I WALK into pandemonium on Thanksgiving.
Chester, Maggie and Aiden’s tabby cat from the rescue shelter in town, darts between my legs. Maven scoots past me on the skateboard she got for Christmas last year and waves hello. I spy Maggie in the kitchen, clutching a wine glass in her hand like her life depends on it. Her cheeks are pale and her eyes are wide. She mouths something to me, but I can’t understand what she’s trying to say.
Her parents and Aiden’s parents are meeting for the first time today to celebrate Thanksgiving with their children. The older couples crowd around a charcuterie board decorated with jam and crackers and artisanal cheeses, and it seems like everything is going well.
I shut the door to the apartment with the heel of my boot. I revel in the laughter, in the conversation and warmth welcoming me as I walk inside. I might not be home with my family for the holiday, but this is as good as it gets.
“Hey.” Shawn slides up next to me. He bends down and kisses my cheek, his hand on my hip and his cologne tickling my nose. I smell a mix of spice and sweet, and I smile at the familiar scent.
“Hi. Happy Thanksgiving.” I stand on my toes and kiss his cheek in return. “Am I late?”
“No. Maggie and Aiden did two airport runs this morning at the crack of dawn.” He takes a step back and eyes my leather skirt and the tights on my legs. “You look nice.”
“Thanks. So do you,” I say, and I admire his plaid shirt unbuttoned over a plain white tee. His jeans fit him impeccably well, and the sneakers on his feet look freshly cleaned. “It’s good to see you in something other than your joggers.”
“I probably should have worn something with more give in the waist. The button on my pants is going to pop open before we finish cutting the turkey.” Shawn smiles. “Let me take those pies from you.”
“So you can eat them?” I elbow his stomach as I head toward the kitchen, meeting nothing but muscle and firm lines of a toned body. He was probably at the gym before heading over here this morning, sweating with the sunrise. “I don’t think so, buddy.”
“Just a taste,” he says.
“You can wait, just like everyone else.”
“You don’t play fair.”
“I play fair. You’re the one who’s lacking self-control.”
His hand rests heavy on my elbow and his fingers press into my skin, burning their way through the sleeve of my shirt. His grip tightens on my arm, and he stops me from moving forward. With a tug and a spin, I’m facing him, and I nearly drop the two pies as my back connects with the foyer wall.
“I have plenty of self-control, Lacey,” he says, and there’s a roughness in his voice that wasn’t there before. “But you should know I can be very persuasive when needed.”
His touch moves to the inside of my wrist. He rubs a small circle over my pulse point with his thumb, and I wonder if he can feel my heart hammering in my blood. I can.
Shawn blinks, and for the first time since I’ve known him, I notice the freckles across the bridge of his nose. A dusting of dots that look like constellations in the night sky. I see the hint of gray in his eyes, the hue as light as a wisp of smoke. Heat radiates from him, a furnace that engulfs me and draws me closer.
A rebuttal sits in my throat, but I swallow it down. I’m not sure what I want to say, because with Shawn staring at me, words are hard to come by.
“Thank god you’re here.” Maggie breaks the spell between us. Shawn takes a step back and my arm falls to my side. He runs a hand through his hair, and I remember to breathe. Color takes over his cheeks, and he clears his throat. “Are you two okay?”
“Fine,” we say in unison.
“Shawn was trying to weasel his way into getting a slice of pie, but it didn’t work. Guess he’s not as persuasive as he thought he was,” I say, and I wink in his direction. The pink on his cheeks deepens to crimson red, and I count his blush as a win.
“There will be plenty of time for pie later. I’m in crisis mode. Marjorie, Aiden’s mom, and my mom are planning a lunch for next week. They live seven hundred miles from each other,” Maggie says.
“And that’s bad, why?” I ask.
“What if my mom tells her about the time I snuck into the turtle exhibit at the aquarium? Or when I laughed so hard at a stand-up comedy show, I peed my pants? God, or that I failed my driver’s test the first time I took it because I can’t parallel park to save my life? I like Marjorie thinking I’m a delightful woman. I need you as backup.”
“To be fair, I think it’s a rite of passage to fail the parallel parking portion of the driver’s test. A test of resilience, if you will,” I say. “And of course Marjorie will think you’re a delightful woman. Just don’t tell her you and Aiden fucked on the counter where she’s currently eating crackers, and you’ll be all set.”
“Jesus,” Maggie mumbles. She loops her arm through mine and pulls me toward the kitchen. “Maybe I should leave you over here.”
“Careful with the pies, Mags,” Shawn says. “Don’t let Lacey drop them.”
“You and these damn pies,” I answer. “I’m going to smash one in your face if you’re not careful, and they’re not even that good. They have way too much nutmeg.”
“Smash away, Lace. If I want something, I tend to get it. And I want those damn pies.”
“Yeah?” I run my finger across the whipped cream on top of the smaller dessert, and I hold out my hand. “Prove it.”
He narrows his eyes. “Are you sure about that?”
“Of course I am.” I wiggle my fingers. “C’mon, honey. Where’s that self-control?”
I’m taunting him. Riling him up for a reason I don’t know, but it’s fun to watch his eyebrows lift in surprise. To watch his lips twist into a smile that makes other girls weak in the knees. For me, it just makes me smile, too.
“If you insist, sweetheart,” he says lowly, and oh, I kind of like it when he calls me that.
His fingers fold around my wrist and his tongue sneaks out of his mouth, running up the length of my finger. His lips close over the tip, over the purple nail polish I painted on last night, and he sucks the topping right off.
I did not think this through.
It wasn’t meant to be erotic and sexy, foreplay to an activity we’ll never partake in because we’re friends, but that’s what it feels like this is.
His eyes pin me with a heated gaze. His tongue licks over my knuckles and he hums, a satisfied rumble from the back of his throat. The sound vibrates against my skin, and my breathing hitches.
I haven’t been with a man in months, too busy with work and wanting to spend my evenings in the bathtub with a glass of wine and a trashy reality show instead of making idle conversation with someone who doesn’t know what an erogenous zone is. If this is what I’ve been missing, though, I need to get back in the game. Nothing has felt this good in a long time.
I almost moan when Shawn’s teeth drag up my finger and leave little bite marks on my skin. He can tell, the asshole, because he smirks.
“Delicious,” he says. It’s barely more than a rasp, and I feel the three syllables down to my toes. I wonder how they would feel against my neck and the hollow of my throat. Between my legs. A kiss on the underside of my breast and the rest of my naked body. “I told you I can be persuasive.”
“Maybe. But you’re still not getting any pie,” I say when I find my voice, dragging Maggie with me as I escape Shawn’s clutches.
“What was that?” Maggie asks. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Yes,” I say, and her eyes light up. “But not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“AIDEN, THE TURKEY WAS PHENOMENAL,” I say. I lean back in my chair and stretch my arms over my head. “Much better than last year.”
“Last year it was bone dry,” he says from across the crowded table, shaking his head. “That’s what I get for being distracted by football.”
Shawn wipes his mouth with his napkin and sets the cloth on his empty plate. “I thought we could wrap up today by each share something we’re thankful for this year. I do it with my guys in the locker room, and it’s a nice reminder of what the day is about.”
“That’s a great idea, Uncle Shawn. I’ll go first,” Maven says, and she bounces in her seat. “I’m thankful for my friends and my family. Oh! And having strong enough legs to run cross-country and track. And to play soccer.”
“You have your mother to thank for those legs, Mae. I just have tree trunks,” Aiden says. He nods at Katie, his ex-wife, who smiles and rests her head on her partner’s shoulder. “I’m thankful for a good co-parenting relationship which allows us to spend holidays with our magnificent daughter. I’m the luckiest dad in the world.”
“Ugh, gross.” Maven sticks out her tongue. “You’re being uncool, Dad.”
“I’m thankful for both sets of our parents being healthy enough to travel to see us,” Maggie says. “I’ve always wanted a big Thanksgiving. Thank you all for making my dream come true.”
We go around the table, and everyone shares what makes today special to them. Pets and food and the crossword puzzle in the Sunday newspaper. An upcoming trip to Aspen and long walks on the beach at the tail-end of summer. When it’s my turn to share, I cross my legs under the table and smooth my hands over my skirt.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to slow down,” I say. “My life is busy with work and patients and people needing me. And, as much as I love my job, I’m grateful to take a deep breath and spend a few hours with people I care about. Maggie and Aiden, thank you for opening up your home to us and giving us a place to be today. It means a lot.”
Maggie reaches over and takes my hand in hers. She sniffs and blinks away tears. Her shoulders shake with quiet laughter. “Damn you for making me emotional,” she says.
“I’m sorry.” I nudge her. “What are best friends for?”
Shawn scoots back in his chair and stands. Our attention settles on him, and he smiles. “I’m thankful for each and every one of you at this table. I know what I signed up for when I took the head coaching job with the Titans; being away from my family for long stretches of time. Games on holidays. A chaotic schedule that makes it difficult to keep people around. We’re not blood, but you all are my family, too. I’m such a lucky bastard that I have you all in my corner.”
“To found family,” I say. I lift my glass, and everyone follows suit. “And to the people who surprise us.”
Shawn’s eyes wrinkle in the corner and he grins at me, a display of joy I scoop up and hold close to my heart.
