For the Love of Holly

JZ slapped me five. "My man, this be the finest thing I ever did see. I can't hardly wait to be a part of this next year!"

"What do you mean, JZ?" I asked.

"I just got accepted to this school for the fall. You gonna be outta here this spring. Someone has to take over the work you did for this fundraiser. I figured, who better than me, a black recovering crack addict from the streets who knows that kitchen inside and out? So, I'm gonna be a chef in two years, just like you. And I'm comin' to you lookin' for work. You gonna own your own successful restaurant by then, I bet, and you gonna be lookin' for help. That's me."

Yolanda said, "JZ's been released from the half-way house. He needed a place to live, so he's rooming with me. Sorry, James, but I like dark chocolate a whole lot more than vanilla. Besides, I'd get in the way of a very special young lady." Yolanda then surprised me by kissing me on the lips. "I love you, boy. You are now officially the Saint of South Street. I told Ma, if there was enough money, we should put up a statue of you in the dining room."

Holly then came to me. Right in front of everyone, she drew me against her and kissed me. It was not a sexual kiss, but it certainly spoke volumes to anyone who saw it. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven.

Soon after that, Mike Samuels, the TV guy, came over to me. "James, he said, I wish I could tell you how much money your group has raised, but the donation lines are still open at the studio. I can tell you that this fundraiser is going to be the lead story on the 11 o'clock news again, and the newspaper has already told me that their article is going to be on the front page of the Sunday paper. Our media company is footing the bill to keep the websites up and running all through next year, and the donation line will stay operational as long as donations keep coming in. James, this is huge."

I didn't even get to say goodnight to Holly before she, Ma, Yolanda, and JZ left, and it took us until almost midnight to get everything cleaned up and put away. When I got home, there was a note taped to my door. It simply said, "I'm sure you're exhausted. You helped to make a lot of people happy tonight. Call me when you can. Love, Holly."

I unlocked my door, stripped off my clothes, and slept ten hours.

I wasn't scheduled to work at the kitchen on Sunday, which was a good thing. I was too drained to even think about working there. But I did go in to have lunch with Holly.

When I got there, Ma greeted me. She was smiling the biggest smile I'd ever seen. "Jimmy-boy, you are my hero. I don't have final numbers yet, but we've already covered our budget for the next year and a half. And the pledges are still coming in. You earned us far more money than I thought possible, even in my wildest dreams. You not only provided the first real Christmas dinner a lot of our people have had for years, you've made it possible for us to feed all of them, and more, for a long time to come. I guess I can't call you Jimmy-boy anymore. You're now James. And we all love you."

Yolanda and JZ had come in while Ma was talking. "All hail St. James of South Street," they yelled. The staff started to applaud and cheer. I wanted to crawl under the nearest stove and hide.

"You here for lunch, James?" Yolanda said.

"Yeah, I thought I'd like to have lunch with Holly," I said. "Where is she?"

"Out in the dining room. She hoped you'd come by. I'll let you two love-birds alone," Yolanda said with a wink.

When I walked into the dining room, Holly looked up, and came running over to me. "James, I'm so glad you're here. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you last night."

"How did you embarrass me?" I asked.

"By kissing you the way I did. Can you forgive me?"

"On one condition," I said. "Kiss me that way again."

"I think I can manage that." She melted into my arms.

Before I knew it, it was time for Holly to get back to work. "Can I see you this week?" I asked.

"I want to James, but I have a paper to finish and a couple of exams at school."

"I'll call you every night on my lunch break at work. I'm going to be real busy during the day, helping to prepare all the food we sold at the fundraiser. But starting Saturday, I'll be here every day through Christmas. Mr. Fredricks excused me from delivery duty with the food sales, so I can spend all my time here."

"James, how many more hours do you have to spend on your community service?" Holly asked.

"I don't really know. I guess I should be done by late winter. I lost count. But I don't care. I can't see myself ever leaving here."

"I was afraid I was going to have to say goodbye to you," Holly said softly.

"Not until you're sick of me," I answered.

"I can't see that happening," Holly said, and then she kissed me again.

Holly and I spoke on the phone every night the following week, but I didn't get to see her until Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas. The work that day was like any other Saturday, but we were all excited about the plans for Friday, Christmas day.

Ma came to our work area as we were putting the finishing touches on the first three kettles of lunch soup. "Kids, you're going to love this. We're serving our usual breakfast on Christmas, but there will be no soup preparation on Christmas day. Three local restaurants have formed a committee that is doing all our food prep for the main meal. The menu for Christmas dinner is turkey, ham, all the traditional fixings like candied yams, cranberry sauce, mince pie and pumpkin pie, the works. They're donating and preparing all the food in their kitchens and trucking it here. All we have to do is keep it warm and serve it. And they're making enough food for five hundred people! We're opening the dining room at noon and staying open until 4pm, or until no one can eat any more. And that's it. Everyone has Christmas night off!"

Ma quickly wiped a tear from her eye and turned and walked away, a spring in her step I had never seen before.

Yolanda broke the silence that followed. "Ma said to me when I came in that she had something big to tell us. I'm surprised she didn't tell you two that the kitchen now has the budget to run on a bigger scale for over two years. I ain't never seen Ma cry before. James, you did it!" She hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks.

When we broke apart, I saw Holly standing there. "I thought you two were never going to give me my turn," she said as she put her arms around me. "James, thank you. This has been a dream for a lot of people, and you've made it come true."

We sailed through the rest of the day. When we closed up for the night, I dropped Holly off at her apartment and went home to clean up for a celebration dinner I was going to take her to. We had a wonderful evening, but I went home to my own place after our date.

Every day that week week was the same at the kitchen -- our usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare. We had to work extra hard to provide more servings, since our crowd was growing every day. Apparently the street people had heard all about our Christmas dinner, and were intent on sampling our wares. After work, Holly and I would have dinner, sometimes out, sometimes at her place, and once at mine. That night we spent several hours working on my resume, since I had gotten a number of requests for it from restaurant owners who had been at our fundraiser. We were always exhausted, so we would say goodnight at a decent hour and go our separate ways.

I was at the kitchen by 4am on Christmas day. I was too excited to sleep. Breakfast was the usual fare, served to an exceptionally large crowd. By 10:30 am, there was already a line at the door, waiting for Christmas dinner. The restaurant trucks began showing up a little after 11, and the excitement in our kitchen was almost overwhelming.

Christmas dinner was everything anyone could have hoped for. I spent the day in the kitchen, helping to warm the food, carve the turkeys and hams, and keep the servers supplied. Holly worked the serving line. Every time she came back to the kitchen for more food, we took a half-minute kiss break. And everyone saw it. I couldn't have cared less.

Ma called me into her office when the serving line closed. "I don't have anything wrapped to give you for Christmas, but I do have a gift. A dear friend of mine owns a very exclusive restaurant downtown. He's ill, James. With any luck, he'll live about three more years. He is his own executive chef, but he needs a bright young man to learn his recipes and take over for him. The job's yours if you want it."

"Ma, I don't know what to say," I managed to say.

"You could say, 'Thank you,' or 'Merry Christmas,' but before you say anything, I need to tell you the rest. Listen carefully. My friend, the restaurant owner, has no heirs, so he was looking for a buyer for his business. I've seen his books. He's shown a nice profit every month for over twenty years. Even now, in this economy, the place makes money. The problem is, when he is no longer able to cook, he doesn't know what will happen, which is one reason he wants to sell.

"The foundation has repaid the entire loan I had given them, the one from me mortgaging my house. I used that money, and some other investments I had, and bought controlling interest in the place. He will stay on as long as he can. Our deal is that I can pay off the balance from the profits my shares in the place generate, which will support him when he can no longer work. When he dies, the remaining shares will be divided among several key employees, including the man who replaces him as executive chef. That man, I hope will be you."

"Ma, I...," I began.

"There's more James, so hear me out," Ma said. "I also have no heirs. The foundation that runs our kitchen will receive a portion of my estate, but I am prepared to bequeath my shares in the restaurant to you, James, if you can run the place and keep it profitable. You've become like a son to me, and I want you to have this."

I sat in dumbfounded silence for a moment. Then I said, "Why, Ma? Why me?"

"Let's just say that it seems fitting that the man who saved my dream, this kitchen, should have a chance at his own dream, owning a fine restaurant. Think it over if you want to. You probably should go and meet the owner before you say anything at all. Wait until after the holidays, and then make an appointment to see him. Now, go home, James. And Merry Christmas."

By this time, the dining room was dark and the kitchen was spotless. It was time to go home.

"James, you're spending tonight with me."

"Yes, Holly, I want to," I said.

We drove to Holly's apartment and went inside. Her little Christmas tree sparkled merrily in the corner of the living room. "I'm so upset," Holly said. "With finals, and the kitchen, and all the craziness, I didn't buy you a Christmas gift."

I felt relieved. "I didn't get you anything either."

"That's OK. Good, in fact. Because I do have one thing I want to give you, and there's something I want you to give me," Holly said. "Wait here."

She went into her room and closed the door. I sat on the sofa, not knowing what was going on. In a few minutes, her bedroom door opened. "Come here, James," she said.

I walked into the room. Scented candles were the only light, and they filled the air with the smell of holiday spices. Then I saw Holly. She was wearing a green satin dressing gown, tied with a red sash.

"I want to give myself to you, and I want you to give yourself to me. I love you," she said.

I took her in my arms. I kissed her, and she kissed me back. We crushed ourselves against each other. With each kiss, our passion grew. I knew that she was what I had wanted for a long time.

We broke our embrace and gazed into each others' eyes. "I love you too, Holly. I guess I've loved you for a long time, but I was never able to say it until now. But, Holly, I do love you."

I untied the sash holding her gown together, and slowly slipped the garment off her shoulders. This was the first time I had seen her body clearly, and I was intoxicated by her. Her skin was perfect, pale and glowing in the candle light. Her blond hair framed her beautiful face perfectly. Her ripe lips smiled at me, and her dimples drew me in. Her breasts stood proudly on her chest, her beautiful nipples erect. Her slender torso called to me with its perfection. A small blond triangle of carefully trimmed hair topped her mound, and the lips of her sex glistened with moisture, promising the thrill that awaited me.

"Let me unwrap my gift now, my darling," Holly said.

Slowly, carefully, tenderly, she undressed me. As every area of my body was exposed, she caressed it, first with her delicate warm fingers, and then with her lips. Finally, there was only one piece of clothing to go -- my boxers. She struggled for a second with them, the waistband being hung up on my straining erection.

When my shorts were finally at my feet, Holly began to fondle my cock gently with her fingertips. She then kissed the tip, letting her tongue dart out briefly to lick away the thick, clear fluid that had appeared there.

"I want you James," she whispered.

"I want you too, Holly," I breathed as she took my manhood into her mouth.

With her tongue, she bathed my entire length. She stroked my scrotum with her nails. I don't think I had ever been so hard, and I know I had never experienced such joy from the ministrations of a woman to my sex.

After a few minutes, Holly stood and pressed her body to mine. "Make love to me, James. I want you inside me."

We went to her bed. She lay down on her back, her arms outstretched to hold me. I lay down with her, and began to worship her body. My hands stroked every inch of her. My mouth enveloped first one of her breasts, then the other. As I licked and suckled her nipples, she moaned her delight.

I could smell the sweet, musky aroma of her sex, and my mouth was soon drawn to it. She trembled with anticipation as I kissed and nibbled on her thighs, and she spread her legs in invitation. Moving slowly, I made my way to her center. When I first ran the tip of my tongue over her lips, she gasped. I hardened my tongue to probe inside her, and she whimpered. And when I finally began to suck on her engorged clit, she cried out her orgasm and said, "James, please, baby, I need you to take me."

I moistened the head of my cock by stroking it over her shiny, wet slit. Slowly, I began to ease my way inside. She was as tight as I had dreamed she would be. Using short, slow strokes, I advanced. When I was all the way inside, I leaned down to kiss her. We stayed like that for a while, our loins joined but still, enjoying the love we shared, expressing it only with our lips and tongues.

"I love you, Holly," I said. Very slowly, I withdrew about half way, and then, just as slowly, pushed myself inside her again. We had all the time in the world, and we both wanted this, our first lovemaking, to last. We moved together, my slow thrusts answered by the luxurious movement of her hips to meet me. It was a long time before she wrapped her legs around me, but after she did, our pace increased. Her breaths became more rapid, and her pussy muscles began to pulse around me. But we never hurried. We had too great a need to express our love.

I had never made love quite this way before. It may be that I never had sex with a woman I loved like I loved Holly. It took some time for her to cum, but when she did, the wave-like clamping of her muscles around me brought me to the end.

As we cuddled after our lovemaking, Holly said, "That was the best Christmas gift I ever had."

I kissed her and held her tight against me. "Holly, I love you. I hope we can spend many more Christmas nights together."

"Do you plan to have your restaurant open on Christmas Day?" Holly said.

"My restaurant. God, how I love the sound of that! But no, I think my assistant chef, JZ, and my hostess, Yolanda, will want Christmas Day off so we can work at South Street. But, of course, I'll have to consult with my wife and business manager about that. Assuming you'll take both those assignments."

"Are you asking me to marry you, James?"

"More like begging you," I said.

She kissed me and then laid her head on my chest. "I'll say yes, to both offers. I love you. Merry Christmas, James."

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Summers," I said.

*

And a happy holiday to all of you, dear readers. If you've read this far, I'm sure you understand my intention with this story -- to describe the growth of love and the spirit of selfless giving. Isn't that what the holidays are supposed to be about?