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Standard disclaimer. I'm a bit tired, so if there are any outlandish mistakes, forgive me. Thank you.
Only two more chapters left.
"Okay, we're on a quest tonight," Cassidy said, a fierce gleam in her eyes.
She dug into her purse and pulled out her phone.
"In here, I have my list. How about the rest of you?"
They stood just inside the entrance to the mall in Tulsa...Mercedes, Cassidy, Michelle, Jackie, Samantha, and Marley. A small band of weary but determined women, armed and ready to shop.
"I'm sorry Deb can't be here," Michelle said.
"Yeah, but she's not sorry, since she and Logan are off on a two-week cruise in the Caribbean for the holidays," Cassidy said. "It was such a sweet surprise Logan gave to her, as an early Christmas gift. We're all going to take a few seconds to be supremely jealous of them."
Jackie sighed.
"Can you imagine? Multiple ports of call, lots of sun and sand, and all that time for hot sex every day, with no kids to knock on the door saying, mom what are you and dad doing in there, with the bedroom door locked?"
Everyone looked at Jackie, who squirmed.
"Okay, so maybe Martin and I need a vacation without the kids."
Michelle laughed.
"You definitely do. You should make that a priority after the new year."
"I agree," Cassidy said. "Michelle and I are going to bug you about it, and we'll even help with the babysitting and dog sitting. Now, everyone ready?"
"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be," Jackie said. "I've gotten stuff for the kids, but I haven't shopped for Martin yet. Why are men so hard to buy for?"
"Because, whatever they want, they go out and get for themselves," Michelle said, wrinkling her nose. "I asked Mark for a list. Do you know what he told me he wanted?"
"A new gun?" Samantha offered.
Michelle laughed.
"No. Socks. The one thing he doesn't buy for himself. Does he honestly think the only thing I'm buying him for Christmas is socks? The man is delusional."
"You could buy him some sexy and slinky lingerie and put yourself under the tree," Cassidy said, as they made their way passed the food court and towards the first store they'd targeted.
"I like the way Cassidy thinks," Marley said. "But that's probably because, neither of us is having sex with anyone."
"Hey," Cassidy said. "Speak for yourself."
Marley stopped.
"Okay. Who are you currently having sex with?"
Cassidy lifted her chin, then shrugged.
"No one. That's why I have all the sex ideas."
Mercedes laughed and shook her head.
"I have a list. I've bought a few things for my parents. And for my lovely sister over there."
"Yay," Michelle said with a grin.
"But I still have a few things to get."
"Like something for your hot boyfriend?" Samantha asked.
"Okay, yeah. Something for Sam would be nice. But he's not my boyfriend."
Samantha gave her a disbelieving look and said,
"Uh-huh."
They all stopped at the bath and body store and everyone looked around.
"I could use some body lotion," Marley said.
Samantha nodded.
"Me, too."
"I need lip balm," Michelle added.
Thirty minutes later, they came out of the bath and body store, with bags filled with non-gifts.
"That was fun, but not very productive," Cassidy said. "Maybe we'll have better luck at the next store."
"I think we should split up," Mercedes suggested. "We could compare lists, and see what stores we all have to go to. Otherwise, we could be here all night. And who wants that?"
She was not a shopper. She liked to pop in, get what she needed, and get the hell out.
"Well, it's probably more productive," Cassidy said, "But not nearly as much fun as it would be, if we stayed in a group."
"I'm with Mercedes," Samantha said. "This is a chore, the mall is crowded, and I need to get this list done."
In the end, they agreed to split up and meet back again in two hours.
And since Mercedes and Samantha had similar lists, they headed off to one of the major department stores together.
"My grandmother needs new pajamas, though if you ask her, she thinks the old raggedy ones are still perfectly suitable."
Mercedes laughed.
"That's because she's stubborn and from the Depression era, where they used items until they fell apart."
"This is true."
They wandered the nightwear aisle, and Samantha found a really nice pair of warm and pretty mint green pajamas.
"I think she'll love those," Mercedes said. "I would love those, though I have to admit, I'm fond of these with the dinosaurs on them."
Samantha laughed.
"I like those, too. But I think I'll get these green ones. And the purple ones with the daisies on them as well. Now, to hunt down some socks for her, and that should take care of Grandma."
While Samantha wandered the sock aisle, Mercedes found a sweater, that would look amazing on Samantha.
She knew her grandmother couldn't get out much to shop, and since Samantha's parents were gone, there was no one around to buy gifts for her, so Mercedes bought the sweater and tucked it in her bag.
She also found a blouse for her mom, and a sweatshirt she knew her dad would love.
Then, it was on to the next store on their lists.
Two hours later, they met up at the mall entrance, then headed over to the sushi place and had dinner.
Mercedes was stuffed, by the time they left, so Cassidy suggested they stop at one of the nearby dance clubs and work off dinner.
"Are you kidding?" Marley asked, as they stood outside the restaurant. "My feet are killing me from wandering around the mall. How about we go sit somewhere and drink?"
"I'm with Marley," Michelle said.
Cassidy sighed.
"You all have no stamina. Fine. Where would you like to go?"
"How about Bash's bar?" Jackie suggested. "That way, we're all closer to home."
"I agree with that," Mercedes said.
They convoyed over to No Hope Bar. It was busy for a Saturday night, but it was expected, since Bash's place was where everyone gathered to drink, watch sports on the big-screen televisions, and play pool.
Tonight, basketball and hockey were prevalent.
Cassidy wrangled the girls a large table near the back by the wall, which was perfect and out of the line of fire, since it was rowdy tonight.
"I'll get us drinks since the waitresses look slammed," she offered. "I've decided, we should all start with a holiday martini. Any objections?"
They all looked at each other.
"None here," Mercedes said.
"Great. I'll be right back."
"Does Bash even know how to make whatever fancy martini Cassidy has in mind?" Samantha asked.
"If not, I'm sure she'll educate him. Or go behind the bar and do it herself," Marley said with a smirk.
Michelle laughed.
"This is true."
"I'm so glad you objected to going dancing, Marley," Jackie said. "I don't know where Cassidy gets all her energy, but between running after the kids and doing everything to get ready for the holidays, I was exhausted after three hours at the mall."
Michelle nodded.
"I'm not a shopping person on the best of days. During the holidays? It's the worst."
Mercedes stayed silent, while they all complained of long lists and sore feet.
Her feet hurt, too, but if she were honest with herself, this had been the best holiday she'd had in years.
Normally, she shopped alone and shipped gifts home, received packages from her family, then spent Christmas Day eating a small turkey breast she'd prepared for herself, while she watched all the holiday movies.
She'd swear to herself she wasn't lonely and loved her life, but Christmas was always the worst day of the year for her.
She'd spent every Christmas alone for the past twelve years. By her own choice, of course, but still, shopping with all these women, had been an absolute blast.
And spending time with them over the past months, had been wonderful. She'd renewed old friendships and made new ones.
She was going to miss all of them when she left.
At least this year, she'd spend Christmas at home, making memories she could cherish for years to come.
"Drinks for everyone," Cassidy all but shouted, as she balanced a tray, and started pulling drinks off one by one.
"This looks amazing, Cass," Jackie said.
Mercedes had to agree. Whatever was in there, was a dark pink and looked delicious.
"Thanks. Well, Bash made them. It turns out, there is no drink he hasn't heard of before or can't make. And here I thought he was just a beer and hard liquor guy. Damn him."
Mercedes laughed, then took a sip.
"It's a great martini. Is that pomegranate I taste in this?"
Cassidy put the tray aside, then lifted her glass to take a drink.
"Yes. Pomegranate, vodka and peach schnapps."
Michelle took a sip, then licked her lips.
"Oh, yum."
"Yum is right," Marley said. "I love this."
They had their drinks, and then the discussion turned to work life, as well as personal.
"Settling into married life now, Michelle?" Marley asked.
Michelle beamed.
"Perfectly. Not that much has changed, really. We just went from co-habitating with different names, to doing it with the same name. And a lot of paperwork changes to go with it. But honestly, we're more in love every day."
"Nauseatingly romantic, you two," Cassidy said, taking a long swallow of her martini. "You and Jackie both. It's all blah blah blah love and sex, all the time."
"I'll drink to that," Samantha said, clinking her glass against Cassidy's. Marley clinked as well.
"You say that now," Jackie said. "Only because, some hot guy hasn't come into your lives and lit your panties on fire." She blinked. "And I can't believe I just said that."
Michelle laughed.
"I can."
Then, Jackie turned to Mercedes.
"Okay, subject change. Merce, how's it going with Sam?" she asked.
"It's going good. I've ordered new computer software, that's being installed next week and I think it'll be a much more efficient system. Plus we're moving to a new server that will link all the shops. I think Sam's going to be very happy, once everyone's up to speed on the changes, but it's a user-friendly system, so I don't think the learning curve will be great."
"Awesome," Michelle said. "But I think what Jackie really meant, was how are things going between you and Sam on the personal front."
"Oh. We're fine."
"In other words," Marley said, "Mercedes doesn't want to share all the dirty details, about how Sam lights her panties on fire."
"Aww, come on, Merce," Cassidy said. "You have to share the details with those of us, who are not getting any."
Mercedes stirred her martini.
"Everything's fine. We're just friends, you know."
She caught the look from her sister across the table, and continued to stir her drink. But she was going to stay silent on her relationship with Sam.
How could she talk about something, she didn't even understand herself?
Besides, they were just friends. And occasional bed partners. Nothing else.
Before long, one martini turned into two, though some of the women moved on to sodas and sparkling water.
Mercedes had definitely had her fill of alcohol after two drinks, deciding, someone had to be the designated driver.
She'd noticed Jackie had switched to soda as well.
Cassidy, however, had decided to challenge Bash on his drink-making skills, eventually moving over to the bar.
They all decided to do the same, so they could have a front-row seat for the epic challenge.
Bash...such a fine-looking man...leaned his forearms across the bar and leveled a sexy, pirate's smile at Cassidy.
"You do realize this is my job, Cass. You aren't going to be able to come up with a drink I can't make," he said.
Cassidy shot one across the bow.
"And I've done my share of barhopping, Mr. Know-It-All Bartender," she said. She drummed her nails on the bar, giving Bash the death stare.
"A Manhattan," she finally said.
Bash pinned her with a glare.
"Isn't that a fairly common drink?" Marley asked.
Bash got out a glass.
"Yeah, but it's a tough one, because, every customer likes theirs different, and the combination of ingredients can really screw it up, if you're not paying close attention."
He fixed the drink, then handed it to Cassidy.
She'd been taking at least two good-sized swallows of every drink he made...and paying for them, as well.
At least, she sipped water in between his trips to take care of other customers.
She was starting to sway a little bit on the bar-stool, though.
"Are you doing okay, Cass?" Mercedes asked.
She grinned.
"I'm great. Getting a little toasted, though, because, I'm mixing alcohol. But that's okay. Bash is like every woman's big brother and he'll make sure I'm well taken care of."
Bash, who'd disappeared from behind the bar and into one of the storerooms, showed up just then.
He spun her around to face him, pinning her in, with his hands on either side of the bar.
Next, he whispered something in her ear, that caused her eyes to go wide and her cheeks to go, almost as red as her hair.
Then, he pulled back, gave her a slow, sexy smile, that had even Mercedes blushing, and walked back around behind the bar.
"What the hell was that all about?" Michelle asked.
Cassidy shuddered in a breath, then turned back around to face the bar.
"Oh. Nothing. He just told me to be careful with my alcohol intake, and if I needed a ride home he'd make sure I..."
They all waited.
"He'd make sure you what?" Jackie asked.
She swallowed, brushed her hair away from her face and Bash showed up right then.
"I just told her, that like the good big brother I am to all the ladies, I'd make sure she was well taken care of."
Cassidy cleared her throat.
"You know what? I think I've had enough to drink. It's probably time for me to go home."
Bash gave her a smirk.
"Is someone driving you home?"
She was still looking at Bash when she nodded.
"Yes. Uh...Jackie will."
Jackie blinked.
"Of course I will."
Bash started to clear the glasses, but kept his gaze on Cassidy.
"Have a good evening ladies. Drive safely," he said.
Mercedes had no idea what Bash had said to Cassidy, but whatever it was, must have been very interesting.
She could still feel the heat that had flamed between them, all the way outside into the cold.
It was all very interesting, indeed.
Sam was in his garage working on Rhonda, when he heard a car pull into his driveway.
He swiped his hand across his face. He had no idea what time it was, except it was late.
He punched the button to lift the garage door and saw Mercedes getting out of her car.
It had snowed the other day, and she lifted her feet to get around the pile he'd shoveled in the driveway.
She hurried into the garage and he put the door down.
"This is a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you tonight," he said, as he grabbed a shop rag to wipe his hands.
"I know. I tried calling you and you didn't answer, so I thought I'd drive by to see if you were home. Your lights were on..."
Internally, he cheered, admitting to himself, he liked that she had stopped by.
She looked pretty in her skintight jeans, sweater and scarf, and those boots that made her legs looked long.
"Yeah, I kind of lost track of time, after I started changing fluids out here," he said.
She swiped her fingers across his cheek.
"You look sexy covered in motor oil," she said.
He laughed, looking down at his white T-shirt, which was now streaked with oil and grease.
"Yeah, doing a few tweaks to Rhonda. Wasn't tonight your big night out with all the women?" he asked.
"Yes. We went shopping, out to dinner, and finished the night off at Bash's bar."
"I see." He leaned against the front fender. "Did you have fun?"
"I did. And how about you?"
"Rhonda and I are having a great time. Missed you, though."
"I missed you, too. By the way, there were some serious sparks flying between Cassidy and Bash tonight."
Sam stilled.
"Cassidy and Bash? Really? They're not dating."
"I don't think dating was on either of their minds. I think it was just a little drunken flirting on Cass' part. Or maybe she wasn't flirting. No idea what was going on, but whoever was in the general vicinity of the two, was going up in flames, from the hot signals Bash was throwing out."
Sam laughed.
"Well, Bash likes the ladies. It doesn't mean anything."
"Either way, it made me wish I was with you, which probably had a lot to do with me showing up here. I hope you don't mind."
"Why would I mind? I said I missed being with you. Though I'm a little too dirty,. to show my appreciation at the moment."
"Oh, I don't know," Mercedes said, moving into him, nestling her body up against his. "Did I mention the smell of motor oil is a huge turn-on for me?"
Unable to resist, he grasped her hips, digging his fingers into the denim of her jeans, as his body reacted to her.
"Is that right?"
"Yes."
She curled her fingers around the nape of his neck, then pressed a kiss to the side of his throat.
"A huge turn-on. Like...gets me hot instantly."
He was already hard, so he said,
"I'm going to get you dirty, Mercedes."
She pulled her scarf off.
"That's okay." She pulled up his T-shirt and snaked her fingers over his stomach. "I like dirty."
Sam tangled his fingers into her hair and gave her a raw, hungry kiss, that made him shudder with need.
He'd been thinking about her tonight, while he'd worked on the car.
He'd wished she'd been there with him, and was damn glad she was here now, so he could breathe in her sweet scent, feel the way her lips moved against his, and run his hands over the soft curves of her body.
He turned her around, cupping her neck and pushing her hair to the side, so he could kiss the back of her neck, and was so damn satisfied when she moaned.
He swept his hand over her body, needing to touch every part of her, starting with her beautiful back, and ending, by squeezing her sweet shapely ass.
"Are you cold out here?" he asked.
"No. I'm hot."
"Good. Wait right here." He placed her hands, palm down, on the fender of his car. "Don't move."
He dashed into the house, scrubbed the grease off his hands with soap and hot water, grabbed a condom, and came back, stopping at the doorway to see her, watching him, her hair swept over one shoulder, her butt tilted at an upward angle.
She gave him a wickedly sexy smile.
She was waiting for him.
And he was ready for her.
He came up behind her, smoothing his hand over the curve of her butt.
"You have a great ass, Mercedes. I love to walk behind you and look at it."
"And you have great hands. Why don't you use them on me?" She straightened and undid the button of her jeans, then unzipped them.
"I'd be more than happy to."
Sam pulled Mercedes back against his chest, sliding his hand over her sweater to cup her breasts.
Even through the sweater and her bra, he could feel the tight buds of her nipples. He teased and stroked them, until she rubbed her butt against his erection.
It was at times like this, he felt it was his God-given right as a man, to touch this woman, that they'd been meant for each other.
No one has ever made him feel the things she made him feel, and no one has ever moved him, to want as much as he wanted, whenever he was with her.
He shifted his hands lower, lifting her sweater to get at the soft skin of her stomach, then dipped his hand inside her jeans, under her panties.
She was hot, damp, and ready for him, melting all over his fingers, as he teased and coaxed her body.
He'd known her, for what felt like his entire life, knew what she liked and how, and it was a little bit of heaven to feel her arch and tremble, as she tightened around his fingers, her entire body tensing with her orgasm.
He held her, as she rode it out, then pulled down her jeans, unzipped his and put on the condom.
He bent her over his car and took a moment, to fully appreciate the beauty of the woman before him, before settling comfortably against her and easing inside.
During the course of his actions, she said, "Sam," in a soft whisper, that tightened his balls and made him thrust deeper.
With every plunge, he wanted to be so much a part of her, he didn't know where he ended and where she began.
God, she was beautiful like this, pushing back against him, raw and untamed, her cries of completion tearing into him, through him, until a groan tore from his throat and he followed with his own orgasm.
Sam held on to the car with one hand, his other arm wrapped around Mercedes.
She'd shattered him. She always had.
He closed his eyes, listening to her breathe, feeling the pounding of her pulse and the way their bodies fit together.
It was something he'd never taken time for, when they were younger.
Now, it was just goddamned perfect.
They pulled apart and righted their clothes, then went inside to clean up.
Sam took a quick shower and threw on a T-shirt and sweats.
"Do you want something to drink?" he asked, as they settled into the living room.
"I'm a little dehydrated from the alcohol I had earlier," Mercedes said, as she pulled off her boots, wiggling her toes to stretch. "How about some water?"
He fixed them both drinks, then brought them into the living room.
Mercedes had already stretched out on the sofa, pulling a blanket from the back. She held it open for him and he snuggled in beside her.
She grabbed the remote and flipped the television on, found a movie, then inched beside him, resting her head on his chest, while he put his arm around her.
Within about ten minutes, she was asleep.
'Well, hell. This is even better,' Sam thought.
A night spent working on his favorite car, followed up by a surprise visit from his woman, and some mind-blowing sex.
To top it off, said favorite woman was now asleep, in his arms on his sofa.
He loved her.
He paused to reflect on that, waiting for the panic and the doubt.
But there was none...no panic and no doubt, which shouldn't come as a surprise to him.
After all these years, she still had his heart, and he didn't know how to tell her, without making her run like hell, in the other direction.
Even worse, he didn't know how to get her to stay.
Stay safe!