A Date for Christmas

by Erika Phillips

  Maggie continued to glare at her so-called friends.

  “You know...it could be fun,” Lori chimed in, “I mean, at least you get a free vacation out of it!”

  “I’m gonna kill all of you,” Maggie replied as she slammed the rest of her wine back and stormed out of the room.

  Chapter 3

  “Well, Bradley, I’m sure that Maggie Vaughn is at home freaking out right now that she’s the lucky winner!” Samantha squealed. “I know I would be. So, can you share any more details or is it all a surprise for the viewers when your date is aired?”

  Bradley chuckled, “You know me, Samantha, my lips are sealed. But!” he exclaimed, “I can tell you that I’ll be stopping in Chesterville, Georgia next weekend to meet my lovely date,” he smiled seductively for the cameras.

  Samantha smiled, “Well, viewers, you heard it here first. And I know we will all be tuning in in two weeks’ time to watch this amazing date unfold on live T.V. Until tomorrow, stay beautiful, my friends.”

  “And cut. That’s a wrap folks,” the producer called out to the team.

  Bradley turned to leave, and Samantha quickly captured his hand still lying flat on the desk. Trapping it beneath hers, she smiled seductively at him, “Want to go grab a drink? I know a really cozy place not far from here. It’s very quiet and private.”

  Bradley had always had a way with women. At six feet tall, with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes that pierced the soul, he was used to having women fawn over him. His lips were full, and his nose was straight and slender. He religiously worked out every day, which helped keep his body in top shape for any future roles.

  Bradley turned his attention back to Samantha. He gazed into her eyes, making sure to take in her voluptuous chest that almost fell out of her low-cut blouse. “I’d like that,” he smiled back, showing his perfectly white teeth. “I just need to finish up a few things. I’ll meet you out back behind the studio in thirty?”

  Samantha leaned in closer, providing him a better view of her cleavage. “I’ll be waiting,” she purred and then released his hand from her grasp. Getting up from her chair she sauntered away. Bradley’s eyes followed the back and forth motion of her firm, round backside as she made her way out of the studio. He glanced downward to his hardening manhood. “Down boy,” he chuckled.

  Bradley walked back to his trailer and made himself comfortable on the plush couch. He ripped the top button of his shirt open and closed his eyes. Two minutes later his manager came barreling in.

  “Nice job today, man. Now, we just need to get through this date and try to keep repairing your image--which you seem hell-bent on destroying, I might add,” his manager, Todd chided.

  Bradley let out a long, deep sigh. He had been enjoying the last few moments of peace. Opening his eyes and staring up at the ceiling he started, “Do I really have to go through with this date? I mean how is taking a woman I’ve never met out going to make the public love me again? It’s not like I’ve killed someone. I just like the company of women; I mean a lot of women. What’s wrong with that?” he turned his head to see Todd’s reaction.

  “The problem is not that you date or have been on dates with several women, but the fact that you have cheated on several of your girlfriends, you have pictures of you and a ‘hooker’ in the tabloi-”

  Bradley sat up immediately, stopping him in mid-sentence. “First, I never paid for her services, and second it’s not my fault she didn’t tell me what her day job was,” he shot back.

  “Brad, that’s not the point. The fact is your show’s ratings are plummeting, the station is looking to cancel it unless something changes. You can’t sell the image of a family man when you can’t keep your dick in your pants!” he cried, frustrated with the whole situation. “We need this date to be perfect. The public needs to think this ‘date’ is the one to make you want to settle down and change your ways. We need everyone to believe by the end of that weekend that you have fallen head-over-heels in love with this Maggie and that you could never live without her. Then she’ll break your heart and BOOM! America will see you as this wounded animal and love you again. GOT IT?!”

  Brad shook his head, “And you think this will really work?”

  “It has to, Brad. Otherwise,” Todd placed his index finger and sliced it across his throat, “You’re done. Canceled. Game Over.”

  “Well, then I better get this out of my system, since it’s going to be a long dry spell.” Bradley stated as he stood up and started walking out of the trailer.

  “What?!--Where are you going?” Todd blubbered.

  “Sam’s waiting for me out back and I need to clean some ductwork, my friend,” Bradley slapped Todd on the back as he exited the trailer.

  Bradley turned the corner in the lot and saw Samantha leaned up against her sleek red corvette. “Gorgeous,” he said as walked up next to her.

  “Thanks,” she purred as she hopped into the driver’s seat.

  Brad whispered under his breath, “I meant the car.”

  Brad slipped into the passenger seat and Sam hit the gas, tires squealing, as they exited the studio lot. She drove for about twenty minutes until she pulled up to her condo by the ocean.

  “I thought we were going to get a drink?” Brad mentioned.

  Samantha gave a sultry smile, “We can, and we can do some other things too.” She placed her hand on top of the obvious bulge in Brad’s pants. Giggling, she opened her door and got out of the car. “You coming?”

  “Not yet,” he muttered. Brad needed no other encouragement. He was out of the vehicle and chasing behind her as she ran into her place. Samantha opened the door and Brad was right behind. He looked around and noticed her place was very modern. The moment you walked in you got a great view of the ocean. “Nice view,” he nodded to the large windows straight ahead.

  “It’s better from my bedroom,” she replied. Samantha grabbed his hand and led him in the direction of the room. Brad gave her a wickedly sexy look and allowed her to lead him along.

  The bedroom was all white, from the bedspread to the headboard to the walls. There was a large gas fireplace on the right wall, and a spacious sliding glass door that led out to the water on the other side. Brad looked outside, she was right, the view was much better. He walked towards the door, hypnotized by the view of the waves crashing against the shore, when he heard the sound of Samantha clearing her throat, he turned his attention back to her.

  Samantha was lying on her bed; all of her clothing lay on the floor in a puddle. The sight of her large, perfectly round, one-hundred-percent fake breasts brought him back to the present moment. In three strides he was at the base of the bed, stripping himself of his designer shirt and pants. He stood in front of her in his Gucci boxer briefs and admired her slight, sleek body. He wondered when she last ate, she was so thin, but who was he to judge? Fame made you do crazy things, and he should know.

  Samantha was clean-shaven and he was ready to slide into her. She sat up and crawled towards him. She placed her fingers at the edge of his boxers, and slowly pulled them down to unwrap the present hidden inside. Her face lit up with delight at the gift that sprung forward. She had heard talk of how nicely endowed he was, and she was not disappointed in the least. She wrapped her hand around his hard cock, her fingers forming a C shape due to his size. Gingerly she bent forward and wrapped her lips around the tip and began to slowly suck his long, thick rod.

  The feel of her mouth on him gave him great pleasure. He always enjoyed a good blowjob and Samantha seemed eager to please. His head lobbed backwards as he enjoyed her teasing and licking. Her tongue circled the tip and she deep throated him. Brad was rather impressed with her ability to take him fully without gagging--many women struggled with this feat. I may have to visit her again after this date business was over, he thought. After a few more minutes he could sense she was getting rather bored and he knew he needed to give her some attention.

  This usually was not his style, as he was more of a taker then
a giver in the bedroom. He had never lacked for company in bed, so he could be selfish. But if he was thinking of having seconds with her he knew he had to give her something in return. Grabbing the back of her hair and pulling her free of his member, he bent down and placed a kiss upon her lips.

  Samantha needed no more encouragement and she let her body fall back onto the bed, while Brad crawled on top of her. His hand trailed up her thigh and found its way to her slick, wet mound. He slipped two fingers in and placed the tip of his thumb on her sensitive nub. He thrust his fingers in back and forth while his thumb brought her close to the edge. Samantha’s cries of pleasure filled the room, almost to the point that Brad thought she was acting for some invisible audience.

  He looked around for a split second wondering for whom she was performing...when all of a sudden she screamed out, “FUCK ME, my big boy! Ride me hard!”

  Brad was so caught off guard he almost laughed out loud. He quickly gained his composure, pulled his fingers out, and swiftly slipped on the condom she had conveniently left lying on the bed. His thick rod slid inside her and he rammed her hard just like she asked. Samantha thrashed and bucked with each thrust.

  “Yeah, Daddy, I like it! Harder Daddy!” she cried.

  Brad pressed his lips together to keep himself from bursting out into laughter. He gave her one last hard thrust and they both came, Samantha more vocal about her release than Brad.

  A moment later, he rolled over and lay beside her on the bed. He could hear her breath, quick and swallow at first and then slower and more steady. He was about to speak, when she jumped off the bed, grabbed her phone and headed to the bathroom. Two seconds later he heard the water running and the sound of her closing a shower door. Brad lay there for a few seconds. He had no idea if this was her cue for him to leave or what. Most women he slept with usually wanted to cuddle after and talk. But Samantha was different. As he lay there, trying to decide if he should stay or go, she called out, “I ordered you an Uber, it should be here in five. Thanks for the fuck.”

  Well damn, he thought. Not sure if his pride should be wounded or not. He decided on the latter and quickly grabbed his clothes off the floor and headed outside to wait for his ride. Three minutes later a black sedan pulled up and he slid in.

  “The Ritz Carlton?” the driver double-checked.

  “Yeah,” Brad muttered.

  By the time Brad got back to his hotel it was 10 p.m. Too early to go to bed yet, he figured. He took a detour to the bar to get a drink. It’s quiet for a Saturday night, he thought as he looked around and saw the place wasn’t too packed. He figured most people were out and about with family or someone they loved as no one was sitting by themselves. Everyone in the place seemed to be with someone, except him. He found a lone seat at the bar.

  “What can I get ya?” the bartender asked.

  “Whiskey on the rocks,” Brad replied.

  “Brand preference?” the bartender asked.

  “Surprise me,” Brad muttered.

  “You got it.” A few seconds later the bartender returned with a glass of Blanton’s Gold.

  Brad grabbed his phone from his pocket and saw he had fifteen missed texts. He noticed they were all from Todd and every one of them were about where he was, and that they needed to go over the final plans for the date. Brad’s shoulders slumped. Besides Todd he had no one else in this world that thought of him during the holidays. He had been an only child and his parents had both passed away in the last few years. Before that he had spent every holiday with them at their home in Vermont.

  Since they passed away, he had started to care less about everything and that was when it all changed. He had been on a self-destructive path for the last four years and it was finally catching up with him. His love life was in shambles and his career was headed down the drain as well. Brad knew he needed to change, but part of him no longer cared.

  After his parents’ death, his fiancée, Christy, left him. She had been so self-absorbed in her own career that she never cared about him or how he was doing when his parents died. She couldn’t even find the time to take off for the funeral to be with him. So, when he came home one evening and all her things were gone, he tried to convince himself it was for the best. But that was when the bender began. He would go out all night long and sleep around. He didn’t care who he hurt along the way anymore. Now Todd was trying to save his career though Bradley didn’t really know if it was a career he even cared to save.

  Brad looked back down at his phone and pressed dial. The phone barely rang once, before Todd picked it up.

  “Finally! Where are you? We need to talk?” Todd stated, his voice more panicked than usual.

  “I’m at the hotel bar, if you want to talk now.” he stated nonchalantly and took a swig of his whiskey. Brad swirled the caramel fluid around in his glass, while Todd continued to drone on.

  “Well, it’s about time you got back here! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all night. We have an issue with your date,” Todd informed him, panic in his voice came through loud and clear.

  “Samantha?” Brad asked. “I wouldn’t really call that a date, but--”

  “Not her, you idiot. The girl you just announced on the T.V., in front of the entire world, you know...that one! Well, I just heard that she told some reporter that she never entered the contest and wasn’t going to come!” Todd yelled. “What the hell?! Who does that sorta thing?! So, we need to fix this, and fix this quickly. You’re supposed to be meeting her live, in-person in a few days and we need a date that wants to actually be there.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m sure she just has a boyfriend or something that is jealous, yada, yada. It’ll all get straightened out,” Brad tried to reassure him. Brad caught the eye of a group of young women across the bar and winked. “Can’t this wait until morning?” he asked and then raised his glass to the bartender, signaling for another one. The women giggled and started to whisper to each other as one motioned that she knew who he was.

  “No, this can’t. I’ll be down in one minute,” Todd exclaimed and hung up the phone.

  The bartender approached with his drink and Brad leaned in. “Get the ladies over there drinks on me,” he informed him. The bartender nodded and proceeded to walk over to the women who were practically falling over themselves trying to get a picture with Brad caught in the background.

  Brad had just gotten up and started to walk over to the women, when Todd showed up at this side. “Geez man, I was just about to make my move,” Brad remarked.

  “Yeah, I see,” Todd glanced over at the women, laughing and giggling as they kept trying to steal a glance at Brad. “That’ll need to wait, lover boy, we’ve got pressing matters to sort out.”

  Brad sat back down, and Todd sat on the stool next to him. “So, talk,” Brad muttered as he looked up at the T.V. and started to watch the highlights from that day's college football games.

  “Do you know if it is true? That she didn’t enter?” Todd started.

  “How the hell would I know?” irritation crept into Brad's voice with the first line of questioning. “I’m not the one who picked the name or had anything to do with how the contest was run.

  “Well, we need to get this Maggie to agree to this date. She’s our only hope to turn things around, ’cause God knows you can’t keep your penis in your pants,” Todd replied exasperated. He looked at Brad who was ordering another drink and another round for the ladies across the bar.

  Todd shook his head, dumbfounded. “Man, seriously--can you for one second not be looking for your next lay?” Todd slammed his fists on the bar. “You need to start caring about yourself more than I do.” Todd gave Brad a look of disappointment as he got up to leave. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure this out myself.” Without another word, Todd left Brad to himself to finish his drink.

  Brad turned to call Todd back and stopped himself. He was right. He needed to get off this path of self-destruction before he lost everything, he had worked so hard for. Brad slammed b
ack the fresh glass of whiskey the bartender had just placed in front of him. He glanced back at the hot brunette in the group he had been eyeballing all night. That’s a leaf I’ll turn over tomorrow, he told himself, before walking over to introduce himself.

  Chapter 4

  While Maggie’s friends tried to apologize and ask for forgiveness, the phone rang constantly. Somehow, someone had gotten her number and she had reporters and news channels calling her trying to get her to give a statement. Was she excited? Had she always had a crush on Bradley Thomas? What did she think they would do on the date? After the fifth call she had had enough and she yelled into the phone, “I’m not going on any dates with that pig!” and ended the call.

  Her friends all sat silent; everyone was afraid to speak. Carl watched in amusement, he thought this was the best thing to ever happen to her. He knew nothing about this Bradley Thomas, but he figured any date at this point was better than no date. He just wanted his daughter to get out of her house and have fun for once.

  Maggie picked up her glass of wine and headed to the kitchen to tackle the mound of dishes from their meal. Janet walked in and offered to help, and Maggie said nothing. She just continued to wash and dry the dirty mess that had been left. Janet knew they just needed to give her some space, so she went back out to the living room.

  “I think it is time to leave, Larry. Carl,” she leaned in to give him a hug, “nice to see you again. I’m sure Maggie will cool off soon, and I’m so sorry for the mess we all caused.”

  Carl hugged her back. “No need to be sorry. I’m glad you all did what you did, and when she comes to her senses, Maggie will be too.”

  “I’m not so sure about that one, but I hope you’re right,” she smiled back at him.

  The rest of the group continued with their goodbyes to Carl and left without a word to Maggie. Once everyone had departed, Carl picked up the empty wine glasses and walked into the kitchen. He placed them on the counter next to where Maggie was vigorously scrubbing the remaining dishes. Carl grabbed the dish towel hanging on the hook next to the stove. Maggie glanced over and placed the pan in his outstretched hand, still not speaking.