Don’t Poke The Bear

Chapter 28 Adam Quade

POV Adam Quade

I let my dad and step mum know that I had invited Maria to Christmas dinner and they were really excited that ‘I was bringing a girl home to meet them’ I explained that Maria was an employee and that I felt sorry for her and didn’t want her to be alone at Christmas but my dad could see right through me. My sisters were teasing me on Christmas morning that I had the hots for my assistant but I couldn’t lie to them. I admitted that I did like her but that she wasn’t into me and they stoped taking the piss out of me and now they were looking at me with pitty in their eyes. My oldest sister Leanne helped me shovel the snow from the driveway and I explained to her how I had been feeling lately. I told her about my obsession with looking good but that I felt inadequate around Maria and she had some words of advice for me. “Listen Adam toughen up, she clearly likes you or she wouldn’t be coming here today. The last thing she wants is to arrive here to a big baby crying to his sister, so pull yourself together and stop trying to impress her, just be yourself. Stop being a d**k” Leanne always had a way with words and I appreciated her honesty. Leanne had just split up with her girlfriend and I felt bad that this was her first Christmas without her and I was making it all about myself and bending her ear about Maria. So I took her advice and pulled myself together.. but I must have checked my hair at least five times an hour until she arrived.

I couldn’t wait to see her, so, when the door bell rang and it was her I felt my face flush with excitement. My dad got to the door before I could and Maria was holding lots of trays of food. “Hello you must be Maria, please come in, get out of the cold. Let me take those for you” he took the trays and as she came in and all of my family came out into the hallway way to see her. We had spent all day talking about her arrival and here she was. She had her back to us as she shook off the snow and took off her fur coat and turned to face all of them and you could have heard a pin drop. I had forgot to mention that she was drop dead gorgeous. “Hello, I’m Maria. Thank you for inviting me today.” It was silent and I was taking in her incredible curves, in her skin tight black dress. My teenage nephew finally said “you’re hot” and I couldn’t help but laugh “well Merry Christmas to you” she said and it finally broke the tension. As predicted my whole family loved her. Not only had she brought delicious food with her that she had cooked herself but my step mum had burnt the potatoes and all the meat so we were all thankful that she was there. She ran around playing with the small kids and she brought a bottle of vodka with her. My dad loved vodka and they had a long chat as they shared a drink and I had no idea how well travelled she was. My dad said she was the most remarkable young woman he had ever met. My sisters adored her and my brother in law whispered to me “damn she’s sexy” My brother in law was brought up in Berlin and I was surprised when she spoke to him in perfect German. She asked if we played any party games which was unusual for us because we would usually eat dinner and just watch TV. But she had an infectious enthusiasm and before I knew it she and I were hugging each other because we had won some game together. So she had managed to feed them, exhaust the kids and get all the adults drunk. By 1 am all of my family said good night and she said she would call a taxi. My dad said he had tried to call her one but there was none available and that she was welcome to stay the night in the spare bedroom. He gave me a wink as he went into the kitchen and I knew that he hadn’t tried to call a taxi, he just wanted to give me a fighting chance. We sat together on the sofa finishing our drinks and the fire, a few candles and the Christmas tree lights were the only light in the room. We’d had a fantastic day together and it was the best Christmas I’d had in a long time. She looked deep in thought for a moment “are you alright?” I asked and she let out a sigh. “I can’t stop thinking about my brother, I hope he’s had a nice day” she said and I thought that she was about to cry. She had been pretty cold to me in the past but to see her with my family she seemed like a different person and I wondered if it was the pressure of work that had made her a little moody with me. But now she was relaxed and comfortable I wanted to talk to her and explain that I had real feelings for her.. but instead I decided to kiss her.