… though she wondered later if it made even the slightest difference…
"Merry Christmas!"
"Thank you so much for dinner, Toni. It was lovely."
"I didn't realise that eggnog could actually taste good!"
"Are you sure you're warm enough? I can get you a scarf…"
"Don't forget your presents!"
"Lovely meeting you."
"Yeah, good to meet you too!"
"Might see you New Years?"
"OK, before we let all of the heat out."
"OK, buy guys!"
"See ya, and thanks!"
"Hey… stay safe!"
And the front door shut, leaving Helga blushing in the wake of Maya's blatant joke.
They'd all thought it was hilarious, watching Helga react to Joel… she didn't even see what she was doing that gave her away, but apparently they could all tell anyways. Brent had even said it was "fascinating"… but even with the jibes at her expense, it had been a great night. Maybe one too many eggnogs (they weren't that bad!), but a great night.
And now they were alone…
"Jesus. Did they all get you books? Is this all books?" Joel hefted the carrier bag in his hand, tactfully ignoring – Helga presumed – Maya's taunt.
"Probably, I'll take them."
But he shook his head. "Nope. I got it. Do you really read that much?"
And so began their walk home… thirty-ish minutes of small talk and chit chat.
The night was crisp, numbing her cheeks, and she snuggled further into her jacket, jammed her hands deeper in her pockets. It was cold enough that no one else was out on the streets… but lights were still on in houses, and the sounds of music and cheered voices hung on the air. As they walked, and the noise and light of Toni's warm house wore off, their voices grew softer, the conversation slower. The fuzzy daze of alcohol wore off, and was replaced with a quiet kind of sleepiness.
She took a deep breath, smelling wood smoke and tinsel on the breeze. "I love walking at night."
"Yeah, me too. Especially with such a sparkling conversationalist." The laugh in his voice was soft. "Thanks for tonight, Shirley."
"Any time, Claire… you're pretty good company yourself."
And they fell into silence, their shoulders bumping up against each other as they walked, the warm build of anticipation swelling in her stomach, rising as they got closer and closer to home…
They approached in silence, scuffing their way down the side of the house. Helga vaguely noted that Dyna had left a light on, and squares of warm light fell from the windows across the driveway. Everything was so perfect and quiet and still.
She fumbled with her keys a little, missing the lock the first time, eventually swinging the door open before turning to face him.
"Your presents, ma'am." He held out the bag, and she let her fingers drag across his as she took it from him.
"Cup of tea?" She leaned against the door to invite him in.
"Proverbial or literal?" The question made her stomach thrill, and while she searched his face, there was no edge of challenge to the curve of his lips, no arrogant raised eyebrow…
"Which would you prefer?"
But he shook his head. "This one's up to you."
Oh she loved being given a choice like that. "Come in."
The house was as still as it was outside. She'd never known it to be this quiet. Even their footfalls seemed out of place, almost tangible in how their noises invaded the space.
How do I do this? They stood facing each other just inside the door, only the slightest haze of light picking out his silhouette. This wasn't like the last hook ups she'd had… a sort of rush of limbs and hasty decisions… this was slow, deliberate. His question, cutting to the chase and denying the anticipation game, hadn't left room for her to get swept away by desire… and from the look of it, he wasn't going to make any kind of first move. This one's up to you.
With her heart beating so hard in her throat that she could almost hear it echo in the stillness… she reached up to the collar of his jacket. He ducked his head as she took hold of the zipper, brushed his lips across the backs of her fingers, and when he shrugged his coat from his arms and moved to return the gesture, he let his fingers linger, his knuckles tracing her jaw, the tips of his fingers grazing down her neck, bumping in the hollow of her throat.
Free from her jacket, she put her hands on his stomach, palms flat, fingers curving to feel the flesh beneath the fabric of his shirt. She could feel the muscles of his stomach tense as she roved over them, the movement as he breathed in, out, in, out… His hands covered hers, "Somewhere less kitchen?"
So she led him to her bedroom, the hushed reverence following them as they kicked off their shoes, as they took turns to unbutton and unzip and slide fingers under cloth to edge off each other's garments. His soft sigh as he ran his hands up her back to peel off her top, and found no bra to wrestle with… the race of butterflies in her stomach as he stepped out of his jeans… until they were standing before each other in their underwear, barely feeling the cold on their skin, her fingers hooked in the band of his boxers, his hands on her hips…
"Wait." He breathed, his voice on the edge of shaking. She waited, her hands itching to remove all barriers to their skin, to feel the full naked heat of him against her…
He shifted closer, pushing up against her, one hand curving around to hold her, the other grazing up, brushing against goose bumped skin, making her hairs stand on end, until he backs of his fingers tilted her chin up, his eyes searching hers, their lips just a breath apart.
She arched her back, closed the gap, and his eyes shut when she kissed him.
She pulled him into bed, he followed. Their hands explored, their lips met skin and hair, mumbled against pulse points and whispered prayers against flesh. When his fingers found her, she grasped him to her, her own heartbeat roaring in her ears. He pushed her closer and closer to the peak, then backed off, dissipating the heat on her skin with his kisses, before delving into her again and drawing her back up.
Her back arched when he finally brought her over the edge, her nails dug into his back, her legs shook. He groaned against her neck, kissing the sweat from her skin, and when she started to whimper, he pushed his mouth to hers to swallow her moans. He eased her down, caressing her skin and running his fingers through her hair. He laid her down to rest, and voiced surprise when she reached for him, returning the climactic favour with long, lazy strokes of deft fingers.
Finally, spent, they fell asleep tangled together. Their legs entwined and sharing breath.
… … … … … …
Helga awoke to shuffling, and the annoying, tinny sound of a pre-set ringtone.
She cracked her eyes open to watch Joel search through the pockets of his discarded jeans, gloriously naked, running his free hand through his hair as he answered the phone.
"Yeah?" He whispered. He met Helga's gaze as he turned, and moved to sit next to her, running a thumb up her jaw and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Helga could hear a girl on the other end of the phone, and from the cadence of her voice, she was annoyed. Joel rolled his eyes. "Yes… no… yes…" There was a longer pause. "Yeah, I suppose so… an hour?" He sighed, heavily. "Fine, half an hour… yes… yes you do…" A wry smile turned up the corner of his mouth. "I think you'd regret that more than I would… yes… fine…" and he hung up, tossing the phone onto the pile of his clothes.
"I have to go." His voice was low, but there was a smile on his face. "Promised Lucy I'd do some last minute Christmas shopping with her, she's very impatient."
Helga shrugged, yawned, raised her arms above her head to stretch.
"None of that." He grinned, pulling the sheets up to cover the flesh she'd exposed with the arching of her back. "She'll never forgive me if I bail on her…" he leaned down to kiss her, "… no matter how much I want to."
"Oh god. Dyna!" Helga groaned, pulling the sheet up over her face as the reality of her current situation suddenly occurred her. Joel followed her, laughing, tugging the sheet back.
"Believe me," he chuckled as he kissed her forehead, her eyelids, "Ma is the last person you have to worry about… she's been trying to get me to come visit to meet you since you moved in."
But that just made Helga groan again… they'd been set up by his Mum?
He laughed harder. "Don't let her prim exterior fool you… Ma's not a prude." He kissed her. "And who wouldn't want their son bedding a beautiful," he kissed her again "intelligent," again "sweet," again "well read woman?" He kissed her chin, her nose, her forehead. "I applaud her taste."
He kissed her collarbones, her throat. He kissed her earlobes and her temples, and he made her promise she wouldn't freak out about Dyna, and in turn promised that he'd be back down for that cup of tea as soon as he got back from shopping.
He pulled on his jeans, gathered up the rest of his stuff and kissed her goodbye, then kissed her goodbye again… and again.