Stockholm Syndrome

“Wake up, it’s Christmas!” I say jumping up and down on the bed. Sidney groans and wipes the sleep from his eyes. He looks up at me amused.

“Who needs gifts when I have a naked girl jumping up and down on my bed,” he laughs. I jump down and put on a penguins t-shirt.

“I’ll be opening my first gift in t-minus two minutes and you better be down there,” I threaten. I head downstairs and look outside. It had snowed overnight leaving everything with a thick layer of powdery snow. I blast the stereo with Christmas tunes and make some coffee.

“It’s about time,” I say walking up to him and wrapping my arms around his torso.

“Merry Christmas babe.” He leans downs and kisses me passionately.

“Merry Christmas,” I reply, smiling up at him. We sit down by the tree and I grab a square box wrapped with silver paper. I open it and find a large silver statement necklace. “Babe it’s gorgeous. Thank you.” I throw him his first gift and his quick reflexes set in and he catches it before it falls to the ground. He opens it and a confused look falls on his face.

“Herpes?” he says reading the tag. “You gave me herpes?” He pauses for a moment before erupting with laughter. He held the plush yellow microbe that had eyes in his hand and I smiled widely.

“Don’t start advertising that. Just a little virology humour,” I laugh. I hand him his second gift and he opens it eagerly.

“Whoa, Nix, this is incredible,” he says examining the watch. It was a Rolex that you could see the gears through.

“It’s one of a kind,” I say proudly. He put it on his wrist and wouldn’t stop looking at. Finally he points at a large box with holes. This wasn’t here yesterday. I did a quick survey of the tree last night and my photographic memory would have remembered this. I unwrap the box to find a glass terrarium with a baby ball python in it. I scream.

“How did you know?!” I ask incredulously.

“Carl had mentioned once how you had always wanted one and it kind of stuck I guess,” he says casually. I examine the baby snake that’s smelling the air with his tongue.

“You like snakes?”

“No. Not at all. But seeing how happy you are right now makes it worth it.”

“Now that’s love,” I say, launching myself at him. “Best present ever!”
I kiss him and look back at the snake. “You do realize these can get to be 5 feet long?” I warn.

“Yes. And you should know I’ll never be feeding it, so he’s all yours,” Sidney says eyeing the snake. “What are you going to name him?”

“Rocky, like the boxer.”

“Good name.” Sidney smiles approvingly. I pick up and hold Rocky and totally forget about the rest of the presents.

“I’m going to open this one,” Sidney finally says. He opens the tie set I bought for him and smiles.

“It’s a really boring gift I know,” I say flatly.

“Something that I use on a regular basis? Definitely not boring.” I put Rocky back in his tank and open the next gift and it’s a mini portable espresso maker.

“I know you’re a coffee addict so I figured that this would be useful.” I smiled and thanked him. I reach under the tree for the envelope I got him. I hand it to him and I’m excited to see how he reacts. He opens the letter and starts to read it.

“No fucking way. A fighter pilot lesson? That is unreal!” he says excitedly.

“You can use it anytime this offseason,” I reply. He gets me a locket, headphones, perfume and an amp and A Fender American Stratocaster electric guitar.

“It’s amazing,” I say in awe of the guitar.

“You said you missed your guitar, so I figured you could have one here as well. I didn’t really know what kind to get,” he says shyly.

“Babe it’s perfect,” I say strumming the guitar.
I get him a sweater, a Concise History of the World book and a bunch of polaroid’s of me in in black lingerie.

“How did you take these?” he asks blushing.

“Self-timer,” I reply smiling. We finish opening the presents and I look at the clock. Some of the guys were spending Christmas dinner with us and I still needed to get ready and start cooking. I head upstairs and start the shower. I take Sid’s t-shirt off and step under the hot water. I hear the bathroom door open and Sidney steps in the shower behind me. I turn around and lean up to kiss him. Our kiss deepens and I reach down. I start stroking him and I can feel him getting hard in my hand. Our tongues entangle and I run my other hand through his hair. His cups both of my breasts with his large hands and I can feel myself getting excited. He turns me around so I’m pressed up against the glass. He enters me quickly and I moan. He pulls back and slams back into me. He reaches in front and pinches my nipples with his forefinger and thumb. I’m panting and begging him for more. He finds a steady rhythm and I reach down and start rubbing my clit. He leans his face in the crook of my neck.

“Fuck Phoenix, you feel so good,” he moans. I start to feel my orgasm building and I start rubbing faster.

“Come with me baby,” I say breathless. I start to tighten around him and I feel him come apart behind me. He pulls out of me, now soft and turns me around so I’m facing him.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” he whispers into my mouth. He kisses me deeply before pulling away. I look up at him and I’m so smitten by him. He grabs the shampoo and gently starts to massage it into my hair. I close my eyes and sigh happily.

“That feels so good.” He rinses it out and quickly washes his own. He then grabs the conditioner and repeats the process. I grab the body wash and squeeze some in my hand. I lather up his torso, tracing every muscle and line. I slowly move my hand south and his breathing hitches. I once again grab him in my hand and start stroking slowly. He closes his eyes and leans his head back. I drop down to my knees and take in the sight of his beautiful cock. I put him in my mouth and look up at him. His head snaps down to look at me and I slowly take him in deeper.

“Jesus Phoenix,” he groans. I take my tongue begin to flick the head of his penis. I circle the tip round and round and then slide him deeper towards my throat. I begin sucking and bobbing my head up and down his shaft. I take him deeper and deeper each time until I feel him come. I swallow and then stand up smiling up at him.

“Best Christmas ever,” he murmurs. I finishing washing us off and we get out of the shower. I quickly get ready and head down to the kitchen to start making dinner. Three hours later, everything is on the stove and in the oven so I decide to take a break. I hook up my amp and plug in my guitar and blast it. I start playing with my broken arm Woman by Wolfmother and lose myself in the music. I’m in the middle of the song when my amp suddenly gets unplugged. I look and see Carl and the rest of the guys standing there with the plug.

“Du förstöra allt! (You ruin everything)” I say frowning.

“You’re neighbours are going to hate you,” James laughs.

“Did you get that for Christmas?” Carl asks.

“Yeah. And you will not believe what else I got,” I say, leading them into the living room.

“Taa-daa,” I sing, picking up Rocky.

“A snake?” Beau asks confused.

“His name is Rocky. Isn’t he the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?” I ask proudly. They all look at me like I’m crazy.

“How big is that thing going to get?” Pauly asks frowning.

“Pretty big. Like five feet long,” I say casually, holding Rocky.

“Are you crazy? You got her that as a pet??” James asks Sidney incredulously. Sidney just shrugs.

“It live in here?” Geno asks, eyeing the snake.

“I wanted him in the bedroom but I know Sidney would say no so he’ll live in the den.” They stare at me while I let Rocky lick my nose. “Anyway dinner’s almost ready.


We all sit around the table and I say a quick toast.

“I’m happy you’re all loners and have no where else to go on Christmas.” Everyone laughs and we clink our glasses.

“So what is all this,” Nisky asks.
"It’s Jullboard!” I gesture to all the dishes on the table. “There’s Kottbullar, Julskinka, Prinskorv, Revbenssjall, Janssons frestelse, Rodkal, Smorgastarta, Lutfisk and Julost.” I look around and can’t help but laugh at all of their confused faces.

“So basically it’s Swedish meatballs, Christmas ham, hot dog sausage, spare ribs, warm scalloped potato casserole, sweet and sour red cabbage, a sandwich cake made of salmon and vegetables, whitefish and Christmas cheese.” Carl translates. They all nod and start to dig in.

“You eat this every Christmas?” James asks, his mouth full of food.

“Well typically we eat this on Christmas Eve, but I made an exception for you guys this year,” I reply winking.

“What else is different?” Beau asks.

“We open presents on Christmas Eve and the entire country watches Donald Duck.” Carl says casually.

“Oh Geno I made this for you.” I push the pot towards him.

“You make me borsch?” he asks surprised.

“I know it can get lonely when you’re not home during the holidays, so I thought I’d bring a piece of home to you. It’s probably not as good as what you’re used to,” I say awkwardly. He stands up and hugs me.

“She best. You better keep her, or I take her,” Geno tells Sid. Sidney just nods and smiles. Geno sits back down and tries his soup and I anxiously wait to see what his reaction will be.

“Is great,” he says smiling. A rush of relief washes over me and I finally start to relax. I look around at the table of guys and I feel a sense of belonging. I know they’re not my teammates but they feel like family to me. Everyone finishes eating and I’m surprised at how little food there is left. Part of me thought they would hate the Swedish meal. They all stay behind to help clean up then head home to rest up before the game the next day.

“That was amazing,” Sidney says, kissing my temple. We sat on the couch, exhausted from the day.

“Was it really? I debated whether to just make an American meal or not.”

“No it was great. The meatballs were my favourite. Actually I think they were everyone’s favourite. Sweden’s got it all, meatballs, Ikea and hot people. I laugh until my stomach hurts and I lean back on Sidney and close my eyes.

“Phoenix?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why haven’t you gone to visit you parents?” he asks quietly. After such a perfect day, this is the last thing I wanted to talk about.

“I wanted to spend Christmas with you,” I say simply.

“Okay but you never see them. Or talk to them, or about them. Did you have a falling out?” I wanted Sidney to stop prying but I knew he only did it because he cares. I continue to lie there, leaning on him, picking at my cast.

“My mother and I don’t talk. She think’s I’m wasting my life as a snowboarder,” I say annoyed.

“Why does she think that?”

“She’s a famous doctor in Sweden and she know how smart I am. She doesn’t understand why I waste my time doing a stupid sport,” I say quoting her.

“But both of your brothers play hockey?” he says confused.

“Yeah but their grades were never great. She expects more from me. I was tired of being her disappointment so when I turned 18 I moved here to the states and we just lost touch.” I feel old feelings of resentment start to creep back up. “And the stupid thing is, I thought that if I won the gold medal l it would show her that I was the best and that she could be proud of me but she didn’t care. It wasn’t a worthy enough achievement in her eyes.” I say bitterly.

“I’m sorry Nix, I didn’t know.”

“Well screw her y’know? This time I’m training for myself. Those medals will be for me.”

“What about your father?”

“I love him and I still talk to him but he’s always been too scared to stand up to her. He’s a coward. I don’t really like to associate myself with either of them.” I sit up and I feel myself start to get emotional.

“I’m really sorry,” he says sombrely. “I’ll be there for you. I’ll be proud of you. I’ll stand up for you.” I feel a lump in my throat I lay back down on him, hiding my face. He rubs my back and I soon pass out.

Notes

Gifts, sex, Swedish food and baggage. Merry Christmas to them!