Dark Corners

by A. m Madden

  “Merry Christmas, Ma.”

  “Merry Christmas, my handsome son.” My mother was a tiny thing, and it seemed the older she got the shorter she got.

  Having already missed lunch, my guts groaned loudly when I was immediately hit with the aroma of Dad’s traditional Italian feast coming from the kitchen. As kids, Angela and I hated being forced to eat nothing but fish on Christmas Eve. I’d never admit it, but as an adult I now loved this meal. The only thing that would make it better was if they sent everyone home so I could eat it in peace.

  “Was that your stomach, David?”

  “Yep, I’m starving.”

  “Dinner is almost ready.”

  “So, how’ve you been, Ma?”

  “Great. The restaurant is picking up again, thank God. Ready to come join us? Dad is just dying to groom you to take over.”

  “No, Ma.”

  My family was quick to suggest that I move back to Jersey to help run the family restaurant while I took my online courses.

  Yeah, I was pretty sure I’d rather chew on glass. I did appreciate their offer. I knew my parents were always there for me; that was a given. I hoped they’d understand why I’d rather live in a cardboard box when I became homeless for lack of an income than move back home with them.

  She gently pulled away to look up at my face. “How’s my son? I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Ma, I just saw you a few weeks ago.”

  “That’s a lifetime. You look different.”

  I scoffed at her comment. “No I don’t.”

  Not convinced, she shut the front door and with her arm tucked through mine we walked side by side toward the voices chattering loudly in the living room. “Look who finally showed up,” my mom quipped, interrupting the conversation.

  I couldn’t help but sigh at all the faces staring back at me. My parents put an addition on the house years ago to accommodate our large family. They loved entertaining for the holidays and every year the house was filled with enough aunts, uncles, and cousins to cast all three movies of The Godfather.

  This year my cousin Luca from Chicago was missing as well as his sister, Eve. My uncle’s death really affected my dad since they were estranged when it happened. Dad had been trying to get Luca to move back to Jersey, but to no avail. Now that Eve was here in New York with her husband, Jase, Dad felt there was no reason why Luca and my aunt shouldn’t come back home. I believed it had little to do with them being in Chicago and everything to do with my Dad’s regret over fighting with his brother and never making amends before he died.

  Luca and I were as close as brothers growing up, and our baby sisters remained the best of friends. Although I come from a huge family, except for my parents, my sister’s family, and my two cousins, no one else mattered.

  “Hey.” I raised a hand in an attempt to get all the hellos out in one shot. No such fucking luck, because a parade of humans headed for me to get their hug and/or kiss. Angela sat on the couch beside Nick, watching with sympathy. We hated this part when we were kids. The need to have to pay our respects to every single person when we arrived or when we were leaving was utter torture.

  What felt like hours later, I snuck into the kitchen to greet my father.

  “Hey, Pops.”

  “David!” He turned away from the steaming pot he was manning on the stove to give me a hug.

  “Whatcha got in there?”

  “You’ll see.” Looking over his shoulder, I stole a few pieces of fried shrimp before his hand swatted me away. “Out!”

  “Fine…Scrooge.”

  Standing in the epicenter of all this deliciousness was torture, so with a beer in hand I quietly slipped away into my parents’ den to get some peace and quiet. Intending to hide until dinner was ready, I opened my phone to see a missed text from Maygen.

  Hope you got to Jersey safely. Merry Christmas x

  A visual of her on her knees sucking my cock in my shower popped into my mind. She wrecked me for life after that blowjob. With my hands firmly planted on the wet tile, I could barely remain standing after violently coming down her throat. Never had I experienced a mind-blowing release like that one. We stayed in my shower for a full hour after that. Under the constant stream of warm water, we did all sorts of dirty things to each other.

  I kept true to my promise, and by the time she left my apartment I definitely detected a limp. That day I realized we crossed a line, and not in the sense of finally fucking each other. After she left all that remained in my apartment was her lingering scent, the smell of our arousal still hanging heavy on my sheets and the panties I stole from her. Lying on my bed caused my senses to overload, flooding my mind with erotic visuals that I couldn’t turn off.

  Only then did it hit me that things between us were really going to be different from then on. Whether everything worked out, which I couldn’t wrap my brain around. Whether things ended horribly, which scared me almost more than a relationship did. Either way, we’d be forever changed after that day.

  Typing back a quick response, I said:

  I’m in family hell. Enjoy the Hamptons and think of me sitting here wishing I was in my shower in you.

  You’re evil.

  As I recall that’s not what you said after I ate your pussy.

  And…thank you. My father is now wondering why I’m squirming. You are not nice.

  When I see you I’ll show you how nice I can be. ;-)

  My sister walked in to witness the big-ass grin that had spread across my face.

  “What are you smiling at?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re so full of it. Say hi to Maygen for me.”

  “How?”

  Angela shrugged smugly. “A sister knows.”

  Gotta go. Angela says hi.

  Okay. Hi Angela. x

  “Dinner is ready. Are you up for this?” By this, she meant the million questions I’d no doubt get drilled with. I hadn’t been home for the holidays in four years, and some of my extended family had no sensitivity when it came to my ordeal. Not because they didn’t care, but because they had no clue what I was going through.

  “Fuck no. The only reason I’m here is because of Mom and Dad. When are they all leaving?”

  “After dinner.”

  “Thank Christ. Where’s the monkey?”

  “He’s still napping. They wore him out. I just hope he’s not up at three A.M. looking for Santa. I may have to take a hit out on some of our family members.”

  With an arm around her shoulders, we walked out toward the chaos together. “I’ll save you the money. I have a wicked shot.”

  —

  Angela’s feared 3 A.M. wake-up call actually came at 6 A.M. I couldn’t help but laugh at the looks on my sister’s and Nick’s faces when they appeared in the great room with a very excited little boy. His voice could be heard throughout the house as he called out over and over, “Santa!”

  I was an early riser anyway, so the wake-up call didn’t bother me.

  “Dadid!” Nicholas barked when he saw me.

  In a daze, Angela placed him on the rug and he came barreling over to where I sat on the couch.

  “Hey, monkey. Ready to see what Santa brought you?” I asked, lifting him onto my lap.

  “Toys,” he announced while pointing a chubby finger toward the mountain of gifts under the tree.

  “Those are my toys.”

  His head snapped toward mine. “No. My toys.”

  “Okay, fine, your toys. But we’ll share?” I had to laugh at the little scowl in his brows as he contemplated my request. “Kids learn fast these days, huh?” I asked Angela.

  “You have no idea. Once we took him to get a picture taken with Santa, he was caught in his net. Most kids are terrified, my kid not so much. Nick explained Santa brings toys only if he’s a good boy. He’d sit on the floor at the apartment flipping through the Toys ‘R’ Us catalog pointing to what he wanted.”

  I glanced at my brother-in-law and laughed yet aga
in. I could swear he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open.

  “Okay, who wants coffee?” Mom asked as she carried in a tray with steaming cups of coffee along with a plate loaded up with muffins and a sippy cup for Nicholas.

  “Oh, thank God.” Nick suddenly came to, moving right for my mother and intercepting one of the mugs. “Thank you.”

  Angela busied herself separating all the gifts into separate piles, a task she also took control of when we were kids. Flashbacks of Christmases past came rushing back. The room looked much like it did now, with presents everywhere. The tree that sat in the corner hadn’t changed much over the years, with the exception of a ton more ornaments marking every special occasion our mom needed to commemorate. The same decorations adorned the house and each room within it.

  My mother cuddled up beside me when Angela took Nicholas off my lap. “It’s so good to have you home,” she said, smiling warmly.

  “It’s good to be home.”

  My father beamed at his family as his only grandson turned into the Tasmanian devil before our eyes, tearing away the wrapping paper on each present his mom handed him. My mom’s expression, on the other hand, turned to one of concern.

  “Are you okay, David? I worry about you so much.”

  “Ma, I’m fine. Really.” Putting my arm around her slim shoulders, I pulled her closer to kiss the top of her head. She wanted normalcy for me, and made no attempt at hiding her hopes. There was once a time when her honesty would cause me stress over disappointing her. I wasn’t feeling it now; in fact, I wasn’t feeling any stress at the moment.

  “Promise me if things get bad again, you’ll get help?”

  The weeks after I’d gotten home had been very difficult on my family. I was not the same man who left years earlier. When I adamantly refused all professional help, the heartbreak my parents felt was hard to ignore. Then I got involved with the problem of Angela’s ex-boyfriend and that took their heartbreak and turned it into the same terror they had felt every day of my deployment.

  I put my family through a shit ton of worrying, but all I could do was assure them things were better and hope they believed me.

  “David, what the hell is this?” Angela asked just as Nick said, “Awesome!”

  “It’s the Nerf Vulcan, top of the line of all Nerf guns.”

  “I can see that. Why does my toddler now own one?”

  Nicholas was literally climbing on the box trying to get inside it. “Because every boy needs a Vulcan.”

  My sister gawked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language.

  “Here, sweetheart, give him this to distract him,” my traitorous mother announced, handing Angela another box. Once Nicholas’s attention moved to the newest package, she quietly slipped the box out of the great room, shaking her head as she did.

  “That kid needs me to keep him cool.” Nick and I exchanged annoyed eye-rolls. A few seconds later my phone buzzed in my pocket. When I retrieved it, there displayed was a text from him.

  Best gift ever. Can I have it?

  Chapter 20

  Maygen

  I stood in the doorway of my apartment waiting for him. At the ding of the elevator arriving on my floor, my excitement bubbled like a pot of water on a stove.

  The doors opened and there stood David, smirking adorably. The shoulders of his navy peacoat were covered in snowflakes that hadn’t melted yet. Some clung to his hair as well. The overnight bag in one hand meant he had listened to my request to pack some things in case he got stuck at my place.

  The snow outside was falling heavily, and with luck David and I would be snowed in for the next day or two.

  In a few short strides, he was at my door.

  “Hi.”

  “Hey, beautiful.” Without delay, he bent and kissed me long and hard. His cold lips moved against mine. “Mmm, you’re so nice and warm,” he murmured against my mouth.

  “You’re freezing,” I said, placing my hands on the chilled skin on his face.

  “I am. It’s brutal out there.”

  After I locked up, he dropped his bag and pulled me into his arms. The snowflakes fell around me, helping to cool my already overheated skin. Like always, the moments after first seeing him would cause the blood in my veins to heat with passion.

  “Are you hungry? Do you want to order now?”

  Shaking his head as he removed his coat, he responded, “First I want to enjoy you a bit.”

  Sounded good to me. We settled on the couch and within seconds we were making out like we hadn’t seen each other in weeks and not merely days. Tonight was our Christmas. For me, the best present came in the form of a hot army vet with a sexy lopsided smirk.

  As usual, things were getting hot and heavy between us. And as usual, David pulled away before I did. “Can I give you your present now?”

  “You already did,” I said, going right back in and nibbling on his lips like I was starving.

  “My other gift,” he said in between kisses. The rare sparkle in his eyes could only mean he was excited to give it to me. While he went to retrieve my present from his overnight bag, I pulled out his gift from under the tree and sat back down on the couch.

  “You first,” I said, handing him the box. He shyly looked at me before tearing open the paper. Inside was the picture that had been taken at the holiday party. It was a side shot with me wrapped in David’s arms. One hand rested on the curve above my ass; the other held my hand tightly in his. We were practically cheek to cheek, and although we weren’t smiling, the look on our faces gave a pretty clear picture of the contentment we felt.

  He looked into my eyes before a small smile played on his face. “You looked so beautiful that night. I love this.”

  “I wanted you to know I’m always there for you, David, even when we’re apart. I hope when I’m not able to comfort you, maybe you can look at this picture and it can help calm you.”

  His eyes focused on the picture again as I watched him work a swallow in his throat. “You don’t know how much that means to me, baby. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. There’s one more thing in the box.”

  With one hand he dug around the paper and lifted out a laminated card. He read out loud, “ ‘This coupon entitles David Cavello to a weekend away with Maygen Whitney in East Hampton, N.Y.’ ”

  The smirk returned when his eyes met mine. “When do we leave?”

  “Whenever you want.”

  “Best fucking gifts ever,” he said with a grin. “Thank you.” Leaning toward me, he kissed me passionately, his tongue pushing past my lips in the search for mine. Too soon, he pulled away and said, “Your turn.”

  He handed me a square box, smiling as he waited for me to tear into it. Inside was a white coffee mug that read, “I got knocked on my ass and all I got was this mug.”

  I laughed out loud at the message. “This is hilarious.”

  “You can think of me whenever you drink your coffee, and how it symbolizes the moment we met.”

  “David, this is awesome. Thank you.”

  “There’s one more thing. It’s in the mug.”

  Reaching inside, I felt something wrapped in tissue paper. I pulled it out and slowly unwrapped it to reveal the most beautiful jewel-encrusted compact mirror I’d ever seen. “Oh my God. David, this is stunning.”

  “It’s vintage. I found it in an antique shop near my place. It’s from 1922.”

  I flipped it over, running my thumb along the smooth shiny silver surface. On the back was an inscription: “You’re the fairest of them all.”

  “The inscription was there, but it applies.” Tears immediately welled in my eyes. “Hey, don’t cry,” he said, skimming his thumb across my cheek to catch one that escaped. “Do you like it?”

  I nodded, whispering, “I love it.”

  “Good.” He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. “Merry Christmas, beautiful.”

  “Merry Christmas, David.”

  When our lips met, neither of us br
oke away, stopped it from progressing, or ended it. Instead, we let it progress naturally to where it ended, with a tender connection of our bodies and our souls.

  —

  I loved working the week between Christmas and New Year’s. The atmosphere around the city was always so festive, yet the streets weren’t as busy as a normal day. That held true for Dax’s studio as well. Most of our co-workers took the week off to be with family. While Betha was skiing upstate and Dax was skiing in Aspen, I pretended that working between the holidays was a huge sacrifice. But the truth was I used my selflessness as a bargaining chip to get the time off in the summer so I could be on the beach as much as possible. I despised winter.

  With the fall line all finished and ready to reveal next month, most of my time was spent doing vision boards, color wheels, and European trend research for the upcoming season. I absolutely loved that part of my job. Put me in an empty studio without distraction, and I really loved that part of my job.

  “Maygen…visitor,” came echoing through the deserted studio, making Karen’s voice sound even more amplified than usual.

  I picked up my desk phone and dialed Karen at reception. “Who is it?” She whispered something so quietly I couldn’t hear her. “What?”

  As I waited for her response, the ding of an incoming email alert rang from my desktop.

  To: Maygen Whitney

  From: Karen Fredericks

  Date: December 28, 2015

  Subject: Your. Hot. Boyfriend. Is. Here.

  A surge of excitement zipped right through me. He came to visit me?

  I quickly typed back, “I’ll be right there.”

  After a lipstick check in my new vintage compact, I took a deep breath and made my way to reception. He waited with his tall frame leaning against the wall. The faded jeans he had on hugged the muscles in his thighs, among other things. His navy peacoat was unbuttoned, revealing a tight gray thermal that stretched over his torso. When he saw me approach, a slow smile spread over his lips.

  “Hi. What a nice surprise,” I said once I passed through the glass door.