Claire

“Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!”

The tequila shot was a lot smoother than what she had imagined, being the novice drinker that she was. The salt and the lime combo, which the bearded bikers who lined the bar were so kind to show her, also helped.

She had never experienced a lot of things before she met Devin. Earning a rousing chorus of applause and cheers on the level of a Rose Bowl touchdown for something as simple as tossing back a shot of tequila was one of those new experiences.

One of the bikers patted Devin on the back. “Your girl knows how to party and didn’t even know it.”

Devin was watching her with a gleam in his eye. He was stone cold sober and kept his hand on her back protectively the entire time they sat at the bar.

Not that Claire felt she needed to be protected, but it was sweet. He looked happy, watching her have fun. Someone told a raunchy joke and she belly laughed. Actually threw her head back and belly laughed for the first time in…how long? Maybe since before all the bad stuff happened.

The tequila shots warmed her, the bar was decorated with colored Christmas lights everywhere, there was a nice biker lady in a Christmas sweater with elves all over it who was telling her her life story and kept calling her “Clara,” but she didn’t mind.

In fact, none of the bikers were dressed in any traditional gear that she would have expected. They were tattooed and wore jeans and the standard motorcycle boots. But they all were wearing cozy sweaters. When she asked the biker chick, Vicki, about it, she learned it was the group’s annual ugly sweater Christmas party. Maybe it was the tequila talking, but she loved these people.

She also learned that Brick, who seemed to be the “old man” of the biker lady she was talking to, was a U.S. Marine and also helped collect gifts for kids and for moms at the local women’s shelter. She learned that Brick’s dad, like Devin’s, had disappeared shortly after he was born, and his mom and he had been terrorized by boyfriend after boyfriend. So when he grew up and got his mom out of there, he dedicated all his spare time to taking care of kids and adults in abusive situations.

It was a heartbreaking and wonderful conversation and gave Claire all the feelings. Maybe because it was Christmastime and she was drunk and also possibly falling in love with Devin, but she felt like she had been blessed with a whole new set of friends.

After she had had about three or four shots, Devin wisely cut her off. She had no way of knowing how much was too much, so she trusted Devin’s judgment on that front.

“Well, it’s about time we shove off,” Devin said with a wink.

“Wait, before you go.” Vicki grabbed Claire’s phone and typed in her and Brick’s contact information.

“If you ever need anything, sweetie, just text me. Anything at all. Seriously, my old man is a fucking superhero.”

Claire stood up and announced she loved Vicki and Brick with all her heart and they all exchanged hugs as Devin tried to drag her out the door.

Outside, the cold air rejuvenated her even more. “Devin, this is the best date I’ve ever had in my life.” She stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. Under the street lamp, everything seemed magical. The tequila also helped with that.

“I like watching you have fun, sweet thing.”

She smiled and his words warmed her heart. “Promise me,” she slurred, “Never stop calling me that. Promise me you will still call me sweet thing even when we’re old and gray.”

Both she and Devin realized what she had just said at the same moment and they stared wordlessly at each other for a moment.

If she hadn’t been drunk, she might have felt embarrassed or on the verge of panic. She might have looked down at her feet in shame. But she felt elated, confident and totally in love. She had felt completely down in the dumps just over 90 minutes ago and now she felt like she could fly to the moon on her happiness.

Devin finally broke the silence with a laugh. “I promise, sweet thing.” He angled down to claim a slightly less innocent kiss this time.

“We have an hour—what do you want to do now?” she said as they warmed up in the truck.

Devin drew Claire in close to him. She felt his happiness surge to life in his pants. His need spoke to her through his hands, which snaked inside her coat and circled her waist, pulling her breasts against him, through his beautiful full lips that owned her and made her knees feel weak. His tongue, which teased her open and sent her the message that there was much more of her he wanted to taste.

The heat rose in her cheeks as they kissed, as they warmed each other against the cold with their mutual desire. She wanted him to lay her down right there in the truck and ravage her. She didn’t want it the same way as their first time together. She wanted hot, animal, jungle sex.

“Damn it’s too cold out here. Too bad we don’t have a big sleeping bag, we could get naked and keep each other warm inside it.”

“Well,” she said, planting little kisses up and down his neck. “Then I think you should take me back to your place and wreck me.”

She didn’t have to tell him twice.