Perfect Christmas: A Paper Dolls Novel Read online

  “Make me breakfast,” I ordered at Nat. “Something spicy.”

  “You're bitchy today,” Nat said, turning to open the fridge and oblige.

  Chapter 15

  Avery

  Everyone was busy chatting and I knew we had to go. It was so fun though. Olivia’s parents had been assholes to stay away until now and I knew it hurt her even if she expected them to be like this. No matter how much you tried, sometimes people just didn’t change.

  “I’m gonna go put our bags in the guest house and change,” I said.

  I slipped out with only Olivia noticing. My voice had been soft. Disrupting the good time wasn’t nice.

  I hadn’t seen my parents since we started Christmas break. I didn’t care to analyze that until now. They had texted me and I’d put them off until I agreed to Christmas Eve dinner. My perfect Christmas hadn’t included them. Too much baggage maybe, but they deserved better. They were trying and so should I.

  I walked out to the pool house and let myself in. Our books had taken four bags and they were pretty heavy. I shook my head as I set them on the coffee table. Whatever Olivia said, people did seem to hit on me often and for unfathomable reasons. She was hotter than me and people didn’t do that to her. I didn’t want to say that in the store because she would have just argued with me.

  I definitely needed a shower so I went to start the water and strip off Olivia’s clothes before getting in and going through a quick shower routine. It was the same one I followed when I woke up late and had to get ready in a hurry. There was a lot of time now but I just wanted to get back so I didn’t think too much. Alone was bad for me right now.

  After I finished shaving my legs I turned the water off and grabbed a towel, stepping out of the tub and toweling off my body and hair. I grabbed the hair dryer and started that process because it would take forever if I didn’t at least get it a little dry now.

  I went to the bedroom and opened the closet, wondering what I could wear that was nice but comfortable. I settled on a flowy black dress that stopped just above my knees. The sleeves were three quarter length and it had a 1950s feel.

  I kept the flats and then went to the bathroom, putting on a little makeup, I used Olivia’s lip gloss. There really wasn’t much separation with our material possessions anymore. What was mine was hers and vice versa. It had always been that way but over the year it had just blended even further.

  I loved when she wore my clothes anyway. She was extra mine when she had on my hoodie or my sweats. It made me giddy to think about. Would it be like that in ten years? I wasn’t a psychic but I could hope that it was. We would probably settle into an easier relationship as we got older.

  That little asshole voice in the back of my head still poked through. If she doesn’t figure out you’re trash and leave you.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, trying to clear that thought away.

  It was stupid to let that in but impossible to stop. Disengaging from a thought process that had ruled the majority of my life took more time than had elapsed. Maybe I needed to call Vivi. She always sorted me out.

  I finished up the makeup and worked on my hair a bit, letting it down and messing with it until it looked decent. My dad would have cared about how I was dressed and looked when I was younger but now he had loosened up quite a bit. It was still a habit to look nice for occasions like this.

  I left the pool house and walked across the pool area to the kitchen where everyone was still having a grand time. This time I slipped in and sat down in one of the barstools that lined one side of the island.

  “Um, excuse me, why are you way over there?” Olivia asked, facing me on her stool and rubbing the tops of her thighs as she leaned forward to be closer to me. It was a familiar motion for me to come to her.

  Natalie was cooking something and the peppers were really hot, I could tell by the smoke.

  I got up and obliged Olivia, loving that she wanted me close. When I got to her stool I dropped my head down to kiss her. It was like recharging. I needed it periodically to stay even. She responded with more passion than I expected and I was pulled into her, my hands falling around her automatically.

  “Well, then,” I whispered after I broke the kiss. “You didn’t miss me or anything did you?”

  “You're really not supposed to leave me alone,” Olivia said, spinning her whiskey glass dazedly on the counter with one of her hands.

  “Your wife is an asshole today,” Natalie said.

  Olivia looked to me, that soft gloating smile. “Natalie's sexually frustrated,” she teased.

  “I am not,” Natalie growled.

  “That pop star got her all hot and bothered and then flew away,” Olivia sighed happily. Her head nuzzled into my chest. She obviously wanted to be much closer to me.

  “Oh really? Wait, did you guys make out or something?” I asked.

  I nudged at Olivia to get up and when she did I sat in her place and pulled her up onto my lap, hugging her to my body. It was much better this way. She wrapped her arm around me and started to slowly make out with my neck.

  “Sadly, no. It was weird,” Nat said, taking Olivia’s whiskey and downing it as she stared at her and looked up at me, hungrily, shaking her head.

  Olivia was wrapped up in me completely. If Nat was sexually frustrated this was certainly driving her insane.

  “What do you mean weird? I’m gonna need details, Nat,” I insisted.

  Nat took the whiskey bottle and poured some more into the glass. She took a swift gulp and slid the glass back over to us. It stopped just short and I watched her pick her spatula up to push the scramble around.

  “What can I say? Guess I'm not sexy enough for drop-dead gorgeous popstars.”

  Olivia took that exact moment to hum and then pinch down on my thin skin with her teeth. Her thumb brushed past the muscle in my neck and she clung onto me.

  “Yikes,” I said, jumping a little.

  I looked over to Nat and pouted.

  “Could you hurry up with that food? She’s about to eat me instead,” I teased.

  I narrowed my eyes and stared at her.

  “And don’t think I didn’t notice you not giving me details. Did she even kiss you?”

  “On the cheek,” Nat said, jerking the pan and almost throwing the eggs accidentally.

  Olivia pushed against me and found her footing, walking away to a different stool and slumping down all alone.

  She stepped up on the stool rail and reached over to take back her whiskey and grumpily drink some.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked.

  I hadn’t meant for her to take it that way. I was just teasing her and trying to get info out of Nat at the same time.

  “Olivia, come back,” I pleaded.

  “No thank you,” she said, dipping a finger into the whiskey and then sucking on it to clean it off.

  That went straight to my body. I wanted her sucking on me like that.

  “Um, please,” I asked.

  “You're very pretty but no,” Olivia said.

  “What if I come over there?” I wondered.

  “What? Just to tease me again?” Olivia complained.

  “I warned you,” Natalie laughed. “She's in one or her moods. She literally ordered me to cook for her.” I could tell she was a little upset. “When she used to do that to me I’d shut her up,” Natalie mumbled under her breath.

  Olivia had a visible negative reaction but she didn't say a word, simply stared at her friend.

  “Are you two fighting or something?” I asked.

  There was a definite vibe.

  “Oh, she's obviously mad at me,” Nat said. “And I have no idea why. But she's also treating you different, so,” Nat shrugged. “I think it's just her temperamental condition.”

  Talking about her like she wasn’t here would only make it worse. Nat was picking at her with that and I wasn’t going to play.

  I stood up and went over to Olivia, reaching down and picking h
er up, lifting her over my shoulder and walking away from the counter. I marched her right outside, across the patio, and to the pool house where I put her down on the couch. Before she could move much I lay down on her, trapping her with my body.

  “Fuck,” Olivia whined. “You smell good.”

  “That’s because I’m wearing your perfume and your lip gloss,” I said.

  I kissed her, lingering over her lips after and pushing the tip of my tongue just past her lips to let her taste.

  “Mmm, you’re all frustrated and I want to make it better,” I groaned.

  Her hand found its way to my breast and squeezed without preamble. I felt her thigh move up and lift my dress and press into me. “Do it then,” she arched, already feeling me wanting her.

  “Taste me,” I said.

  I rolled to the back of the couch, pushing her toward the edges of the cushions. Olivia almost fell off but she caught herself and I moved onto my back so she could have access to me any way she wanted.

  Surprising me, she quickly scoot down my body and reached under my dress to pull my underwear down. I felt her hands push the fabric of my black dress up as she dipped right into me as if I was sweet sweet honey and she'd been craving for days.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned, tongue pushing against my clit. Her fingers pinched into the skin of my thighs and I knew she was not holding back.

  “Fuck!”

  I pushed myself into her mouth and put one of my hands on the top of her head, clenching my fingers and scratching her scalp when she sucked on me.

  She came up my body and pushed me down at the neck. “You taste so fucking amazing,” she whispered, panting and feeling my body beneath hers.

  So much heat, so fucking fast.

  I felt her fingers smooth down, all practiced, between my folds. Soft fingertips placing minimum pressure as if to pet and soothe gently.

  “I wanna fuck you,” she whispered. It wasn't aggressive, but patient and soft.

  “Please,” I said. “Now.”

  I wasn’t here for soft right now. I wanted her to take me, fast and furious like I'd done to her.

  She slipped inside me, pushing in as her tongue and her mouth decided to lick and suck at my neck.

  All she needed was permission.

  “Holy fuck, you're so wet,” I heard her groan.

  Her fingers moved faster, sliding deeper and harder right inside me.

  Olivia was practiced, she knew what I liked. Her thumb curves up so when she pounded inside me her thumb would hit on my clit, blasting pleasure there.

  Her free hand pulled the top of my dress down, her mouth found my tit and she sucked hard and then bit. Pounding hard into me as she licked the tip of my nipple.

  “Shit… Oh my god!” She was way too good too fast. I wasn’t going to last long and I had a feeling she needed to express something with this. I tried to slow my breathing a little. It wasn’t going to help though. The little grunts coming from me were turning into yells. I gave up thought and crashed, moving against her hand wildly and clenching at her head, scratching at her skin until I was able to rest back against the couch.

  I couldn’t open my eyes or feel anything but the after effects of her touches.

  Olivia kissed down my body slowly, returning to the place where she started and slowly kissing my sex lovingly.

  I jumped a little, still sensitive. It was a recent development. I’d been long used to sex that took things from me and didn’t give back. Olivia poured herself into me. There was no selfish nature to the way she made love.

  She made me enjoy sex again. After Ben, I didn’t think I could.

  Tears threatened to come again and I turned my head and squeezed my eyes shut. What was the matter with me?

  A few drops made it past my eyelids and ran down the side of my face.

  I stuffed it back down and turned my head back, not wanting her to worry.

  “That was wonderful. You’re too perfect, Baby,” I told her.

  She’d been treating my sex like my mouth, kissing it longingly, but when I spoke she broke out of her daze and kissed slowly up my body, avoiding the fabric or my clean dress.

  “You taste fantastic,” she whispered huskily, finding my face and intimately kissing me, stealing me away.

  Love was glowing in her eyes, it painted her.

  “Thanks,” I said, reaching up to run my thumb along her jawline.

  She was gorgeous, stars in her eyes. Breathing like she had run ten miles.

  I felt relaxed, a little sad, but grateful that we were together.

  “I don’t want to see my parents but I do at the same time. I’m afraid,” I confessed.

  She kissed me hard, trying to keep me alone. When she kissed me again and then slowed, putting her forehead to mine and breathing sadly, I knew she didn't have the right words and it got to her.

  “I'm sorry,” she said tragically, the only thing she could think to offer.

  I felt her hand find mine and hold it tight.

  “I'll be fine. I just want to tell you why I stayed away all break. I'm not trying to hurt them. It's just still hard to not go straight to how I felt when they were gone,” I said.

  “Oh,” she said, moving off of me a little and looking down on my face. “I'm sorry, I didn't know.”

  “I didn't tell you. I don't think I understood that's what it was about until now. I get going so fast I don't realize what's going on with me till it hits me in the face,” I realized.

  “Are you okay?” She asked, worried about me. I felt her hand on my cheek.

  “Yes, I promise. I'm actually processing things and telling you instead of running off and doing crazy things so I'll tell Vivi she earned her fee,” I said.

  I gave her a sad smile and rubbed her cheek.

  “Thanks for always catching me,” I said.

  Her Christmas blues had helped me deal with my unhealthy obsession. It was just the way we worked, a symbiotic balance.

  She put her hand over mine and pulled my palm down over her mouth so she could kiss it. All that trust and adoration.

  Moving back on top of me, she hugged me, kissing my neck before burying her face against it.

  “Should we go back? Do you want your food?” I asked.

  “I always want you more than food,” she said all muffled. She moved her face out of my neck and breathed. “Maybe we should invite Nat to your Christmas. I doubt she wants to be anywhere else. I mean, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course, she should be here. Let's invite her,” I said.

  Olivia was warm and soft. I just wanted to sleep. Too much emotion exhausted me.

  I took a deep breath and relaxed my muscles. My eyes were already closed so I let myself drift. Naps were my favorite.

  I woke up to the sound of something on TV. Olivia was still laying on me. When I opened my eyes I saw Nat sitting in the dark in one of the chairs watching E!.

  I cleared my throat.

  “Waiting for your girlfriend to come on?” I teased.

  “Rude,” she said, bruised. “Your wife is rubbing off on you.”

  “It's about time. She's the smart one,” I joked.

  “That has yet to be proven,” Natalie said. Her mood had dropped and she seemed pretty downtrodden.

  I noticed she'd changed into one of Olivia's oversized hoodies and a pair of yoga capris while we were both passed out. Her feet were tucked up under her butt in the big comfy chair.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  She was starting to worry me. I didn’t want to wake up Olivia but I probably needed to so I moved to sit up and cradle her, waiting until she opened her eyes.

  Olivia breathed in deep and when she noticed Natalie was there she checked herself, making sure she wasn't indecent.

  A visible relieved expression came over her as she found my hand.

  “Hey,” I said.

  Nat turned back to the TV and I watched her.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I said.
r />   “I'm fine,” Nat said. But she wasn't fine. Her stoic facade had cracked in some places and the sadness had run through to the outside. She didn't give things like that away. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, not since that first time when we first met.

  “I'd just rather stay here than be alone tonight. I hope that's okay.”