First Christmas

I have to laugh at her. She’s going to kill me, or attempt to anyway, but I had to tweak her a bit. “Well, to be honest, I already have. About twenty minutes ago.” I grin and point to a tree a couple of rows over with a bright red ribbon on it. “I just wanted to see how long you'd last.”

She stomps over to me and hits my chest a couple of times. “God, you're such an ass! Take me back to the damned truck!” Then she turns and stomps back to the main path, hips swishing delightfully from side to side. “And I want a bubble bath when we get home. And you'd better be in it!” She throws the words over her shoulder for emphasis, though she isn't really yelling. She sounded forceful though, so I give her kudos for that.

By the time I catch up, she's almost to the gate. Yes, I lingered a little watching her walk purposefully in the direction of the truck. What can I say? I’m a guy. I tell the kid at the front we’ve made our choice, directing him where to find the thing. Looking over my shoulder, I note Allie's almost to the truck. Being the gentleman I am—not—I unlock the doors with the remote and hit the keyless ignition to start it for her. I may be an ass, but that is my woman, and her comfort is important to me. The kid hands me a receipt for the tree and tells me it will be about fifteen minutes before they have it ready for us.

“Hey, is there some place I can get some coffee?” Yes, I may like tweaking Allie, but I also enjoy making it up to her. Coffee is just the first step.

He points to large camper parked next to a shed. “They have coffee, hot cider, and hot chocolate.”

Thanking the kid, I turn and walk to the concession stand and order a couple of coffees, making sure I grab a handful of sugar packs and creamers for her. When I knock on her window, she rolls down the window, looking adorably petulant. I hand her a coffee and reach into my pocket for the creamers and sugar. I see a hint of a smile as she struggles to keep her game face on.

“Don't think for one second this gets you out of the bubble bath with me.”

I lean in to kiss her. “I look forward to it.”

And I mean it. Some things are worth the sacrifice.

By the time we get home it’s almost dark, so I ask her to go inside and open the front door so I can bring in the tree. Putting the base of the tree in the stand, I ask her to tell me when it’s straight.

“Ummmm,” is the only answer I get the entire time I’m bent over trying to set the damn thing up. I have to peer up, watching as she slowly walks around from side to side, taking her sweet time. I get the feeling there’s some payback going on. I know, duh, huh?

“Well, how does it look?”

She puts her finger on her chin, tilting her head to the side. “It’s been straight for some time. I just wanted to see how long you would take to ask.” She says it without even a hint of a grin, eyebrow raised in challenge. God, how I love this woman.

I growl at her, a soft rumble of sound from deep in my chest as I push the pedal down on the stand, cinching the tree in tight to the base. It was fair, so I let it slide. There will be plenty of other opportunities for spankings.