment the front door opened and its occupants stepped onto the porch, the group launched into “Jingle Bells,” complete with actual jingle bells that someone had brought along. When the song ended, we transitioned into “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as we walked to the next house. We didn’t need to knock at this house, as the elderly couple were already on their front steps waiting for us.

By the fourth house, the three of us were some of the loudest in the group as we got caught up in the festivities. I couldn’t remember ever experiencing anything like this before. Spreading joy and seeing how much people were enjoying our singing was infectious. When it was time to return to the house for dinner, Nova had to drag us away.

“Ok, I hate to admit it, but that was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” Grant said.

“I told you it would be fun,” Nova laughed.

“We’ll never doubt you again, doll,” I told her. When we stepped into the house, I breathed deeply and exhaled with a moan. “That smells fantastic!” I exclaimed as my stomach rumbled in agreement.

“Ok, while I get the rolls in the oven, can you guys get the table set?” Nova asked. “There is a salad in the fridge as well.”

“We’re on it, Sugar,” Linc replied, kissing her cheek.

Thirty minutes later, we were sitting down to eat. Grant refilled our champagne flutes as I took a piping hot bite of lasagna. “Fuck that is good,” I said around my food, causing Nova to beam happily. As we ate, we discussed the festival and what changes should be made for next year, then the conversation shifted to the gingerbread contest.

“Are you sure you will be able to get off?” Nova asked. She was worried about it, and I couldn’t blame her. We were spending longer hours at the office each day.

“Positive,” I assured her. Come hell or high water, we would be there.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Lincoln said excitedly. “I’ve never made a gingerbread house before.”

When dinner was finished and cleaned up, Nova returned to the dining room with bags and a giant grin. “So I remembered that you guys said that Mama Clair had you decorate your stockings every Christmas Eve,” she said. “So when I went Christmas shopping the other day, I stopped at the craft store and got us stockings to decorate. Are you interested?”

“Hell, yes!” Lincoln said excitedly.

Grant and I exchanged grins as we grabbed the bags from her. We hadn’t decorated stockings since Mama Clair died, but up until then, even as adults, she had insisted we participate in the tradition. It felt like we were reclaiming a piece of our childhood as we spread out the supplies and got to work. I dutifully showed Nova the best way to apply the puff paint to the felt material of the stocking. By the time we were all done, glitter covered us and the table, but we had four new stockings to hang over the fireplace. I wish I could say that our techniques had improved since we were kids, but they hadn’t. Nova’s was the only stocking that didn’t look like a six-year-old had decorated it. She had the unfair advantage of working with frosting and being artistic.

“Thank you for this,” I told her as I pulled her into my arms after we had hung them.

“Thank you for sharing your tradition with me,” she replied, relaxing against me. It made me smile. A month ago, she wouldn’t have allowed herself to lean on anyone because she thought she was too heavy. Now, she leaned against me without giving it a thought.

“Now what?” I asked.

“Now for my next surprise,” she said excitedly, dashing from the room again. We could hear her giggling from the bedroom.

“She’s a little too happy; something’s up,” Grant said, eyeing the hallway warily.

“Who cares,” Linc replied, playfully bumping him with his shoulder. “It’s Christmas Eve! Santa’s coming tonight!”

“I hope he won’t be the only one,” Nova joked as she returned to the room wearing cute pajamas. When she pulled three boxes from behind her back, I groaned. The boxes were clothing boxes, and that could only mean one thing. I accepted the box and opened it to find a white shirt with a plaid wreath in my size.

“Matching jammies!” Lincoln cheered. Grant and I looked at him in shock.

“Who the fuck are you, and what have you done with my brother?” Grant asked. “If I told you a month ago that we’d be wearing matching pajamas, you would have told me to fuck off.”

“That’s you. If you told me tomorrow that we’d be wearing matching pajamas, I would tell you to fuck off,” Linc replied. “This isn’t for you; it’s for Nova, and I’ll do anything she wants if it will make her happy.”

I rolled my eyes at him. He’s always been a fucking suck up.

“Thank you, Lincoln,” Nova said as she kissed him. When she went to break the kiss, he grabbed her and deepened it. While he occupied her mouth, he flipped us off behind her back.

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath as I stripped down to my boxers and started pulling on the pajamas. Grant followed suit, and we were both dressed by the time Lincoln finally released her.

“Look how cute we look!” Nova gushed as Linc rushed to change. “Ok! Milk, cookies, the fire, and “A Christmas Carol” to finish the evening.”

We piled onto the couch with Grant and me on either side of her and Lincoln on the floor between her legs. “Do you know who he reminds me of?” I whispered to Nova as we watched Scrooge bark at his employee for trying to add more coal to the fire. When she looked at me, I pointed at Grant, who kept pulling at the collar of his shirt and scowling at his milk.

Nova started giggling, capturing his attention, and his face immediately smoothed. Weren’t the three of us just a bunch of smitten kittens? As Nova’s attention returned to the movie, I continued to watch her. Lincoln was practically purring as she ran her hands through his hair. Not that she noticed. Her eyes were glued to the screen, her lips sometimes moving along with the dialog. She had likely seen the movie once or twice a year throughout her life, but it still held magic for her.

“What do you think about dragging your mattress out and sleeping here tonight?” Grant asked her when the movie ended.

“Oh, yes. That’s a wonderful idea, Grant,” Nova replied as she climbed into his lap and kissed him.

He smirked at us as Nova got up. “You’re not the only one that can be all cutesy,” he told Lincoln when she was out of earshot.

“Whatever, man, let’s just get the couch moved out of the way and the mattress relocated,” Lincoln told him as he jumped to his feet. While they moved the couch, I followed Nova into the bedroom to get the bedding off so we could move the mattress more easily.

“Nova?” I called when I found the bedroom empty.

“In here,” she replied from behind the bathroom door. “You guys set the bed up, and I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Everything ok?” I asked, worried that she wasn’t feeling well.

“Yep!” she assured me. I shrugged and left her to handle her business as I scooped all the blankets and pillows off the bed and carried them to the living room. I passed Grant and Lincoln on the way, and it was only a minute or two before they were following me back out, carrying Nova’s queen mattress between them. We were getting the blankets and pillows set up when Nova returned.

“Do you guys want to be naughty and open a present early?” Nova purred. Our heads lifted, and my jaw dropped at the vision before me. Nova wore a red negligee with white trim, sheer red thigh-high stockings, and the sexiest pair of heels I’d ever seen. That could have to do with the woman wearing them, though.

“Holy shit,” Grant whispered.

“Merry Christmas to us,” Lincoln added just as quietly.

I still couldn’t form words as I stared at her in awe. It wasn’t just the lingerie but the confidence that radiated from her. I was so proud of how far she had come.