Holiday Cheer from Andrew Grey and Amy Lane

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“IS IT strange that I miss Rudolph? Not that I’m not having a good time, because I am, but….” Alex could feel himself rambling and tried to rein it in. If he let himself fixate on things, he would blow it, so he concentrated on keeping everything breezy, not rearranging the silverware because the server put the knife in the wrong place, or worrying about how he moved Alex’s water glass when he refilled it.

“He’s new in your life.” Luther sipped from his beer glass. “Besides, you’re probably wondering if he’s getting into mischief.” He winked like he was kidding.

Alex smiled. “I wasn’t until you mentioned it.” He paused, widening his eyes. “Now I can’t stop wondering if Rudolph is tearing through the house or using the coffee table for a chew toy.” He gasped and then grinned.

“Damn, you really had me there.” Luther chuckled, flashing Alex a bright smile. “Can I ask you something?” The server brought their dinners. Luther took the first bite of his chicken and hummed softly. “This is good. How is yours?”

“Wonderful.” Alex had decided to be adventurous and ordered the duck. Usually he stuck to what he knew, but he decided to go for it. He took another bite and swallowed. “You wanted to ask something.”

“Yeah. I noticed you don’t have a tree,” Luther said.

“I usually get a smaller one closer to Christmas.”

Luther shrugged in response.

“What?”

“I guess I pictured you as an artificial tree kind of guy.”

Alex shook his head. “Nope. Mom and Dad always had a real tree growing up. It always made the house smell like pine. I was going to get one this weekend, but with Rudolph I’m wondering if that’s such a good idea. What if he gets confused and tries to pee on it or knocks it over?”

Luther shrugged again. “He’s a dog, and he’ll make mistakes just as the rest of us do. But that’s not a reason to stop living your life or worry about it. If he does pee on it, then you clean it up and tell him no. As for knocking it over, he’s a small dog. Rudolph is more likely to pick off ornaments to play with, so put them out of his reach. The likely scenario is that he’s just going to ignore it altogether as long as no one wraps food to put under it.” Luther laughed.

“I take it there’s a story there.” Alex took another bite of his amazing duck with raspberry sauce and leaned forward.

“We had a poodle mix growing up. Toni was a really good dog. I took her to obedience class, and she was always good. One Christmas morning when I was fourteen, we came out to the living room, all excited, to find a real mess. Wrapping paper littered the floor, as did packaging and bits of plastic. The packages from under the tree were all over the place. Dad was mad, and Mom was upset. I started cleaning up the paper and found a tag. It was a present from Aunt Vicky that she’d apparently put under the tree when they’d visited Christmas Eve. She later told us it was meant to be a surprise.”

“What was it?”

“A Hickory Farms summer sausage gift box,” Luther answered.

“Oh my God,” Alex said. “So Toni was just being a dog and going for the food.”

“Yeah. None of the other packages were damaged, just moved and pushed aside in her quest to get to the cheese and meat. Dad was mad at the dog, but it wasn’t her fault. It was Aunt Vicky’s for sneaking the food under the tree without telling us. At all times it’s good to remember that Rudolph is just being a dog and that we are the ones who can think and adjust our behavior. Still, they were mad. Toni felt bad, you could tell, but she was just being a dog.” Luther made a face, and Alex smiled. “And I didn’t have to eat any of that summer sausage. Aunt Vicky always thought it was something special, but I never liked it.”

It felt like he was sharing a secret, and Alex smiled. “So you’re an only child?”

Luther nodded. “I was actually my parents’ third child. The older two didn’t make it, and that was hard on my mom. Do you have brothers and sisters?”

“I have a younger sister, Melody, who is a bit of a terror. She’s six years younger than me and the spoiled baby of the family if there ever was one. I had to look after her a lot when we were younger.” He didn’t need to go into their dysfunctional family dynamics, at least not on a first date. Melody could do no wrong, so every time he’d had to babysit, she was out of control and Alex would get in trouble for what she’d done.

“Do you get along?”

Alex shrugged. “I’m on my own. I see my family once a month or so for dinner or something. But otherwise I try to keep myself busy. They aren’t very conducive to my mental health, as Palmer has helped me see. Every time I visit, I’m anxious for days afterwards.”

“Will you be seeing them for Christmas?”

Alex shook his head. “Mom and Dad have decided that they are going on a cruise for the holidays and taking Melody. They hinted that I could go along but never really asked me, and if I wanted to go, then I’d have to pay my own way and share a cabin with my eighteen-year-old sister, who would spend all her time trying to sneak out to get some time to herself. So if I went, I’d end up as the babysitter again, and that isn’t a lot of fun.” So he was spending Christmas on his own for the first time. At least he had Rudolph to keep him company. His parents had said that they would send him a Christmas box with his gifts.

“So you’ll be alone?”

“With Rudolph. Maybe he and I will watch the other Rudolph together. I’ll get us each treats, and we can sit on the sofa and eat until we both fall into a food coma.”

Luther set down his fork. “Or you and Rudolph can come spend Christmas with me and my family. Mom loves to cook, and we usually have Aunt Vicky and a few other friends and family with us. Mom always invites people she knows will be alone for the holiday.”

“I don’t want to impose.” While his words were polite, Alex wasn’t sure he would be up to spending the day smiling with strangers. What if Luther’s family didn’t like him, or what if his mother didn’t want more people for the holiday?

“It’s not imposing. My mom will be happy to have you there, and so would I.” That smile came again, and Alex was tempted to say yes. “I’ll pick you and Rudolph up on Christmas morning.”

That made Alex pause. He was inviting him and his dog for the holiday. Alex had already been wondering what he was going to do with Rudolph if he did come to Christmas dinner, and here Luther had not only answered the question, but extended an invitation to him too. “Are you sure about this?”

Luther leaned forward. “Of course.” He said it as though it truly wasn’t a big deal, but for Alex, it definitely was.

“Thank you.” At least he wasn’t going to be eating a frozen dinner or Chinese takeout on the holiday, and he was going to be spending it with Luther. Though he didn’t want to read too much into that. Luther was probably just being nice. As much as Alex would welcome the idea that Luther might like him, he didn’t dare let himself hope too much. Alex knew that his issues were more than most other people could take, and he didn’t blame them.

“So you’ll come?” Luther asked with a touch of excitement, and Alex nodded, trying not to get his hopes up but feeling truly happy for the first time in a while.

“THAT WAS a great dinner,” Alex said as he and Luther went out to the car. The cold night air had stilled, and flakes of snow drifted through the air before settling in the wreaths that decorated the downtown lampposts. “Thank you.” He had reached for the check, but Luther had gotten to it first and paid for their dinner.

Luther unlocked the car, and Alex settled into the passenger seat and closed the door. Snow had obscured the windshield, but the wipers brushed it away as soon as Luther started the engine to take him home.

At the house, Luther parked, and as they headed up the walk, Rudolph peered out of the window, his tail wagging. Once they got close, he jumped down, and Alex wasn’t surprised when he opened the door to Rudolph bouncing with excitement.

“What did you do?” Luther asked.

Alex lifted his gaze to the stuffing strewn over the floor. He gasped and started checking over the sofa cushions and then the chairs. Then he bent down and picked up a bit of orange fabric.

“It looks like the carrot toy we got him.” Relieved, he began picking up the bits of fluff. Rudolph jumped on the couch cushion, watching the proceedings with pride.

“Did you protect the house from the evil carrot monster?” Luther asked, giving Rudolph attention.

“I thought at first he had gone after one of the cushions or something.”

“Nope,” Luther said. “You have yourself a good boy here. He tore into one of his toys.” He sat down, and Alex tossed away the remaining bits of dog toy before sitting next to him, Rudolph bounding onto his lap.

“I find myself tensing sometimes when he does that,” Alex confessed. “Like I’m scared of him, and then I remember that I’m not.” He petted Rudolph, who wagged his tail, mouth open in puppy happiness, before settling between them for a few minutes. But as soon as Alex began to relax, Rudolph jumped down and ran off, tearing around the room in circles. “I should let him out.” Alex hurried out back, got the leash, and took Rudolph out in the backyard.

“You should fence this area come spring. Then he could run in back without you worrying about him getting out.” Luther was close enough that Alex could feel his heat in the cold air. Alex inhaled and got a nose full of Luther’s head-spinning scent.

“There are lots of things I need to do. Usually I try to do them myself, but building fences is probably beyond my skill set.” This was his first house, and Alex was trying to put as much sweat equity into it as he could. “Still, that’s what the internet is for.”

“And friends,” Luther added softly, sending a ripple of heat through him.

Rudolph did his business on one of the boxwoods and pranced away like he was proud of himself. Then he hurried over and raced around Alex’s legs, tying him up in the leash.

“He has too much energy,” Alex said.

“It’s a trait of the breed. Just learn to go with it and take him on walks to let him work it off.” Luther shivered, and Alex got Rudolph inside and the back door closed. Then he took off Rudolph’s leash, and the dog raced onto the sofa and watched him over the back. Alex and Luther sat down again, with Rudolph taking his place between them, settling in for pets.

“We could watch a movie,” Alex offered, not sure what he should do. This type of thing was hard for him. Did he offer drinks, a movie, snacks? What did he talk about? Was just being quiet okay? A million things raced through his head, and each time he had to admit he didn’t know only increased his worry that he was being an idiot.

“That would be great,” Luther answered. “I like comedies or action flicks. I can look to see what’s available if you like.” And just like that, Luther took away the worry.

“Cool. I have beer if you like, or some juice. There might be a soda or something too.” Not that Alex drank beer, but his dad did, and he had left a few the last time his parents visited. At least he hoped so.

Luther smiled. “Whatever you’re having is great.” There was a smile, and Alex was so grateful Luther hadn’t told him to just relax. His parents had tried to help him get over his anxiety more times than he could count, but their efforts more often than not involved them telling him to just relax or to chill—words that always had the opposite effect.

Alex went to get drinks, and by the time he had returned, Luther had Lethal Weapon 2 up on the screen.

“Is this okay?”

Alex grinned. “I love this one.” His parents had hated it when he watched this type of movie. His mom told him once that she thought movies caused his anxiety. Alex had rolled his eyes at the idea.

Luther started the movie, and Alex placed the sodas on the table before settling in to watch. Rudolph climbed onto his lap after a few minutes, and Alex stroked his back, tension slowly easing from him until the action on screen got his heart racing once more. About the time that Danny Glover was found sitting on the toilet bomb, Luther leaned closer until their shoulders touched.

Suddenly the sound from the television receded under the pounding of his heart. He turned to Luther, who leaned closer. Under normal circumstances, Alex would have worried about whether Luther was going to kiss him and if he was ready for it, but Luther just drew nearer, and Alex found himself responding. Without thinking, he deepened the kiss, sliding his eyes closed and just letting himself enjoy the way Luther tasted, the feel of his lips. It was wonderful… and over before Alex could wonder or worry.

“Was that okay?” Luther asked.

“Uh-huh,” Alex said as Rudolph licked his chin. “I think he’s jealous.”

Luther chuckled before lifting Rudolph to the floor, where he went after another of his toys, and Luther leaned in again. This time Alex was ready, and he slipped his arms around Luther’s neck and held him through a second kiss. Part of him wondered if this meant that Luther wanted to take things further, but Luther backed away and sat up straight as the movie continued. He did take Alex’s hand, and they sat together as the house on the hill came crashing down. Not that Alex’s attention was on the TV—instead, it was centered on his hand in Luther’s.

By the time the credits rolled, Rudolph was on Alex’s lap and Alex was leaning against Luther’s shoulder. He was comfortable and kind of blinky. “I think I should go,” Luther said softly.

“Oh, okay,” Alex whispered, and then Luther’s heat was gone as he stood. Alex saw him to the door, with Rudolph prancing to get Luther’s attention for a goodbye pet. Then he hurried off to tear apart another of his toys, and Alex stood at the door. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe we can go tree shopping?”

“That would be fun,” Alex answered, unsure what came next, but Luther kissed him gently and then left the house.

Alex stood in the doorway watching as Luther got to his car. Alex’s heart was still racing, his lips curled upward, and the smile lasted well after he’d closed the door and started cleaning up the glasses. He refused to let his mind wander to what the evening meant and what was to come. Instead, he tried to let himself be happy—at least for a while.