Scott didn’t respond, instead capturing Anson’s mouth in a heated kiss. He didn’t have to use words, however, because with each caress and nip, he could almost feel the man’s desperate need to be accepted.
He expected Scott to fuck him hard, like he’d done so many times the previous night. Instead Scott continued with the slow place. It was sensuous, almost —loving? Anson briefly closed his eyes and allowed himself to get lost in the lazy waves of pleasure riding up his body.
“Nobody has ever done this to me before,” Anson said, his voice breathless from the pleasure slowly building up inside him.
“Nice try, but I heard all about your sordid past,” Scott teased, his cheeks flushed with passion.
“I meant this is the first time someone actually made l…” Anson trailed off, afraid of pushing things too far. “What I mean is, with all the others it was just fucking. Not with you, though.”
Scott gave him a tender smile. “I understand.”
Anson let out a choked sob as Scott pegged his sweet spot. Even with the slow pace, the pleasure crested and the most intense orgasm of his life slammed into him. Anson clung tightly to Scott the entire way through it. He may have gasped out the man’s name a couple of times, he couldn’t be sure, though, because the haze of pleasure rendered him temporarily stupid.
After a few more thrusts, Scott groaned, his lips silently forming Anson’s name. As he shot off, Anson yearned for the day when they wouldn’t have to use condoms. He wanted to feel the heat of Scott’s semen inside him. Anson kept that wish quiet for now, though.
Once they’d caught their breath, Anson expected Scott to immediately get up and make a dash for the bathroom for a cleanup. So he was totally taken aback when Scott rolled to his side and gathered Anson in his arms.
“What am I going to do with you?” Scott asked.
Even though he wasn’t sure the other man expected an answer, Anson replied, “Keep me, hopefully.”
“God help both of us, but I don’t think I have any choice. I know it’s only been a day, but I can’t stand the thought of not having you in my arms.”
Anson finally allowed himself a smile. “It’s been more than a day. We’ve known each other forever.”
Scott laughed, his breath fanning the back of Anson’s neck. “We haven’t exactly known each other this way.”
“Only because you were too stubborn to take me up on my first offer.” Anson snuggled back into Scott’s embrace.
“Please,” Scott scoffed. “If I had touched one hair on your eighteen-year-old head, your entire family would have had a fit. Even now they still consider you the baby.”
“Yeah, the immature jerk who can’t even focus long enough to settle on a major.”
“I thought Madison said you decided on pre-med.”
“I did, but she’s the only one who believes me.” Anson turned around in Scott’s arms. “But enough of my whining tonight. If I keep this up, I’m going to have to go all emo and start wearing black.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
Anson gave a smile he knew was wicked. “I want to collect on the rest of my Christmas gift.”
CHAPTER 8
A shrill scream jerked Scott from his deep sleep. He jerked upright, nearly spilling Anson to the floor in the process. Heart beating fast and adrenaline shooting through his body, Scott opened his eyes and prepared to do battle.
His stomach dropped when he spotted Anson’s mother standing at the foot of the bed. Her happy, cherry, Ho! Ho! Ho! apron seemed out of place, yet strangely fitting for the situation. She had a hand over her mouth and her blue eyes nearly filled her entire face they were so wide in terror.
“Shit!” Anson cursed as he scrambled to pull the covers over them.
Not that there would be any way to hide what had gone on the previous night. Numerous condom wrappers littered the floor, mixing in with discarded articles of clothing and a nearly empty bottle of lubricant.
A warm heat came over Scott’s face as he scrambled for a way to gracefully excuse away all the damning evidence. Mom just continued to stand there, the only sound her heavy breaths. Otherwise she didn’t move at all. Anson gave a nervous chuckle as he scratched his messy been-playing-in-bed hair.
“Merry Christmas?” Anson finally said.
“I…I…I came in because you just disappeared last night and I wanted to make sure you were home,” Mom stammered, her voice trembling.
“What’s all the screaming for?” Dad roared as he came barreling into the room.
Scott groaned as he buried his face in his hands. Could it get any worse?
“Hey, this is where everyone is,” Madison declared, brightly as she barged in, too.
Why, yes, it could get worse.
Dad pulled up short, his gaze locked on the bed. Madison gave a squeak of shock before she coughed in a lame attempt to hide a giggle. Anson whispered something under his breath that sounded like, Just strike me down now, Lord.
Then things got really good when Grandpa slowly shuffled in. He looked from Anson, to Scott, then back to Anson again. The old man smiled, gave a double thumbs up and said, “Way to go, Anson. Now that’s the way to celebrate the holidays.”
Gramps then turned around and walked out, acting so nonchalant, Scott was tempted to ask if he found his grandson in bed with men all the time.
“Doesn’t anyone in this family knock?” Scott demanded.
“Obviously not,” Madison replied, with a shit-eating grin.
Mom delicately cleared her throat as she smoothed her hands her apron. “Breakfast is on the table. I’ll meet you all downstairs.”
She, too, left, taking Dad by the hand and leading him out. Dad followed, but not before shooting a glare in Anson’s direction. Madison stared at them for a few more minutes before she clucked her tongue. “You two are the worst sneaks I’ve ever seen.”
“Hey!” Anson protested, a wounded look coming over his face.
“Every time you do the nasty you get busted.”
Anson opened his mouth, maybe to protest, before he clamped his lips together and shrugged.
“You two better hurry up and get your butts downstairs. This is still Christmas and I don’t want any more delays before present time.” Madison spun around and left, shutting the door behind her.
Scott groaned, embarrassment making his stomach clench. “I can’t believe it.”
Anson let out a snort of laughter and before he knew it, Scott had joined him. They both cracked up like a couple of loons for a while before Anson leaned down and gave him a kiss.
“So what? They know now. I really don’t care,” Anson declared.
Scott thought a moment and realized that he didn’t either. His shame only came from the fact that Anson’s entire family had seen all his goods. “You’re right.”
They both quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs. As they slid into their seats, Scott noticed Anson shared a wink with Madison. They ate in silence for a few moments before Dad finally threw down his fork.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t hold my peace any longer.” He leveled a hard glare at Anson. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing now, but I don’t want you to drag Scott into it. He’s a good guy and I’d hate to see him get hurt.”
Anger surged through Scott. “Now, just wait a minute —”
Mom cut him off. She let out a harsh laugh as she pointed a finger at her husband. “So, this is all Anson’s fault? I don’t think so. It’s that turtle killer who seduced him.”
“Scott didn’t do anything,” Anson protested, coming to his defense. “I made the moves on him first.”
“Nonsense, baby, I know you’re too sweet for that. It was that murderer who started it.”
That final comment shredded the last bit of self-control Scott had. Throwing his napkin down, for the first time in his life he let loose. “Who in the hell would think to look for a turtle behind their car in the dead of the goddamn winter? I’m sorry f
or you loss, but it was just a fucking turtle.”
Mom let out a small gasp, her eyes going wide again.
Scott wasn’t done yet, though, he turned his rage on Dad. “As for you, cut your son some slack for once. He didn’t drag me into anything. I’m with Anson because I love him, not because he tricked me.”
Anson let out a small sound. “Did you just say you love me?”
Scott paused, as he played a mental rewind of his outburst. “Yeah, I did say that and I meant it, too.”
Instead of feeling terrified at that admission, a sense of profound relief went through Scott. That still didn’t mean he was finished telling people off, though. “As for you, Nora…”
As one they all glanced at Nora’s seat, only to find it strangely vacant.
“Where’s Aunt Nora?” Anson asked.
Mom gave dismissive wave. “She’s probably hungover.”
“I’ve never known her to miss a free meal, though.” Madison got up. “I’ll go check on her.”
A tense silence settled over them as they waited for Madison to come back down. While Scott still couldn’t believe he’d had his little hissy fit, he couldn’t find it in himself to feel sorry about it either. Especially when Anson grabbed his hand and mouthed thank you.
“She’s not there,” Madison announced as she came back down. “Her bed doesn’t look like it’s been slept in either.”
As if on cue the phone started to ring.
“That can’t be good,” Anson muttered under his breath.
Scott silently agreed as they all got up. Even though Mom was the one who answered, they all huddled around her like a group of penguins seeking warmth.
“Hello?”
There was some silence as the person on the other side spoke. Other than, “I see,” and, “Of course,” Mom gave no clue as to who the caller was.
She finally hung up the phone and gave them a brittle smile. “That’s the police station. They picked Nora up after one of the local churches called 9-1-1 because she was doing indecent acts to the wise men in the outdoor manger scene.”
“Ew!” Anson breathed, his nose wrinkling up.
Madison scanned the crowd. “Where’s Gramps?”
“I don’t know. Wasn’t he at breakfast?” Dad asked.
They all grew silent as they thought. “I don’t think he was,” Scott said.
“You would know, too, since you were singling us all out for an ass chewing,” Dad replied.
“Not that we didn’t deserve it.” Mom sighed.
“Why don’t you go get Nora and we’ll start looking for Gramps?” Anson offered.
“Hell no!” Mom yelled. “First you vanish last night, then Nora, and now Grandpa. Nobody in this family is leaving my sight until I have every last one of you accounted for.”
“So, you want us all to go to the police station?” Anson asked, his voice sharp with disbelief.
“Why not? Christmas is a time for families, after all,” she snarled. “Now everyone go get their coats on.”
§ § §
By the time they got back it was after noon. While the police had been kind enough to not charge Nora with any crime, they’d let it be known that the next time they wouldn’t be so lenient. Scott helped Anson carry her into the house and they set her not-so-gently on the couch. She mumbled something before going back to sleep.
“Where in the hell is the tree?” Madison asked, dully.
Scott glanced up and saw that the tree was the latest family member to pull a disappearing act. All that remained was the stand, the presents and several hundred needles. Anson’s parents came over and joined them as they all stared dumbly at the empty space. Finally they all gave one collective shrug before they filed into the dining room and sat to a now cold breakfast.
They ate in silence, the events of the day too overwhelming to even speak of. It wasn’t until Scott had downed most of his ice cold eggs that Anson exclaimed, “I know where they are.”
“Who?” Madison asked in the same dull tone.
“Gramps and the tree,” Anson replied with a duh look. “Give me a half hour and I’ll have him home.”
Dad studied him a moment before he nodded. “Okay, I trust you.”
Anson smiled before turning to Scott. “Will you come with me?”
§ § §
Anson got out of the car and scanned his gaze over the cemetery. Even though he hadn’t been to his grandmother’s grave in nearly a year, he still knew exactly where to look. Not that it would have been that difficult to locate anyway. All he’d had to do was follow the trail of pine needles and broken ornaments.
“How did he manage to fit that thing in Madison’s Bug?” Scott asked as he eyed up the poorly parked vehicle.
“Pure stubbornness,” Anson replied as he stated to walking.
Scott came up and grabbed his hand. “By the way, I mean what I said earlier. I do love you.”
Anson paused long enough to give him a kiss. “And I love you. Now let’s get Gramps, so we can go home.”
They found Gramps right where Anson knew they would, sitting beside Grandma’s grave. The tree was leaning against a nearby birch, several more broken bulbs in the snow around it.
“She was my best friend,” Gramps said by way of greeting. “Even though I couldn’t love her the way she wanted me to, she meant so much to me.”
“I know,” Anson said as he plopped down in the cold snow. He put an arm around Gramps’s shoulders.
“I miss her so much.” Gramps sobbed.
“I do, too. I think she would have liked the tree.”
“Your mom is going to be pissed at me.”
“I don’t think so. She liked Grandma, too.”
Scott came over and sat on the other side of Gramps. “I think it looks better here.”
Gramps gave Scott a sad smile. “You make sure you take good care of my boy. Don’t have regrets like I did.”
Scott gazed over at Anson, his gaze so full of love that it took his breath away. “I’ll take real good care him.”
Scott wrapped an arm around Gramps’s shoulders, too. So their combined body heat would keep the elderly man warm while he grieved.
EPILOGUE
One year later
“We’re going to be late,” Anson announced as he rushed into the apartment.
He tossed his backpack on the couch before shooting a glance over at the clock. Damn it, his shift at the coffeehouse had run over and now they were an hour behind.
“Relax,” Scott soothed as he came out of the bedroom. “I already called Madison and let her know.”
“Was she mad?”
“Nah, she’s too excited that Chris agreed to come along to be angry about anything.” Scott gave Anson a soft kiss.
“I guess that means this latest boyfriend may be here to stay, then,” Anson surmised.
“If she’s willing to expose him to Nora, then I have to agree.”
“Mom said Nora’s a lot better now that she sobered up.” Anson rushed around their apartment, packing last minute items.
Their apartment. Even after six months, those two words seemed odd. Still, he’d never been happier in his life. Scott came over and trapped Anson in an embrace.
“While I love cuddling as much as the next guy, but we’re already running late,” Anson pointed out.
“I wanted to give you something before we left,” Scott said.
Anson perked right up. “A present? Oh, for that I will be late.”
Scott reached over and grabbed a small, brightly wrapped box off the coffee table. “Merry Christmas, babe.”
Anson quickly tore away the packaging and opened the box. A small laugh burst past his lips when he saw the small ceramic turtle inside.
“Turn it over,” Scott urged, something in his gaze letting Anson know there was more to the gift.
With trembling fingers, Anson obeyed. His eyes grew moist as he read the words inscribed on the turtle’s stomach, Anson, will you marry me?
“Oh, my God,” Anson breathed.
“Does that mean yes?” Scott asked, hopefully.
Anson threw his arms around the man he loved more than anything. “Of course it does.”
As Anson held on tightly he realized, not for the first time, that Christmas wishes really could come true.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings! You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book.
Contact her at:
Email Address: [email protected]
Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht
FaceBook:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=110935385
TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
VW Bug: Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Victoria’s Secret: Victoria’s Secret
World of Warcraft: Blizzard Entertainment
Wheaties: General Mills
Hair: United Artists, MGM
Dumpster: George R. Dempster
Cracker Barrel: CBOCS Properties, Inc.
Kleenex: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
I'll Runaway for the Holidays Page 7
