Home for the Holidays: Mr Frosty Pants, Mr Naughty List

by Leta Blake

  “Yes, of course. Me too, Casey.”

  It was also easy to ignore the way Walker’s hand lingered a bit too long in Casey’s own because obviously Walker was straight. He’d flirted with one of the waitresses after all.

  But that misunderstanding was put to rest when he climbed into the passenger seat of his mother’s Mercedes. She laughed happily before declaring, “Well, that was an absolute success. Your father will be so pleased.”

  “Does Walker have that much power at the company?”

  She shook her head, laughing still, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, honey. You are so silly sometimes. Don’t you see? Your father’s been wanting to set you up with Walker since the week after Theo left.”

  Casey’s stomach dropped. “Set me up? With Walker?”

  His mother went on like she didn’t hear him. “But I told him the time wasn’t right. I admit I hoped Theo might return. But after our conversations since you arrived home and the way that you’ve been catting around after that Vreeland boy, it’s clear to me now. You’re ready to move on.”

  “He’s gay?”

  “Walker’s bisexual, dear, with a preference for men. At least, that’s what his mother told me.” Her voice caught fire with enthusiasm. “You have a real chance with him. I could tell he found you attractive. And why wouldn’t he? You’re handsome, sweet, and smart. I love you, so why wouldn’t he?”

  “Mom, do you know what you’ve done?”

  “Yes! I set you up with a handsome, wealthy, intelligent man. You can thank me later. And was Walker in on it? Absolutely. He was skeptical at first, but when he saw us walking up, I could tell by the look on his face.” She nodded firmly. “He’s interested after all.”

  Casey leaned back against the headrest as they whipped past leafless trees and evergreens along the Astor Country Club driveway. He kept his mouth shut, waiting for the right words to pop into his mind. Something less angry than the “mind your own fucking business” that filled it now. He pulled out his phone to text Ann. Maybe she would have time for a phone session later today before he had to leave for Joel’s.

  “So? Aren’t you going to say anything about Walker?” His mother glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before they pulled onto the road that would take them home. “Casey?”

  “I have dinner plans tonight. With Joel.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So I won’t be around. Tell Heather I’m sorry to miss her delicious cooking two nights in a row, but it can’t be helped. I might stay the night with him again. In fact, I probably will.”

  “But, Casey…”

  “I’m a grown man, Mom. I can handle my own love life, all right? Stay out of it.”

  He closed his eyes and took slow breaths, willing his heart rate to slow down. A flash of Joel’s crooked grin filled his mind, and he sighed softly. It was going to be okay. He would hold Joel again tonight, and no matter what nonsense his parents got up to trying to set him up with the boss’s son, it wouldn’t change a thing. He knew what he wanted. He just had to be patient and steady to get it.

  “Fine. Be that way. We’re just trying to help you. If you want to spend your break here flirting with someone you’ll never have and who doesn’t deserve you anyway, be my guest. But, young man, you will be at our Christmas party tomorrow night. Do you understand me? No excuses.”

  Casey kept his eyes closed and his mouth shut. He’d go to the party. Sure, why not? Maybe he’d ask Joel to come as his date. Get it all out in the open. And what better place than at a party where his parents wouldn’t have the nerve to show their true feelings? They wouldn’t want to make a scene in front of their friends.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, Mom. I’ll be at the party. I promise.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  As it turned out, Angel had done a wonderful job with the store. She was dressed in the holiday spirit in felt light-up reindeer antlers and dancing elf earrings. Otherwise, she’d maintained her head-to-toe black, but her lipstick was bright red, and she smiled at Joel when he came in like she was truly happy to see him.

  “Guess what?” she squealed, racing around the sales counter to grab his arm.

  “What?”

  “My stepbrother came in last night to help out.”

  “Oh? Hope you’re paying him out of your own pocket, because I don’t have room on the payroll.”

  “He worked for free,” she said gleefully. “Have you seen him?”

  “No.”

  She waggled her eyebrows. “He’s gay.”

  “Great.”

  “And cute.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “And I think you’d like him.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because everyone says he’s dreamy.” She rolled her eyes.

  Joel pulled free of her grip. “And I’m not interested.”

  She cocked her head knowingly. “Life’s always feast-or-famine, isn’t it? And you could be in a feast period, my friend. Enjoy it. Live a little.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She motioned at the beard burn on his chin, and he touched it gently. It stung. “That dude from yesterday and now, potentially, my stepbrother.”

  “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, Angel.” For so many reasons.

  “Hmmph. I just know Ashton was disappointed you weren’t here to meet him. Listen, I know this sounds weird coming from me, but you have to understand. My stepbrother is smoking hot. Like whoa. A lot hotter than that guy you were macking on at lunch yesterday.”

  “I’m not sure what to make of that given the last guy you went out with. You thought he was smoking hot too.” He made a face at her, ignoring the slight on Casey’s looks. Angel’s last boyfriend had been a string bean who’d always looked as though he hadn’t showered in a month. And smelled like it too.

  “I’m gonna let that go and just say this: my stepbrother is extra as all hell. Black stubble and green eyes. Prettier than me by far. Much prettier than any guy should ever be.” She made a sour face, obviously irritated by that. “Disney pretty.”

  Several cars pulled into the parking area, and Joel raised his brow at Angel to let her know the conversation was over. He didn’t care how handsome her stepbrother might be, or how extra. He didn’t plan to entertain the idea of any other man until Casey had broken his heart again. And not for a good long time after that, either. He wasn’t a fool.

  He and Angel went their separate ways to help a solid stream of customers looking for trees, wreaths, and various outdoor holiday décor. The day passed steadily, but throughout Joel’s stomach fluttered and flipped. He almost forgot to eat lunch, but when Angel took her break, he went out to his Chevy and grabbed a couple of sticks of beef jerky. They went down quickly enough, though he barely tasted them.

  He couldn’t stop himself from daydreaming when not actively helping a customer. In the few lulls, he wandered off to the back shelves, pretending to check the stock. Instead, he’d just stare off into space and remember the way Casey had held him tightly in bed, or the shine of holiday lights on his face as they’d walked in Krutch Park, or the passionate, blissed-out expression on Casey’s face as he’d sucked Joel to orgasm.

  God, that had been…something. Equal parts amazing and embarrassing and heartbreaking.

  He didn’t know why the memory made his throat ache and his chest hurt. He wanted so much for their night together to feel like something he could expect to have again and again, but he knew better than that. So, what was the point of being sad about it?

  Knoxville wasn’t where Casey Stevens belonged. He’d go back to New York City, graduate, and have more options than Joel could ever dream of. Joel wouldn’t be allowed to go along on that ride even if he wanted to. He had Vreeland’s to take care of and his father. He had Bruno and his grandma’s land. He had a realistic grasp on what his future held, and this Christmastime with Casey was a beautiful blip.

  Like the montage in a movie just before the love
rs go their separate ways for good. Because life wasn’t a fairy tale and some movies didn’t lie.

  He turned his back on the shelves of rosebush fertilizer, each can a silent witness to his musings, as his phone buzzed. Heart in his throat, he grabbed it from his pocket, sighing when it flashed with Becca’s name instead of Casey’s.

  Becca’s text was unambiguous: Call me, asshole. We have things to discuss. Like immediately.

  He informed Angel that he’d be at the patio table out back if she needed him and then put the call through. He was curious how Becca’d found out about Casey staying the night with him already, because clearly she had if she was texting him at this time of day and with that tone.

  “What the hell, Joely? I had to find out that you probably lost it last night to our very own Casey Stevens through a text message from RJ?” she said in lieu of a greeting. “What kind of friend are you?”

  He took a seat at the patio table with his back to the door. Cars zoomed by on the interstate, obscured by the screen, and he stared at its blankness, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Casey had apparently told RJ about what they’d done. “A freaked-out one.”

  “Well, that’s no excu—” She gasped. “Oh no. Are you okay? Wasn’t he gentle? Did he hurt you? I will bust his head if he hurt you.”

  Joel chuckled, his neck growing hot. “He was gentle.”

  “Did you like it? I hate anal. It’s the worst.”

  Joel scrubbed his face. “Jesus, I don’t even know where to start with unpacking that. Like, I just… Never mind.”

  “Start with whether or not you liked it.” Becca sounded breathless but also worried. Her concern warmed him. Which was good since it was only in the upper thirties and a lot colder than it’d been the day before.

  “I did like it,” he confided. “But we didn’t do that. By the way, when and, more importantly, how did you do anal, oh sweet lezzie o’ mine?”

  “Strap-ons, Joel. Please watch more porn. Jesus.” She sighed, and he could just imagine that curtain of black hair flipping over her shoulder. “Okay, so you didn’t get your ass cherry popped. Fair enough. Shows he really cares.”

  “Does it?” Joel blinked rapidly. “I mean, he cares. I know he cares.” But Casey had told RJ about what they’d done apparently, and that made him nervous. Just because it’d been sacred to Joel didn’t mean it had to be sacred to Casey too, did it?

  “He loooooooves you.”

  “Shut up. Don’t make a joke of this.” Flurries started to drift down, and Joel stood up, pacing beside the windscreen, his heart racing like the cars on the other side of it.

  “I’m not.” Becca sounded contrite and still worried.

  Joel tugged his jean jacket tighter, flipping up his collar to shield his face from the cool wind. “Let’s back up. You said RJ told you? Why did he know?” He groaned. “I mean, obviously Casey told him, but why?”

  “Duh. Because Casey’s head over heels in love with you, idiot. And he’s afraid he’ll scare you off if he tells you. So he told RJ instead. And RJ told me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he thought you’d already told me, and he wanted to gloat over a stupid bet we made years ago about the two of you.”

  “A bet?”

  “It was dumb. I didn’t even think about it later. RJ forgets nothing. Unless he’s high. And he wasn’t high that day. Or this morning. Anyway, Casey loooooves you.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. RJ implied that Casey literally said he was in love with you.” She laughed.

  Joel groaned. “Casey doesn’t…that’s too…” He couldn’t complete the sentence—any sentence—because his heart was beating so hard that it was going to flop out onto the concrete table like a landed fish.

  Becca crooned soothingly. “Now, Joely, I can hear that you’re on the verge of losing your sweet crap. Don’t ruin this for yourself.”

  “He doesn’t love me.”

  “Don’t make me come over there and slap you until you cry.”

  “This is just a short-term thing,” he whispered, closing his eyes and trying to get some of the prior night’s magic back. It kept slipping away from him. “He’s going back to New York.”

  “Sure. But what about when he graduates?”

  “He’ll either travel or go to graduate school. He has no intention of returning to Knoxville. He told me yesterday.”

  “Right, and what’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing.” Joel stared down at his dirty boots. His place was here. Casey Stevens was always meant for so much more. “But he should move on with his life. I don’t have a place in his world. I don’t want a place in it.”

  “What world?”

  “You know what world, Becca!”

  “Wow. You’re totally going to ruin this.” He could hear her pacing in her clompy high-heeled boots across what sounded like a wood floor. That meant she was at her girlfriend Andie’s downtown loft apartment. “Don’t you dare ruin this, Joel. This thing with you and Casey? It’s meant to be. It’s always been meant to be. Destiny. Fate. Whatever you want to call it. It’s beautiful.”

  “Look, my life isn’t a rom-com, okay? He’s in town for the holidays. We’re going to have a fling. Enjoy each other for what it’s worth and then move on.”

  “First, that’s literally the setup for half a dozen rom-coms, dude.” He could picture her pointing her finger at him. “And second, he said that? This is just a fling?”

  Joel groaned. “Please don’t mess this up for me by sticking your nose in it. Just let me have this, okay? My way.”

  “Your way?” She fairly bleated with incredulity. “Only if your way means you’ll tell him you love him too, and—”

  “And what? Ask him to go steady?” He snorted. “Ask him to come back to Knoxville for me? Give up his dreams? Get a grip. We’re grown men. Stay out of it.”

  “Mmm, maybe.” Becca’s uncertainty slipped through the connection. “But RJ says Casey’s floating on cloud nine.”

  “So was I until this phone call.” That wasn’t true, but honesty wasn’t his policy, especially when he was annoyed like this. His father had shot him down from the cloud earlier in the day, and despite his dreamy memories of the night before, he’d never quite floated back up.

  “Always so stubborn.”

  “Not half as stubborn as Casey.”

  “And that, my friend, is the only thing that’s going to save you.” She sighed. Moments passed, and Joel listened to Becca breathe. “I should have hung up dramatically just then, but I blew it by staying on the line too long.”

  Joel laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

  “And so are you. I hope you won’t ruin your whole life because you’re embarrassed to be poor.”

  Joel scoffed. “I’m not poor. I’m a business owner, for fuck’s sake. I’m solidly lower-lower-lower middle class.”

  “Hanging on by your fingernails.” Becca groaned. He could hear her pacing again. “He could help you. His family—”

  “Stop. No. There’s no way in hell I’d take money from Jonathan Asshole Stevens. Besides, his folks have always hated me, so there’s no way they’d offer.”

  Joel heard Andie’s brassy voice call out to Becca that it was time for them to leave if they were going to make the movie. “Got the day off?”

  “Andie’s taking me to see some art flick she says I’ll love.”

  “You’ll hate it.”

  “Probably.” She whispered, “I’d be out of this relationship in a heartbeat if I didn’t want to ruin her holidays.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  She clucked her tongue at him. “If I had something like you have with Casey, I’d never let it go.”

  “Better go racing after Andie, then. We’re a holiday fling, too.”

  “Wow. That’s sad, babe. And utter bullshit.” Becca growled when Andie yelled again. “Shit. Bye, Joely. I love you.” She hung up, and Joel walked to the other side of the privacy screen to watch
the cars zoom by.

  He wished he saw a future where he and Casey could be together. But all he could imagine was Casey kissing him goodbye sweetly and his own heart breaking as he watched Casey walk away.

  That’s what always happened. People died, or they left. The story of Joel Vreeland’s life.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” Casey stepped into Joel’s place with a giant, green, nylon shopping bag tossed over one shoulder. He’d put on a red button-up shirt his mother had gotten him the prior year and which he’d never worn. He figured he looked enough like Santa to make a joke of it.

  Feet bare, Joel wore a white V-neck T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, and he had a few scratches on his face and neck that hadn’t been there when Casey had left that morning.

  Casey dropped the food to the floor, and Bruno scampered to investigate the bag. “What happened?” he asked, gently thumbing the scratch on Joel’s cheek. “How’d you get hurt?”

  “It’s fine. I survived Thunder Trees.” Joel reached up to pull Casey’s thumb away. But, to Casey’s thrilled joy, he didn’t let go of his hand, twining their fingers together instead.

  “Explain.”

  “Two trees enter. One man leaves.”

  Casey shook his head. “I still don’t get it.”

  Joel laughed. “It’s dumb. I was distracted at work and tripped over a tree. It fell on me and brought another down with it. It’s just a scrape. I’m fine.”

  “Did you put hydrogen peroxide or alcohol on it?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  Casey leaned forward and gently kissed the mark. “That should make it better.”

  Joel swallowed hard, and he darted his gaze away. “It did. Thanks.” He bent to pick up the grocery bag. “Let’s put this in the kitchen before Bruno decides to move from snuffling to chowing down.”

  Casey saw the new Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, already decorated with colored lights. His heart rose giddily. The spangles of color reflected in the mirror over the entry and on every shiny surface around. Next to the tree sat a box marked ORNAMENTS and some new boxes of bulbs that Casey recognized as being from Vreeland’s Christmas stock.