Holiday Cheer from Andrew Grey and Amy Lane

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

WORK THE following day was long and boring. Alex kept watching the clock. A good share of the people in the office were either on vacation or getting ready to leave, which meant the place was growing quieter. A few times during the day, music drifted into his office, and Alex found himself humming along to various Christmas carols.

“You okay?” Wendy asked after rapping lightly on his door frame. She was the senior of the people who worked for him and probably had more experience than the rest of his team together. “You seem extra happy and un-jumpy. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he answered out of habit. “Well, I got a dog.”

“Is that why you didn’t jump down Renee’s throat when she messed up everything for the fourth time? Maybe we should have gotten you a dog a year ago.” She sat down. “Whatever it is, keep it up. It’s nice to see you happy.”

“Thanks. It’s kind of nice not to be jumpy and wondering when things are going to go to hell all the time.”

“Where is this dog of yours right now?” Wendy asked.

“At home. I went to let him out and check on him at lunch. Rudolph was tickled to see me. You know, it’s great to have someone at home thrilled to see me when I walk in the door.”

Wendy scoffed lightly. “What you need is a man to do that for you.”

He swallowed hard and glanced down at the top of his desk.

“I see. There’s one of those too. Did they come as a set?”

Alex rolled his eyes.

“They did.” She grinned. “Now tell me how a man who practically jumped up on his desk when I brought Henri into the office last month ends up with a dog and a guy in his life at the same time. ’Cause, honey, I may need to go out and get me another dog if they’re giving away cute guys as a gift with purchase. Maybe then I could trade in Herb for a newer model.” Alex knew she was kidding. She and Herb had been married for thirty years, and he sent her flowers at work every once in a while.

“Luther is nice, and I met him at the shelter. He started off helping me get the things I’d need for Rudolph, but since then we’ve been on a few dates, and I really like him.”

Wendy relaxed in her seat. “So what’s the problem?”

“He met my mother yesterday. She wants me to go on the family cruise and offered to get me the passage as a Christmas present. I turned her down, but I think she might have scared Luther off.” He hadn’t called or texted yet today, and Alex was a little worried, but he was trying not to get wound up about it.

“Wow.” Her expression clearly showed she thought he was kidding.

“I’m serious. He couldn’t get out of the house fast enough. We had gotten a tree and just finished decorating it when she showed up.”

Wendy tilted her head forward and looked at him over her glasses. “If that’s all it took to scare him off, then he wasn’t worth bothering with in the first place. Besides, he could have been busy. What does he do?”

“Teaches psychology at Dickinson.”

“Then it’s finals time, and he’s probably really busy during the day. Give him a break and don’t worry about it.” She leaned forward. “Besides, I saw Joe walking down the hallway in this direction, so it’s possible you may have something real to worry about.” She stood and stepped out of the office as Alex’s vice president peered in.

“Do you have a minute?” he asked and then sat right down. “I just got a request for a complete relay of store 340. Apparently they need to rework the assortment in the store. They have the new assortment, and they want to make the changes to the store layout in January.” He sat back, and Alex could already see the writing on the wall. “They need this done right away so they can get it approved and start work.” Which meant they would expect Alex to work through the holidays in order to be on time. “I told them that they were being too aggressive and optimistic on their timelines for this time of the year.”

“And they don’t care.” Alex knew the drill as well as Joe. “I have the current layout for the store in the system. I can finish a proposed layout before the holidays, but then it’s going to need approval, and shepherding that through takes time. You know that.”

“I’m scheduling a meeting for between the holidays with all the parties. They can review what they need to, and we’ll get their approval at the meeting. Then we can input the details and have the final layouts after the first of the year.”

Alex already felt the pressure building. They did this to him every time. Alex was amazing at his job, and yet he was expected to do the impossible time and time again. “You know none of this will happen, right?”

Joe smiled. “Of course I do. But I put out the plan and stipulated that any deviation will push back their timeline. And I stipulated that all approvals had to be done at the meeting, no exceptions. So if you can get your layouts done before Christmas, we’ll send everything out, and the departments have to be ready or they don’t get what they want.” He made it sound simple. “I know you can do this. I’ll shepherd it through the approvals. I got your back.”

Alex thanked him. He was a little relieved, but in the end he had been handed days of work to complete on his own. It would keep him busy, but he could do much of it at home, so he could work there the week before Christmas without anyone disturbing him. He already had permission to work from home. “Then I’ll get it done.” He just needed to make sure he had all the information he needed.

“Thank you,” Joe said and stood. “Have a good holiday.” He smiled and left, with Alex shaking his head. Joe was always careful to say the right things, but sometimes Alex swore he was the Grinch in disguise. He checked the time and made a list of things he would need to redesign the store layout. Then he finished his outstanding tasks and left. He still hadn’t heard anything from Luther and was beginning to get a little worried.

ALEX HURRIED into the house and was greeted by a jumping Rudolph. He got the leash and took him out to potty right away. Then he turned on the tree, its multicolored lights livening up the room and adding some festive cheer. Alex settled on the sofa with a drink and turned on the television, trying to occupy his sometimes too-active mind. He thought about messaging Luther to see if he was all right, and he picked up his phone and stared at the screen. What the hell was he afraid of?

He sent off a quick message to see how Luther was and then leaned back on the sofa, Rudolph jumping into his lap. Alex ended up watching one of the myriad romantic holiday movies that seemed to be on, and he got caught up in it pretty quickly. This one was about a prince and a girl from New York somewhere. He swore he’d already seen this movie plot a dozen times, but he got into the story nonetheless.

His phone buzzing on the coffee table pulled Alex out of the story. He picked it up, smiling. Sorry. Got really busy with exams and closing out the term.

Do you want to come by? Alex sent and received a smiley face in response.

Be there in half an hour. It was followed by a bunch of Christmas emojis that made Alex smile.

“Luther is coming over,” Alex said before jumping up. There were things he needed to do, and he quickly picked up the house and ran the vacuum. He also changed the sheets on the bed in a fit of wishful thinking. They had kissed, but Luther seemed intent on taking things slowly, which Alex liked. Luther seemed to understand that Alex needed a chance to process things.

The last thing he did was put on some Christmas music before answering the door. Rudolph bounded around Luther’s legs like he hadn’t seen him in days. Luther gave the little jumping bean pets and then stood straight.

“I’m sorry about my mom yesterday. She gets a little intense.”

Luther tugged Alex closer. “No need. I thought maybe the two of you needed to talk, and well….” He paused. “I figured you needed to work out the details of your cruise, and you didn’t need me to be here.” The disappointment in Luther’s eyes was unmistakable.

“I’m not going. I can’t take off work at this late date, and besides, I was invited to Christmas dinner with my boyfriend.” They had never talked about what the two of them were, and maybe Alex was jumping to conclusions and the ten minutes he’d just spent changing the sheets were wishful thinking.

“You’re not going with your family?” Luther asked.

Alex shook his head. “My mother always thinks that everyone should just drop what they’re doing because she wants them to. My job isn’t important—only what she happens to want.” He sighed. “And what she really needed was someone to watch Melody so she and Dad could go out and do their thing. I don’t want that kind of trip.” He drew closer. “I’d rather spend the holiday with you.”

“With me, as your boyfriend?” Luther asked, and Alex nodded. “I like that.” He kissed Alex hard, and Alex held him in return, energy building between them.

“I do too,” Alex whispered as he pulled back. “But… how long before you get tired of me?” He had to ask. “How long before my anxieties become too much for you? My last boyfriend couldn’t get away fast enough. He seemed to think that everything would just go away and….”

Luther smoothed his hand down Alex’s arm. “And the more he pressured you to change, the more your anxiety intensified.” It was like Luther had been there. “You are who you are, and caring for someone means that you love them for the person they are, not what you think they’ll become or how you can change them. Besides, you have courage and strength. Rudolph is proof of that.” Luther smiled as he leaned closer.

“But will you get tired of me?” Alex asked.

Luther shook his head. “Somehow I very much doubt it. You have this way of keeping me on my toes. You surprise me, and not many people do that.” He kissed Alex once more.

“Still.” Alex felt his hand shaking and tried to cover it up. Luther took it and gently stroked the back of it. “I worry about things.”

“You don’t need to. I’m not going to walk away because you get anxious or need change to happen slowly in your life. There are things that none of us can change, and there are things we can control. But the best parts of ourselves come out when we trust someone enough to place the things we get to have a say in in the hands of the people we care about.”

Rudolph barked from where he stood on the sofa. Clearly he felt a little left out.

“Maybe we can test this theory of your upstairs?” Alex asked quietly, still uncertain what Luther wanted, but he got his answer with a heated smile and a gentle tug toward the stairs.

“This isn’t the time for you to be up here,” Alex told Rudolph as he barreled up onto the bed just as Luther worked his shirt off.

Rudolph perched on the edge of the bed, tail wagging, mouth open in that knowing doggie smile he had.

“Off the bed and go downstairs.”

Of course Rudolph ignored him. Thankfully Luther lifted him off the bed and left the room.

Alex took the opportunity to remove the rest of his clothes while Luther clomped down the stairs and then returned a few minutes later, closing the bedroom door. “I gave him a bone.” Luther stalked closer. “Damn, you’re stunning.” He kicked off his shoes and stripped off his pants, baring his built and honed body to Alex’s gaze. Alex had imagined what might be under Luther’s clothes since they met, but reality beat his imagination by a mile. Luther grinned as he climbed onto the bed, his gaze as hot as a summer day. He drew closer, his hands gliding up Alex’s chest to his neck and cheeks.

“You’re the one who looks great naked. I’m just a skinny guy who needs to gain a few pounds.” Alex had no illusions about how he looked. Thankfully, body image wasn’t one of the things he was anxious about.

“Nope. I’m not buying it.” Luther caressed his sides before kissing Alex hard, probably so he couldn’t argue. And who was he to tell Luther he was wrong? Hell, talking became unnecessary over the next hour as Luther took him to heights Alex had only dreamed about. Outside the house, the night air was cold and the wind whistled around the house, but in this room, there was heat, passion, and everything Alex could ever want, building up to a breathless pinnacle that left him satiated and panting.

He and Luther lay side by side, Luther’s fingers entwined with Alex’s. “Jesus,” Alex whispered, not daring to move.

There was a scratch, scratch, scratch, followed by a sharp bark, then more scratching.

“I think your dog is done with his bone,” Luther said and then laughed. Alex got a few tissues, and they cleaned up quickly, then opened the door before Rudolph could dig a hole through it.

“You know, we never did have dinner,” Alex said.

“We had more important things to do,” Luther breathed and patted the bed. Rudolph scurried between them and settled right down.

“You really are a naughty thing,” Alex scolded lightly. “Do you mind that he’s here? I can put him in his bed.”

“It’s nice.” Luther stroked Rudolph gently and got a doggie kiss on the chin. “I really like the little ball of energy.” Luther leaned closer, and he and Alex shared a kiss that threatened to reignite the fire they’d lit earlier.

This time Rudolph took the hint and got out of the room.