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The Games We Play

Thirty-one

James was downstairs before Ali had a chance to shower and get ready. Her parents were still asleep, and they both agreed to let them sleep in as long as they wanted, since they were handling the dinner themselves.

Standing there in his sweatpants and Pirates t-shirt, James was staring dumbly at just about every food item they bought earlier that week, which he had spread out across the countertop. Since he wanted to let Ali shower first, his hair still showed signs of sleep; where it was flat on one side, it stuck up haphazardly on the other. He heard Ali come into the room, but didn’t look up.

“So what do we do with all this stuff?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Seriously, where do we start?”

Ali inspected all the stuff he brought out, wondering the same thing. “Well…we should probably do the turkey first, right?”

“This early?”

“I think so...?” Ali looked inside the refrigerator. “You thawed this, right?”

“Yeah.”

She pulled it from the fridge and set it on the counter with a heavy thump. “Gee, I sure wish we would’ve bought the big one” she said sarcastically.

James smirked at her. “Are we supposed to wash it first?”

“Well not wash it, James. I think we just rinse it off.” She thought for a minute, staring at the turkey. “There’s probably a Youtube video on how to do this…Look it up.”

“On it.” James grabbed his phone and started researching while Ali removed the bird from the wrapping in the sink. The sound of a video playing came from James phone, so he brought it over and they watched it together. The man on the video went through the basics of preparing a turkey, and both James and Ali made a face.

“You’re taking that nasty shit out of the middle” Ali said, watching the video. It continued to explain various ways to season the turkey, what temperature to set the stove, how long to cook per how many pounds, when to check on it, and how to make gravy out of the juices.

“Fuck. This is ridiculous.” James remembered now why he didn’t cook.

“Once it’s in the oven, it’ll be easy.”

The video finished, and the couple looked at one another. Both of them shrugged, and got to working on their turkey. James kind of enjoyed pulling the neck and the other odd parts of the turkey out of the center. At one point, he pretended to walk it towards Ali’s face to freak her out, and she thanked him with a playful punch in the arm.

They followed the video step by step, rinsing it off, dabbing it with butter, and then seasoned it. Once they got it into the oven, they breathed a sigh of relief. James looked up a video on how to make stuffing, and Ali looked up a video on how to make the perfect garlic mashed potatoes.

Glancing up from his phone, James smiled at Ali as she watched her video intently. He laughed, which grabbed her attention.

“Look at us.”

“What?”

“We’re watching Youtube videos” he said. “Who does this?”

“I bet a lot of people!” Ali laughed. “Besides, this will be the only year we have to do this. Next year we’ll be pros.”

James walked over to Ali and snaked his arms around her from behind. “Next year, eh?”

Ali smiled. “Yes.” She turned so she was facing him, his arms never losing their grip on her. “Or am I getting ahead of myself?”

“Not even close.” James rubbed his nose against hers lovingly. “Just think how bad ass we’ll be in five years.”

A tingle ran through Ali’s body right down to her toes when she heard this. All of a sudden, the silly videos they were watching meant more; their joint efforts on a dinner neither had ever cooked before meant more.

“Thanks, babe.” Ali kissed him, and then gave his firm ass a slap. “Now get the damn bread, because we’ve got some stuffing to make.”


* * *


Wendy and Jeff woke up around 8 am, and decided to make their way downstairs to see how everything was going. As they came down the stairway, Wendy placed a hand on her husband’s chest, halting him. They both heard James and Ali in the kitchen talking and laughing. Wendy motioned at Jeff to sit down on one of the top-most steps.

“That’s too much butter.” Ali’s voice sounded happy and she was laughing. “I don’t think you’re supposed to make the bread swim, James.”

“This is the only thing that flavors the stuff, though!”

Wendy looked at Jeff and smiled, and then continued listening. The sound of the stove door opening could be heard now.

“Whoa.”

“Let me see” Ali said. “Oh my god, that’s how its supposed to look!”

There was the sound of the two of them high-fiving. Wendy put a hand over her mouth, trying to cover her smile.

“Here, let me help.” Ali’s voice again, followed by some shuffling around. Her giggle filtered out of the kitchen and into the area near the stairs.

“Honestly, James.”

“I could eat this just as it is.”

“You’re gross.”

More shuffling, then the sound of mixing in a bowl. Both Ali and James busted out laughing.

“Cut it out! I’m going to smell like freaking garlic all day if you keep that up.”

“Does that mean I get to eat you……….out?

Wendy and Jeff’s eyes both widened, their eyebrows raised.

“Maybe…” Ali said, her voice lowering. “….Does it mean I get to taste you too?”

On the steps, Jeff went to stand up, but Wendy pulled him back down. She frowned at him, but Jeff just buried his face in his hands. There was some silence in the kitchen before James spoke again.

“You’re a tease.”

“So are you.”

“Celery.”

“Thank you.”

Chopping could be heard. At one point, James’ deep voice imitating someone caused Ali to giggle more.

Wendy looked at Jeff and they smiled at one another. “You said last night that James talked about his love for her?” she whispered. “I don’t think you even needed to ask.”

“I know.” Jeff nodded, listening as his daughter could be heard laughing again, followed by the low rumble laugh of James’. “Have you ever heard her laugh this much with a boyfriend before?”

“And over a dinner she’s never cooked before” Wendy said with a hushed laugh. “I think she’s happy, Jeff. Really happy.”

“I could do without all that talk about tasting each other though…”

Wendy squeezed his arm as she leaned into him. “I remember once upon a time ago Jeff Diserelli once flirted in the same way.”

He smiled guiltily. “They don’t need to know that.”

In the kitchen, James was asking Ali a question, but then the low sound of some sort of video played for a short time.

“Should we go down now?” Wendy asked.

“Sure…though I hate to interrupt them.”

They finally walked down the rest of the steps, both wearing straight faces. As they came into the kitchen, James and Ali looked over, and Ali’s smile broadened.

“Hey you two! Finally decide to wake up and join us?”

Wendy laughed. “Sorry, sorry….All those goals and cheering last night really wore us out.” She winked at James, who gave her an exaggerated wink back.

“Morning, Wendy.” James gave her a kiss in the cheek, his hands covered in stuffing.

“Things look like they’re going smoothly down here” Jeff noted, inspecting the bowl of stuffing and the bowl of diced potatoes ready for boiling. “You sure you don’t want any help?”

“NO.” Ali pointed at him. “You guys stay out. We got this……As long as we have Youtube, we got this.”

James nodded when Jeff looked at him. “It’s true.”

“Hmm….” Jeff smiled at Wendy. “This should be interesting, huh Wen?”

“Come on, let’s get out of their hair so they can do their thing.” Wendy led Jeff into the living room, leaving James and Ali alone again.

James elbowed Ali in the side. “Think they bought it?”

“I think so” she said with a smile. “Now let’s just make sure we actually do have this before we put our foot in our mouths any further!”


* * *


Ali’s heart was in her throat by the time the table was set. Everything seemed to have gone so well. Everything on the table looked awesome. Her and James seemed to have pulled it off, but the taste test would be the deciding factor.

As they passed the food around the table, Ali and James waited on baited breath for whether they’d done their first Thanksgiving dinner correctly. They were staring at Wendy and Jeff for their reaction, not bothering to touch their own dishes full of food. James glanced quickly over at Ali, and she could tell he looked a little apprehensive.

Wendy forked a piece of turkey, combined it with a little mashed potatoes and gravy. She lifted the fork to her mouth and James and Ali both seemed to lean in a little. Under the table, James’ hand moved to Ali’s knee.

“Wow” Wendy said, mouth full. She looked over at Jeff, who was nodding as he chewed his first bite as well.

Ali and James stared at Jeff. He took a little longer to respond. When he looked at Wendy, he smiled.

“This stuffing might be better than yours, Wendy.”

Ali felt James’ hand on her knee tighten a little.

“How did you season this turkey?” Wendy asked them.

“Uh…” Ali looked at James.

“Secret ingredients, Mrs. D…Can’t give it away.”

Under the table, Ali now squeezed James’ hand.

“Well I think you did a damn fine job, you two” Wendy said, taking another bite. “Honestly.”

Ali had been holding her shoulders tensely, but they now eased a bit. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I second that” Jeff said, taking a drink of his wine. “A damn fine job.”

Hearing this, James and Ali removed their hands from one another under the table and finally grabbed their own silverware. The rest of the dinner went extremely well, and lots of laughs were had. James poured the wine whenever anyone wanted a refill, and Ali watched in complete relief when both of her parents moved to get seconds; her dad even took thirds.

When they were all finished, Wendy insisted she help clean up, and told the two men to leave her and Ali alone. James and Jeff took to the living room to watch whatever football games were on, while Wendy and Ali loaded the dishwasher.

Wendy waited until she heard the tv turn on in the living room before she gave her daughter a gigantic hug.

“I’m so proud of you, Allison.”

Ali laughed. “Why, Mom?”

“For all of this.” She opened her hands to the table and to the dishes that still sat dirty on the counter. “For you and James taking the time to do this for us. It really was delicious.”

She knew her mom wasn’t lying; her mom just wouldn’t do that. As a result, Ali had never felt more reassured. For some reason, she could feel tears watering in her eyes.

“Oh, hunny…” Wendy hugged her again.

“I’m sorry.” Ali shook her head and laughed. When they broke the hug, she wiped at her eyes. “I just wanted everything to be perfect for you. All the years you guys slaved over a stove for me on holidays…”

“But that’s what we wanted to do.” Wendy’s voice was calm and comforting. “That’s what we do as parents.”

Ali smiled, feeling a new round of tears well up in her eyes. “Okay, well….Thank you. That’s all. Just…..thank you.”

“And now it’s my turn to thank you.” Wendy’s warm smile widened. “And thanks to James as well. He doesn’t strike me as a guy who does this often.”

With a laugh, Ali wiped at her eyes again. “That’s because he isn’t.”

“He did really well. You both did! He clearly loves you, Allison. Guys don’t do this sort of thing, let alone with the energy he did.”

Ali nodded. “True.” She thought for a moment as her mom went back to cleaning the dishes in the sink. “You know what he said to me earlier?”

“No, what?”

“That we’ll be ‘pros’ at Thanksgiving in five years.” Ali met her mother’s eyes. “Five years, Mom.”

“Why do you say that as if you’re surprised?”

Ali didn’t answer. She didn’t really know. Wendy set the soapy dish down in the sink and leaned against the counter. Her matter-of-fact motherly look was all over her face.

“You didn’t think this would last that long?”

Again, Ali didn’t know how to answer. It seemed the past month or two had been so up-and-down that she questioned this once or twice. She shrugged at her mom, embarrassed by her lack of an answer.

“I guess…I don’t know….with James’ schedule and all…”

Wendy wiped her hand on the dishrag and held her daughter’s chin so she would look at her. “If you don’t trust your mother on anything else in this life, trust her now: that man in the living room loves you. This was a big deal for him. If he says you’ll be pros in five years – believe him.”

She released Ali’s chin and gave her a peck on the cheek. Ali watched her go back to cleaning off the dishes, loading them one by one into the dishwasher. With everything inside her, she was going to believe her mother, and with twice as much in her, she was going to believe James.


* * *


Later, when everyone retired to their bedrooms for the night, Ali and James sat together in bed. Neither of them were out of their clothes from the day; they just lay together on top of their comforter, hand in hand, resting.

“What a day” Ali said. She was exhausted, and was looking forward to sleeping it all off. The turkey in her stomach wasn’t exactly helping any, either.

“I’m pretty happy with how everything worked out.” James was smiling. “Wasn’t so bad after all, was it?”

They looked at one another, and James gave her forehead a kiss.

“You were great today” Ali said, staring at the wall across the room. Thoughts of their big day flooded her mind, and all of them made her warm and fuzzy inside. She rolled over so she faced James and pressed her lips against his. He opened his mouth to accept her when she brushed her tongue along his. When Ali looked into James eyes as she hovered over him, there was such a look of love in their blue-green color that she never wanted to close her eyes and stop looking into them.

“Thank you for everything today” she told him. “Thank you for being you.”

James smiled. “Babe…”

“No, I’m serious.”

“I know” James replied. “But I didn’t even think twice about it. I had fun with you.”

Please don’t ever leave me she thought. Please let us have years and years and years of Thanksgiving dinners together.

Ali pulled him up, then walked him with her to their master bathroom. When she closed the door, James looked a little confused. He watched Ali open the glass door to their shower. Inside, she flipped the lever and let the water spray out and warm her touch. She closed the door again, and smiled at James.

“We’re taking a shower” she stated simply.

“I see that.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he felt Ali run her hands up his shirt, gripping the cotton in both hands.

“I’m going to thank you for all your help the past few days, and we’re going to do it as quietly as we can. Don’t need my parents hearing us.”

“Hence the shower” James said, putting it together. His body already started responding. “I like where your head’s at, baby.”

“You’ll like where it’s at in a few minutes even more.” Ali proceeded to undress herself, and James wasn’t long behind. Both of them stood naked in the steamy air around them.

“Gotta be quiet though” she whispered, kissing him again.

James gripped at one of her hardening nipples. “That’s more your problem, I’d say.” He pulled on it slightly, eliciting a moan which he stifled with his mouth. “See what I mean?” He kissed her again.

Ali led him inside the glass walls of their shower, which was already blurred by the mist. Their bodies were very quickly covered by the running water, and James wasted no time in attending to Ali’s body. As he pressed her against the backmost wall, he slid inside her and she cried out, feeling him spread her with his size. James gave her his thumb in her open mouth, which she wrapped her lips around, sucking in order to keep quiet.

They fucked like this for a while, covered in water, their bodies moving as one against the wall. James had her face him for most of it, but quickly flipped her around, biting at the skin of her shoulders as he entered her again from behind.

In the middle of all of it, James added one more thing to be thankful for to his list this holiday.


* * *


The four of them moseyed out to the driveway as Ali’s parents prepared to leave. It as late Sunday morning, and the sun was shining and bright, even though they all saw their breath in the brisk morning air.

James brought the luggage out and loaded them into the trunk of Wendy and Jeff’s car. “All set, guys.”

Ali’s bottom lip pushed out in sadness. “Can’t you just stay and go to hockey games all the time?” she joked. She hugged her mom first, then her dad.

“You know you’d get sick of us.” Jeff embraced tightly Ali, then moved to James to shake his hand. “Really, James. Thanks for everything this weekend. It was beyond a pleasure to meet you, watch you play, stay with you—“

James laughed. “It was nothing; I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves. Come back anytime…..but just don’t ever take your daughter back with you.”

Wendy chuckled as she took James in for a final hug. “Thank you, and thank you most of all for making Allison happy.”

Ali leaned into James’ side, smiling at her mother’s words. “Thanks, Mom.”

Wendy and Jeff got into their car, and as Jeff rolled back down the pavement, Wendy rolled down her window. “See you on Tuesday against those fucking Flyers!”

James busted out laughing, and Ali’s mouth dropped. Wendy gave a final wave, and then the car pulled away down the street and out of sight.

Ali and James remained standing together on their sidewalk. When their eyes met, they high fived each other.


* * *

Comments

@Lolo2020


Thank you so much! Amazing people still read it and enjoy it so much. That was my goal :)

Winter22 Winter22
2/6/17

I absolutely adore this story! I've read it a few times and it gets better each time!

Lolo2020 Lolo2020
12/12/16

Love love loved this :) great work!!

anna anna
9/17/14

Just started reading. Can I say that they do not have to do anything but acknowledge people if even that when they are in a club. If girls are approaching them they can say no, they can just chose to ignore them. So James saying there was a s slip up is crap. He is allowed to be friends and talk to other girls and all but having someone literally just hang off of him. No

6-28-14 ** A NOTE TO MY READERS **

As a result of James getting traded, I've found myself at a loss for words; a loss I'm not sure I'll be quick to recover from. The trade was a hard hit, and it will take some time for me to get over the initial hurt.

I wanted to post a message to at least tell all of you who have followed my stories up to this point that after this, I'm not sure how long it's going to be before I post a new story. James will forever be a Penguin to me, and likely to many of you as well. I'm just not sure how to go forward right now. As a result - I can't promise I'll be back, but I hope to be. I really do.

Let's let the dust settle and the hurt fade...and maybe we'll find one other again on this wonderful site.

Thank you all again for your support...It really has made writing so much fun for me, and I don't want to go forward with another story until it's fun again. Right now - that doesn't seem plausible.

I'll leave it open for any of you to message me anytime, if you'd like. I will occasionally check in just to see how everyone's doing. :-)

Regards,
Winter

Winter22 Winter22
6/28/14