The Chrismukkah Crisis

by Ryan Taylor

  I was out of my chair in a flash, my face engulfed in flames. “Hey, um… good morning.”

  Suzanne’s antennae were at full extension, and her mouth hung open as she looked back and forth between Aaron and me. She was preternaturally skilled at sniffing out scandal, real or imagined, and she curled her lips into a sardonic smile while her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Fuck!

  “Mr. Roth, this is Suzanne. She and I used to work together downstairs.” My breath came in jerky little puffs. “She’s on her break and wanted to see how I was doing.”

  He crossed the floor in a few long strides, and she stood while he put two coffee cups down on my desk. “Nice to meet you, Suzanne,” he said, extending his hand.

  She tittered nervously. “Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Roth.” A wry smile worked its way onto her face as she looked back and forth between Aaron and me. “Well, Matthew, I’m glad you’re doing so well up here. We need to go to lunch.”

  I walked her to the door. “Sure, maybe next month, after I get settled in.”

  She paused at the door and looked back at Aaron, who stood beside my desk, wearing a distinctly sheepish expression. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Roth.”

  I watched her walk down the hall toward the elevator before I went back into the office and closed the door. “Aaron, why did you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  I didn’t say a word, just folded my arms and looked at him.

  “Call you handsome?” He sighed. “For all she knew, I was talking to Herb.”

  “Herb isn’t here, which she was aware of.” His apple-red cheeks and the way he shifted from foot to foot made me want to wrap my arms around him. He’d burst into the office calling me handsome like he was coming home after a hard day’s work, and my mind raced with fantasies. I clamped my lips together, trying my best not to smile.

  “I know he’s not here. He’s not feeling well today, and I had to cover a hearing for him. That’s why I’m so late.” He looked down. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you in front of your friend.”

  I couldn’t control my lips anymore, and they turned up into a big grin. I hurried back across the room and put a hand on his arm. “First, she’s so not my friend. Second, you didn’t embarrass me.” He raised his head, and his big, expressive eyes were so beautiful that my heart skipped a beat. “I thought it was very sweet.”

  The beginnings of a smile tugged at his lips. “Really?”

  “Really.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. “But Aaron, she’s the biggest gossip in the whole building. We’re going to pay for that.”

  His confidence back, he waved me off. “Pfft! Let her gossip. What’s she going to say? ‘That new guy up in T and E knows a hottie when he sees one’?”

  I shook my head. Aaron had no idea how vicious Suzanne could be.

  “Hey, chin up,” he said, stepping closer and reaching out a finger to tweak my nose. “I brought you a peppermint latte.”

  I drank every drop. I may never learn to like the peppermint-coffee combo, but I would have drunk anything that man brought me.

  He called me into his office about four thirty and came around from behind his desk. “Okay if I pick you up at seven?”

  “Sure, but you don’t have to. I can meet you someplace.”

  He skimmed his fingers down my chest. “No way. I’m driving.”

  Total goose pimples, head to toe. He wanted to pick me up? I wasn’t used to guys being nice like that. “You have a car? Why do you ride the Metro?”

  He shrugged. “Traffic’s a bitch during rush hour.”

  His hand was resting over my sternum and I put my own on top of it. “Seven’s great. How should I dress?”

  “Casual. We’re going to dinner and having a surprise.”

  “Surprise?” I couldn’t help feeling wary, what with some of the bozos I’d dated. I once went out with an idiot who thought trying to fuck me in Rock Creek Park would be a nice surprise. I ended up walking home.

  Aaron kissed my forehead. “Don’t worry, Matt, I promise you’ll have fun. Dress casual. See you at seven.”

  I ran my fingertips up his side, and my forehead tingled where his lips had touched. “No problem…. Seven, casual.”

  “Go on, then, get out of here. Nobody’s going to dock you for twenty minutes on a Friday.”

  Aaron

  Traffic was a mess and it took me forever to get home. As soon as I got to my apartment, I popped a beer. I was nervous about the date, but a single drink was my limit, just enough to calm me down. One, I had to drive, and two, there was no way I was letting Matt think he was going out with a drunk.

  In the shower, I made sure I got squeaky clean. I wasn’t planning to try to get him into bed, but you never knew what the night would bring. It would probably be better if we took our time with the physical side of things, but if he got all hot and bothered, I probably wouldn’t have it in me to say no.

  Demonstrating how nervous I was about making a good impression, it took me half an hour to settle on an outfit—dark blue Hudson jeans and my new emerald green John Varvatos shirt—and I hoped Matt would like what he saw. I sprayed on Dior Sauvage, made my hair messy instead of doing the neat combover I used for work, brushed my teeth, and hit the road.

  Fortunately, traffic had calmed down, and it didn’t take long to get to Matt’s building. He had left my name with the concierge, so I found myself, with jangling nerves, ringing his doorbell five minutes early.

  I was glad I’d checked my breath when I rang the bell, because when the door opened, so did my mouth. Matt was a vision in skinny jeans, white shirt, and a navy jacket. My dick definitely stood up a little straighter. “Hey,” was all I could manage.

  “Hi,” he said, accompanied by that mysterious smile he’d been wearing all week. “Come in?”

  “Uh….” Eloquent, Aaron.

  “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.”

  I stepped inside and looked around his small, very neat apartment. A blue sofa and gray chair looked really good with some light wood tables, and a huge window dominated the living room.

  “Drink?”

  “I’m good.” I gulped. “You look so beautiful.” Filters, dude. Don’t scare him.

  “Save it,” he said, giggling a little. “The night is young. I’ll be right back.”

  Matthew

  I stood in front of the mirror putting on bronzer and thinking about Aaron. He looked incredible, and the instant erection I had when I opened the door made me feel like I was seventeen again. I was afraid he’d notice, but he was so busy standing there with his mouth open that he didn’t see anything past the end of his nose.

  Okay, all done. I headed back into the living room.

  His puppy-dog eyes had only gotten bigger. “You look awesome, Matt.”

  “Yeah, right.” I grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”

  He stayed very still, his eyes burning into mine. “I don’t lie. You look really, really good, and I’m lucky you’re going out with me.”

  Holy fuck. The whole damn wall imploded.

  Our first stop was the Hunan Pavilion. It wasn’t fancy but had some of the best Chinese food in the whole DC area. The Post agreed with me on that. White tablecloths combined with Chinese-style chairs and red-and-gold accents to create a stereotypical Chinese restaurant atmosphere.

  With his take-charge attitude that I’d been admiring all week, Aaron ordered the Chef’s Choice, a meal for two, and we talked and flirted over a delicious succession of dishes.

  “When were you at UB?” he asked. The University at Buffalo was the largest school in the SUNY system. It was where I’d done undergrad and he went to law school.

  “I graduated in May, three years ago.”

  “Aw, man…. I started law school that August. We missed each other by three months.” He shifted in his chair and furrowed his brow. “That makes you twenty-five?”

  “Twenty-four.” I took another bite of vegetable dumpling. “You?”

  He finis
hed his spring roll in one big bite. “I’m twenty-five.”

  I tried to imagine Aaron as an undergrad. “What did you major in?”

  “Physics.” He grimaced. “I know, I know… I’m a geek.”

  I reached across the table to trace the outline of his hand with my forefinger. “A very attractive geek, maybe.” I thought for a sec. “Physics? How did you get from science to law school?”

  “Dad talked me into it. He’s a lawyer, and he pointed out what a hot field intellectual property law is right now, how if I got into that I’d be all set.” He bit off half of a spring roll. “When I took IP in law school, it bored me to death.”

  How can somebody talking with a mouthful of food possibly look so sexy?

  He had to take a sip of water to get the huge bite of spring roll down. “After my second year, I was a summer associate at Craig Swan in Boston. They offered me the DC job in T and E, and I took it.”

  I was still playing with his thumb. “I’m really glad you did.” Turn him loose so he can eat.

  “Now my hand’s cold,” he said, with a wink.

  I almost choked on my tea. What kind of wizard was he that a simple wink could completely undo me?

  “What did you study?” He took a bite of Sichuan eggplant, and I was so distracted by the way his lips moved while he chewed that I almost forgot to answer.

  “Minored in dance, majored in English. I love to read all kinds of stuff.” Wonder if he reads much? “Hope that doesn’t make me seem like too much of a nerd.”

  He ducked his head and looked at me from beneath the longest, sexiest eyelashes I’d ever seen. “A geek and a nerd…. Sounds like a pretty awesome combo to me.” He narrowed his eyes a little. “Dance makes so much sense. I’d been wondering about your body, how—”

  “Fresh!” I laughed. “But that’s good to know.”

  “I didn’t mean like that.” He groaned, his face twisting into a brief grimace. “Well, of course like that, too. But you know… how you’re so thin but obviously in really good shape.”

  We both laughed, and I raised my eyebrows. “That muscle-boy bod of yours has me thinking a lot of things about you.”

  He grinned, really friendly, but with a definite undertone of heat. “Definitely good to know.”

  As we ate, we talked about everything from elementary school to career aspirations.

  “I just want to make a good living, nothing crazy,” he said. “I have a plan. I’m going to do three years at Craig Swan to satisfy my old man and I’ll leave after that, maybe go out on my own. I don’t want to do T and E all my life. My goal is to practice law my own way, help people who can’t help themselves. Battle the big bad guys.”

  “You don’t want to go for partner first?”

  He didn’t even blink. “Nope, no interest. Craig Swan is a means to an end.”

  Wow, I was impressed. He had a conscience and actually wanted to use his law degree to do good?

  “Besides knowing I’m doing the right thing, I’ll have more time for a life.” He reached for a vegetable dumpling. “For a family.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and the words were out of my mouth before I realized I was saying them. “Oh! I’d love to have a family one day, with someone like you.” I stopped breathing when I realized what I’d said.

  He raised his head, a bewitching twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll just bet you will. I can already tell what a great husband and dad you’d be.”

  Warmth exploded in my chest and soared up my throat. I opened my mouth a time or two before I managed to say anything. “You too. Absolutely.”

  We sat smiling at each other for a minute, and he eventually nodded. “What about you? Do you want to keep being a paralegal?” He took a bite of salt-and-pepper shrimp while I thought about his question.

  “I wouldn’t mind. But law school would be cool, too, if….”

  He cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “If?”

  “If I could save enough that I wouldn’t have to borrow a zillion dollars to do it.”

  “It’s expensive, but there are ways. Don’t ever let your goals go, Matt—dreams can come true.”

  I sat there wondering if Aaron was the smoothest talker I’d ever met, or if he was the real deal. Could dreams really come true?

  Aaron

  Things were going really well. I was always good at reading people, and Matt was having fun. He was a gorgeous man, and I don’t mean only on the outside; he was amazing on the inside, too. I kept noticing little things about him, like the way his earlobes were too big for his ears, which made him outrageously cute. He was saucy and intelligent, two things I always loved in guys, even if I rarely found them. Matt Kennington was the real deal.

  We sat for a while after we finished our meal, talking and enjoying each other’s company. When he shifted uncomfortably in his chair a few times, I realized we’d been there a while. “Well, Magic Matt, are you ready for the next part of our date?”

  There it was again, the orangey color in his cheeks. He’d been blushing all night, and I hoped that meant he liked me. “Magic Matt?” He shook his head slowly. “You are the most incredibly smooth, full of shit guy I’ve dated in a long time.”

  I heaved out a huge scoff. “Full of shit? Me?” Good, he’s laughing. “I’ll have you know, I am the most totally, completely not full of shit guy you ever met.” He laughed harder, and I moved my hands to my chest. “That hurts, Matt, it really hurts. I’m wounded.” I stuck out my lower lip for good measure.

  He stifled his laughter and put out his hands. After I took them, he wore pouty lips for a little bit. “Well, I’d never want to hurt such an amazing guy as yourself, so I apologize.”

  “That’s more like it,” I said, smiling, whereupon he immediately pulled one of his hands loose and playfully slapped my jaw.

  “Ass!” he said, laughing again, and then, with mock sincerity, “Sorry I hurt you. Maybe later on I’ll kiss it better.”

  Got it.

  Matt told me he’d never been bowling before, something I had no trouble believing. Not that I was a champ, but my friends and I used to go bowling a lot when I was a kid. Fortunately, he didn’t seem self-conscious, and proved to be a quick learner.

  My heart thumped crazily when I sidled up against him, teaching him how to slide and throw. I could feel his heat, and he smelled so damned good. Once, he was sitting down, and I moved around behind him so I could nuzzle his neck. He moaned softly, turned around in his chair, and gave me a quick kiss on the mouth. Happiness simmered in my belly, and my dick definitely took notice. This is really happening!

  “Do you like dogs?” he asked.

  “I love dogs. We had a couple of dachshunds when I was growing up and they were great.”

  “Awesome. Question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Sorry if it’s too soon, and I totally understand if you don’t want to, or you’re busy or something, but….” His ears turned fiery red, which was so cute that I reached over and traced the edge of one with my fingertip, making him blink like crazy. “T-the thing is, I volunteer at this animal shelter on Saturday afternoons and was wondering if you’d like to come with tomorrow. It’s only for a few hours.”

  He’s asking for another date, and this one’s only half over! “You want me to go? I’m hearing right?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him. “Despite the fact that I’m a smooth talking full of shit ass, you want me to go?”

  His eyes were as wide as saucers and he nodded. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”

  I shrugged. “Count me in.”

  Matthew

  We finished up a little after midnight and stopped in the snack area for some ice cream. Over my salted caramel and his cookies and cream, we talked about going to the shelter the next day. I warned him to wear clothes he wouldn’t mind getting dirty, and he wrinkled his forehead for a few seconds and put on a crooked smile. “You promised to show me some of DC this weekend.”

  Does he want to spend the who
le weekend together? My lips twitched. “I’m showing you the shelter tomorrow.”

  He watched his fingers draw circles on the table. “What about on Sunday? I’d like to see more on Sunday.”

  “I could make that work.” He grinned, and I went ahead. “If you’re asking me, that is.” I swirled the cup containing my now half-melted ice cream. “Are you asking me, Aaron? Do you want to do something together on Sunday?”

  He nodded, his boyish smile completely taking over his face. “More than you can imagine.”

  Aaron

  “The next one on the left, isn’t it?” I was having a little trouble seeing the numbers on the buildings, and in the dark, I wasn’t quite sure which one was Matt’s.

  He pointed it out. “Yes, right there.”

  I pulled into one of the ten-minute slots off to the side of the building entrance. As much as I wanted to get an invitation upstairs, it wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t want him to think I only wanted sex, even if I did want it pretty badly right then. Better to respect him—to respect this budding relationship between us—if I wanted something real, and I desperately wanted something real with Matt.

  I hadn’t let go of the parking brake, and he put a hand on top of mine. “Thank you so much, Aaron. I had a fantastic time.”

  My heart had worked itself into double time. “Me too. I’ll walk you to the door.” He moved to get out of the car. “Wait!” I said. “Let me.” I opened my door and jumped out of the car.

  “Aaron, I can—” Whatever he said was lost as I jogged around my Audi.

  I helped him out of the car and held onto his hand while he watched me with those mesmerizing eyes. “Let me show you something,” he said.

  We walked around to the side of the building, where he used the little fob on his keyring to open a gate. It led into a courtyard that was lit up just enough to see. A few benches, some flowers—even in December—and a sparkling fountain graced the building’s private garden.

  “This is beautiful,” I said. My heart pounded, and my brain was going around in circles. I tried desperately to remember how to kiss a guy goodnight.