Note from the author: The following story is a continuation of the series begun with "The Blissfield," and continued with "The Log Cabin" and "The Apartment." Although it is not essential that you have read those stories first, reading them first might help understanding the characters and their progress toward building a relationship.
Part 1, Noel Night
"I can't wait, honey!" Holly exclaimed as she stepped up onto the porch. "This is so exciting--our first house!" She looked up into David's clear blue eyes and smiled as he grinned and warmly embraced her.
"I know, Baby. We're finally going to be under the same roof, all of us," David answered, fiddling the key into the lock and opening up the door. Holly went to enter through the open door, but David held her back by the arm. "Hang on a sec." He shoved the keys into his pocket and spun her around to face him. "You remember that I'm a kind of old-fashioned guy."
"I know and it's just one of the things that I love about you," Holly confessed. Her green eyes--or were they blue this afternoon--were sparkling like fine jewels in the late afternoon sun.
"And being a traditional kind of guy, you know what that means," he said and quickly scooped his arms around her, picking her up with a single swoop. She laughed as she fell into his arms and then hooked her hand around his shoulder and hung onto him tightly.
"My hero!" she gushed with a buoyant laugh.
"My sweet Baby," David replied, stepping up into the foyer and carrying her inside toward the great room. He set her down just past the step down near the wraparound corner couch. "So what do you think?" he asked expectantly, waving his arm around the room.
It was their first weekend together in their new house, well, new house for them at least. So many changes had come in the past year. The biggest had been that David found out his children would be coming to live with them and the cozy apartment that had been so ideal for the two of them had suddenly shrunk overnight. After talking the entire situation over, they decided to go house hunting and eventually found an older roomy two-story colonial. Ever since the closing, David had spent every available hour remodeling, painting, and preparing. Over the past week, while Holly spent a few days with her family and friends, David had supervised the movers and gotten the bulk of his household things out of storage. The last couple of days had been a blur, but now that Holly had arrived, all that remained was the appearance of his kids with their things.
"Wow, this is really great!" she said looking around the great room. "I like it, I like it a lot." Her eyes didn't seem to miss a thing, especially the improvements; the marble fireplace, the hardwood floor, the home theatre, the inviting leather couches, and the fur rug by the hearth. "I can see spending a lot of time in here ... with you."
"Good, so can I ... with you," David agreed. "We've got a few minutes. Can I get you a drink or something? I mix a pretty amazing Cosmo you know."
"I know," she said. "I remember the last one you made for me."
"A good memory, I hope?"
"All my memories of you are good," Holly said. "Every last one of them."
"So are my memories of you," David smiled and then moved over to the bar and began to fix a couple drinks. And they had accumulated a lot of memories in the three years since they had first met. There were many memorable online chats and a very hot game of Truth or Dare, a wonderful weekend at the Blissfield Bed and Breakfast, and a terrific trip to her parent's cabin in the woods. Then there was the year they lived together in their apartment, throwing dinner parties and entertaining friends. There were long days of school and work and long nights of counting the stars and making love. But it had always been enjoyable and their love had only deepened.
And now they were ready for the next transition. Despite all the good hearted warnings of their friends, his and hers, about the dangers of May-December romances, they had persisted because they loved each other madly, without cause or expectation. Their long distance relationship had turned into a lively live-in relationship, and when they needed to make room for his children, buying a house seemed the best alternative. And now as he looked back at her, seeing her move around looking at some of his collections, he never seemed to feel more in love with her than right now.
David finished mixing her drink and stirred it in ice. He strained the mixture and poured it into one of his best crystal glasses. While it settled he poured himself a quick Jack D on the rocks and then carried the drinks into the great room. He handed her the Cosmo and held his glass aloft.
"Welcome home, Baby," he smiled broadly.
"Mmm, it already feels like home," she cooed. "And I just got here."
"I'm sure you'll feel even more at home when you get all of your things unpacked. There's a couple of big crates downstairs with your name on 'em and I was not about to go there."
"Smart boy," Holly said patting him on the cheek. "You've done a great job doing all this. It feels so much like home already."
David gave her a quick tour of the house. It was quite different from the place she had seen just a month before. The kitchen was completely redone with lovely custom maple cabinetry, granite countertops and hardwood flooring. The dining room was transformed from a non-descript box to a plush inviting room for entertaining. As she looked around, Holly could see the improvements in every room. There were some obvious touches remaining to be done, but that would come with time as they settled into the place and made it their home.
"You've done such a beautiful job," Holly said, taking a seat in the living room. "I'm impressed."
"I told you that I wanted to make it nice for all of us," David replied as he sat beside her.
"So when are they going to get here?" Holly asked.
"Their mother said she would drop them off around five," David said, checking his watch. "So we have a few minutes yet. She's rarely on time."
"I'm really excited about meeting your kids," Holly remarked. "I feel like I know them already."
David eased his hand around her waist and let it rest on the small of her back. Leaning toward her, he placed a soft kiss on her lips, feeling her soft wet lips melt into his. The brush of her tongue on his mouth made him tingle with excitement. Her kisses always did. They had come so far in two years, from friends to lovers and now to something more. This felt like the last piece of big puzzle was about to fall into place, the last unfathomed part of his life was now opening up to her. If Holly and he were to be anything meaningful together, his children would have to be a part of it. Always protective of his kids, perhaps even more so because of his divorce, David felt nervous about taking this step, but excited too. Holly's kiss was welcome, and the touch of her hand on his shoulder, grasping him, her fingers curling around his arm helped too.
"Gees, I forgot all about your bags," David said with an embarrassed chuckle, suddenly remembering her things out in the car. "Let me go get them for you."
"I think you'll need my help, hon," she said.
They left their drinks and went out to her car and unloaded her suitcases. David struggled to carry the heaviest ones and declined her offer of help with them.
"That's all right," he grunted proudly. "I got 'em!"
"All right," she laughed. "But don't expect any sympathy if you put your back out, old man."
"Not even a little back rub, you sweet young thing?" he asked.
