He took one last bite and set the carton on the coffee table. "Hey, I've got something for you."
Alisha peered up over the top of her carton of food and smirked as she chewed. "I'm sure that you do," she laughed. "But, can I finish eating first? Maybe let my food digest a little?"
His lips twisted into a sneer. "Not that, wise ass. Well, I mean, yeah, of course that later but I meant I have a present for you."
She blinked owlishly, setting down her food. Then a shy smile fluttered across her lips. "Really?" she asked, surprised.
Fuck. Just when he thought she couldn't possibly be cuter, she found a way to prove him wrong. "Yeah. Be right back," he told her, pushing himself off the floor to walk to his room. He returned quickly and handed her a card in a blue envelope. "Happy Hanukkah," he grinned. "A little early."
Her smile grew when she saw Shorty written in his slanted handwriting on the outside. She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the Hanukkah card. There was a picture of a gold menorah with the words Jews do it for 8 days in red print above it. She threw her head back and laughed. "Hilarious." When she opened the card, she saw the tickets and read them closely, quickly looking up at him with wide eyes and then back at the tickets. "You got me Colts tickets?" she asked quietly. Something warm wound its way through her as she stared down at the two tickets in her hand.
Big wasn't sure what her reaction would have been exactly, but he hadn't imagined her being quiet at all. His face fell into a frown and he thought that this had been a fucking dumb idea. He was just about to open his mouth and tell her to forget it when she set the card down beside her and threw her arms around his neck and tackled him to the floor.
"You got me Colts tickets!" she giggled excitedly, peppering his face with kisses before capturing his lips fully and slipping her tongue into his mouth.
He angled his head and deepened the kiss, his hands smoothing her long hair out of the way as he realized that this had been the reaction he'd expected all along.
Alisha pulled back, completely breathless, as a bright smile beamed across her features. "Jake, thank you! I'm so excited!"
Big smirked proudly. "You're welcome, babe. It's on a Sunday, so you'll have to take off work but—"
"No problem," she assured him, dropping her lips to his again before burying her face against his neck, hugging him. "This is the best gift. We'll have so much fun at the game."
His lips turned up and he wrapped his arms fully around her, hugging her back for a moment before sitting them both up, settling her in his lap. Clearing his throat, he brushed the hair back out of her eyes. "I should probably tell you that James knows." He watched the happiness in her eyes fade as something akin to panic took its place.
"What does he know?" she asked nervously, pushing against his chest.
"That there's something going on between us."
"Big! Why did you tell him?" she snapped.
"I didn't," he snapped back. "He was there when Tony gave me the tickets and being the nosy douche he can be, he looked in the envelope and pieced it together. All I told him was that I was taking you to the game and that we're friends. But, as dim as James can be sometimes, I know he didn't buy that."
"God, he's going to tell Maggie."
The muscles in his jaw tightened and twitched as anger sparked through him. "No, he won't. But is it really such a big fucking deal if he does?"
Alisha saw what she thought was hurt flash briefly in his eyes that were very sharp and very green tonight. "I'm not ashamed of what's happening between us if that's what you're asking, Jake," she murmured quietly, brushing her fingers over the stubble on his jaw. He shrugged and looked back at her questioningly, saying nothing. "I like our little bubble," she said, a tiny smile on her lips. "This secret that's just ours—it's sexy and it's fun and I'm not ready to let others in on it just yet. Please, just—just give me a little more time to figure it out." She pressed her torso flush against his, looping her arms around his neck again. Smiling down at him, she brushed her nose lightly to his before kissing him gently.
"Okay, Larrington," he muttered, smirking against her mouth, feeling his annoyance melt away. He went to kiss her again and she pulled back, a teasing smile on her face. He groaned.
"I have a present for you, too," she told him.
"Yeah? Got something kinky on under your clothes that I can rip off?" he asked hopefully, with a sneaky grin.
A throaty laugh bubbled out of her mouth. "Maybe," she coyly offered. "But, I got you a Hanukkah gift, too." She leaned over and grabbed for her purse, pulling out a silver envelope and handed it to him. "Happy Hanukkah, Jake."
The card had a cartoon menorah with the candles lit and at the bottom it said Come on baby, light my fire. "Nice," he laughed. He opened the card and saw two concert tickets to see Ray LaMontagne.
"Seems we had the same idea," Alisha said, nervously chewing on her thumbnail.
"Ray LaMontagne? Awesome!" he grinned, looking into her eyes. "Thanks, baby. I think James will really enjoy checking this out with me," he teased. Alisha slapped his chest and he dragged her mouth down to his. "Just joking, Larrington, damn."
"We're good, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I have one more thing for you and then we're getting naked."
"Okay," she laughed.
He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper and handed it to her. "Disease free. Just like I told
