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I knew what she'd just asked.
"It's been nice talking to you, too, Gran. I'm looking forward to meeting you, too. Yes. I'll put
him on."
I moved the phone back to my ear. "Have you been embarrassing my boyfriend?" I couldn't
believe how wonderful it was to say the words 'my boyfriend' to another person.
"Would I?" Gran asked.
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
Gran laughed. "He sounds like a very nice young man. You'll have to bring him down to see me
in the New Year."
"Yes, Gran, I will. Believe me, I want to show him off." I looked at Mark, and he went red again.
"I'll let you go. No doubt you're planning to bully some more defenceless old ladies into another
knee's up."
"How did you guess?"
We laughed, then said our goodbyes and hung up.
"She's wonderful," Mark said.
"Yeah, she's pretty special," I admitted.
"I've never met anyone so full of beans," Mary smiled.
We chatted for a while longer, then Mary asked Mark, "So, what did Simon get you for
Christmas?"
Fireside Romance 1: First Flames
81
"A book."
Mary laughed. "Bloody typical. I swear, he eats, drinks, and breathes books."
"No, honestly, it's perfect. Would you show it to Mary?" Mark asked me.
I passed the book to her.
She read the inscription. "Aw, nice. Simon, why don't you read something from it?"
I took the book and leafed through it for a while, then began to read aloud:
"You'll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?" said Scrooge.
"If quite convenient, sir."
"It's not convenient," said Scrooge, "and it's not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you'd
think yourself ill-used, I'll be bound?"
The clerk smiled faintly.
"And yet," said Scrooge, "you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages for no work."
The clerk observed that it was only once a year.
Mary laughed. "Sounds just like our bosses at the Town Hall."
All three of us looked through the book and read out passages. Mary turned the pages for Mark.
After about an hour, she asked, "Am I going to get fed here or what?"
"Are you actually hungry? I'd have thought you'd have stuffed yourself at dinner?"
"I did, but I've got a couple of empty corners now."
"Would you like something, angel?" I knew my gaze was besotted, but I didn't care.
"Just a little, please."
"Turkey sandwiches?" I asked the pair.
Both agreed.
* * * *
Drew Hunt
82
"Well, I hope you like turkey, Mark, because you'll be having it for days yet," I said as I emerged
from the kitchen, a tray of sandwiches in hand.
Mary laughed. "It'll be just the same at our place."
"I'll freeze some tonight, so we won't have as much to face in one go."
"Good idea," Mark said.
A short while later Mary announced she had to go. "Mum and I are going into Leeds tomorrow
for the Boxing Day sales. Want to come?"
"Hell, no!" Mark and I exclaimed.
"I've seen enough shops for at least a month," I said.
"Me, too," Mark added.
"You two! You don't know what you're missing."
"We do: endless queuing, pushing and shoving, not to mention the bruises when you get between
someone and the bargain of the century," Mark said.
"You're both wimps."
"I don't care. Mark and I are going to spend the day together quietly. We might go for a walk if
the weather's decent."
"Just like an old married couple," Mary sighed.
"What's wrong with that?" Mark asked.
"Absolutely nothing."
"Anyway, be gone woman. I want to make love with my man here." I put my arm around a
reddening Mark.
A surprised Mary said, "I'm definitely going now." She headed for the door.
"See you soon," I called out after her.
Once she'd gone, and I'd locked the door, Mark said, "Do you really want to make love with
me?"
"Yes, but..." I couldn't meet his gaze. The happiness of a few moments earlier had been replaced
with trepidation. "I've never done it before," I added quietly.
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83
Mark hugged me, then kissed me. "It's okay. We'll take it slow. I want your first time to be
perfect."
"With you, my angel, it couldn't be anything else." I put my arm around his waist and we
climbed the stairs together.
THE END
Drew Hunt
84
ABOUT DREW HUNT
Having read all the decent free fiction on the net Drew could find, he set out to try his hand at
writing something himself. Fed up reading about characters who were super-wealthy, impossibly
handsome, and incredibly well-endowed, Drew determined to make his characters real and
believable.
Drew lives a quiet life in the north of England with his cat. Someday he hopes to meet the kind
of man he writes about.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
Founded in 2010, JMS Books LLC is owned and operated by author J.M. Snyder. We publish a
variety of genres, including gay erotic romance, fantasy, young adult, poetry, and nonfiction. We
are an invitation-only small press. Short stories and novellas are available as e-books and
compiled into single-author print anthologies, while any story over 30k in length is available in
both print and e-book formats.
Visit us at www.jms-books.com for more information on our latest releases!
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