The Christmas Promise

We all look for that special person who will touch our hearts and make us feel more loved and cherished than anyone else has ever done. When we do find that person the feelings we have are not flashy. They are not desperate. A quiet serenity fills our heart. Nothing is rushed, but rather savored slowly. The knowledge that everything is right, and secure makes us move slowly.

I had been seeing William for just over a year. We had been introduced by mutual friends and immediately there had been sparks. He was tall and dark, built like a football player. Broad, strong shoulders immediately caught my eye. His eyes were large and the softest brown. Kindness radiated from them. When he smiled at me the first time, my breath caught in my throat. Warmth spread through me like sunshine on a fresh spring morning.

We spent the afternoon together lounging on our friend's boat. It was a lazy day filled with sun, cool drinks, some fishing, and lots of laughs. When the boat was docked that night, William looked at me, reached for my hand and asked if he could talk me into a late movie and maybe dinner after that. I agreed and soon we were driving through the streets of town talking about what we wanted to see.

That day changed my life. Since then William and I have been nearly inseparable. Casual dates turned into long weekends spent together. Long weekends revolved into weeks when we would switch from living in my apartment to living in his. Everyone who knew us thought we were nuts for not giving up one of the apartments and just making it official by moving in together. We were happy the way things were. There was no rush to push our relationship to more than it was at that moment. Of course we talked about moving to "the next level", but that is all we did. We talked. It was always a someday away.

Our one year anniversary arrived and we spent the evening on a dinner cruise. We had met on a boat and wanted to celebrate the same way. The dinner was delicious, but more important than the food, was the way we felt. Never in my life had I been happier. I felt so safe, so secure. More importantly I felt so incredibly loved. Every time I looked into his eyes I was blown away by the tenderness I saw there.

When dinner was over we walked to the railing to watch the sunset. William bent down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket. He looked up and smiled into my eyes. Reaching for my hand he spoke. His words were barely more than a whisper but I will never forget how beautiful they were.

"Anna, I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. The past year has been the happiest of my life. When I look into your eyes I see our future, together. Will you marry me?"

Tears streamed down my face. The world stood still. All I could see was my sweet William before me. Barely able to form the word, I choked out my answer. "Yes." There I stood, crying like a baby, and totally shocked by all that had just happened. We had never talked about getting married. Moving in together yes, but never about getting married. I had assumed it would happen someday. William was the only person I could imagine growing old with, but I had no idea that he was seriously considering marriage now.

A brilliant diamond surrounded by emeralds was slipped on my finger.

"I love you Anna." His voice was husky and filled with passion. William stood and took me into his arms. When his lips met mine all the love I felt for this man holding me, welled up and spilled over into our kiss. When it finally ended, we were left breathless.

"I love you too William. More than you will ever know."

The rest of the evening was spent holding hands, sharing our dreams for the future, and embracing in darkened areas of the boat.

The next few months flew by. Wedding plans seemed to fill almost every spare moment of time I had. Setting the date had been an adventure in itself. William wanted an outdoor wedding and I had always dreamt of Christmas time. In the end we compromised. We were to be married in a beautiful park not far from William’s apartment. In the park there was a hill. When standing on top the view was majestic. It was there that we planned to say our vows. The actual wedding ceremony would be short due to the cold season. A reception would follow in a large heated tent, filled with sparkling Christmas trees, garland, ribbons, and flowers. Christmas music gently played from a harp would entertain the guests during dinner. After dinner a dance band would provide a variety of music. We wanted this time to be relaxing, so our friends and family could let their hair down and have fun.

My gown was chosen. The skirt was long and full. The bodice, sleeveless, high-necked, with a wide keyhole cutout gracing the front. The back, was bare. A matching short jacket trimmed in white fur was added due to the cold weather. It was perfect and I felt magical each time I tried it on. My attendants would be dressed in matching dark green gowns fashioned almost identically to mine. Black tuxedos were chosen for the men.

The last few weeks were spent in a flurry of last minute preparations. William and I barely had time to sleep much less spend any of that time together. As I sat in my kitchen addressing the last of the invitations, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Anna, I miss you." It was William. His voice sounded wonderful.

"I miss you too Babe."

"What are you doing right now.....right this very minute?"

"Addressing the last of the invitations. Why?"

"Meet me at the hill. Please? I need to see you."

God I was tempted. Glancing down at the stack of wedding invitations, I sighed.

"Will, I can’t right now.  I have to finish these."

"Please Babe.... I need you."

"You’re not making this easy for me ya know." I chided him, all the time a smile lit my face.

"Please? I love you. Please?"

"God, don’t beg..OK. OK. I will meet you there in about half an hour."

"Woohoo. Thanks Babe. I can’t wait to see you." I heard a click and he was gone.

It was a very warm mid November day. I didn’t know how late I would be out so I quickly changed from my shorts and tee shirt to a pair of jeans, a sweater and my hiking boots. Grabbing a jacket as an afterthought, I walked out the door.

The trip to the park took just less than ten minutes. The walk from the parking lot to the hill, "our hill," would take another five. When it came into view I was puzzled by what I saw. There seemed to be something set up. The closer I got, the clearer the picture. Soon I realized William was standing there, smiling at me. He had a small tent pitched, a picnic assembled and was clearly just waiting for me to arrive.

"Hi Babe." He greeted.

"Hi. What is all this?"

"Lunch, and dinner, and..." His eyes began to twinkle. "Breakfast." He finished.

"Breakfast?" I stared at up at him with a look that must have said YOU’RE NUTS. He laughed at me, took my hand, pulling me close and said.

"Uh huh. Breakfast. I missed you, and as of right now consider yourself kidnapped. You are my hostage and I am not letting you go until at the earliest, late morning."

"Huh! Go figure." I replied laughing. "Where’s the food? I’m hungry?"

"You are such a brat. Do you know that?"

"Yup." I answered. "But you love me this way." With that said I sat down on the blanket William had spread on the grass and began digging through the picnic basket.

After lunch we went for a long walk through the woods. We stopped often to pick pine cones off the ground or to watch one of the squirrels carrying a nut back to its home. Sometimes we just stopped to kiss and hold each other. It was exactly what we needed. Our lives had been so busy, and we hadn’t taken time out to just be together. A cool breeze blew through the trees sending the crisp leaves to fall gently around us. I shivered and wished I had brought my jacket along.

"Cold Hun?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Want to head back?" Will was always so considerate. His arm went around me, warming me with his body.

"Do you mind?" I asked, snuggling against him.

"No, not at all. I will start a fire and we can roast the hot dogs and marshmallows and well.." Again his eyes took on that twinkle I loved. "We can crawl into the sleeping bag early if ya want to."

I met Wills twinkling eyes with a teasing look of my own.

"Race ya back." I shouted. Immediately I took off running towards our camp. It was only moments before I heard large footsteps plodding towards mine.

"Hey! Get your ass back here! You are NOT running away from me tonight." Before he finished his sentence, he was beside me. His arm snaked out and caught me around the waist. I was pushed back against a tree as his tongue lunged into my mouth. Our kiss was urgent. Hands began to roam. Soon I felt cold fingers under my sweater, over the cups of my bra, searching for my nipples.

"William." I pleaded. "Please, I need you."

"I need you too Babe. Come on let’s get back to the tent and warm up."

Once back at camp our passions had cooled a bit. William started a fire. I dug through the cooler filled with food he had brought. I found the hot dogs, some buns, the marshmallows and a bottle of wine.

"This is some combination you have goin on here." I teased.

"What? You don’t like it?" He laughed.

"Remind me when we are married to do the meal planning. OK?"

"Watch it Woman!" His look was fierce but his eyes were warm and teasing.

"I am watching it. Nice ass." Giggling I walked into the tent to grab my jacket.

The hotdog, marshmallow and wine combination actually worked. Well, at least it left us feeling full and warm and slightly tipsy. We sat there side by side on the blanket. The sun had gone down and in its place we were left with a view of the city that was stunning.

"Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." Our eyes met and all the warmth and love and happiness I felt for this man in front of me flooded my heart.

"I love you too William." Will's hand took mine. We stood and walked into the tent. The moonlight was just bright enough to surround us with an intimate glow. I stood there, not sure what I should do and feeling strangely shy.

"Anna. Look at me." I looked up uncertainty mixed with love and tenderness showing on my face.

"Kiss me Anna. Please kiss me." I did. Reaching up I entwined my arms around my lovers neck. My fingers tangled through his hair. Timidly my tongue flicked out and over his lips. He tasted of wine and sweetness. I grew bold and pressed my lips harder against his.  My tongue dipped into the heat of his mouth. William’s arms tightened their hold on me. Slowly he lowered me to the floor and waiting pallet of blankets and sleeping bags he had arranged earlier. Quickly he unzipped my jacket and took it off. Immediately my sweater followed. My nipples were aching from need. They pressed impatiently against the silky fabric of my bra, begging for attention. I didn’t have to wait long. Will closed his mouth over the swollen tips. His teeth gently nipped. His tongue lapped, leaving the fabric wet and clinging in its wake.

I literally screamed from need. Frantically I began to claw at the remainder of our clothing until it was a tangled, wrinkled heap shoved into a corner of the tent. Passion was consuming me in its fire. I needed this man that I loved so deeply. Pushing away from him, I rose to my knees. Leaning down I planted tender loving kisses on his neck, his shoulders, his chest. Lower and lower I trailed my kisses. When I came to his hard shaft, I stopped. Looking into his eyes I smiled and let my fingertips deliberately caress the soft skin. The sharp intake of his breath was all the encouragement I needed. I bent to place light kisses to the enlarged head. My tongue peeked out and tasted the sweet droplets his excitement had provided for me.

Carefully I opened my lips around him. Deeply I sucked him into the heat of my mouth. My tongue danced up and down the throbbing shaft. I tightened my lips and raised my mouth up and then lowered it back down on his cock. My hands reached for his balls and cradled them, gently lifting and caressing.  I closed the palm of one hand around William’s hardness and stroked as my mouth made love to the throbbing head. My tongue swirled and suckled, as if it were begging for more.

I could feel the pressure inside William building. I moved away, for a mere instant before I was back. This time I  moved over him and was slowly sinking down onto his hardness. My hips moved against him, circling him deep inside me.

"God I love you Anna." He moaned as he reached for the taut peaks of my breasts. When his soft touch turned more demanding so did my movements.

"William, please touch me." I pleaded. Immediately his fingers moved down to my clit. I leaned back, never stopping the grinding motion of my hips. His strong fingers spread the lips of my pussy, revealing all my secrets to his eyes and to his touch. The moment his thumb moved over my clit I felt a bolt of electricity surge through my body. It built quickly and soon I was spiraling upwards into the stars. My body tightened around my lovers hard cock, literally milking him. In a matter of seconds my sweet William reached the same peak of pleasure I had and was calling out to me.........................................

"Anna? Anna? Hey Anna? It’s time."

"What?" Suddenly the dream escaped me. "What? Oh! I’m sorry." I smiled at Kate. I must be daydreaming. I was thinking of something that happened just over a month ago. William brought me out here and well....." I didn’t have time to finish before she cut me off.

"Listen Anna, I would love to hear the story but if you don’t get your ass out of this tent in about 30 seconds your wedding is going to start without you."

"Yeah." I said, smiling. "I guess it will huh?" Taking a deep breath I walked out the tent and towards the white satin runner that would lead me to the only man in the world who made me feel so loved and cherished.

I watched as one after another of my friends walked down the aisle. Then it was my turn. There he was, my William. He looked so tall, so handsome standing there waiting for me. Our eyes met and the warmth and love I found in his gaze seemed to pull me forward, closer to him. Then I was there, next to him. He reached for my hand and we turned to face the minister. The words blurred in my mind. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t concentrate on anything but the man who stood beside me. I found myself saying and doing all the right things. Tears streamed down my face and dropped into the white rose bouquet I held. Then I heard it. The words I had been dreaming about for months.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Without hesitation, William took me in his arms. Our lips met and souls joined. Reluctantly the kiss ended, but our eyes remained locked.

"I love you Anna."

"I love you too." As Will took my arm and led me back down the aisle, he leaned close and softly whispered....

"Merry Christmas."

And it was.

......Jennifer 11/28/99