Our First Christmas (The Penalty Kill Trilogy) Read online

  Our First Christmas

  A Penalty Kill Novella

  Lindsay Paige & Mary Smith

  Our First Christmas

  Copyright 2013 by Lindsay Paige and Mary Smith

  This publication is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws, and all rights are reserved, including resale rights: you are not allowed to give or sell this book to anyone else.

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  All rights reserved. Except for the use of short passages for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced, in part or in whole, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording, or any information retrieval system, without prior permission in the form of writing by the authors.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any actual places, products, or events mentioned are used in a purely fictitious manner.

  Cover Designed by: Bailey Ardisone

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter One

  Presley

  “Another round of finals are d-o-n-e,” I spell out as I flop onto my couch. Trevor is in the kitchen, going through my fridge. After he is unable to find anything, he comes over and sits next to me.

  “What do you have planned for tonight?”

  “I’m supposed to go to spend time with Levi before he leaves for his dad’s house in the morning.”

  “How’s that going?” Trevor still looks a little disappointed that Levi and I got back together, but we are happy. I knew when I was back in Levi’s arms that night at the hospital, that it was going to be okay.

  “Really good, but we haven’t been alone since we got back together.” Between Victor still in the hospital, finals, and the end of the hockey season, we haven’t been able to spend any alone time together. I’m looking forward to tonight. “I know you’re not happy about this, Trev, but I’m happy.”

  “I know,” he huffs.

  “Trev, just give him a chance. Please, for me.”

  Trev crosses his arms and stares at the ceiling. I know that he is thinking of a way not to like Levi, but since Levi came and talked to him, Trevor has felt different about him. My twin brother tries to act like he’s all tough and mean, but the truth is, he really isn’t like that at all.

  “Well, if you’re happy, then fine, but he and I aren’t going to be best friends, okay?”

  I smile. “Just be civil to each other. That’s all I’m asking.”

  Trevor groans. “Fine.”

  I laugh. “Love you, Trevor.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He rolls his eyes playfully. He’s just looking out for me though. “I’m going to head out. I talk to you later.” He kisses the top of my head and leaves.

  I sit on the couch and appreciate the silence. I’ve been so busy lately that I feel like I haven’t taken a moment for myself. I don’t know how long I sit there with my eyes closed, but I jump with a start when there is a knock on the door.

  “Well, hello, Smarty.” I’m met with Levi’s sideways grin and blue eyes when I open the door.

  “Hey.” My heart speeds up as he picks me up and kicks my door shut. His lips crash into mine as I instantly wrap my legs around him. I love hearing him moan as I open my mouth wider and our tongues dance.

  “Wow, I’ve missed you,” Levi breathes as we break our kiss.

  “Me too.” I look at him through hooded eyes, and all I want to do is take him to my bedroom.

  “I want to fuck you so badly, but I’m starving.” He kisses me one more time and I unhook my legs and slide down his body.

  “I could give you something to eat.” I wag my eyebrows, just like he does to me all the time, and he barks out a laugh.

  “Oh, I’m sure you can, Smarty. But I want to take you out. I want to celebrate.”

  “And just what are we celebrating, Mr. Carr?”

  “That you’re my girlfriend again, we are still in love, and we don’t have school for almost a whole month.” I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. I’m Levi’s girlfriend and for real this time. He isn’t playing anymore games and we still love each other.

  “Let me change and touch up my makeup.” I turn to head to the bathroom when Levi grabs my wrist.

  “Hey, don’t put anymore makeup on, please.”

  “Levi, I hardly have any on. I rushed out this morning for class.”

  He steps closer to me and touches my cheek. “I like when you don’t wear a lot.”

  I roll my eyes. “Fine. Let me change then.”

  I go to the bedroom and change into my favorite pair of jeans and a deep purple sweater. I slip into my knee high boots and then put my hair into a ponytail. I know that Levi loves when I wear my hair like this.

  I walk back into the living room and see Levi on the couch with his head in his hands. He’s probably stressed and tired. I kneel in front of him.

  “Hey, you just want to order some takeout and have it delivered? We could just slip into some comfy pajamas and watch a movie.”

  Levi looks up. “Smarty, I know you want to go out.”

  “Levi, I actually don’t want to. I just want to be with you. It’s still snowing, so why don’t we order some food and it just be you and me tonight?” I rub his arm.

  “My bag is in the SUV. Let me grab it while you order some pizza.”

  I give him a quick kiss. “Deal.”

  I call in the pizza and head back to the bedroom to change into my pajamas. I grab a pair of sweats and a Penguins t-shirt. I’m washing my face when Levi throws his bag onto the bed and pulls out a pair of flannel pants. I stare as he removes his shirt. I’m sure I’m drooling. One thing I love is Levi’s hockey body.

  “I can feel you staring, Smarty.” He doesn’t even look at me, but I know he has a smirk on his face.

  I nervously giggle and finish washing my face. Levi comes up behind me as I’m drying my face and wraps his arms around me.

  “May I ask you something?”

  I turn around in his arms. “Of course.”

  “Tomorrow, when I head home for break, will you come with me?”

  “What? You want me to come home with you for the whole break?”

  “Yes, I want you to stay with me and spend Christmas with Dad and me. I know that we just got back together, but I don’t think I can handle being away from you.” He rests his forehead on mine.

  “Levi, I’ve never been away from my family during the holidays.”

  He nods and pulls back to looks at me. “I know and I understand if you say no, but I want you there. I know Dad would love it too.”

  I love Levi and Victor, and I would love to spend the holidays with them. On the other hand, my dad and mom will flip out if I tell them I won’t be home. Plus, I’ve never spent the holidays away from them. But I know that I’m going to have to some day. Like when I have a family of my own or when I go away to law
school. They need to get used to the idea. I feel more welcomed at Victor’s anyway, and I want to be with Levi.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes?” Levi looks a little shocked.

  “Yes, but I need to pack and you have to carry all my bags.” I grin at him.

  “Deal, Smarty.” He leans in and kisses me.

  Chapter Two

  Levi

  Presley decided to hold off on telling her parents until today. Last night was about us. We ate the pizza and watched a movie. It was quite perfect too. We fell asleep in each others arms in the living room. Honestly, I can’t ask for much more than that. I’m just glad to have her back. Even happier now that she’s spending Christmas with me and Pops. We’ve just left to pick up Pops from the hospital and Presley is calling her parents. She glances at me nervously, the phone pressed to her ear.

  “Mother, hello,” she says. “Yes, I’m fine,” she answers after a pause. “Well, that’s what I was calling about. I’m not coming home this year.” Her eyes squeeze close and I can faintly hear her mother talking rapidly. “Yes, Mother. I know, but-” I reach over to take her hand, but she doesn’t really acknowledge me. “I’ll be with Levi and-” Mrs. McCarthy cuts her off again and even though I can’t really hear what she’s saying, I know she’s pissed.

  “If it’s going to be too much trouble, I can take you home,” I whisper, but Presley glares at me. With my eyes back on the road, I see her square her shoulders from the corner of my eye.

  “Mother, it’s not like we’re going to spend every single Christmas together for the rest of my life. It’s only the first time and I really want to spend it with his family.” My family? It’s only me and Pops. “Look, I’m sorry, but we’ve already left. Everyone will be fine without me anyway. Bye,” she adds quickly before her mother can say anything else. Presley groans and leans into the seat.

  “Everything okay?” What a stupid question. People only ask when they know that it’s not. Almost as if we’re giving the other person an opportunity to lie and say that it is okay, when it obviously isn’t. If it was, we wouldn’t ask in the first place.

  “Nothing’s changed, Levi.” Her voice softens as she adds, “Nothing’s ever going to change.”

  I don’t say anything. Instead, I leave her alone with her thoughts. One thing I wish I could do for her is make things better between her and her parents. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do that.

  Soon, we arrive at the hospital. I hold her hand as we walk down the halls, leading to his room. Pops is sitting in a wheelchair, waiting to be wheeled out. He lifts his head when we walk in, a grin quickly overpowering his face.

  “There’s my beautiful girl.” Pops holds out his arms, and Presley rushes over to him for a hug.

  “Hey to you too, Pops.”

  He chuckles, but then gains a serious face. “You’re late, son. They were about to roll me outside to wait in the cold.”

  I walk behind him, grabbing the handles so I can push him. “They were not. And we were late because of Presley.”

  “We were not!” Presley slaps my arm.

  Pops laughs. “Well, I’m all ready if you are. Like I said, I was waiting on ya.”

  A nurse comes in just then and walks out with us. Pops acts irritated when I help him into my car, but I ignore him. He sits up front with me, and soon we’re on the road to his house.

  “My girl, are you ready for Christmas?” Pops asks, looking back towards Presley.

  “Of course! I’m spending it with you two.”

  “You are?” Dad looks over at me, a faint smile on his lips.

  “Surprise, Pops! Smarty decided to bless us with her presence this year.”

  He grunts a little when he turns in his seat to look at Presley. “That’s the best Christmas present I’ve had in awhile, but is your family okay with this?” Dad doesn’t know much about the situation, but I have offered a few details. Enough for him to know that it’s rocky.

  “I’m just happy to spend it with you, Victor.” I see her smile in the rearview, but it’s one that’s hiding something.

  “What about me?” I ask to lighten the too serious mood.

  Smarty laughs. “You too, I guess.”

  We pull up at the house and Presley ushers my dad inside while I get our things. I hurry because I don’t want to miss too much of their reaction. It was exhausting to go back and forth between the hospital, school, and here, but I know that it’ll be worth it. I step into the house five seconds after them and hear Presley gasp softly.

  “It’s just like when your mother was here,” Pops says quietly, looking around the room at all the Christmas decorations.

  Clearing my throat, I tell him, “Yeah. I still have to do the outside, but I thought it would be a nice surprise.” I take a deep breath. “It’s, uh, been awhile since we’ve put up more than just a tree. Thought it might be time.”

  Two pairs of emotional eyes land on me. When Pops swallows hard, I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have done this. The past few years, all we’ve done is put up a tree, decorating it together as we’ve always done. This year, I decorated the entire house, every room having something Christmas-y in it.

  “Thank you, Levi. It looks great,” Pops finally comments, his eyes wandering around the room again.

  There’s the undecorated tree in the corner, a wreath on one of the walls, and Mom’s little village of houses with the fake snow. There’s garland over the doorways and so much more. It looks like Christmas exploded in this house. It’s overwhelming, really, but that’s the way Mom liked it. She used to say that there should be no mistake as to what time of year it is.

  “I’m going to go put these up.” I exit the room with our bags. This Christmas is going to be different. It’s not going to be just me and Pops with me waiting for the time when I can get back to campus. It’s not going to be awkward and suffocating because Mom’s not here and the house lacks all her holiday decor. This Christmas, we have Presley with us and things are better between me and her and me and my dad. I’m better. We’re going to have a really great time this year.

  “Levi?”

  Turning on my heels, I find Smarty in the doorway of my room.

  “Everything okay? You were staring at the wall.”

  I look over my shoulder and realize that I was staring at all my hockey stuff that my mom fixed for me. Shaking my head, I face Presley and cross the room. “Yeah, everything’s good.” I kiss her forehead. “I’m glad you’re here with us this year.”

  She wraps her arms tightly around my waist. “Glad to be here,” she whispers into my chest.

  “Are we going to decorate this tree or are we going to let it look bare and pathetic?” Pops yells up the stairs.

  “Don’t yell at us, you old man!” Smarty shouts back, looking at me with a smile. “C’mon.” She takes my hand, dragging me back into the living room.

  “Did you call me old? That wasn’t very nice, little girl.” Pops frowns and Presley laughs, causing him to smirk.

  After I finished decorating the house, I left the tubs with all the ornaments in the living room. “Are we going to decorate this tree or are y’all going to call each other names?” I grin.

  Chapter Three

  Presley

  I never had so much fun putting up a tree before. With my parents and Trevor, it’s so different. Mom usually picks whatever color is in style and hires someone to decorate. Then we would just stare at it. Most of the time, it looked like it was suppose to be in a storefront window and not in someone’s home.

  With Victor and Levi, they have ornaments from Levi’s childhood and some that Victor had with his wife from when they first got married. The one I love the most is the one Victor gave Amanda on their first Christmas. It brought tears to my eyes. Levi looks just like his dad, but has Amanda’s eyes. You can see their love for each other in their eyes from the homemade frame and bad handwriting that said, “Our First Christmas”.

  Levi is unusually quiet, and Victor helps un
til he gets tired. When the tree is done, I make everyone lunch. Victor and Levi are arguing about their NHL teams and who will make it to the playoffs. Of course, I have to agree with Levi, but that is because we both love our Pittsburgh Penguins.

  After lunch, Victor looks worn out, and Levi helps him up the stairs to take a nap. I curl up at the end of the couch when my phone begins to ring.

  “Presley Marie, you will be home for Christmas.” I barely get ‘hello’ out before my father’s voice booms.

  “Daddy, I have never gone against you, but this time I am. I’m staying with Levi and his dad this year.”

  “This conversation isn’t up for debate. You will come home. Period.” My father’s stern voice is the worst sound that I could think of when he’s upset. I feel like I should crawl into a corner and hide. However, this time, I’m going to stand my ground.

  “Daddy, I can’t spend every single holiday with you all. Someday, I’ll spend it with my own family and you’ll need to get used to that. I’m not coming home. I’m sorry if you are upset, but I’m staying here.” Then I do the one thing I never thought that I would do in my life. I hang up on my father.

  I stare at the phone, thinking that my father will call back and yell at me, but after a moment, nothing happens.

  “Wow, Smarty, I’m impressed.”

  I look up and see Levi leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

  “Didn’t think you had it in you.”

  “I didn’t either.” I look back at my phone, but there are no notifications on it. I’m not sure how to react.

  “Hey.” Levi sits next to me and puts his arm around me. “If you want to go home, you can. But I’m being selfish when I say that I would rather you be here with me. I mean,” he looks down and collects his thoughts. “We just got back together, and I’ve missed you so much.” His blue eyes look back at me, and I know that there is nowhere else I want to be.

  “Levi,” I bite my lip. “Want to take a nap?”