Christmas at Bennett’s (Breakfast at Bennett’s #4.5)

7. Damon

CHAPTER 7

DAMON

Damon watched Nash as Taylor linked their hands and tugged him in the direction of the Christmas tree lot that was set up outside the mall. Taylor was still working on unpacking and getting settled into the apartment, but he’d insisted that a Christmas tree absolutely couldn’t wait.

The snow had been cleared from the lot, but a fresh layer was already falling. Damon loved the way it stuck to Taylor’s hair and dusted his shoulders. Taylor’s cheeks were pink, whether from blush or the cold was hard to tell, but it made him look extra pretty and Damon found it hard to look away.

He hurried to catch up to them. They’d stopped in front of a few trees and Damon could tell by the droop in Taylor’s shoulders that something was wrong.

“They’re all lovely trees,” Taylor said, chewing at his lower lip. “Any one of them will do. You choose.” Taylor deferred to Nash.

Nash narrowed his gaze at Taylor. “You were the one who wanted to get a tree, and now you’re happy with whatever I choose?” Nash glanced over at Damon. “Back me up.”

Damon slid his arm around Taylor and pressed a kiss to his cheek. People around town had gotten used to Damon and his two boyfriends and so far they hadn’t been given any trouble, but they still made sure to keep the PDA to a family-friendly level.

“You were rather adamant about having a real tree.”

“And these are real trees. So whatever one you choose will be great.” Taylor bit his lip and looked away from them.

“Princess, what’s the problem?” Damon watched Taylor visibly melt when he used his nickname. Even after all the time they’d been together, it was still an effective way to get Taylor to crack. He had no defenses against it.

“That’s not fair!” Taylor protested. As revenge, he let Nash draw him into his arms.

“It’s not, but you’ll tell us anyway. Right, Princess?” Nash grinned at Damon over Taylor’s shoulder.

“Ugh. I hate you both,” Taylor whined unconvincingly. “The problem is that these are dead. They chopped them down. And when Christmas is over, they’ll have to be thrown away. I didn’t even think of it until they advertised the tree removal service for an additional charge.”

“So you don’t want a real tree?” Nash asked, wrapping Taylor tighter.

“I do, but I don’t want a tree to die for me.” Taylor sniffled. “I feel dumb.”

“You’re not dumb. You love plants. They’re important to you.” Damon furrowed his brow. He hated seeing Taylor upset, especially about something that was supposed to make him happy. There had to be something they could do.

“I’m ruining Christmas.”

“You’re not ruining anything,” Nash reassured him.

“It shouldn’t matter. Everyone buys them. They’re already chopped down, but the thought of just throwing it away when we’re done with it… it’s so wasteful.”

Damon pulled out his phone and searched for nearby tree farms, but the only ones that were close enough didn’t offer what he wanted. “Damn.”

“What?” Nash asked.

“I thought we could get one of those potted Christmas trees, but the nearest tree farm that does that is like a ten-hour drive.”

Nash wrinkled his nose. “We can make the trip if you want.”

Taylor shook his head. “That’s too far for a tree. The thought was nice, though. Thanks for trying. Maybe I can grow a tree of my own,” he joked, but it gave Damon an idea.

Taylor had grown trees. They were orange and lemon trees, hardly a traditional Christmas tree, but Damon could work with that. They could dress Taylor’s trees up for Christmas in lights and Christmas balls. They could string lights in the hanging plants or in some of his other plants. And Damon could bring in some branches that had broken off the trees in the lot and he could decorate the mantel above their fireplace with them, giving the house that Christmas tree scent.

“I have a plan,” Damon said. He looked at Nash. “Take Taylor home. Get the decorations out of the closet. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“What are you up to?” Taylor asked.

“You’ll find out soon. Now get going. Get the Christmas music on and make us some hot chocolate and I’ll be home soon and we can decorate.”

Taylor looked at him skeptically.

“I promise I’m not bringing a dead tree home. I know it would only make you sad. Just trust me, okay?” Damon leaned in and stole a kiss from Taylor. It was frosty and cold and Taylor’s pout hadn’t quite gone away. It would soon, though. Damon knew his plan was genius.

“Are you going to tell me about your brilliant plan?” Nash asked, angling for a kiss of his own. Damon obliged—the kiss, not the plan—and shook his head.

“Nope. You’ll find out in a bit. Now get going. Take Taylor home and get him warm. I’ll be there shortly.”

Damon watched Nash and Taylor head off toward their building. They lived just a short walk up the road from the tree lot and they’d intended on having a tree delivered, but clearly Taylor had underestimated his attachment to plant life. It was okay, though. Damon loved how sensitive and caring he was.

When they were out of sight, Damon walked up to the people running the lot.

“See anything you like?” asked a man wearing a red plaid jacket and a Santa hat.

“Uh, not exactly. My boyfriend is a real nature lover, but we don’t have the space for a tree.” The lie was silly, but Damon didn’t feel like explaining the whole story. “But he’d love the real tree smell, you know. So, uh, this is going to sound crazy, but can I buy some of those busted branches off you?” Damon pointed to the pile of discarded limbs that were heaped up off to the side, out of the way of people and traffic.

The man in the Santa hat laughed. “You want to pay me to take some of my garbage? That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day. You can take them for free. Help yourself.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“Merry Christmas.”

“You too,” Damon said, then stepped away so the man could deal with the next customer. Damon went to the pile and scrounged around, finding the perfect branches. Not too long. Not too short. Not too beat up. Then he carried them home.

When he arrived, the cocoa was on, the carols were playing, and Taylor and Nash had just finished stacking the boxes of decorations in the living room. Nash took one look at the branches in Damon’s arms and tilted his head like a curious dog.

“What are you doing with those?”

“Please tell me this isn’t some kind of DIY Christmas tree building exercise,” Taylor said.

“You’re a menace.” Damon set the branches on the floor and took his boots off. “They’re for the mantle above the fireplace. They’ll give us a nice Christmas tree smell, and they were just branches that got broken and were going to be trashed anyway.”

Damon strode into the living room and took Taylor into his arms. “As for the tree, you got me thinking. You have grown several trees. And they might not look like traditional Christmas trees, but that’s okay. It’s even better because you love them already, so it will just make them more special.”

Taylor furrowed his brow. “Wha?—”

“The orange trees.” Nash said, grinning. “We can move them in front of the big window. Right in the middle. There are three of them… well, two orange trees and a lemon, and they’re all different heights. It’ll look really pretty.”

Taylor looked at Nash, then at Damon again. “You really want to decorate my plants?”

“Yes.” Damon grinned and pulled Taylor into a kiss. Taylor was too surprised to kiss him back, but that didn’t bother Damon at all. “You love your plants. We love you, and your plants. We love that you love your plants. I don’t want Christmas to make you sad, and if the idea of having a tree that was chopped down bothers you, then we’ll improvise and do something else.”

Taylor sighed and melted into Damon’s arms. He looped his arms around Damon’s waist. “But it’s not a traditional tree.”

“We’re not exactly a traditional couple,” Nash added. “It’s not like there’s a Christmas litmus test and you have to adhere to other people’s traditions to participate. We get to make our own. Besides, I think your trees will look pretty all dressed up for the holiday. Don’t you?”

Taylor let out a sigh. “I love you guys so fucking much. Have I ever told you that?”

“Yes.” Damon skimmed his hands down Taylor’s back and grabbed his ass. “But you can tell us as many times as you want. We love hearing it.”

Damon tore himself away from Taylor. “I’ll get started on the mantle and you two arrange the trees how you want them, and then we can decorate them. We’ll have to make sure to use lights that aren’t too heavy for the trees.”

Taylor grabbed on to Damon’s shirt and pulled him close. He lifted himself up on his toes and slanted his mouth over Damon’s. His tongue flicked the seam of Damon’s lips and demanded entry. Damon could deny him nothing. He let Taylor inside and moaned as their tongues tangled together.

Unfortunately, Taylor pulled away and Damon let out an embarrassing whimper.

“I promise we’ll get back to that later,” Taylor assured him. “But I really want to decorate now.”

Damon watched for a few minutes as Nash and Taylor carefully positioned the trees the way they wanted them. While Nash opened the boxes and found the lights that would be best for the task, Taylor brought Damon a hot chocolate.

Damon cleared the things off the mantle and stored them in a drawer in the coffee table where they’d be safe until after the holidays. Then he dressed the mantle with the boughs and a set of lights that were too heavy for any of Taylor’s plants. He wove the lights in between the branches then tucked a few Christmas balls into the mix.

Every so often he’d glance over and watch Taylor and Nash as they carefully strung lights on the trees Taylor had grown. Taylor’s love of plants was obsessive and legendary to anyone who knew him. And chances were, if you knew him, you had one of his plants.

Finished with the mantle, Damon crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Nash. “That looks really pretty.”

“Thank you,” Taylor said, winking at Damon.

Nash turned his head and stole a kiss from Damon. “It does look pretty. Where’d you get the idea for this anyway?”

Damon shrugged. “Taylor mentioned growing his own tree and it dawned on me that he’s grown plenty of trees.”

Taylor paused, a silver ball dangling from his fingers, and looked at Damon. “I could grow a tree. I should get a seedling and then I can grow a real evergreen. It can live on the balcony all year and when it gets too big, I could plant it somewhere.”

When neither of them responded, Taylor laughed. “You two should see the looks on your faces. Don’t worry. I promise not to grow evergreens on the balcony, but it’s cute that you weren’t going to argue with me.” Taylor shook his head and hung the ornament on the tree. The twinkle lights they’d put on wrapped up the trunk and decorated the foliage. They put some garland down over the dirt and Taylor nestled some of the heavier ornaments on the garland around the base.

“We really weren’t going to argue, were we?” Damon asked Nash, who shook his head.

“We’re such suckers for a pretty face, I guess.”

“It’s too easy to spoil him. We better watch it.”

Taylor looked over at them and smiled. He didn’t respond to their commentary as even he could tell that Damon and Nash had no intention of changing the way they indulged him and spoiled him.

The truth was that it didn’t take much to make Taylor happy, and all Damon and Nash needed for their own happiness was the three of them—together.