The Twelve Dates of Christmas

by Andi James

  “Implying I’m high-maintenance won’t get you out of this conversation.”

  “I’m not implying you’re high-maintenance. I just think you know what you want and won’t settle for someone who isn’t as amazing as you are.” Liam smiled. “And, you shouldn’t.”

  Aiden wondered if he was blushing as he handed another wrapped gift to Liam.

  “Actually.” Liam cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you would—”

  Liam was interrupted by one of his staff barging into the office. “Liam, there’s a guy out here who is way too drunk to be served, and he won’t take no for an answer. We’re swamped, and what he really needs is someone to help him get home.”

  Liam and Aiden both stood. “Okay, I’ll be right out.” The server fled back to the bar, and Liam cast a sad look at Aiden. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Please, don’t be.” Aiden didn’t like the sound of the situation. “I’ll go with you. Maybe I can help somehow.”

  Liam’s brows drew together for a second, but then he nodded. “Let’s go deal with this guy.”

  They heard the man before they saw him. “I have rights! And you’re… You can’t say no! That’s illegal!”

  Aiden glanced at Liam, who rolled his eyes.

  “This should be real fun.”

  When they approached the guy, he was clinging to a barstool as if it were a lifeline. Aiden was positive it was the only reason the guy was standing on his feet. A coat was strewn on the floor that Aiden could only assume belonged to the man, and Aiden picked it up before the guy could trip over it.

  “Sir.” Liam tried to get the man’s attention, and he had to repeat himself five times before it seemed to register. “Sir, please come with me. I’m afraid it’s time for you to go home.”

  “No, it’s not. My wife said.”

  Aiden bit his lip, thinking the situation wasn’t going to end well for anyone if the guy had been kicked out of his house.

  “She did, huh?” Liam had a sympathetic look on his face. “I’m sorry. That doesn’t mean you can stay here though.”

  “But…” The guy fumbled with his phone, then showed it to Liam. “Yes, it does. She said I had one more hour before she picked me up. See?”

  Before Liam could say anything, the guy continued.

  “And that means an hour of drinky times, but they said noooo.” He waved his hand wildly toward the bar. “They’re committing crimes back there, and you want me to leave?”

  Aiden had to look away so he didn’t laugh out loud.

  “I wanna speak to a manager. I have rights.”

  Liam took a deep breath. “I’m the owner, and I can assure you, no one is trying to take away your rights. But you do have to leave, or I’m afraid I’ll have to call the police.”

  The man looked Liam up and down. “So you’re in on it too. Figures.”

  Liam rubbed a hand over his face and turned toward Aiden, frustration practically radiating off him.

  “Sir.” Aiden stepped forward. “I couldn’t help but overhear you say something about your rights being violated?”

  That seemed to get his attention. “Yes! I tried to find the clause thingy in that Constitutional Bill of Declarings or whatever, but the Google is broken right now. It said no, and it never says no.”

  Aiden nodded sincerely. “Mmhmm. The thing is, I’m a lawyer. Maybe I can help you out.”

  The guy’s face lit up. “You can tell them about it? Explain I can have more drinky times?”

  Aiden noticed Liam’s shoulders shaking out of the corner of his eye.

  “Before I do that,” Aiden said, “I need to talk to you outside. You know, confidential attorney-client stuff.”

  The guy nodded knowingly. “We need to get our facts discovered. Find circumstances evidence and stuff. Got it.”

  Aiden wasn’t sure he’d ever tried so hard not to laugh before.

  He handed the guy his coat. “So why don’t you put this on and come with me.”

  “Absolutely.” As the man struggled to get his arms in the sleeves, he yelled to the general bar area. “I’ll be back with lawyer stuff! You’re all in trouble! So there!”

  “Okay, sir.” Aiden guided him toward the door, surprised to find out the man could walk pretty well on his own, all things considered. Most patrons gave them a wide berth, which helped.

  Aiden looked over his shoulder to see Liam following them, shaking his head.

  “First things first,” Aiden said when they were safely outside and numerous feet from the bar’s entrance. “What’s your name, sir?”

  “Train.”

  Aiden pursed his lips. “Train?”

  The guy shook his head. “Thomas. Like the train.”

  “Ah. Okay, Thomas. Give me just one second to make a quick call to a lawyer friend of mine.”

  Thomas leaned against the brick exterior, eyes half closed, and nodded.

  Aiden and Liam took a few steps away from Thomas.

  “Well, he’s outside, but I don’t know what we do next,” Aiden said.

  Liam pulled out his phone and checked the time. “So… if we go by what his wife said, she should actually be here soon. Maybe we can wait a few minutes, or get his phone and call her? I’d really rather not call the police.”

  Aiden chuckled. “I think I can keep him mostly calm for a little bit.”

  They walked over to Thomas, who looked like he was on the verge of passing out.

  “Thomas, are you ready to tell me what happened?”

  He opened his eyes. “When the thing?”

  Aiden took a wild guess. “Yes.”

  Thomas nodded and stood a little straighter.

  Aiden and Liam gave Thomas their full attention while he rambled on for at least seven minutes. As long as he was outside talking, Aiden figured he wasn’t inside causing a scene. He wished he’d been able to snag his coat though; it was chilly, and Aiden’s thin sweater wasn’t doing much to keep him warm.

  A white SUV pulled up in front of them and crookedly parked in the loading zone. Aiden watched as a petite woman hopped out and ran over to them.

  “Tom? I thought that was you.” She peered up at him. “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”

  Liam took a step toward her. “He’s had too much to drink and got upset when we refused to serve him more.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Awesome. Let me guess. He has a ‘right’ to drink as much as he wants?”

  Aiden laughed at her use of air quotes and at how Thomas was muttering, “But I do have rights. I do.”

  “I don’t know why he gets so caught up in that when he drinks. It can be anything. Turn off the TV, and he’ll go on about his right to watch Toddlers and Tiaras.” She sighed. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t think he’d get this bad.” She looked to Thomas, then back at them. “Family stuff.”

  Liam smiled at her. “It’s not your fault. I’m just glad he has a ride.”

  Aiden and Liam ended up helping her maneuver Thomas into the car, which took far more effort than Aiden had expected since Thomas was pretty subdued by then — but he was also essentially dead weight.

  After he was finally strapped in, his wife gave them a wave and drove off.

  Liam faced Aiden and let out a loud, long laugh. “Oh my god. Thank you. That was genius with the lawyer stuff. I really thought I was gonna have to get the police involved.”

  Aiden smiled and shrugged. “It was no big deal. I just wanted to get him outside and away from your employees and customers. But I’m freezing, so let’s maybe go in.”

  They took a couple of steps, then Liam seemed to slow down.

  “Aiden?”

  Aiden pivoted, but when he did, his foot landed on a slick pile of slush. He started scrambling to keep his balance, and the next thing he knew, strong arms were wrapped around him, holding him upright.

  “Easy there. You okay?”

  Aiden looked up into Liam’s warm eyes. He heard himself murmur, “Yeah, thanks,” but
his thoughts were occupied by how good Liam felt against him, how steady and sturdy he was… how right it felt to be held by him.

  Liam’s gaze was laser focused on him, and Aiden couldn’t move or look away. Except maybe he was moving. At least one of them was, because their faces were inching closer together, and Aiden found he had no objections to that. He quickly glanced at Liam’s lips, then back up to his eyes. Liam squeezed him tighter, and Aiden liked that too. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure if he could get close enough to Liam.

  Their lips were an inch apart, and Aiden’s eyes were slowly closing when a car horn startled both of them.

  “What the…” Liam took a step back and bent down to see inside the car that had stopped next to them.

  The driver, who looked to be barely a teenager, rolled down the window. “Yo, I’m supposed to pick up stuff from some bar, but I can’t find it. Do you know where the Sidewalk something is?”

  Aiden realized the car had Helping Hands’s logo on it.

  Liam sighed and pointed behind him. “It’s right here. Hang on, I’ll bring the gifts out to you.” He looked at Aiden. “I, um, guess I should go get those.”

  Aiden hoped Liam was regretting the interruption too. “Yeah. And I need my coat.”

  As they walked back inside, Aiden could only think one thing.

  Drew was right.

  Damn it.

  Chapter 11

  Aiden sat at his desk, paying no attention to the conference call he was on. His mind was on Liam, exactly where it had been since the night before. Since the moment he realized Liam was more than just a friend.

  As Aiden had walked home, he’d struggled with his emotions. Of course, now it was entirely obvious how he felt about Liam, how he had felt for a while. Aiden felt silly he was only just now admitting it, but if anyone was good at ignoring their feelings, it was Aiden.

  Aiden had been entirely useless all day. He’d attended several meetings, and if offered a thousand dollars, he knew he couldn’t have summarized any of them. It was December twenty-third, and Aiden’s last chance to find a date to his holiday party. He should’ve been chatting with Chelsea, looking at pictures of the men he’d gone out with and trying to figure out if there were any salvageable options. But the only person he could imagine laughing with, dancing with, kissing under the mistletoe? Not Randy, or Drew, or even Justin. Liam’s was the only face he saw in this fantasy of a perfect night. But maybe it didn’t have to be a fantasy…

  A plan was forming in his mind as the sound of his name snapped him back to the present.

  “And what do you think, Palmer?”

  What did he think? He thought that every second he sat in his office, he was wasting moments he could be telling Liam how he felt about him. He also thought he had absolutely no idea what anyone was asking him.

  Aiden cleared his throat. “I think the ramifications of coming to a decision on this matter now could be detrimental. I believe more due diligence is necessary to flesh out the concept in its entirety before we move forward.”

  There was a long moment of silence on the line, and Aiden held his breath. His ability to bullshit could only save him from so much.

  Eventually a voice chimed in. “Yes, I agree with Aiden. We’re not in a position to make this decision now.”

  Aiden exhaled. He heard Meriwether’s voice pipe up. “We could’ve saved ourselves this entire call if we had just asked Palmer what he thought to begin with. Good thing we’re billing Cloverfield by the hour.”

  Aiden rolled his eyes as everyone chuckled.

  “Fine then,” Meriwether said loudly. “I’ll ask Henry to get another call on the books.”

  The group continued to talk about the next steps of the project, but Aiden was already somewhere else. He disconnected from the call as soon as he was able and practically bolted to the door. He bumped into Chelsea as he was leaving.

  “Oh good, I’m so glad I ran into you. I wanted to tell you I have a—”

  Aiden held up his hand. “Chels, there’s something I have to do. Text me, okay?”

  She’d seen him running late before, usually to court, so she nodded and stayed out of his way.

  Aiden raced out the door, jumped in his car, and made his way to his neighborhood. Parking in his garage was easier than finding street parking near the bar at that time of day, so he pulled in quickly and jogged toward the bar. It was still early, but the bar area was crowded. Aiden spied an empty seat in the middle and squeezed in.

  A bartender he recognized as Andrea came up to him. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.

  “Hey, Andrea, how was your daughter’s recital?”

  Her smile was bright. “Aiden! It was… long.” She laughed.

  Aiden could only imagine.

  “Thank you so much for all of your help last night,” she said.

  Aiden smiled at her. “No problem. I’m a bit of a master gift wrapper. Did everything get where it needed to go?”

  Andrea nodded and giggled. “If Liam hadn’t asked for your help, I think he might still be in there now, covered in tape and bows.”

  Aiden chuckled. “I think you might be right.” He looked around the bar but didn’t see the person he’d rushed out to talk to. “Speaking of… Is Liam around?”

  Andrea shook her head. “Believe it or not, he actually took the night off.”

  Aiden sat up straighter. “Really?” Aiden didn’t remember a time when he was in the bar and Liam wasn’t.

  “I know, right? He practically lives here. I was surprised too.”

  Aiden hesitated. He didn’t want to push, but time was dwindling for him to talk to Liam and ask him to accompany him to the event the following night. “I have a question for him… Is there any chance you could give me his phone number?”

  Andrea gave him a small smile. “Aiden, you’re great, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable with…”

  Aiden waved his hand in the air. “No, you’re right. It’s fine. I’m sure he doesn’t need his phone number given out to random customers.”

  She laughed. “Not that you’re random… But yeah. It’s kind of the bartender’s code.” She leaned closer to him. “Do you wanna hang around? I can get you a drink. He has the night off, but I can’t imagine he won’t stop in here at some point. Unless his date goes really well.” She gave Aiden a wink, and his stomach dropped.

  He tried to keep his voice casual. “Date?”

  “I mean, he hasn’t officially said that’s what’s happening, but we’re pretty sure.”

  Sandy, another bartender who had been standing close by, leaned in to add additional perspective. “He hasn’t shut up about this guy for like, two weeks. Everything was David this, David that. David is so funny… He’s so smart… Like, we get it. David is amazing. Finally, I couldn’t take it. I said if he’s so perfect, why don’t you ask him out?”

  Aiden swallowed hard. “And did he?”

  Andrea laughed. “We’re pretty sure he did.”

  “God, if anyone deserves to get laid, it’s Liam.”

  “Sandy!”

  “That man is a prince. I just want him to be happy.”

  Aiden admitted to himself he wanted that for Liam too. Even if it wasn’t with him.

  “So, what do you say? Can I get you a drink?” Andrea smiled at him.

  Aiden shook his head.

  “Do you want to leave him a note?”

  That was tempting, but what would he say? If your date sucked, let me know if you want to go out with me tomorrow? Even if Aiden asked him to go just as a friend, it didn’t feel right knowing Liam was dating someone else. He smiled at Andrea.

  “No, thanks.” He gave her a little wave before he slipped out of the bar. As soon as he got outside, he felt a vibration in his pocket. He sighed as he looked down at his ringing phone.

  He begrudgingly answered, and Chelsea didn't even bother with hello. "I didn’t get a chance to talk to you all day. How did your date go last night?"

  "I'm done with th
is, Chels."

  "Aiden…” Chelsea let out a long sigh. "What was wrong with Eli? He seemed great."

  “They all seem great to you, Chelsea! You don’t have to sit across from them and laugh at their jokes and feel badly because you wish you were somewhere else.”

  “Wow. Okay. Hi.” Chelsea’s voice was full of concern. “What’s wrong?”

  Aiden rubbed his temple as he headed toward home. “Nothing. I’m just tired.” He remembered she had tried to stop him on his way out the door an hour earlier. “Sorry I ran out on you. What did you need?”

  He could hear the grin in her voice. “I set you up with another date. For tonight. This one is super cute. His—”

  “No.”

  “No what? What do you mean?”

  “I mean, no, Chels.” Aiden’s voice was quiet but firm.

  “Oh, have you already asked someone else?” Her voice was excited. “Was it Eli? I knew you two would hit it off.”

  Aiden sighed. “I’m haven’t asked anyone.”

  Chelsea sounded incredulous. “But the party is tomorrow!”

  Aiden chuckled. “Yup. I am painfully aware of that.”

  “So, who are you going to go with?”

  “I think… I’m going to go with myself.”

  There was a long pause before she spoke in a quiet voice. “What about the monster?”

  Aiden shook his head as he walked. “Justin isn’t a monster, Chels. He’s just a man.” Aiden stopped on the sidewalk and kicked at a pile of snow. “I’ve allowed him to become this looming figure, this person I blame for my unhappiness. Rather than face the fact that I knew our relationship was over, I ran. I hid.” Aiden exhaled slowly. “And, do you know what this whole” — Aiden gestured at nothingness with a gloved hand — “dating marathon is? It’s just me finding another way to run. Another way to put space between me and my feelings.”

  Chelsea was uncharacteristically quiet, so Aiden continued.

  “Justin is a good person. He and I were in love, and then we weren’t. It doesn’t make him a monster. People change. We both knew the thing between us was over… He just had the courage to say it out loud.”