A Husband For Christmas

Chapter Five- The Keatons

I could just imagine how Xander could feel intimidated with the sight of about eight separate pairs of eyes bringing him to their observation; among them, including my own. But even if he was horribly anxious, with the need for believability to now rest on his behavior, he would never falter.

Introductions would be made in bulk almost as if we were the main exhibit at some museum and we were only allowed to be viewed one at a time. First, it would be my youngest sister who was freshly engaged with the ring the size of the hope diamond resting on her left hand. Laurie wore her short black hair in a predictable headband with makeup light and a kind smile, but held eyes of a serpent as she eyed Xander as if he had been a foe to our sacred family unit. Rather quickly, her fiance, a man who's pretentiousness showed through in his tone and attire alone would introduce himself with the confidence I had expected to exuberate from Xander. But as the extension of hands would be collected, analyzed, and finally allowed, I saw the beginning of the end approaching quickly.

"You look VERY familiar…" Ellison, Laurie's fiance, would question as my eyes would widen, Xander would remain calm, smiling and slipping his fingers until he would interlace into a rest.

"I get that a lot actually…Guess I just have ‘one of those faces’..." Xander spoke in a collected manner as my brother would now cross the room, expected beer in hand, before taking a sip and introducing himself.

"You must be the new ball and chain to our Jojo…" I loathed that name as it was given as a form of torment that followed me throughout high-school and now I was doomed to harbor it until death as my mother came to adore it almost as much as I detested it.

"Xander."

"Blaine. You must be quite some character to be able to get her attention...We were starting to worry that she was a lesbian-" I glared, not for the comparison, for I supported the community with the entirety of my heart for "love is love", but I hated how open Blaine seemed to be about his thoughts as well as the embarrassment of reminding Xander I was alone prior to him. I detested the idea Xander must have had that he was rescuing me, but if I was honest, he had and he was…

For a handful of minutes, the men would discuss our courtship, where Xander recalled the details of our library introduction to a tee as this drew my mother and Blaine’s wife, Morgan, to the scene. I watched my family embrace him almost as if he had been an old friend having arrived after years apart. My father even spoke to him of plans to hunt and skeet shoot back at the chalet in the summer as my sisters would motion to me with raised thumbs of approval. But of all the gazes set, I found Morgan to analyze him in a way that I couldn't quite pin; something between concern and intrigue as her eyes would divert to her children when she noticed my observation of her. Within an hour of speaking of a fictional life growing up in Cape Cod, Xander managed to win every single member of my family over by his charm and charisma, all while keeping his hold on me in some way. I was surprised by how comfortable I felt in his touch but continued to remind myself that this was a waste if I were to believe this could be anything real.

"How was the wedding?" Laurie would ask all starry eyed, having warmed up to Xander in exponential detail by the time this question would leave her lips.

"We went to a courthouse." I began the story as he would nod in agreement.

"Auntie Josie?" My niece would question from across the table at me as I would lift my expression to face her.

"If you're married, why don't you have any rings?" I paused. How could I have been so keen on the details of the flavor of gum I was chewing when in this fictitious library and miss something as important as wedding rings? Feeling as dull as safety scissors for having forgotten this, Xander would take the lead upon sensing my inability to conjure an excuse.

“Of the many things I love about Josie, she can be so forgetful...She must have left them on the sink before we left…” I breathed a sigh of relief as the topic seemed to be dropped, but found the tension to rise once more when coming to realize that his hand had fallen as well. Onto the core of my thigh, his fingers would begin to ascend in perfectly slow motions as he would carry on conversation with Blaine and my father about a shared interest in beef jerky of all topics. I tried to focus on the tender chicken my mom had presumably slaved over for the last day and picked at the apple crumble, but found nothing to distract me from his soft yet somehow assertive touch that explained I was slowly becoming his.

Just as he would manage to cascade his fingers into the seam of my pubis; where my hip met my leg, I would jolt upwards in surprise before quickly excusing myself into the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, berating myself for allowing him to affect me this way just for being sweet on me and my family, I would pat my neck dry after applying cold water, and move back into the hallway. But instead of coming to an empty corridor, he would be standing in wait for me as I would give him a temporary glare.

“There’s more than one bathroom, you know?”

“But YOU’RE in this one…” He would saunter to me in the desire to pin me to the wall, but I would move in a split second motion that would allow me to refrain from being between his arms.

“What do you think is the worst thing that would happen if you let me touch you?”

“An STD…” He glared at my response as I smiled with pride, having become insulted as I found relishment in this. Eventually, the hard line of his scowl would fade into contentment as he positioned himself against the wall with his arms now folded into an ‘x’ over his chest, the raise of his muscles taunting me as I now knew their hold.

“No...I think you’re scared because you want me...and you’re not used to feeling so much desire and it’s terrifying to you.” Even if he had been correct to the degree that I had felt something in intensity from him, I would not confess to myself, and certainly not to him, that it was anything resembling animosity.

“You just think everyone in the entire world wants to sleep with you, don’t you?” He would offer a cutesy shrug as if it was an unfortunate burden as I would now take steps in his direction to mirror his victories in leaving me intimidated. Even though I stood about six inches below the apex of his own height, I had managed to claim authority in this moment before walking him back against the wall-finger pushed into his torso.

“Let’s get one thing understood...You are my husband by cash value only...The moment that the holidays are over...you mean nothing more to me than the gum on the bottom of my shoe…” His expression would now sharpen to me in temporary pain- a blow to his dilated ego. “If you touch me, I am thinking of ANYBODY else, so if I do happen to become lost in it for a moment, know that it is only for that reason...Because I could NEVER care for someone like you.”

He would only clench his jaw in my direction before slowly nodding.

“Noted...I guess this gives me an answer as to why you’ve been single for the past ten years…” It would now be my turn to narrow my eyes in his direction as he would try to move away from me as I would take hold of his wrist.

“Only the last three! Nobody else was worth bringing here-”

“And I’m the unlucky one...thanks a lot for that…You know it’s really too bad, too, because they’re great...I guess you’re the apple that fell way far beyond THAT tree…” He would return his hand to his own possession and return to dinner as I was overcome with guilt in realizing I had been incredibly harsh. Even if he was the last person I wanted to have his hands on me, I understood that he was only doing what was necessary to make our story believable; a story I made him become a part of...I loathed my behavior against him but even more to the fact he was right...I was terrified to let myself ‘be’ anything to or with him because I knew girls like me with hearts of naivety were targets to dominance like his.

When I returned to the table, I found Blaine talking to Xander in great detail as he wouldn’t even bother to raise his eyes to me. But in seconds, Deanna, my younger sister, pregnant and ready to pop any day, had motioned me over when sensing my uncomfortability.

“I am dying to know how HE convinced YOU to get married! You had guys like Stephen and Damien...They were good, solid guys...but Xander seems…”

“Is it the s*x?” Laurie would ask at her side as I would blush as this had only been left to speculation. However, my blush would be enough to convince them it was definitely a topic of taboo notion as I would shrug.

“You have to give me something to work with here, Josie...It has been MONTHS since I’ve had anything even close to romance...So just tell me...is he good?” My sisters, both by blood and marriage, would peer over to Xander, passionate in whatever story he was displaying to the men of the family, as I admired him that even if I had been cold, he remained devoted to the charade.

“He’s...unexpected.” I answered honestly.

“Oh, don’t be boring!”

“What do you want me to say?”

Deanna would be the one to come to my defense against Laurie and Morgan, seemingly horny for details as I would let out a sigh of a topic so personal.

“Does he make you happy?”

I nodded, a school girl's smile spreading across my face as I had little to go on in terms of who Xander truly was as a person; and yet, what I had come to know was not as I had expected and therefore hopeful of having a friendship, if nothing else.

A few hours after dinner as the final nightcap would be offered, I would take this chance to slip beside Xander to try my hand at an apology. Watching him help my mother clean up by carrying the empty glasses into the sink and returning to the dining room table, I would bring myself to his side.

“Thank you for doing this…” He would nod and disappear into the kitchen one last time, only now, lingering as my mother had emerged. It wasn't until I made the journey into the kitchen that I realized he had offered to finish the dishes, which she had miraculously accepted. I was thankful for this interaction as it allowed me some form of privacy to speak to him.

“I’m sorry about-”

“Just don’t worry about it, you’re right and you’ve made it very clear-glacial water clear…” Xander would not lift his eyes to meet mine for even a moment and would instead remain steadfast on the suds and water gathering in the glass at his fingertips.

“You couldn’t handle me anyway…” he would utter as I couldn’t help but scoff at his arrogance.

“You think too highly of yourself…” I muttered before throwing my hands up in frustration before feeling his wet hands now reach beneath the fabric of my sweater and pin me between his body and the sink; the outline of his erection forming as his eyes would take note of my sharp breathing.

“The minute you stop being scared to let yourself feel anything is the minute you actually start living, Josie…”

“That’s...what I’m afraid of…” I would confess before taking my hands to his arms and pushing my way free before coming to the living room to see my parents hovering over the television that sat anchored on a fireplace with glass windows running along either side that overlooked the beautiful terrain at its back.

“Looks like you two are staying with us tonight!” My mother spoke with excitement as I mirrored her happiness in a weak version of my own before turning to find Xander indifferent on where we slept, almost looking at me with humor or irony, before I would return my eyes to my family.

“We wouldn’t want to put anyone out-” I tried to rebut as my mom wrapped her arm over my shoulders.

“Don’t be silly! The storm is going to last a few days and you will be here anyway...so now it just means that we get to know Xander even more and I get to spend time with all of my kids!” This guilt would cease my attempts to rival the situation as I would slowly nod in agreement, feeling Xander’s eyes follow me as he seemed rather keen to accept this-too keen...