“Are you freaking kidding me?” I challenged.
“Okay, you two; it will be fine. It’s for a good cause, and it will help the store. It’s Christmas, after all. How can you be mad at Santa, when he’s this handsome?” Clara chucked me under my chin with one of her fingers like she did when I was ten years old on picture day.
“You want to have your pic taken, Clara?” Niya asked.
Clara giggled like I’d never heard before...and, was that a blush?
“Come on, Clara; tell Santa what you want for Christmas.” I waved her over to sit on my lap while keeping an eye on the beauty across the shop.
“Don’t you flirt with me, boy; I’m old enough to be your mother.” She walked over to me none-the-less, and I pulled her down in my lap, landing a kiss on her cheek. She had always been like a mother to me, more so than my mother recently. If my father ever disapproved of something, it was her job to back down and listen to him. Just once I’d like my mother to stick up for me like she’d done that night I’d gotten into trouble in the mall parking lot
Now, it was a bunch of ‘Bryson, listen to your father, honey. Don’t rock the boat. You know how he is. He wants things done a certain way. Can’t you just cooperate?” The thought of her complacency when it came to him burned me up. But, it was because of her, I was able to run this place on my own. My father sure as shit didn’t think I could do it. But, she’d talked him into giving me a chance. He’d initially put me to work to teach me a lesson. But, after ten years of working for the company, he’d reluctantly allowed my friends and me to show what we’d learned in Property Management, like it or not. I don’t think we’d done half bad these years, turning things around. But, there was always something to prove when it came to dear old dad. Though I love Clara, I’m sure she was sent with me to babysit. I was okay with her coming along. I couldn’t do half of what I do without her. Tanya, on the other hand, was just here to keep an eye on me and report back. She could not know I was doing this Santa gig.
“You know we need to keep this from Tanya as long as possible,” I said to Clara under my breath as Tionne took our picture.
“Absolutely, your secret is safe with me. However, if this is as popular, as I know it will be, she will find out.”
“I don’t mind if she finds out when it is successful. She can’t tell on me if I’m doing a good job.”
Clara chuckled. “Keep that pose,” Tionne called out while snapping pics. Clara handed her phone to Niya. “Can you take a pic of this. I have to show Thomas,” she said, talking about her husband.
“He is gonna ride my ass for this one.” I shook my head.
“Oh, you know it. ‘Are you trying to make my wife your Mrs. Claus?’” Clara said, deepening her voice to mimic her hubby.
Once the pics were taken, she stood from my lap. “I should buy myself a little something while I’m down here to distract him tonight.”
“Oh, Clara, no-no-no. I do not need that thought in my head.” I covered my ears.
“What? I can still heat up the bedroom,” she said, turning to look at a rack of lacy nightgowns.
“Look, you got our first customer to take a pic and buy something in return. Your charms are working, Santa,” Tionne teased. “I’m going to go get these pics on the Facebook page #SexySanta.”
“Wait, before you do that, I need to take a pic with the owner of the shop. That should be front and center, right?” I looked up as Jamilya had finished her sales pitch with the woman who’d walked in.
“I’m sorry, you need to do what now?” She stumbled over her words.
“Sexy Santa wants to take a pic with you, Sissy,” Niya piped in. “Get the pic, T.”
I stood from my chair, placing the chardonnay and charity tin on the table beside me. I walked to Jamilya, who seemed to be stuck in one spot.
I held my hand out, offering it to her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking from my hand to my face as if I’d lost my mind.
“I want to get a pic with you. #SexySanta should have at least one shot with the store owner, don’t you think?”
“That is for the guests, not me.” She laughed and tried to turn away, but I reached for her, snagging her wrist. She turned back to me, and I offered my best smile.
“Come on, Milya; just one shot for #SexySanta. It’s for the kids,” Janiya whined.
Before she could agree, her cousin began taking shots. I didn’t miss an opportunity, but flashed a grin and pulled her to me. Looking her deep in her dark brown eyes. She smelled like roses and lemon, a combination I couldn’t get enough of. It was fresh and alluring at the same time. The lingerie wasn’t the only sensual items in the store.
“What are you doing?” she breathed as I pulled her in closer, smelling her neck right where the pulse throbbed, and I wanted a taste. Damn, I wanted to know if she tasted as good as she looked. I was inches away from finding out when I heard the flash of the camera. What the hell was I doing? Jamilya put a hand to my chest; the warmth there caused me to look down and back up at her. The camera still flashed.
She shook her head as she pushed from me. But I pulled her back. “I’m sorry.” I breathed against her ear.
“Are you really? You still have me in your grasp,” she said, her voice not a breath away from mine.
“I’m sorry for high school...Mily Boo.”
She gasped, and I let go of her. She didn’t think I remembered her. It was written all over her face. Using the nickname, I used to call her back then, convinced her otherwise
“I’m sorry...for the sneak attack photoshoot,” I said more loudly for those around to hear us. Anyone watching, could feel the heat rolling off of us in waves. I was hard as a rock, and I know these satin Santa pants weren’t doing a thing to hide it.
“Watch yourself, Nick.” She turned on her heel and marched out of the store.
What in the fuck just happened?
She was warm and in my arms one minute and ready to claw me with her nails the next. I’d totally played that card wrong. That last thing I wanted to do was offend her. No, if anything, I wanted to get to know this Jamilya Hawkins better. Shit, I had to get this together and quick.
Chapter Ten
Jamilya
My sister found me in the food court, in much need of comfort food—screw it. I’d been so good for so long, but chicken strips and fries were calling my name. I’d struggled with weight my entire life, from the time I was in six grade when I start ‘filling out’ as my mother called it. How does a little girl go from a flat chest to damn near a C-cup from one grade to the next? I just kept growing from there. High school had been a disaster with guys either making fun of me because of my weight or purposely trying to bump into me to ‘cop a feel.’ College hadn’t really been any better. My boyfriend at the time, who, I thought I would marry, ended up being one of those guys. Once he got what he wanted, my virginity, he dumped me, saying, ‘I think we should see other people, Mily; who knows what we will find out there. I don’t want to hold you back.’
No, what he meant is, he didn’t need this fat girl keeping him from what he really wanted—eye candy.
It was at that moment I decided to pursue my education and throw myself all in. I’ve always wanted to be a business owner. I thought about that young girl I fit into women’s clothing and undergarments. I decided to open up Sensual Essentials for women like me, who wanted to feel sexy outside of the usual white and beige granny panties and bras. You can be a size bigger than the norm and still be sexy. I catered to all sizes, no matter your ethnicity. I have since slimmed down to a nice curvy size 14. I was by no means thin, but I wasn’t the larger size I was when I was younger. A few men had noticed, and Niya had even talked me into going out on a few dates, which is how happened upon my ex, Malcolm. But I never felt...desirable. That bigger girl was lying dormant inside this new body, trying to claw her way back out with a niggle of doubt in the back of my brain. I shoved a chicken strip, dipped in buffalo and ranch,
into my mouth. God, I’d have to go extra on the treadmill tonight—all because a ridiculously sexy Santa whispered something dirty in my ear. He smelled like a midnight romp on satin sheets—masculine, woodsy and spicy, like sex and sin and everything I never thought I’d get. And, he seemed to remember me, just when I thought he didn’t.
He called me Mily Boo. I hadn’t heard that since high school.
I shook my head. It meant nothing. No, right now, my focus was this business I worked my ass off for. I had this holiday season to get these numbers up, or we’d be out in the cold. Literally. Windows and skylights around the mall food court showed it was indeed snowing out.
I looked around the food court and noticed it was more crowded than usual. The new property team had done wonders with the place over the last few years, restoring it to a spot where people wanted to shop like it was back in the day. It was in shambles just a few years before. But, when we were looking for a new place to open up shop, a year ago, rent had been dirt cheap here and within my budget.
We grew up about forty-five minutes to an hour away, depending on who’s driving. But, when we moved here my senior year it was a nice area. I’d heard about Bryson’s family before I actually met him, some richy-rich family that bought up every damn thing and turned it all to gold. But they did a damn good job of it. The town looked great, and I was glad to call it home. Though, my brothers made fun of us moving to this ‘boogee neck of the woods’, the demographic turned out to be perfect for my store. There were high schools with teenage girls, as well as a college, single women and moms who still wanted to look sexy for their man. We had exactly what they were looking for. Once I grew this store to full potential, I hoped to take Sensual Essentials back to my neighborhood where I grew up, and hell, maybe even down into the city.
When we first moved into this location, we’d picked up some business, but as kids went back to school, business dipped a bit, which is why we were told to get our revenue up or else we were going to be kicked to the curb. I would not let that happen, not on my watch. I had to get it together with this #SexySanta. I couldn’t believe Bryson came down and took the gig. Now, that he knew I knew who he actually was, where would this go from here?
Just get out of your head.
He didn't mean anything by that embrace and the long stares and the...Mily Boo. He was simply invested in his mall doing well. He's only there to be a Sexy Santa, have people sit on his lap, talk some stuff, tell some jokes, wink at women, so they would buy lingerie for Christmas. We all win in the end, right? I would get the money I need to keep my store open, as well as give the kids toys for the holidays; I could do this. I rolled my neck on my shoulders and focused back on my food, shoving more fries into my face.
Ugh, this is not the way to relax; I have to stop this.
I pushed my food away right as my sister pulled the seat out, across from me. I rolled my eyes letting out an exasperated sigh.
“What are you doing here, Niya? We can’t both be down here. Who is running the store?”
“Tionne is still there, and Gracie came in for her shift.”
Gracie was our oldest brother’s daughter. We are a big family. Four older brothers and then Mama and Daddy had me and then Niya was the baby. We had fourteen nieces and nephews between the four older brothers. They were busy. Gracie was the oldest at twenty-two; she was a senior at the local university and would graduate in the spring. When she was younger, she’d told me she’d like to be a young business owner like her auntie. I’d do anything to help her with that goal, including teaching her the ins and outs of running my business. She was brilliant and would make a fine owner of whatever she put her mind to.
Niya reached across the table and plucked one of my fries, popping it in her mouth. “Don’t tell me you are down here stress eating, Sissy.”
“I’m not,” I lied right through my teeth.
“Mm-hmm, chicken strips, fries, buffalo sauce and ranch says different. I haven’t seen you eat like this in a long ass time.”
“Hush,” I scolded swatting her hand as she took another fry. She nabbed it anyway, and into her big mouth, it went.
“Well, I want fries too.” She munched away. “So, what’s going on here? You ran out that store like the devil was after you. Don’t tell me it was because of the Sexy Santa pics. Because let me just tell you—they were freaking hot.” She fanned at herself.
“Shut up,” I said tossing a fry at her. She caught it and ate it. “You are too much. Stop eating my food.”
I picked up a chicken strip, and she snagged it from me. “No, you stop eating your food. You already ate a healthy lunch, and you are gonna be bitching at me because I let you do this when you force yourself to get up at 6:00 A.M. tomorrow morning and run like a maniac on that death trap you have in your house.”
“It’s an elliptical, Niya.”
“Same damn thing.” She took a bite of the chicken and got up, walking to the nearest trash bin, and tossed it. “I had to save us both from ourselves. I haven’t had greasy goodness in ages. We are way too hard on ourselves.” She shook her head, wiping her hands on napkins still on the table. “But, I promised to be here with you along this journey—the store, the weight loss, finding you a new man…” She ticked off the items on her snowman, manicured fingers.
“No one said anything about a man,” I said, eyeing her.
“I mean, I was there with you through the other two items; I thought I'd add that last one in.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Right now, the focus is on keeping our store in this mall and making sure this #SexySanta idea works out.”
“It will—I mean have you seen that man?”
“Yea, he’s okay.”
“‘Okay’ my ass. I could see your heart beating out of your chest when he pulled you in for those pics. What did he say to you? You couldn’t get out of there fast enough, Milya.”
“Don’t want to talk about it.”
She eyed me. “Is this about Jionte?”
I glared at her. “We will never mention that fool’s name again.” My sister knew better than to trigger me. The one who took my virginity and then declared he wanted to see other people. Plus, Niya knew I’d seen other people since then—nothing steady, except for Malcolm. Guys had tried, but no one struck my interest. “It would be pathetic, sitting here at thirty-six years old, still thinking about a man that probably hadn’t given a thought about me since I was eighteen years old.”
Pathetic indeed. Ugh.
“Why did you throw away my damn food?”
“Stop it, Sissy.” She reached out and grabbed my hand. “Who is the one that told me, ‘we are strong independent women, and can’t no man define us?’”
“I mean, I guess it was me, one day when I was wearing my power heels.” I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, it sure was you,” she laughed. “We are fabulous.”
“I know we are,” I said, using my usual defense mechanism of sarcasm.
I don’t know what about this was making me upset.
“Talk to me, Milya.” Niya’s voice dipped, knowing me and seeing right through my mask.
“Feeling a little scared—you know? The store is in trouble, Niya.” She handed me a napkin to dab at threatening tears. “I’m having to do some gimmicks with the whole sexy Santa to make it work but then what? You know I wanted to do that on my own. Then, he showed up...I don’t know what that is all about.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I dabbed at my tears. “Well, that little scene today was the most action I’ve had since…I don’t even know how long, but I can’t fall for a wink and a smile right now. I want to maintain being professional. He needs to back off. Plus, it’s all fake anyway. He’s never wanted me.”
“Milya, come on. It was all in good fun, and, Sissy, that was by no means ‘fake.’ He was feeling every minute of that.”
Her speech, about how I needed to lighten up, and Bryson’s level of sincerity, was cut off by thre
e young women walking by our table. They’d just stepped away from the ice cream store, situated right next to us. I swear to God if Niya hadn’t come to find me, I may have gotten a scoop and dipped my chicken strips in that too.
Stress eating is a bitch.
We both turned, our ears perking up when one of the girls said to her friends, “Hey, did you see this #SexySanta thing? It’s trending. It looks like he is taking pics at a lingerie shop here in the mall. You take a pic with him, and tag the store for prizes and donations to kids.”
“Holy shit look at him. #SexySanta for reals,” her friend said, looking at the phone. “He is sexy A-F. I could use some new thongs. We should stop in.”
“I think it’s right down there,” the 3rd friend said, pointing in the direction of my store.
I turned to Niya, my mouth dropping open.
“What the hell did I tell you? We got this, girl! Let’s get back to the store,” Niya laughed.
By the time we got back to the store, there was already a line of women forming. Some of them were at the checkout, while others were waiting to get their picture taken with Bryson. I noticed one woman sitting on his lap with her legs crossed over his. She was kissing his cheek, and he was giving the camera a thumbs up.
She could be heard saying, “I’m telling my sister about this. She is just going to love you.” She squeezed his arm through the Santa robe and dramatically swung her legs off of his lap.
I rolled my eyes and turned from the scene.
“No, no that is what we want to see,” Niya scolded. “The best marketing tool is word of mouth. If she tells her sister, that sister could tell a friend, that friend tells her cousin and so on. We need the business, Sissy.”
“Don’t you think I know that? It’s the only reason I’m allowing this nonsense. And, he looks like he is enjoying the hell out of it…”
“Are you jealous?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
“What? No...jealous of what? That is not my man.”
All I Want for Christmas Page 7