Barry's Banana Christmas

"You said I wasn't allowed to wear bras while I'm here, so..."

"That dress is very form fitting. You said you didn't play this last semester."

"My fiancé's...," a cloud passed over her face but she quickly smiled again, "Ron. My ex-fiancé's family always does... DID a formal Christmas Eve dinner. Bought this to surprise him and them, but that shoulda told me we weren't really a proper match. This... and, wasn't just that he was Ronald... but that he had an I and V at the end."

"I... uh, and... V"

"Ronald Fancy Family the Fourth," Hester said, "really. SO many red flags. You ever know me to do formal?"

Paul chuckled. "That's why we got along. Casual to the bones."

"Yup! But, well, my exercise schedule was shit, but got some. Not at peak fitness. But I liked this dress when I saw it."

"For good reason! If there's a couple extra pounds, they fit you. Not minding here," he'd said and hadn't prevented his gaze tracing down her figure. She hadn't seemed to mind and had spun slowly as he'd done so.

"Assistant professor?" Esther asked.

"Physiology, but not quite yet," Hester said, "assuming I don't blow my defense in the spring, get my PhD then I'll be back here for the fall. Did my BS and MS here."

"Hey, Prakash, got a minute?" He turned to the voice from a group across the room, He looked at Esther, who shrugged. He nodded at Paul and Hester before he turned and walked to the other group.

"So what's the real deal between you two," Esther said and she glanced around and lowered her volume, "you're taller and not a redhead and much better dressed than she ever was. And Paul hasn't said anything but his mood recently I'd put money she's out of the picture."

"Paul's my boy toy. I'm an older woman in the habit of seducing young and naive guys and discarding them after I've drained them of money and precious bodily fluids!"

She and Esther chuckled at that.

"I was the goalkeeper coach, took over fully coaching the soccer team when Brad and Karen left," Paul said, "and she was our star sweeper. Hopefully she'll be ready to slot back in. Still not found a real replacement for the position."

"Oh, god," Hester said, "I'm too damned old to play with those young chicks! I'll be thirty by the time I get back here."

"So... you're just in town, Hester? Checking things out? You two never been..." Esther asked with a tone that implied she didn't believe that.

"Dear friends," Hester said, "he's even read my textbooks to me."

Paul watched Esther's mouth open but a slow look passed between the two women. Esther bit her lip and nodded.

"So," she said, "what was this textbook?"

"Don't remember the name," Paul said, "but it was about human sexual response to various sorts of stimuli."

Esther raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"He read it so well," Hester said, "I should've had him read me all of my work."

"Listen up," Cheryl called from the doorway, "dinner's ready. It's buffet style, grab a plate, help yourself and find a seat!"

Paul wondered if his feeling was real that the crooked smiles directed his way during and after everyone had eaten indicated changed attitudes. Or was his imagination. But the whispers definitely carried 'hooker' along with 'Hester' and smiles and choked off laughs when they saw him. It might be the new semester before he really knew what everyone thought.

"Oh, hey," he said as he turned his head when an arm slipped around his left arm, "there's my 'girlfriend.'"

Hester whispered into his ear. "Want everyone to see you're getting your money's worth."

Then she used her free hand on his cheek and directed his head to turn. She kissed him on the lips with a soft and slow pressure. He pressed back and after a moment opened his lips just enough to push his tongue past them. It was met from the opposite direction but the contact withdrew slowly almost immediately, followed by a slow separation. Grey eyes sparkled, but this time he didn't detect tears. He'd noticed earlier that the fifth button from the bottom had been undone at some point in the evening and a quick glance showed it'd now been matched at the top. Anyone who'd not already worked out those perfect if not overly large breasts were unconstrained had no such excuse remaining.

Then she shifted but stayed tight alongside him. The buzz of conversation that'd filled the room had dimmed while she'd shown the group he was getting value for his money.

"Who's coming with us? My date is taking me to Midnight Mass at the Cathedral. But... well, it's not exactly AT midnight."

"Uh," Paul said, "I'm uh... where?"

"It's actually 10 p.m. mass. So we should get going. Who wants to come?"

"I'm not exactly a Catholic anymore," Paul said, "and..."

"Me neither. But not like anyone ever becomes not Catholics," Hester said, "but it's not like they care who goes. But, well, given my line of work my poor, fallen soul needs all the help it can get!"

She twisted and kissed him again. This time her lips opened immediately and her tongue pushed a degree harder as people shuffled around the room.

"Hey," Hester whispered into his ear, "that blonde in the back..."

"Lori," Paul said, "not one of the grad students, seen her around the campus but don't really know her.."

Six of their fellow dinner attendees exhaled vapor as they shuffled and followed the crowd into the Cathedral behind Paul and Hester. They in turn followed and were followed by plenty more.

"Think I might've played my role too well," Hester said into his ear and glanced to see their followers talking amongst themselves and looking at the combination of Gothic and Romanesque architectures that made up the building, "she asked me how much I get for a 'girlfriend' package! Said she's a bit short of money, if she's giving it anyway, get paid for it."

Paul looked at Hester then glanced at Lori. She was shorter than Hester but very cute and certainly curvier and her hair was much longer under her bobble hat.

"So, lover," Hester whispered, "how much DO you pay for... uh, companionship?"

She shifted and he saw a grin that conveyed the deepest amusement he'd ever seen.

"Told her I didn't need the competition," Hester said and chuckled, "I mean, look at her!"

Lori caught their eyes at that moment and smiled before she tilted her head slightly. Her eyes were definitely analyzing the scene. Then she winked at them. They smiled back before the crowd's movement caused them to turn.

"Hester," Paul said quietly, "why are we here? I never knew you to go to church..."

"Another red flag I blew past. Ron didn't either, not really, but his family was into it. He was expected to slot in when around... so. It's Christmas, this is what they did

"Yeah, I got relatives like that. But... here?"

"Humor me... I can't exactly say. And I'm the one with a minor in psychology!"

Paul rubbed her back through the layers of insulation as they worked their way into the building.

With a few polite requests, the group managed to crowd into a single pew, their coats piled around and behind them with a couple on the floor. That he and Hester were both lapsed Catholics had been a revelation earlier in the evening, not so surprising had been the fact that the rest of their little party lacked even that connection. But most had heard of the tradition, so given a chance decided to attend. To their queries, he'd advised them there'd be kneeling, standing, some call and response... they could stay silent but following along would be fine.

As they'd scrunched into the pew, Paul had noticed that one more of the lower buttons on Hester's dress was no longer employed. He read the scene. Her coat was behind but also around her left side, the view of that neighbor obscured. One flap of her dress had fallen between them and left her entire right thigh exposed. She had the missal in her hands and her gaze seemed to be on it. Her exposed thigh pressed against his thigh covered by denim.

Without spending time considering, he put his hand just above her knee and felt firm muscle under what she'd told him were actual silk stockings, Ron's credit card having been employed in the purchases. The edge of her mouth quirked and she pressed her thigh slightly more tightly against his. A glance to his right showed the unidentified couple in quiet discussion with each other. He traced his fingertips along the sartorius muscle, she flexed it and he hummed. Whatever her recent exercise limits, she still had power in these thighs. He played his fingers at the boundary of skin and the elastic band, held up by that and not garters.

As his fingers fell toward the inside of her thigh she nudged her legs apart. She kept, or played at keeping, her attention on the missal as the final attendees found spaces wherever they could, every suitable space destined to be filled.

He wrapped his palm and fingers across the inner half of her thigh. He glanced again, no attention on them. He could just see her panties, their red matched the dress, likely purchased with that in mind. He'd had a fair amount of alcohol that evening, but hadn't felt impaired driving, but wondered at his decision making.

He slid upward along her thigh. Her legs didn't close. He thought he felt more than heard her hummed purr when the edge of his hand pressed against cloth. Smooth, silky but not seemingly silk like the stockings. A wave ran through her body and her glutes flexed to press back. She was warm. Very warm.

A sudden change in the timbre of the crowd's sound was followed by it dimming as a procession of robed young men apparead front left. Hester squeezed her legs together, trapping his hand for a moment, then she relaxed them and he took the hint. He gave the top of her thigh a squeeze then kept his hand against the flesh hidden by her panties as he pulled it upwards. She exhaled hard.

His hand clear, she reached with hers and grabbed it, pulled it to her mouth and kissed it. Then she turned and gave his neck a glancing kiss before a whisper.

"Mmmm," then she kissed his ear before she turned her attention to the front.

Near halfway through the service, Paul noticed a couple of things. His crew had essentially played along, some even singing quite well on a couple of hymns.

And his left hand was being crushed. He turned his head.

Hester held his hand with both of hers. Her gaze was forward but seemed unfocused. There were no tears on her visible cheek, but he saw the sparkled reflections in her eye again.

He added his second hand to add reassurance but also to prevent bones from being crushed. She scooted tightly against him and twisted her head. Her grip loosened just enough.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Not needed," he added his own slight squeeze. Her face worked through a range of expressions before she took a deep breath and blinked. Her eyes glittered and he released a hand to hopefully find a tissue in a pocket of the sports coat she'd dug out of his closet and coaxed him to wear to dinner.

She accepted the offering but beyond quick dabs it wasn't further needed. She was silent but her smile and soft look was thanks enough. Her attention went back to the droning sermon.

Despite the provisions for multiple communion stations, it was likely to be a lengthy process given the crowd. Hester relaxed her grip as she sat back and released a long, slow exhale. She leaned her head against his shoulder. But she kept his left hand in the grip of both of her's. He glanced, most of their party studied the missals or watched the procession. Then he noticed Lori.

Her attention was rapt on the crowd. He read the concentration on her face as she watched the congregants accepting their wafers and blessings.

"Oh, uh," he started before he wondered if he should say something. Hester looked at him then turned. They watched the blonde, conveniently at the end of the pew, rise and work her way into the queue. Her jeans were stylish and tight but fit well and didn't mark her out by much. The square and low cut of her top and the impressive cleavage was somewhat less mainstream.

"Ah, she can help us pay for the taxi to hell," Hester said. Paul joined her with a laugh, happy that it'd seemed to lift her mood a bit.

Having emerged back into the chilled night air, they'd discovered snowflakes as they'd walked the two short blocks to their cars. Only the lightest dusting had settled as yet on roads or walkways, but since the temperature had never risen above freezing, there was little doubt it'd accumulate quickly.

"Hey, Paul," Lori said, her voice bright, "I think that priest was looking down my shirt! And that little wafer of Christ's body was kinda like cardboard. And wine! I was promised wine!"

He shrugged and a couple of the other guys offered nervous laughs. Hester's expression was haunted.

"So where's the party going, now?" The blonde continued, her exposed hair flew as she threw her arms around two of their companions.

Hester looked at Paul. He gave a very slight nod and turned so she could lean against his shoulder. Lori hadn't ridden with them, but they'd brought Ekani. That said, there were two other cars.

"Hester's dead tired," Paul said, "we're just headed home. But, Merry Christmas, everyone! Who's closest to where? Ekani, I don't know where you live."

Lori flashed a look at him but gave a tiny jerk when she caught Hester's eyes.

"Not a problem, Paul," Ekani said in his British accent softened by years in the States, "I'm a block from Jimmy's place. Give me a ride?"

"Got room, dude. Hey, drive carefully!"

A round of hugs, Paul grunted when Lori grabbed his ass with both hands and ground her hip into his crotch. Winter quarter might be very interesting. That was followed by her repeating it with Hester, with the additional push of going for a kiss. She acquiesced and a short, sharp battle of tongues with no clear winner took place.

"I still wanna know," Lori said as she looked at Hester before she stepped between Jimmy and Ekani, "I'm not far from these two, if they don't mind."

*****

Paul looked at the closed rec room door as he navigated from his bedroom to use the toilet. It was Christmas Day. From his basement window's blockage, it seemed the snow might still be falling.

The drive home hadn't been a challenge, the amount of snow on the roads not yet threatening and he was experienced at winter driving. Hester had been quiet, her mood back to the dip it'd taken during the service. But they'd ended up on the small couch in the upstairs living room that faced Barry and his twinkling lights.

He'd gotten himself a beer and they'd opened another bottle of red wine. She'd kicked off her heels with an 'aahh' and had scrunched on the couch next to him, sitting on her legs with his left arm around her shoulders. With only Barry's lights inside, they'd watched in initial silence as the streetlights showed the increasing ferocity of the snowstorm.

Paul wondered if he should say anything. He wondered about rubbing Hester's pussy while sitting in a cathedral pew. He wondered what he should wonder about. Then he felt the shaking.

He accepted the wine glass, emptied of all but the last sip or two, set it on the little table at the far end of the couch and resettled. Hester's crying hadn't been racking sobs, but it'd been deep. Anger had alternated with sadness and he'd heard few words other than 'Ron' said with heat. Sue's dust off hadn't been graceful, but in hindsight the signs had been clear and in a way he hadn't taken it deeply personally. He had no reason to disbelieve any of Hester's story, unlike a few of her past teammates, she'd never been one to hunt for or create drama, and their friendship had always been deep but easy. They'd flirted outrageously but had never taken it beyond that nor had either ever taken insult.

A week ago she'd been engaged to a man who must've been the love of her life. Well, no. Her work had always been her true love, that'd been obvious from the time he'd first met her when Brad had recruited him from their men's team to help coach the women. So this Ron Rich Fuck the Fourth would've been second. And apparently that hadn't been good enough for him. Paul had a couple of times kissed the top of Hester's head but had mostly just returned pressure when she'd tightened her grip.

This time the tears had flowed.

He'd not known how long it'd been, but Christmas Eve had long turned to Christmas Day and the snow had covered every surface outside. The street wasn't a main road and hardly any tire tracks marred the snow. A massive, full body shudder ran through Hester before a half dozen repeats of a slow inhale she held before letting it out equally slowly. Then she looked at him.

"Oh, god...," she'd said, "I must look like shit. My makeups gotta be everywhere."

He'd smiled. "Yeah. It is."

Then she'd scrunched against him again and he barely heard her. "I'm sorry. Sorry... sorry. I need to go to bed."

Then she'd unfolded herself slowly and looked through Barry to the view outside.

"It's beautiful," she'd said.

"Freakin' beautiful out there," he'd agreed. He'd stood up and helped her up. She'd hugged him and he'd again heard the very soft 'sorry.'

"No, don't be," he'd said softly. She'd hugged him. They'd made their way downstairs.

He pushed his bedroom door mostly closed but didn't latch it and he padded barefoot back to his bed. It was always cool in the basement, this morning bordering on chilly. He liked it. Made it easy to sleep. He was on his back and pulled the blanket to his armpits and quickly fell into a fugue, not asleep but not entirely awake.

Was it a dream? His bedroom door had opened. A figure in a floppy red stocking hat with a big white ball flopped around light brown hair. Below that was a broadly smiling face and below that was a classic Santa Claus coat. The bottom hem was essentially even with the tops of what were long, muscular, tanned legs that ended in fuzzy, green slippers that rose just above ankles.

The figure carried a long, red and white scarf. In an instant the figure stood alongside the bed.

"Merry Christmas!" The voice was loud and feminine and with a touch of hoarseness. She held the scarf over her head and opened it to reveal the 'Merry Christmas' knitted into it and the jacket shifted enough that he was essentially at eye level with a bit of her anatomy that the previous evening had offered a view of red, cotton cloth and this morning was closely-cropped brown hair.

She brought the scarf down around him and bent over. It took his brain an instant to register the screamed request for guidance from his lips as they were pushed open. Then she jumped on the bed and sprawled on either side of him and trapped his arms under the blanket.

Only his tongue could offer any response. And it did. He forced her tongue into a fighting retreat and pursued it into her mouth. But it'd been a feint, she wrapped around it and used her greater mobility to change the angle of attack. The ball on the floppy hat bounced around their heads.

It might've been one minute. It might've been ten. Finally she forced a truce and lifted her head. Both of them took a couple of deep breaths.

"Oh... ah... Merry Christmas, Hester," he said then he winced. His cock was fully awake, he wore nothing but thin pajama shorts and they offered it no resistance. The blankets kept it hidden but the shifting of her hips as she straddled him made clear she knew it was there. Her eyes were red and puffy but her face and body gave off a happy vibe.

"Hey, I'm sorry about last night. But... um...," she said but she seemed suddenly hesitant.

"Nothing to apologize about. Nothing," he said firmly, "and, this more than makes up for it."

"Um, well, good! It's Christmas wish time," she bit her lip then licked her upper lip, "want to unwrap your Christmas present under the tree?"