12 Dates of Christmas (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“We’re a total cliché gay couple,” Leo said happily as they left The White Elephant. “We had brunch and we’re going antiquing!”

Nick chuckled, “A couple, huh?” he asked.

Leo glanced over, suddenly doubting himself. “I mean … if you want to be.”

“Yes,” Nick said firmly, reaching out to take Leo’s hand. “I want to.”

“So does this mean we can have sex now?” Leo asked. “Because I’m willing to skip the antiquing for sex. That’s pretty gay too.”

Nick snorted. “You need a desk,” he pointed out.

“Do I? Or do I need dick?” he mused.

Nick made a choking sound. “Leo!”

“What?” He gave Nick an innocent look. “I’m just saying …”

“You’re a menace.” Nick bumped his shoulder.

“You like that about me,” Leo said confidently.

Nick paused and Leo came to an abrupt stop, rocking back on his heels before Nick tugged and reeled him in before pressing him against the nearby brick wall. “Yeah, I do,” he said huskily. “I really do like you.”

Leo smiled happily. Nick was so … Gah, he looked good today. He always looked good of course but he seemed very light and very happy, handsome in his dark gray jeans, weathered brown boots, and green hoodie. He’d paired it with a knitted charcoal beanie and a black wool coat and he looked so cozy and stylish and …

“God, when you look at me like that …” Nick whispered.

“How do I look at you?” Leo asked.

“Like you’re starving.”

“I am.” Leo’s stomach was full of tasty eggnog French toast and turkey sage breakfast sausage but it wasn’t that kind of hunger.

“Desk,” Nick said, like he was trying to remind himself.

“Dick,” Leo countered.

“ Desk ,” Nick repeated, pressing his forehead to Leo’s for a second. “You were complaining the other day that your back hurt.”

Honestly, Leo had hoped Nick would touch him more but that had totally backfired when Nick gifted him with an appointment for a massage. Which would be lovely but not what he had in mind.

“Desk then dick?” Leo tried, though he wasn’t actually trying to rush Nick. He understood why Nick needed to take it slow. But the teasing banter was fun.

“Desk today, dick soon.”

Leo batted his lashes. “Soon is like … today, maybe?”

“This week,” Nick countered.

Leo blinked, surprised. He’d been prepared to wait a lot longer. “Really?”

“Yeah. I have one more date planned. And I was thinking after, if we both wanted it …”

“I do,” Leo said eagerly.

Nick smiled and Leo suddenly noticed how long his lashes were. Gah . He was so handsome.

“Then we’re in agreement.”

“Shake on it?” Leo said.

Amused, Nick held out a hand. “Deal.”

Happy to know the probably-necessary-but-seriously-annoying ban on sex finally had an end date, Leo tugged Nick toward the antique shop. “Come on! What are you waiting for? I need a desk!”

Laughing, Nick fell into step beside him.

Nick let Leo lead as they browsed the Merry Memories antique shop. He waved at the owner, Liam Barlowe, who gave him a vague wave back before returning his attention to his laptop screen.

Nick had been here dozens of times and he always loved the mix of expensive pieces and semi-trashy junk cluttering the place. He liked poking around for treasures and gently poking fun at terrible, ugly things. He hoped Leo would like it too.

The first time Leo turned, holding out a weird, gaudy object and breathily said, “What is this? It’s hideous and I love it,” Nick felt it square in his chest, like an unexpected snowball to the sternum.

Oh. Oh , he knew this feeling. He was falling in love.

Dazed, he followed in Leo’s wake, listening to him chatter on about the merits of possible desks for his apartment and a painting of a forlorn-looking cow he wanted to take home and hang in his living room.

He tried on goofy oversized red sunglasses and a Santa hat, begging Nick to get a picture of him wearing them.

Nick must have seemed normal to Leo but all he could think about was the word love , echoing over and over like a heartbeat, pulsing in his ears and filling his body all the way to his toes.

In the end, Leo bought a handful of items, including the sad cow portrait, but no desk.

“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh as he got into Nick’s truck. “Like, the oak table is cool but I need more storage. And I love the desk with the pretty veneer drawer fronts but, honestly, it needed some work, you know? It feels like a lot to pay for something that could stand to have the feet repaired and the whole thing refinished. I wouldn’t mind doing it myself if I had a place to work on it but I don’t and, I dunno, it doesn’t feel very practical .”

“True,” Nick agreed, already planning to come back and get the desk tomorrow. He should call the owner, Liam, today so no one stole it out from under him … Did he have time to refinish it for Leo before Christmas? Worst-case scenario, he’d give him an IOU on the desk for Christmas but he’d like to present it to him all finished if he could.

“Have you done a lot of furniture restoration?” Nick asked, curious.

Leo shrugged. “Not a ton since I lived at home but I used to help my dad with projects. And sometimes when I was living in Chicago, I’d find something sturdy but ugly left on the curb and take it back to my apartment and paint it.”

“Cool. Those are handy skills to have.” Something else he and Leo had in common.

“Yeah. They can be fun projects.”

They arrived at the bakery a short while later. Nick parked and Leo immediately turned to him. “So, do you want to come up for a bit?”

Nick raised an eyebrow.

“Not for sex,” Leo said hastily. “Despite all of my teasing earlier, I can totally be patient, especially now I know there’s an end in sight. I thought … I dunno. Maybe you’re sick of me already but I kinda don’t want today to end.”

“How could I be sick of you?” Nick asked, confused.

Leo shrugged. “Sometimes people say I’m a lot.”

“You’re wonderful,” Nick said honestly. “And yeah, I’d love to come up. What did you have in mind?”

“Having a lazy evening,” Leo said. “Nothing special. We could watch a movie—oh, or there’s a hockey game on tonight. I thought we’d eat dinner and just … you know, chill. I love all of the dates and going out and doing stuff. But I thought some quiet time together would be good too.”

“Yeah,” Nick said, surprised but pleased by the idea. “That sounds perfect.”

He parked and helped Leo carry his purchases up to his apartment.

“So, I’m not hungry-hungry,” Leo said after they’d hung the cow portrait and washed a couple of colorful vintage mugs and bowls. “But I will be in like an hour or so. How do you feel about Bratwurst Hot Dish?”

“I know what bratwurst is, but what’s hot dish?”

“Oh.” Leo laughed. “Upper Midwest thing. The short answer is that it’s a casserole.”

“Oh, sure,” Nick said. “I like brats and casserole. Never had them together but …”

Leo grinned, shrugging out of his cardigan and rolling up his sleeves to wash his hands. “So this recipe is my grandma’s and it’s like … peak German-immigrant-turned-dairy-farmer-in-Wisconsin vibes.”

“I’m intrigued.” Nick leaned against the counter. “Tell me more.”

“So, we start by boiling some brats in chicken broth.”

“Want some help?” Nick asked, pushing up his sleeves too.

“Sure, sounds great.”

Leo prepped stuff while Nick took care of the boiling. After the brats were cooked and cut up into little slices, Nick watched Leo brown them in butter.

“Oh shit,” Leo said as he pulled out a can of sauerkraut. “Um, do you like this stuff? Not everyone does.”

“I don’t eat it a lot,” Nick said with a shrug. “But my mom used to do pork chops with sauerkraut and apples every fall and winter when Heather and I were growing up and I liked that.”

“Cool.” Leo grinned. “Sounds yummy. You can make it for me sometime.”

Nick grinned back, watching Leo layer the drained sauerkraut and bratwurst. He whisked together cream of cheddar soup and milk, poured that over everything else, then layered frozen tater tots on top.

Leo put it into the oven with a flourish, then said, “Now, let’s go make out on the couch.”

“I thought you were going to behave,” Nick teased, but he followed Leo into the living room anyway.

“Just making out, I swear,” Leo said, holding up his hands, palms facing out. “I’ll be so good.”

Nick was impressed Leo thought he had that kind of willpower but he settled on the couch, stretched out on his back and crooked a finger. “Come here.”

Leo let out a happy sigh and settled into position, lying half on top of Nick. Nick brushed his thumb across Leo’s cheek, then kissed him softly, nipping at Leo’s lower lip before he drew back. “Did you set a timer?” he asked. “Because I can already tell I’m going to lose track of time.”

“Oh shit.” Leo wriggled to get his phone out of his pocket. “Good call.”

After the alarm was set, he tossed his phone onto the coffee table. Smiling, he settled into Nick’s arms again. “Now, where were we?”

“Right about here,” Nick said, pulling him even closer.

To his surprise, Leo was slow and deliberate. He kept his hands on Nick’s chest or in his hair and he kissed Nick like he wasn’t trying to rush anything. Nick was hard when Leo pulled away, flushed and panting. And he watched greedily as Leo adjusted his dick in his jeans.

“Fuck,” he said, without meaning to and Leo gave him a molten look.

“Am I going to have to tell you to behave?”

“Probably,” Nick admitted.

“Well, it’s nice to feel wanted,” Leo said.

Nick blinked. “Oh, Leo, I want you. I want you so much I can hardly think straight sometimes.”

He leaned in for another kiss and Leo let out a low sound, wiggling closer. Nick tilted his head, deepening the kiss, letting his tongue slip between Leo’s lips. Nick gasped at the feel of Leo’s hand sliding under his shirt, his palm warm against his skin.

“This okay?” Leo murmured, touching his lips to the corner of Nick’s mouth.

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s good. Kiss me.”

They kissed again and again, until Nick was dizzy with it and he could feel his cock pressing against his fly. Leo was rubbing up against his hip, his thigh slotted between Nick’s, hard and eager.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Nick rasped. He reached down, getting a handful of Leo’s ass and squeezing.

“Oh, God, we should stop,” Leo said, burying his face against Nick’s throat, his breathing coming in short, warm puffs of air.

“I know.”

But Leo grazed his teeth along Nick’s Adam’s apple, making Nick shudder. Leo’s hips moved in soft rolling waves, his ass clenching and relaxing under Nick’s grip.

Nick did nothing to stop him.

“God, Nick, I’m getting close.” Leo whimpered after a while, clutching at his upper arm.

“You can come, if you want,” Nick murmured. “I’m going to keep it in my pants but if you think you can come like this, I want to make you feel good.”

“Fuck, really?”

“Yeah.” Nick felt a sudden urgency to give Leo this orgasm now, to make him feel good and take nothing in return. “Yeah, I want to see you let loose.”

“Oh God.” Leo panted, rocking his hips harder and faster against Nick’s thigh, breath growing ragged. Flushed from the heat of their bodies, Nick got a better grip on Leo’s ass and helped him move, coaxing him into a quick, fluid rhythm. “Fuck,” he whimpered.

“Let go, Leo,” Nick murmured. “Let me feel you come.”

With a short, sharp cry, Leo went still, sinking his teeth into the fabric below Nick’s collarbone. His hips shuddered, his entire body trembling as he rode out the orgasm in Nick’s arms.

It seemed to go on and on, so Nick held Leo, stroking his hair and letting him come down from it while he murmured how amazing he was. How good he felt in Nick’s arms.

When Leo finally lifted his head, his expression was dazed and overwhelmed. His cheeks were pink and his hair damp along his hairline. “Nick,” he said breathlessly. “That was …”

Nick smiled, brushing his thumb across Leo’s cheek, utterly charmed by him. “Good, I hope.”

“So good.” He bit his lip, finally letting go of the death grip he’d had on Nick’s arm. He slid his hand lower, hesitating at Nick’s waist. “Do you want me to …”

“No.” Nick pressed a kiss to Leo’s forehead, tasting the faint traces of salt from his sweat. “That was all for you.”

“You’re so hard though.”

“Yeah,” Nick admitted ruefully. “I am. But that’s okay. It won’t kill me.”

“You’re so nice ,” Leo said affectionately.

“You deserve nice,” Nick told him. “You deserve nice things and nice people in your life.”

Leo gave him a smile, propping his head on his fist to look at him. His forearm dug into Nick’s ribs and Nick’s lower leg was going numb but he didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to do anything to break the moment.

But as he was about to say that, Leo’s phone let out a jazzy little chime. Leo grumbled, mashing his face into Nick’s chest. “Damn it.”

He levered himself off the couch, turned off the alarm, then glanced down at Nick with a rueful smile. “I guess I do need to get cleaned up.”

There was a damp spot on his jeans near the fly and Nick resisted the urge to reach out and brush his fingers across the denim.

“I’d offer to help but …” Nick said with a groan as he sat up, swinging his legs around to settle his feet on the floor.

“Yeah, we’d be breaking our rules.” Leo sighed.

Honestly, maybe they already had but Nick felt good about the flushed, happy look on Leo’s face. He could never regret that.

Nick stood, gently grasping Leo’s hip and leaning forward for a kiss. “Go get cleaned up,” he murmured. “I’ll take care of dinner.”

“Okay.” Leo shot him a smile. “Thanks, Nick.”

He wasn’t entirely sure what Leo was thanking him for. The orgasm? The help with dinner? But he merely nodded and gently swatted Leo’s ass. “Go!”

Leo’s smile turned into a grin but he walked toward the hall. “Oh! Don’t forget to put the grated cheese on, then put the hot dish in for another ten or fifteen minutes, please,” he called out.

“Will do,” Nick said, smiling after him. Having something to focus on would distract him from the hard-on he had.

Maybe.

“So how is it?” Leo asked. He’d mopped up, then changed into fresh underwear and pajama pants and they were now eating hot dish on the couch out of Leo’s new bowls, watching the Evanston River Otters play the Dallas Steers.

Evanston wasn’t winning. Shocker. Though Gabriel Theriault had made a beauuutiful goal earlier.

Nick glanced up. “The hot dish? It’s good. I like it.”

“Yeah? You’re not just saying that to be nice?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

“I dunno.”

“Hey,” Nick said, bumping Leo’s knee with his. “I wouldn’t lie to you. Or even stretch the truth. If it was only okay, I’d tell you I appreciated you making it but it wasn’t my favorite. And if I hated it, I’d tell you it wasn’t for me. But I always try to say what I mean.”

“Good.” Leo smiled down at his nearly empty bowl. “Want seconds?”

“Half scoop?” Nick asked, holding his own bowl out.

“I can do that.” Still smiling, Leo carried the bowls into the kitchen. He snapped a few shots of the partially decimated hot dish to send to his family.

From the living room, Nick let out a whoop. “Hey! Joel’s cousin scored a goal!”

“Jamie Walsh?” Leo called back as he refilled the bowls.

“Yeah!”

Leo returned to the living room in time to catch the replay. “Ooh, that’s a nice one too.”

“Right?”

“Now they’re only down by three,” Leo said, laughing.

“Yeah, they’re not having the best season, huh?” Nick said with a wry grin as he dug into his bowl.

“Not so much. Fun to watch though.”

“Totally.”

The hot dish was still steaming, so Leo set his bowl down and pulled out his phone.

He edited a few photos from their day together, then attached them to the family group chat and typed out a message. He hesitated before he hit Send .

“Hey, you’re okay with me sending some pictures of our dates and stuff to my family and telling them you’re my boyfriend, right?”

Nick glanced over, fork frozen midway to his mouth. “Of course. I mean, I’m fine with partner too if you prefer.”

Leo smiled. That wasn’t what he’d meant. He’d been asking about Nick being okay with making it official to his family but that definitely answered that question.

“I’ll post on social media too,” he said after he hit Send , feeling daring.

Nick smiled. “Oh, that reminds me. We should follow each other. I was going to tag you in some stuff I posted the other day but I realized I didn’t have your username. Hope that was okay I posted it. I should have asked first but …”

“Sure,” Leo said, surprised. “I mean, yeah, we should follow each other and of course it’s okay.”

He put down his phone in favor of eating, but he was halfway through his bowl before a thought occurred to him. “Did you come out on social media, Nick?”

“Yeah, inadvertently.” He huffed out a laugh. “I didn’t even think about it. I’ve known I was bi for so long it never occurred to me that there would be much of a reaction to it but apparently, I surprised a lot of people who didn’t know.”

“Did you run into any issues?”

“Oh, a few.” Nick shrugged. “I always figure it’s the trash taking itself out though. Saves me the trouble of having to block them if they unfollow me.”

“You’re very … chill about this,” Leo said.

Nick gave him a crooked smile. “My sister’s a lesbian. I’ve been working with LGBTQ+ clients for years. Yeah, it’s new to me but it’s not like all of this came as a big shock. Did you expect me to have a big sexuality crisis about dating a man?”

“No!” Leo protested. “And I don’t want you to. I just expected you to be a bit … hesitant about being public about it or something. Cause people can be shitty sometimes.”

Nick frowned. “They can. But, Leo, I’m all in on this relationship. I’m excited about our future and I want people to know I’m happy. That there’s hope after loss.”

Tears welled up and Leo set down his bowl and scooted closer. “Oh, Nick,” he whispered.

“Hey, what is it?” Nick said, wiping away a tear. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so happy,” he said, although that word didn’t come close to covering everything he felt.

“I am too.” Nick pulled him closer, whispering in his ear. “For the first time in years, I’m really happy and excited about the future again. And that’s because of you, Leo.”