Christmas was a glorious day.

Not because I was with family, though that was part of it.

At the kitchen table, with Emily giggling over Cheerios at one end, my mom dishing up pancakes, Annie making mimosas, and my dad and Grace arguing over politics on video chat, I let my mind wander.

The night before on Sam’s porch, I’d forgotten all about the damned car because her mouth had been under mine and it’d been a beautiful thing. We’d been in our own world, our body heat keeping out the cold.

I played it out, imagining pressing Sam into the warped wood boards of the porch, my hands sliding under all her clothes, and…

I shook myself out of my daydream, reminding myself I was in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by family and laughter and coffee.

After breakfast we opened presents. Then Annie relented and called her boyfriend—who was visiting his family out of state—on her iPad. I gave her three minutes of quality time before I wrenched it from her hands and proceeded to ask horrifically invasive questions while she tackled me from behind. “Get your own girlfriend! Or boyfriend! Leave mine alone,” she grunted.

When the sound of Closer by Tegan and Sara edged into my mind as we were into our second mimosas, my eyes locked with Annie’s.

“What the—is that your phone? Who’s calling?”

I lunged for the table and she followed me.

I tripped over one of Emily’s toys and she got there first. I was already regretting the ringtone when Annie answered the phone.

“Hello?” I reached for it and she held it away, rounding the couch. “Who am I speaking with?” she grinned. “Oh. Sam Martinez!” Her fingers dug into the back of the couch near Grace’s head as she stared at me knowingly. “Hi, Sam. Yep, he’s here. You want to talk to him?”

I grabbed the phone from her and flipped her off. She grinned and flopped back onto the couch, waggling her fingers after me as I retreated to the kitchen.

“Sam. Hey.”

“Was that Annie?”

“Yep. Charming as ever.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”

“It’s okay, what’s up?”

I shoved up the sleeves of my sweater, the knit Christmas tree that sprawled across my chest. My sisters and I had a running competition to find the most heinous holiday garment.

“I was thinking about what you said about not making payroll for Titan. I had an idea. What if we did an auction?” Her voice bubbled with excitement as I tried to keep up.

“Like a bachelor auction?”

“No! An art auction. I have the sketches we didn’t send Epic for Phoenix. The pencil drawings that were the prototypes.”

“Sam, that’s genius. People love collectible shit.” It wouldn't resolve all our cash flow issues, but it was a great idea to rally support for the film and build some hype. “There are a couple of platforms we could use to upload. They do crowdfunding and auctions and things like that. I could send the idea to our marketing manager. She’ll be all over it when she gets back to work next week.”

“Then what are you going to drive all week?”

Her thoughtfulness had my chest tightening as I grinned. “I dunno, babe. I’ll rent a Kia.”

I heard her breathe into the phone for a moment before she responded. “No. Come over tomorrow. We can post the drawings then. Maybe if they do well enough you can get your car back sooner.”

The fact that Sam had been thinking about it, worried about it, touched me.

“Sure,” I said finally. “Sounds good.”

I rose from my chair, crossing to the kitchen to pour a whiskey. Much better than the mimosas, but I didn’t like to hurt Annie’s feelings. “How long are your grandparents here?”

“Until tomorrow. My dad’s driving them to the airport. He’ll probably wait with them until their flight.”

I nodded, taking a sip of my drink. “It was fun hanging out with them last night.”

“Yeah. Last night.” Her voice dropped like she didn’t want to be overheard.

I found a pair of slippers by the kitchen door and stepped into them, glancing over my shoulder before I turned the handle quietly as I could and stepped outside. The bright sun reflected off the snow on our back patio, blinding me as I pulled the door shut behind me.

“Speaking of,” I started, “that was some kiss, Sam.”

The cold raised the hairs on my arms and legs but it wasn’t enough to put a stop to the desire I was feeling.

“Yeah,” she said finally. “It was.”

“If you knew what was going through my head last night when I got home…”

“Tell me.”

I don't know which turned me on more, the fact that she wanted to know or that she told me so in that voice that was a little breathless and a lot demanding.

I can talk dirty with the best of them, but right now, my brain felt overstimulated, unable to think or process.

“I want to tease you. Until you’re begging me to take you. Wherever I want. However I want.”

When I heard her trembling breath, it amped me up even more. I wasn’t myself, but I couldn’t stop playing this out. I was handcuffed, the only weapon at my disposal against this mess was the same one that’d got me into it: this insatiable desire that had erupted from nowhere. That was taking me over a little more every day.

“I want to touch you. I want to slide my fingers inside you, to fill you up with me, and watch your eyes when I do it. So you know I’m the one responsible for everything you feel. And I know exactly how good it is.” Pleasure coursed through me, and something darker and unfamiliar. I could feel her arousal over the phone like a living thing.

When she spoke, her voice sounded like it’d been scraped over sandpaper. “I didn’t know you had such a dirty mouth, Lee.”

“I’d love to fuck you with it, Sam.”

A noise escaped her throat and I wished to hell she was here so I could press her back against the door, kiss her until we were both dizzy and she was squirming against me. I could taste her mouth, smell her shampoo.

Feel how tight she was around me.

A dog barked—the neighbors’—and I jolted.

I needed to stop before I started humping the siding.

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“We’ll put those pictures up online tomorrow.”

She blew out a slow breath. “Okay. I’ll text you when my dad leaves.”

I let myself back inside, kicking off my slippers and downing the rest of the whiskey stepping into the living room only to realize everyone was staring at me.

“Were you having phone sex with Sam Martinez out there?” Annie demanded as I reached for my mimosa on the coffee table.

I straightened. “Did you hear me?”

“NO! Oh God, it was a joke!” she shrieked.

I dropped into the empty wing chair, not bothering to look contrite. Grace snorted while Emily happily played with blocks on the floor. My mom smiled and Jeremy shook his head, going back to reading his paper.