Christmas Delights 3 (38 page)

Rex laughed shakily, and tugged Gene against him.

"Not here!  The champagne glasses!  And everybody'll
see us."

"I don't care."  He took the glass gently from
Gene's hand, put it and his own down, and drew him toward the middle of the room,
where couples were dancing decorously to music played by the hired band.  Gene
blushed, but moved with him into the dance without hesitation, not taking his
eyes off Rex.

They were the only men dancing together, but two women
danced and swirled in each other's arms.  Gene flushed, his face heating, but
he looked up at Rex with awe, not shame as they moved together.

Neither, it turned out, were adept on the dance floor.  They
kept tripping over their feet and each other's.  At last, laughing, they walked
to the side together, holding hands lightly.  "Perhaps we could go on the
balcony?" asked Gene, looking up at him.

He wanted some privacy, then.  "It'll be cold.  Do you
need your coat?"

Gene grinned and shook his head, looking pleased and a
little giddy.  "I'll be warm enough.  Are you always going to try to take
care of me?"

"Probably," admitted Rex.  And he realized
something wonderful and strange.  "It's…what I do."  He laughed, and
ran a hand back through his hair.  All this time he'd thought he was good at
organizing things—and he was—but it wasn't organizing that made him good at
organizing these events.  He took care of people—and places, and even things. 
This house.  All his guests.  And Gene, if he'd allow it. 

Gene gave him a singularly affectionate look.  "I know
you do.  Come on."  He tugged Rex after him, up the beautifully polished
stairs, the ones he'd worked so hard on.  The bright red-and-green holly and
the fresh pine boughs woven through the sweeping handrail added beautiful
Christmas color and a clean, fresh smell overlaying the polish on the
handrail. 

Partway up the stairs, Rex glanced back at the tree,
standing so tall and lordly, reaching almost as high as the chandelier.  It was
all right; several employees stood near enough to discreetly monitor the lit
tapers that made it glow and twinkle.  Nothing would catch fire, and all his
guests seemed content.  One of his brothers gave him a smile and a faint nod,
and Mrs. Zachel caught his eye for another quick wink, her hands pressed together
primly in her lap.

They were all right; everything was all right.  He didn't
need to look after anything for the party.

He gave Gene's hand a little squeeze and started walking
again.  Gene's clothing wasn't oversized enough to hide his body's beautiful
shape now, and Rex got a good look at that elegant grace.

They made it upstairs, through a luxurious room, and out
onto a balcony, closing the door carefully behind them to keep the warmth from
escaping the building.

The balcony looked out onto the street where large,
soft-looking flakes of snow fell languidly.  The night air gleamed with the lit
gas street lights, and there were hoof and wheel marks crossing and making
patterns in the snow from where carriages and carts had driven through.  Above,
a few stars gleamed, and from somewhere nearby, the faint sounds of a Christmas
carol played.

"Oh.  We forgot champagne," said Rex.  How could
they toast one another merry Christmas without it?

"We don't need any."  Gene turned to him.  There
was a delightful intent in his gaze, and his whole face seemed to glow with
happiness.  "I want to kiss you so much," he said softly.

And he did.

The kiss was tingling, warm and cold and intense and sweet
and filled with so much passion and affection that Rex never wanted it to end. 
Holding Gene this close, he could taste and smell him.  His senses filled,
chasing away all other thought and awareness. 

When they drew apart, he sucked in a deep breath, rather
surprised to smell the cold night air instead of Gene's sweet warmth.  They
gazed at one another, holding each other's hands.  Gene's eyes positively
glowed.  He looked happier and more confident than Rex had ever seen him; he
wasn't even blushing.

"Will you stay with me?" asked Gene.  "I know
it's too soon to ask…but I want to keep this place.  I want to live here, and
start…start looking after myself and you, not just my family and strangers. 
I'll work—maybe what you suggested, maybe more for my family, maybe even
organizing events for charity, like I've been wanting to do but never found
time for—but I won't move around so much.  I want to have a home and a base of
operations, and I want to share it with you."

Gene's smile slid slightly wider.  "Really?  I…I know
you never lie, but nobody's ever…wanted me like that before.  I mean, for
good."

"Then they were idiots," said Rex firmly, and drew
his beloved close yet again.

The snow fell gently around them and onto their hair and
shoulders.  Below, the party continued, and the strains of gentle Christmas
music rose into the night sky.  Snow fell in the soft darkness, but they were
warm in each other's arms.

Rex drew back at last, but didn't let go of Gene
completely.  "By the way, was that a yes…?"

"Yes!"  Gene threw back his head and laughed
aloud, his eyes squeezing shut happily, his grip tightening on Rex's arms. 
"Yes!"

Hollis Shiloh

Hollis Shiloh writes love stories
about men, with the preferred genres of contemporary, historical, and fantasy.
Hollis's stories tend toward the sweet rather than the spicy. When not writing,
the author enjoys reading, listening to music, and being around animals.

Blog
http://hollisshiloh.blogspot.com/

Email
[email protected]

Other gay romance by the author

Self-published by Spare Words Press,
through Amazon, unless otherwise noted:

Falling for Archie – contemporary
romance |  Adrian's Librarian – Regency romance published by Dreamspinner Press
| Winton's Strays – historical Christmas romance | Strawberry Rivals –
contemporary summery romance | His Paparazzo – contemporary romance | Hearts of
Gold – adventurous fantasy romance | Moths and Men – Vietnam era romance | Good
With Dragons – angsty fantasy romance | Colton and Ry – fire fighter romance |
Yours, Johnny – Vietnam pen pals romance | The One for Me – contemporary
interracial romance | The Keeper – historical fantasy set at a lighthouse |
Jude's Magic – fantasy romance | Charlie & Leo – British romance | Repairs
with Rhett – erotic romance | Mark & Spence – Christmas fantasy romance |
Loved You Once – Regency romance | Design by the Sea – contemporary romance |
Man's Best Friend – contemporary short story free on blog | You Were Always the
One – contemporary romance from Dreamspinner Press (Nov. 2013)

Daniel Jackson's feet pounded on the hard tiled floor of the
departure hall. His heart thudded in his chest, loudly enough to hear it over
the thrum of noise from the crowds of people milling around the airport. He 
had to dodge and weave to avoid hitting anyone with his cumbersome backpack as
he ran. He cursed those people. Why did they all have to travel on Christmas
Eve? He cursed the fact that he was travelling on Christmas Eve, too, because
his work schedule didn't allow for him to leave earlier.

As the newly promoted copy chief at the L.A. Review, Daniel
had to be at his desk until midday. With the last available direct flight to
Chicago leaving at 3pm, the timing was always going to be tight. The pull of
spending Christmas with his family warred with the desire to stay at home in
his quiet apartment and relax. The latter almost won. Daniel was exhausted. His
new job was taking some settling-in time, and the extra hours in the office
meant all he had done for the past two months was sleep - very little - and work.
He could sleep for a week solid and still be tired.

The birth of his first nephew last month had made it
impossible to refuse the big family gathering. He recalled the phone
conversation with his mother shortly after Harry was born, where he had hinted
at postponing his annual trip home until the new year. She hadn't explicitly
told him that he had to be there, but the remainder of the call consisted of
one word replies from her to every question he'd asked. It took four failed
attempts the following week before she was available to take his next call, and
hear that he would be home for Christmas.

As he glanced at the clock at the far end of the hall,
Daniel's heart sank. Too late. He wasn't going to make it in time. His chest
ached, every breath burning as he made his final push for the check-in desk. He
skidded to a halt at the moment the sign above the desk changed to CLOSED.

"No. Please." He struggled to speak as he regained
his breath. "I can't miss this flight."

The check-in clerk looked up from her papers and offered a
conciliatory smile as she shook her head. "I'm sorry sir, but the flight
is closed."

"Come on. I'm what, a minute late? Surely you can
-"

She didn't let him finish before she raised her hand.
"Sir. I'm sorry but we have a cut off time for check-in. It's digital now
and the system doesn't allow for late add-ons." She smiled again and
stood. "If you would like to come with me, I'll take you to our sales desk
and we'll see what we can do about getting you to Chicago tonight."

There was no point in arguing. Daniel had seen the reality
shows. Once you missed your flight time there was no negotiating to get on
board. He crossed the fingers on his right hand, tucking it into his jacket
pocket, and followed her back across the hall.

Twenty minutes - and an eye-watering amount of money -
later, Daniel was booked to fly to Chicago via Denver.

* * * * *

The day continued to bear gifts. It was Christmas after all.
Daniel's connecting flight should have left Denver two hours ago. He should
have been buckling his seatbelt for landing in Chicago right now, not hanging
around the airport waiting on news of his delayed flight. All flights had been
grounded due to an approaching storm. Daniel's flight in had been one of the
last to land, and he should have been thankful that it hadn't been redirected,
or turned back to L.A. At least he was half way to his destination. He wasn't
thankful though, he was annoyed and he was weary.  He'd just finished a call
with his mom; she was anxious that he'd already missed their family meal, and
had hung up on him when he voiced his concerns that his flight wouldn't take
off at all tonight. He thought about calling back, maybe trying to speak to his
father, but decided against it. Hopefully more news when it came would be good
news. Judging by how his day was going so far, he doubted it.

The airport was vast, and Daniel tried to walk off his
tension, browsing shop windows and watching the other passengers around him.
He'd been wandering for an hour when he decided a drink might calm his frayed
nerves. The bars were all busy; the first two he considered were standing room
only. As he approached the third, he crossed the fingers on one hand and hoped
for a spare seat. Entering the bar he saw that although every table was
occupied, a few of them weren't full. He sighed in relief and made his way
across the room to a small table in the far corner where a man sat alone
reading.

The table's occupant didn't look up as Daniel stopped in
front of him. Daniel wasn't sure if he was so engrossed in his book that he
hadn't noticed him, or whether he was ignoring him in the hope Daniel would
find another table to sit at. Daniel cleared his throat before reaching out to
hold the top of the chair opposite the man and asking, "Is this seat
free?"

"Go ahead." The man answered into his book.

Daniel dropped his bag to the floor as he sat down. He
nodded over to the waiter serving drinks to a group at the next table. Once his
beer was ordered, he sank into the chair and relaxed. Despite his weariness,
Daniel's mind began to wander to the other man at the table. He was intrigued
by him. The man sat facing the wall, his back to the rest of the room. Who did
that? Given the choice, and especially when sitting alone, surely most people would
choose to sit facing the room. He hadn't looked up once in the time Daniel had
been in the bar. Daniel tried not to stare but he found himself looking over at
the man with increasing frequency. Eyes lingering on the way his dark hair
curled over the top of the collar on his plaid shirt. He noticed the man's
tanned forearms where his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows. There was
something familiar about him that Daniel couldn't place. As the man raised a
hand to rub over his beard Daniel's gaze followed to his face. He found himself
wondering how that beard would feel under his own touch; how it would feel
against his face if he kissed the man. He had to shift slightly in his seat to
ease the tightness of his pants. Christ. He shook his head and forced himself
to look away.

Half an hour and a bottle of beer later, Daniel was more
calm. He still had no idea what was happening with his flight, but there was
nothing he could do about it. Stressing wasn't going to make a difference to
the outcome and he couldn't remember the last time he'd just sat and relaxed.
He ordered another beer and once again found himself drawn to the man across
the table.

The man looked away from his book. He rolled his shoulders,
shrugging them one at a time, then rubbed at his neck as he stretched one way
and then the other. Daniel's heart beat faster as he recognized who he was
sitting with.