Happy holidays, everyone! This is my official entry for the
Literotica Winter Holidays Story Contest 2024
. This story was influenced by entries from the earlier days of this website, primarily from the works of jessy19 & the story "Cousin Lacey" by slyc_willie. I have always found the emotions and heartbreak in their tales to be alluring and captivating.
Since these stories have had a rather tremendous impact on my decision to start writing here on this website, I thought I'd take a crack at making a story similar to what those authors were able to convey with their storytelling and emotional punch.
A small trigger warning to my fellow readers, there is a scene with some brief violence so if you see the following:
*+*+*+*+*+*
You can skip ahead until you see that symbol once more.
This story is the longest one I've written to date. That said, I've broken down sections by chapter since this is a fairly long read and there are some time jumps here and there.
It is my sincerest hope I did these stories justice by putting these influences to good use. And if jessy19 or slyc_willie are somehow currently reading this story right now, I just wanted to say "Thank You" for serving as an inspiration for myself for this tale.
And also a HUGE shout out to Todger65 for their editing handiwork and making this story flow more smoothly!
That being said, all participants in this story are over the age of 18. Any names mentioned do not reflect or represent any person, living or dead.
As always, enjoy the story.
Alexandra
******
- Present Day -
The Silver Honda sedan pulled up into the parking lot of St. Michael's Baptist Church in Marietta, GA. Mannheim Steamroller's rendition of "Deck The Halls" filled the interior of the car from the radio as Mason Jackson grasped the steering wheel. He turned the car and exhaled before placing his head against the seat and closing his eyes.
He had ditched his original plan of attending the wedding as a regular guest, at the behest of his parents' request. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't allow himself to do it. Not with a good conscience.
"What the fuck am I even doing here?" He muttered to himself. That had been a question he had been asking himself since he had arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport yesterday. Even with the last-minute change of planes, he still had his doubts. The wedding was in a few hours and it wasn't like he wasn't going to change her mind.
A modern day Don Quixote, if you will.
All he was doing was setting himself up for more heartbreak and disappointment, which had been a constant companion of his for the past couple of years. Still, he needed closure. Even if it meant having his heart broken once again, it was still better than moping around at his place back in Buffalo.
Screw the original plan that his parents told him about. He had to tell her how he felt.
He stepped out of the vehicle into the dreary December rain shower. He adjusted the gray sports coat he wore and brushed the white dress shirt he had on underneath. Looking into the reflection of the window of his rented car, he looked to make sure his short brown hair looked neat; Despite the fact there were heavy bags under his brown eyes, noting the lack of sleep from the past couple of days.
In fact, the only things keeping him going was his near-constant intake of coffee & energy drinks and his quest to let her know how he really felt. Their affair had caused countless fights in his family and what he was doing was all but a lost cause at this point.
Taking a deep breath through his nose, he walked by the numerous cars in the parking lot as he made his way to the front entrance of the chapel. It would most likely end very badly for him, but still, he kept pushing forward.
It was go time.
******
- 8 Years Ago -
18 Year Old Mason sat in the backseat of the rented SUV his family had gotten from Hartsfield-Jackson with his sister Vicky; While their parents, Reese & Carla, sat up front.
Almost every Christmas, Mason and his family would visit his aunt, uncle & cousins down in Macon, Georgia, where they owned a farm. His father, Reese, a native of the Peach State, fell in love with his mother when they were undergraduates at University of Georgia-Athens.
They were married soon after they graduated and settled down in his mother's home state of New York in Buffalo, where Mason and his sister, Victoria, were born and raised.
On the flip side, Reese's brother, Jason, stayed in Macon and ended up marrying Courtney. They ended up having three kids: Trevor, Jacob and Danielle.
He stared out the window as numerous trees passed them by, cursing the fact that his family had dragged him and his sister along for another family get together. He was a senior in high school and looking forward to the following year when he would be heading out to school at Kentucky State. In fact, his only real motivation for wanting to come on this trip was being able to see his cousin, Danielle, or Dani as she liked to be called.
Her brothers, twins Trevor & Jacob, took more after their father, with blonde hair and blue eyes and were both a couple years older than Mason; Both being the same age as Vicky.
Dani, on the other hand, looked exactly like their mother with fiery red hair and freckles along with her green eyes. Since her and Mason were the same age, with Mason being born a couple of months after her, they would hang around each other, mostly going on ATV rides and watching TV shows.
Last he saw her, she was going through that awkward teenage phase of acne and braces, much like himself. They used their mutual ugly duckling phase as sort of a bonding experience.
It had been a couple years since they last saw each other and he was eager to see his favorite cousin. His sister had taken notice of this.
"So, you excited to see your girlfriend again" Vicky teased her little brother.
Mason blushed at her words. "Dammit Vicky, she's not my girlfriend."
"Uh huh, then why is your face red?" She stuck her tongue out at him.
Even though Vicky was two years older than him, her demeanor was comparable to that of a teenager.
"It's not red, I'm just hot right now because of all this heat." Indeed, there was a record heat wave hitting Central Georgia during the holidays at nearly 80 degrees. Still... he lied to her, hoping that it would deter her. It didn't.
"Sure... just make sure you wrap it before you tap it, Mason." She laughed out loud.
"Victoria, stop teasing your brother." Their mom called out from the front seat. His sister was only addressed by her full first name when she was in trouble or to convey the point that she wasn't supposed to joke around.
"Fine, sorry for making fun of you and your girlfriend." Vicky laughed at him.
Mason shot her a dirty look, his face still as red as an apple. Though the reason for his embarrassment wasn't just because of her teasing; He did indeed have a crush on Dani. When he last saw her, she had braces and an acne covered face. Despite all this, he thought she looked great.
Reese called her out "That's enough, Vicky. Be nice to your brother."
The rest of the car ride was uneventful until they pulled down the long driveway to the large white Dutch Colonial house. As they pulled in front of the home, his Aunt Courtney waved down the car.
The four piled out of the car as his aunt, uncle and their twin boys came out to greet them. Mason was the tallest in his immediate family, standing at 6' 2" but his uncle was a couple of inches taller than himself and his two boys were even taller than he, standing at just over 6' 5".
After the hugs and handshakes were exchanged among each other, his aunt looked around. "Now where did that girl run off to?" She muttered to herself in her southern drawl.
"She left 'bout an hour ago on one of the ATVs. You know she's antsy lately on account of her going off to college soon." Her son Jacob chuckled as he placed a hand on his hip.
His mother scoffed. "That's not for another 9 months, plus Dani knows that we have visitors. The very least she could do is at least show her face before she goes off to do her own thing."
The faint sound of a motor could be heard beyond the edge of the field next to their house. A rider wearing a blue rider's helmet, white t-shirt tucked into a pair of blue jeans stained with mud could be seen on the path circling the field that led to the house.
It was Dani.
She came to a stop in front of the family. Stepping off the ATV, she removed the helmet and placed it on the seat. Mason's heart skipped a beat when he saw her.
Gone were the braces that had been on her teeth and the acne that had once adorned her face had vanished. Her skin was now slightly tan in appearance with a bridge of freckles across the bridge of her nose and upper cheeks. Her hair, though matted by the helmet she had just taken off, was fire engine red in color and was pulled back in a pony tail.
Another thing that Mason picked up on immediately is that she had undergone a growth spurt since they last saw each other and was now exactly the same height as himself. That and her once-small breasts seemed to be fuller and more pronounced.
She looked perfect. She was rough and tumble, yet beautiful at the same time.
"Hey y'all, sorry I got a bit carried away with my mornin' ride." Dani spoke in her thick southern accent.
Her father shook his head. "Dani, I swear you spend more time out in the woods than you do on the farm."
"Oh c'mon pa, you know I pull my weight around here just as much as the boys do." She flashed a smile at him.
Jason laughed as he shook his head. She wasn't lying. As much as her two older brothers helped out around the farm, Dani had taken the initiative from an early age to help around on the farm, despite her dad's insistence that she didn't need to do so. Now, he had come to rely on her for various tasks involving taking care of livestock and assisting with harvesting in the fields that the family owned.
As she greeted the rest of the family, the last person she spoke to was Mason, who she brought in for a big hug. "Oooooh, I missed you Mason! Sorry if I smell like sweat and the inside of a cow's ass. Normally it's in the 50's and 60's during this time of the year."
"All is forgiven Dani. It's just so nice to see you again." He murmured to her as she broke off the hug and looked into her eyes.
She giggled softly as she winked at him "The feeling is mutual, cuz."
Mason felt himself blushing once again. His sister, having watched the two, shook her head at him and rolled her eyes.
"What's her deal? Somethin' crawl up her ass this morning and die?" Danielle joked as she looked at his sister.
