“Thanks for the offer. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Not three seconds after Brown Bear escapes Toby’s side at the bar and he sees Millard on the opposite end of the den. Millard waves and Toby waves back. Toby sees that his lover wears a black-and-white tux this evening, with a bowtie, and he looks dapper. He reaches Toby, zigzagging through the crowd. Once at Toby’s side, the two men embrace and kiss. When the kiss is complete, Toby pulls away, wipes spittle from the bear’s chin, and says, “I didn’t think you were going to make it tonight.”
“The roads were icy. It took me almost four hours to drive up here from Pittsburgh.”
“In a tux?”
“In a tux.”
“Damn, Millard, you must really like me.”
“Not much,” he teases, and reaches inside his tuxedo jacket. He pulls out a tiny package wrapped in bright red holiday paper. There’s a gold bow on the package, placed in the center. “Your Christmas present from me,” he says, and passes the gift to Toby.
The package is the size of a lipstick or man’s thumb. Toby grins from ear to ear, looking it at. “It’s too nice to open.”
“Open it. You’ll like it.”
Toby shrugs and pulls off the bow, which he tucks away in a pocket. He unwraps the gift and sees that’s it a silver and blue zip drive. He toys with the thing, thinking there’s something inside the drive. After realizing there isn’t, he asks, “What’s on it, Millard?”
Millard leans into his boyfriend and presses his lips to Toby’s right ear. He whispers, “A few solo scenes for you that I did in my apartment. I wanted you to have something special this Christmas.”
“Nice,” Toby says, smiling. “That’s original. I love it. So when you go back to California I can watch them and get off.”
Millard shakes his head. “Not quite.”
“What are you talking about?” Toby inquires, unsure of what Millard is saying.
“I have another Christmas present for you.”
“What is it?”
Millard points to his chest with an index finger and says, “I’m not going to back to California. I’m going to stay here in Templeton with you, as your lover for now and husband in the future.”
Toby turns three shades of red and feels tears bubble out of the corners of his eyes. “You’re kidding me, aren’t you? This is some kind of joke you’re playing on me.”
“No joke,” Millard says and wraps his arms around Toby, pulling the blogger close to him. “I have enough money saved up for a year. I’m sure I can get a job behind the scenes at WNCT, Channel 12. What do you think?”
“I’m dreaming. That’s what I think.”
“You’re not, Toby. I’ve decided I’ll do just about anything to be with you. There’s this little thing called love that happened to me.”
“Who did you fall in love with? Which bear is it? Is he here tonight?” Toby teases.
“He’s right here,” Millard points at Toby’s chin, dabs a light kiss to the tip of the man’s nose. “And he’s not going anywhere.”
“Except to bed with you tonight,” Toby says, beaming with excitement, realizing that this is the best gift he has ever received from any guy in his life.
“Sounds fun. Maybe we can watch one of my solos first to get you hot and horny.”
“There’s no need for that,” Toby says, and slides the zip drive inside the front pocket of his slacks, decides to kiss the man he loves, and the man who just happens to love him. He feels fireworks inside his chest, and hears a loud booming in his ears. It’s strange to hear summer sounds in December like this, but he loves it, caught by Millard LeCarre, for now and always.
THE END
ABOUT R.W. CLINGER
R.W. Clinger is a resident of Pittsburgh. He has a degree in English from Point Park University of Pittsburgh. His writing entails gay human studies. His work includes Just a Boy, Skin Tour, Skin Artist, Soft on the Eyes, Pool Boy, The Last Pile of Leaves, The Weekender, Cutie Pie Must Die, Frat Brats, Panama Dan, Spoil Me So, The Shower Police, Splash Boys, and several stories with Starbooks Press. For three years he has held the position of managing editor for the literary magazine The Writer’s Post Journal. Visit him online at rwclinger.com.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!
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