Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf (10 page)

Finally, when he and Nick at last had two minutes alone, all Kit could ask was: “Why are you here? I thought I would never see you again.” He’d been sure, for some reason. Known it in his bones.

“I… I….” Nick looked away, then looked back. “The picture.”

“You looked?” Kit asked.

Nick nodded.

“You didn’t wait long,” Kit scolded.

“Well, how long was I supposed to wait? Christmas?”

Kit laughed.

“Kit. I had to know. I don’t know why, but I had to know.”

“Know what?”

“Why did you make me look so young?”

Kit looked at him in surprise. “Oh, Nick. That’s how you look when you’re asleep.”

For a moment Nick was stunned into silence.

Finally: “What?” he asked.

Kit stepped close. Put one hand on Nick’s hip, used the fingers of the other to touch his cheek, the corners of his eyes, his lips. “When you’re asleep, Nick. Your worries are gone. Your frowns are gone. Your….”

“What?” Nick asked.

“You aren’t pissed off at the world when you’re asleep,” Kit said. “And that’s how you look. Beautiful.”

Nick’s eyes filled with tears and this time, Kit held
him
.

N
ICK
WAS
relegated to Kit’s room alone that night. Decorum, after all. There were children in the house.

But a half hour after lights out, Kit snuck into the room and slipped under the covers.

“Tell me why,” his young lover asked. “Why did you
really
come back?”

“I did tell you,” he said.

“Tell me the truth.”

It took Nick a moment to answer. He wasn’t sure exactly what the answer was.

Until that moment.

“You,” Nick said. Because it was true.

Kit snuggled into his arms. “When are you leaving?”

Nick took a deep breath. “I don’t know that I am.”

Kit made an almost silent gasp. “W-why not?”

Nick didn’t know the answer until Kit asked. “I don’t need to go anymore. I’ve changed my plans. There’s no reason.”

Neither spoke for a while. Then Kit said, “Why
were
you going?”

Because ten years ago, my parents threw me out of their lives because I’m gay. Because I’ve spent a decade trying to prove myself to them, and they don’t care. Never came to one showing, even though I invited them to every single one. Even though family friends had come and had to have talked to them. Because I have stupidly thrown away love in favor of success.

Did he tell Kit?

No. Of course not.

Because how did he tell Kit that he was going to San Francisco to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge? To kill himself?

“It doesn’t matter now,” he said.

Kit sat up. “Nick?”

“All that matters is that I came back for you.”

Sweet, gay,
very
gay you.

And then he pulled Kit close and made very quiet love to him. Decorum, after all. There were children in the house.

Nick didn’t pretend for a second that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Kit. He didn’t know what was in store. They hardly knew each other. They hadn’t even gone on a date.

Well. There had been the ice cream. Nutty Coconut and Winter White Chocolate, not to mention Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough.

And dinner, of course.

But there were some things he
did
know. Things were better. Through some… some Christmas miracle, things were much better.

And he, Nick St. George (and not one of his contemporaries), was going to make Kit Jeffries famous. He was going to show the world the marvel that was Kit.

He thought he might even buy a gay T-shirt. One that shouted “outlandish.” Maybe he should let Kit pick it out?

He might even go to a gay pride. Take Kit. New York certainly knew how to throw a party, and with gay people at the helm? It had to be over the top!

And who knew? Maybe there was room for more miracles.

Maybe, just maybe, there was the possibility of love.

Anything could happen!

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About the Author

B.G. T
HOMAS
lives in Kansas City with his husband of more than a decade and their fabulous little dog. He is lucky enough to have a lovely daughter as well as many extraordinary friends. He has a great passion for life.

B.G. loves romance, comedies, fantasy, science fiction and even horror—as far as he is concerned, as long as the stories are character driven and entertaining, it doesn’t matter the genre. He has gone to literature conventions his entire adult life where he’s been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He has made up stories since he was child; it is where he finds his joy.

In the nineties, he wrote for gay magazines but stopped because the editors wanted all sex without plot. “The sex is never as important as the characters,” he says. “Who cares what they are doing if we don’t care about them?” Excited about the growing male/male romance market, he began writing again. Gay men are what he knows best, after all—since he grew out of being a “practicing” homosexual long ago. He submitted a story and was thrilled when it was accepted in four days.

“Leap, and the net will appear” is his personal philosophy and his message to all. “It is never too late,” he states. “Pursue your dreams. They will come true!”

Visit his website at http://bgthomas.t83.net or his blog at http://bg-thomas.livejournal.com or contact him directly at [email protected].

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