My One True Christmas Wish

Author's Note: Hey y'all...this is my entry for the Winter Holidays Story Contest 2015. For those of you familiar with my stories, you know that I try to develop the story and characters first and build up to the "good stuff"...for you newer readers - be advised this is not a quickie. As always, this tale includes sexually explicit material and is intended for adults, so if you are not at least 18 years of age or are offended by sexual material - you should probably get out now while you still can... For the rest of you - thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoy...feedback is welcome and please remember to vote!

Happy Holidays!

--loverofFUN

My One True Christmas Wish

I actually knew Aubrey from college.

Well...I didn't exactly 'know-know' her, but rather knew of her. She was two years ahead of me in school and was a big presence on the college party scene. Not that she was like the campus drunk or a slut or anything - at least not that I was aware of, but basically if you happen to be one of the hottest girls on campus - which meant you were one of the hottest girls in the whole college town - then people tended to pay attention to pretty much everything you did. Those same people also liked to comment on Aubrey...and gossip about her...and cater their own plans around what she did. I thought it was silly and kind of weird that some of the people I hung out with were so interested in whether Aubrey was going to a particular bar...or if she was at a certain function...or if they had heard from a friend of a friend that she may or may not be going to a party or not...yeah, you get the drift.

Anyways, I never got caught up in the whole Aubrey-watch thing. I basically just partied wherever I felt like going and with whoever happened to be there and had fun...but not too much fun. I also didn't date much because I honestly didn't see the point in complicating my life with a boyfriend. I'd never even had a serious relationship. I suppose I wasn't all that interested in one because I'd just never met the right guy. I got asked out often enough, but no one triggered the desire in me to get all serious and committed. I mean, I dated and went out and had fun...but like I said, nothing serious.

Besides, my focus was on my education and school wasn't cheap. I was mature enough to understand that every class, lecture and book was a cost to my parents. They worked hard to send their only child to this expensive private college. I figured that if they were going to go out of their way for me to attend college and not have the burden of student loans when I earned my degree, the very least I could do was work hard at being a good student. This might be one of the reasons why I graduated Magna Cum Laude. My parents were very proud of me for that...and I was too.

Apparently prospective employers weren't nearly as impressed with my accomplishment as I hoped they would be. I mean it was mentioned as "impressive" in more than a couple of interviews, but I quickly discovered that actual "real-world work experience" was much more preferable. So for the summer months after graduation I kept busy with a couple of part-time jobs while I continued my job search. I loved my job at the animal rescue, but absolutely abhorred working retail. I'd much rather spend my time caring for dogs rather than seeing the worst of people as they shopped for clothes...but it paid the rent.

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons of the year, so as summer came to a close I refused to let myself get discouraged despite my failure of finding full-time employment in the career field I'd just spent the past four years of my life learning how to do. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone gave me a chance, and when they did I was going to run with it. I kept working and filling out applications and going to interviews and during the middle of October I had what I thought was an 'okay' interview. I was actually surprised when the recruiter called me a week later for a follow-up interview. I tried to temper my excitement and not get my hopes up, but I have to say I ended up nailing that second interview. The company offered me the job right there on the spot...I was over-the-moon thrilled that I finally landed a job in my field.

My new job also happened to be how Aubrey and I crossed paths again.

Like I said, we really didn't 'know-know' each other so after I was hired to work in the marketing department for this large distribution company, you can imagine my surprise. It was my first day of work after working my two weeks' notice at my other jobs. I had just finished filling out all of my new-hire paperwork in the office of the HR manager when my new boss popped in. He wanted to welcome me and take me on an official tour. My first impression of the Director of Marketing was that he came across as a nice guy. I made sure to pay attention as he introduced me to my new co-workers. Everyone at the company he introduced me to seemed to genuinely like him...I took that as a good sign that my instincts about my new boss were right.

My tour meant we ended up walking around the entire company campus which consisted of two office buildings, a warehouse and a fabrication shop. I met and shook hands with every single employee who worked at the corporate location, but my boss saved the formal introduction to the actual Marketing Team for last. I followed him into the designated section of the second floor of the main office building into what was considered the Marketing Department proper. Yep, there was Aubrey, sitting at her work station. I had no clue that she'd been a marketing major same as me.

I was introduced to everyone on the team as the new marketing specialist and Aubrey greeted me warmly with a smile that included a hint of recognition when we were introduced. I was also shown around our little part of the company world. It was good to know where the restrooms were, where the coffee service was and the supply room that was exclusive to marketing. It also didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the only empty chair was right next to Aubrey's. So after getting a lay of the land, shaking everyone's hand, repeating my name about a dozen times and trying to remember everyone else's, I was formally shown to my work station.

Aubrey was working on some kind of excel spreadsheet as I sat down next to her, but she stopped and turned to me with a hint of a smile and one of those knowing squints of recognition. "Wildcat?"

"I am," I smiled.

"I thought I recognized you," she nodded and her smile grew.

"Yeah, I thought I recognized you too," I nodded. "Small world, I guess."

"Definitely," she laughed. "When did you graduate?"

"This past June...class of 2015," and I blushed but wasn't sure why. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not at all," she shook her head and then smiled again.

Two things were running through my mind at that moment. The first was that there should be someone standing around handing out sunglasses to prepare people for this girl's dazzling smile. That and I think I had an inkling of understanding of why people liked to hang around her back in college. She had this effortless way of putting you at ease without really trying.

"Welcome aboard," she sat up straight and extended her hand. "I'm Aubrey."

"Thanks," I nodded and shook her hand. "Meghan."

"You're going to love it here, Meghan," she raised her eyebrows knowingly. "This is an awesome place to work."

"Yeah, it seems really great so far," I agreed with her even though I didn't have the first clue about what it was like to be an employee here. I had been on the job for like two hours, but I guess I was just going to take her word for it.

Aubrey turned back to her spreadsheet with one final smile so I went through the process of booting up my laptop. Everyone in the Marketing Department had a company supplied laptop with a docking station at their desk. Made it so easy - you had the flexibility and mobility of a laptop, but you could dock it and use the mouse, keyboard and large flat screen at your work station whenever you were in the office.

I settled in and remembered that I had been politely instructed by HR that I absolutely had to complete my mandatory new hire training on the company intranet by no later than my third day of employment. I was eager to start actually working so I went ahead and followed the instructions on the home page and fired up the first video. When I was finished 25 minutes later a five question quiz popped up on my screen. I aced it. So that was how this was going to work...you had to watch videos and then take a brief test that showed that you actually watched the video and paid attention. I looked at the que of my assigned training, did the math in my head and realized I'd be watching videos for the rest of the day and most of tomorrow. The videos ranged in subject matter from how to request paid time off, to how to evacuate the building in case of an emergency as well as Slips, Trips and Falls safety and what the proper dress code was in various types of weather. There was a training video for pretty much every conceivable work-related topic I could think of.

I sighed quietly to myself as I started up the next video lesson.

My first day was a haze of videos and quizzes. I don't even remember going out for lunch or what I ate. Finally, the clock seemed to be winding ever closer to the end of the work day, but I was still steady at it. I wanted to get these training videos out of the way so I could get my feet wet with some real marketing work. I had just finished up another module and while stretching my neck glanced at Aubrey. I realized that with the curve of the counter as it turned the corner that acted as the table / desk of our work stations that my seat was at a slight angle and behind hers. If we were both sitting straight on facing our computers, I could turn my head to the right and basically see over Aubrey's shoulder to whatever she was working on...and she was currently busy texting on her cell phone. I ignored her and turned my attention back to my own pc and started the next training video. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her look slyly over her shoulder at me to see if I was watching her. She smiled.

Huh...she seemed to be acting like, I don't know...like she was up to something? Whatever...I clicked the button to start my next video.

****

Before I knew it, my first week was in the books and Aubrey had been right - I really liked it here. The people were great, the company was awesome and as a sales driven organization, they kept the marketing department very busy. My first assignment was a simple sales report for the previous quarter and I knocked it out of the park in a few hours. I guess that was going to be my one and only "introductory" assignment because after that my workload was just like everybody else's in my department - crazy busy. But I loved it - I thrived in that whole multi-tasking, deadline looming environment and that's pretty much what I did every day.

I also ended up learning a little more about the meaning behind Aubrey's sly little smile that first day.

I was busy working on a campaign proposal towards the end of my second week. I was frustrated as I tried to think of some alternative sales slogans for this campaign. We were going to start offering a new product from one of our vendors and I was trying to get my brain to think outside of the box, so I just kind of let my eyes wander around my work station. I ended up looking at Aubrey or rather over her shoulder as she was playing with her phone. She was leaned back in her chair and I could see her screen. She was texting and from what I could see it looked like she was sending someone a picture.

Absentmindedly I went ahead and let my eyes focus on the screen of her phone. Huh...a selfie? Surprise, surprise...yep, definitely a picture of Aubrey...wearing the same outfit she had on today...only in the picture she was in the ladies room (I recognized the color of the walls)...and she had her shirt unbuttoned flashing her bra covered boobs to the camera. I couldn't help but lean forward a little and stare. Uh...wow...but in my head it was more like WOW.

It was about the only word I could think of.

I'm not a lesbian or bi or anything, but there was no denying the girl is drop-dead gorgeous - like movie star level gorgeous. First off, she has this long, thick mane of amazing chestnut-brown hair and these deep, amber-brown eyes. Plump, pouty lips and the kind of flawless face you see on TV...like I said, gorgeous. Secondly, I don't know if she owns her own tanning bed or what, but she has this really great tan complexion. Okay. Good for her, right? Oh, but the topper is this chick's body...I mean, give me a break already - it's one thing to have an unbelievable ass - which Aubrey does. I'm talking a world-class ass...but did she also have to be blessed with big boobs? Like perfectly shaped, just freaking awesome big boobs from what I could see of that picture.

I mean, c'mon, man - in what universe is that even remotely fair?

I was so busy creeping over her shoulder at that picture that I was completely unaware that she had turned her head and busted me. When I finally realized she was looking at me, I sat back and could feel my face get really hot from what I knew was the blush creeping up my cheeks. Oops. I felt like such an asshole. I mumbled an apology and turned back towards my computer when I felt something nudge my shoulder. It was Aubrey's hand holding her phone. She nudged me again like she wanted me to take her phone.

"Is this too much?" she asked with raised eyebrows and that same sly smile I had seen my first day on the job. "Honest opinion."

"Uh...okay," I slowly took the phone and glanced down at the picture again. My goodness, but this chick was freakin' built. I cleared my throat and then looked up into those mischievous brown eyes. Was she just trying to show off or did she really want my opinion? "I guess it kind of depends on what you're going for."

"I was going for tease," Aubrey whispered with an uncertain look on her face. She took the phone back and cast a quick glance over her shoulder towards the Marketing Director's office to make sure his door was still closed. She bit her lip and with another quick glance at me, started manipulating buttons on her phone. After a minute she seemed to find what she was looking for and passed the phone to me again.

I took it from her and looked at the screen and saw that she had opened up a gallery of pics. There were five different pics and based on the outfit and background, they were all taken today in the ladies room. I scrolled through them and saw that it was basically a photographic progression of her shirt being unbuttoned, exposing her bra a little more in each image and then in the final pic (the one I had seen over her shoulder) she was pulling her shirt open to reveal both of her bra-clad breasts. I probably stared at that picture for a little longer than I should have, but I was so envious. I mean, damn!

"So?" She finally interrupted my pervy examination of her pictures. The uncertainty in her tone of voice and the apprehensive look on her face seemed out of place from the perception of Aubrey I had in my head from college. "Which, uh, which one?"

"Well," I replied slowly and had to clear my throat. "If you're going for tease, then...I think the third one."

"Really?" Aubrey seemed surprised. She took the phone back and looked at the image I had indicated with a slight scowl. The picture was the one where she had almost all of her buttons undone and the viewer could see obvious cleavage and the front part of her bra...but only a hint of the actual bra cups and the mind-boggling boobs they held in them. "I thought that one was...I don't know, kind of tame."

"Well...think about it from the viewer's perspective," I explained and noticed she was listening intently. "You're giving whoever this person is looking at it just enough of a suggestive glimpse. You said you wanted to tease them, so don't give away too much. Leave'em wanting more...it'll drive them crazy."

"Crazy, huh?" Aubrey considered what I said for a moment and then the thoughtful expression on her face slowly changed into a grin. "Okay...yeah, I like that. Thanks, Meghan."

"Anytime," I shrugged and turned back towards my computer.

A few hours later Aubrey invited me to go to lunch with her and since I didn't have any plans, I agreed.

I think we were both surprised at just how much fun that meal was and how well we got along. It turned out we actually had a lot in common. We went out to lunch again the next day and it was the same. So we started going out for lunch all the time and we even began sitting together in the break room whenever we happened to pack our lunches. It didn't take long before we were pretty much inseparable at work...and as cliché as it sounds it was once again proven to me that you just can't judge a book by its cover.

The more I got to know Aubrey the more I realized that under all that incredible beauty and sexual hotness was a genuinely nice person. I mean, she was really great and I really liked her. She went out of her way to make sure I knew everything I needed to know in our department to be successful...who you could bullshit and who you couldn't, how and when you could slack off for a short break. I never expected it, but Aubrey ended up being one of the sweetest and most thoughtful people I had ever known.

Now I'm not considered unattractive by any stretch of the imagination. Blonde, blue-eyed, I'm very petite with a nice figure if I do say so myself. I've basically been called cute and pretty my entire life ever since I hit puberty...but it was really amusing to be a first-hand witness to all of the attention Aubrey got whenever we were out. I became pretty much invisible. It was crazy how both men and women would just fall all over themselves to help her or take her order or get her whatever she needed. I guess maybe since she looked just as attractive as the celebrities on TV and the internet that most people just kind of assumed she was one. Most of the time Aubrey acted like she didn't notice it, but she wasn't above taking advantage of the preferential treatment every now and then...especially if it meant a better table at a restaurant or someone buying her drinks. She didn't act like it was a big deal, so who was I to complain about it?

Hanging out at work was a no-brainer since we literally sat next to each other, but then we started going out after work and it didn't take too long before we started hanging out on the weekends, too. I found myself really enjoying spending time with Aubrey. She made even the simplest things like just sitting around and watching TV fun...but when we did decide to go out? Man, she was an absolute blast to party with. I don't know if she was just used to getting away with stuff or what, but I learned pretty quickly that when this chick got a little too much alcohol in her she became something of a wild child...and a troublemaker. More than once I ended up being the voice of reason and would get her home safely before she ended up doing something she regretted.

In just a short amount of time we became not just work friends, but really good friends.

****

Shortly after we had started hanging out away from the office, Aubrey got invited to what was supposed to be this really cool party by some guy she had met at some bar. There was kind of a social lull among the crowd we usually hung out with now that Halloween had come and gone, but Thanksgiving was still a week away. Aubrey thought it would be fun and since neither of us really had anything else to do she insisted that I go with her. It turned out that this party was downtown in the penthouse suite of one of the high-rise buildings in what I knew to be extremely pricey condos, really fancy-schmancy. We got all dressed up and it did end up being pretty cool...we met some nice people, the food was crazy good and they had a full-service bar and a DJ. What was not to like?