And then I’d seen Holly in her cute little elf costume and that big, beautiful smile on her face, and everything had changed. I’d have sooner shot myself that night than harmed a single hair on her head. It’s terrifying to see how quickly I’ve fallen for her, but I have. There’s no denying it. I’ve fallen completely in love with her. Our forced marriage has become a real one to me, and I can’t imagine my life without her.
I watch her scan the crowd, trying to find me. She doesn’t see me, of course, but that doesn’t stop her from giving a cutesy wave, hoping I’ll see it.
I see you all right,lisichka.
She goes back to the counter and says something to Jess before slipping through a door by the video games. I wait for her to come back, but after several minutes, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Walking past her store’s entrance, I weave my way through the frazzled shoppers and past the many kiosks taking up space in the middle of the walkway. The next store is obviously geared to the younger crowd. Peppy, upbeat pop music blares from it like a beacon call to teenagers everywhere.
I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until I catch sight of Holly’s red-and-white Christmas hat, bobbing through the crowd and let out a relieved exhale. She’s trying her best to blend in while being sneaky, and the poor thing is failing miserably. I laugh out loud when she’s so concerned with looking out for me that she bumps into a rack of discount shirts and nearly knocks the damn thing over. She doesn’t know it, but trying to sneak away from me just earned her another three sharp smacks to her ass.
Curious what she’s up to, I follow her, watching as she slips into a store with a display of men’s sweaters that, I notice, are all cheery bright colors and nothing at all like anything I own. When she starts to look through them, holding up a red-and-white monstrosity with a happy snowman family on the front, I let out a groan and realize she’s Christmas shopping for me. I breathe a sigh of relief when she folds the sweater and sets it back on the display counter.
Wanting to give her a bit of privacy, I turn away enough so that I can make sure she’s safe while not outright spying on her. No woman has ever given me a Christmas present, and I’m surprised by how much it means to me that she’s taking the time to do this. I snuck off for a bit this morning while she was working so I could shop for her and sneak the bags out to the truck, but I hadn’t planned on her getting me anything. It had surprised the hell out of me to find that I actually had fun shopping for her. I’d spent more than I’d planned, but I don’t give a fuck about that. We have plenty of money, and I’ve never had anyone to spend it on. She’s going to be a lot of fun to spoil.
I watch her leave the store with a bag in her hand and mentally start to prepare myself. There’s a very good chance there’s a godawful Christmas sweater in there, and I know I’ll have no choice but to wear it, because the thought of hurting her feelings isn’t something I’m willing to do. She scans the crowd again before ducking into another store, this one filled with Christmas decorations and the kind of earsplitting holiday music that makes you want to just skip ahead to next year and be done with it. She comes out with a big grin on her face and yet another bag.
Satisfied, she sneaks, or at least tries to, back to her own store, giving Jess a high-five before storing her bags behind the counter. I watch her, thinking she’s the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen, and when her shift is finally over, I try my best to act surprised when she walks up to me with her shopping bags.
She stands on her toes to give me a kiss, and I fall a little more in love with her just from watching her do it. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her back, wondering how long I’ll be able to keep my little wife a virgin. I’m guessing not much longer. I’m kind of impressed with myself for lasting this long.
“Jess said that it’ll be fine if I just quit and don’t come back. One of our coworkers has been begging for overtime since he just had a baby, and she said he’d be thrilled to pick up the extra hours.”
I smile down at her and straighten the fuzzy, white trim of her dress that got disheveled from our hug. “Do you want kids?” The question is out before I can stop it. I let out a nervous laugh and shake my head. “Never mind, don’t answer that. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Why shouldn’t you ask? I know this marriage started out unusual,” she says, giving a soft laugh, “but I have big hopes for it, and yes, I want kids one day. Do you?”
“I never did before.”
“And now?” she presses, resting one hand against my cheek, rubbing her thumb along my beard, something she’s taken to doing that always sends a jolt of pleasure through me with each swipe of her thumb.
“Now everything has changed.You’vechanged everything, Holly.”
She smiles and gives my beard a soft tug. “I’ll take that as a yes then, but you realize what this means, right?”
“What?”
She leans closer and says, “It means you can’t keep me a virgin.” Her lips brush mine in the softest of kisses. “It means you’re going to have to fuck me a lot, Sasha.”
I groan and feel myself grow rock hard in record time. “Such a fucking temptress,” I tell her, making her laugh. I set her back down before I do something embarrassing like bend her over in the middle of the mall and fuck the virginity right out of her.
“I see you snuck out and bought some things,” I say, pointing at her bags and trying to act surprised.
“Did I really sneak past you?” Her eyes are lit up, and she looks so damn happy. I don’t have the heart to take it from her, so I just smile and kiss the tip of her nose.
“Looks like I’ll have to be extra careful about keeping an eye on you. I didn’t realize you were so sneaky.”
She laughs as we walk back to her locker to get her purse and our jackets. Once we’re at the truck, I shove her bags in the backseat next to mine, and when she sees them, she turns to look at me, her brow scrunched in confusion.
“You’re not the only one who can be sneaky,” I tell her, giving her a wink.
She smiles and tries to peek into one of the bags. I swat her hand away.
“Don’t even think about it. Now, are you going to want to go home and change first, or are you ready for the Christmas decoration shopping I promised you?”
Looking down at her red skirt with the white, fluffy trim and her green-and-white striped tights, she says, “Why wouldn’t I want to go decoration shopping in this?” Her smile is huge when she lifts her face back up. “Christmas is just a few days away. This is the perfect get-up for today. Plus, I think it’s hilarious that a holiday grump like you has to be seen in public with me like this.”
“I told you the season is growing on me,” I say with a laugh.
She sends out a text to upper management, letting them know she won’t be back in to work, while I drive us further downtown to where I read they’re having a Christmas bazaar of some sort with tons of booths selling handmade ornaments and decorations. It’s the kind of thing I would’ve normally avoided like the plague, but now I find myself happily driving into the midst of all this holiday cheer and loving every damn second of it.