* * * *
We were naked, sprawled on the plush white rug, catching our breath. Christmas music played softly in the background. I felt sated and well-loved—I knew I’d be limping in the morning, but I didn’t care, and the warmth radiating from the fireplace made our nudity comfortable.
“I have a couple of pounds of chestnuts.” I nuzzled the skin under his jaw, and he angled his head so I had better access. “We can roast them tomorrow, if you like.”
“Yes, please. This is a great present, Theo.”
“I’m really glad you like it.”
“I do. I don’t understand how you were able to keep it a secret though. I’m supposed to be aware of things like a wall being torn out in my own home.”
“Nothing that drastic, babe.” His own home. I sighed happily. I was so pleased that he thought of my apartment as his also. “This floor used to be the sleeping quarters for the original owner’s family, and there was a fireplace in each bedroom. They were bricked up when the house was turned into a boarding house around World War II. I didn’t see any need to have them opened when we first had the place renovated, but when you mentioned how much you’d enjoyed the fireplaces in Cambridge, I knew I wanted to do this for you.”
“I still don’t understand how I never ran into any of the workmen.”
“You were in St. Paul.”
“Oh, yeah, right.” He leaned up on his elbow and looked down into my eyes. “So this was why you made love to me every time I started to come in here.”
“I had to find some way to keep it a secret. No objections, I trust?”
“None. Especially since I never would have thought of having you on the washing machine otherwise. God, that was amazing!” He settled himself beside me, an arm around my shoulders.
“Ah, yes. The wonders of the spin cycle.” I recalled the day he’d come home early. I’d been doing the laundry, and suddenly I’d found myself stripped and hoisted up onto the washer. Wills had dropped his trousers, rolled on a condom, and took just enough time to make sure I was prepared before positioning my legs over his shoulders and slamming into me. Him over and in me, the movement of the washer beneath me as it spun excess water out of the clothes…It hadn’t taken long for me to climax. “What got you so hot?”
“You.”
“Doing laundry?” That baffled me.
“Seriously, babe. I nearly came just watching you. You were wearing headphones…”
“So that was how you were able to sneak up on me.”
He grinned. “…and dancing to the music on your Walkman. You have a way of moving your hips. Y’know something, babe? You’re the best present I’ve ever had.”
“And you’re mine.” I wove a lock of his hair in and out of my fingers. “What would it have been like, if we’d met when we were kids?”
“It would have been awesome.”
“Do you think we would have fooled around?”
“Probably not. I was a late bloomer if you’ll remember. I didn’t have my first girl until I went to college. And my first guy…”
I remembered. “I’m glad you waited for me. That was more than I expected, more than I deserved…”
“Don’t talk like that.” He placed his fingers over my lips. “What you didn’t deserve was what that bastard Franky did to you. I’m…” He blushed. “I know it’s a stupid cliché, but I’m glad I could come to you a virgin.”
Moved beyond anything, I kissed his fingertips before nudging his hand aside. “Would we have become friends?”
“If we’d met as kids? Yeah.” He said that as if he had no doubt. “I wonder if we ever came close to meeting. My grandparents live in Florida, you know.”
“I thought they were still living on Long Island.”
“No, those are my Dad’s folks. I have to bring you to Seaford some time to meet them.”
I lowered my lashes so he wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes. Whatever gifts he might have for me in the boxes I knew he was hiding in his office, he’d just given me the greatest gift of all.
I hugged him, and unaware of where my thoughts had gone, he returned the hug. “My mom’s folks moved to Naples after she died,” he continued.
“You never mentioned them.”
“Didn’t I?” He shrugged, his expression sad in the firelight. “Second generation, and really strict from what Dad told me. They only wanted Mom to date Italian boys, and Uncle Tony couldn’t go out of state to college. He wanted to be a vet, but they insisted a people doctor paid better. He married an Italian girl, my aunt Angelina.”
“So he did what his parents wanted instead of what he wanted.”
“Yeah. Well, he was their only surviving son. My Uncle Greg was a cop. He was killed in the line of duty.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Thanks. He sounded like a really good guy, but I never knew him. That was before they moved to Seaford.”
“Wills. Your Dad isn’t Italian.”