Holiday Cheer from Andrew Grey and Amy Lane

A Late Start

A Late Start

MARK GOT up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, and when he came back, instead of walking around to Cassidy’s side of the bed, he had Cassidy scoot over to his side.

Cassidy did it without much complaining, which was nice of him, because he didn’t realize Mark had plans.

Mark had been thinking logistics in terms of their lovemaking, and how much he wanted to take Cassidy’s willing body. When he woke up the next morning spooned along Cassidy’s back instead of his side, with Cassidy’s cast on the bottom of his body, Mark thought his plan might work.

At around seven, which was probably when his brother’s completely insane children were awake terrorizing their grandmother and father, he began his campaign.

“Cass?”

“Mmm?”

“I’m gonna get us naked.”

“Sure.”

He didn’t sound like he believed Mark—or was particularly awake—but Mark figured he’d wake up enough to decide by the time Part A of the plan was finished. Being tender—and with playful kisses on bare skin—he slipped off Cassidy’s pajamas and boxers under the covers, and then his own. He slid back into bed and pressed his naked body against his lover’s, kissing between his shoulder blades and beginning a slow seduction as Cassidy tried to swim up from the depths of his sleep.

“Wha’re we doing?” he slurred as Mark slowly stroked his burgeoning erection.

“We’re going to have sex,” Mark said, hoping he didn’t sound too predatory. Damn, he wanted this. He wanted Cassidy to be all his. Forget waiting for the cast to come off—if they could do this and make it work, he was going to declare tentative victory, get the rest of his stuff tomorrow because he was moving in, and Merry Christmas to them both.

“Mm… that feels nice,” Cassidy rumbled. “But don’t we have to be there for breakfast?”

“Forget breakfast,” Mark mumbled. “They’ll start breakfast when we get there.” He slid his hand under the pillow for lube and slicked up two fingers. Then he propped up Cassidy’s good leg, foot on his cast, and opened Cassidy’s body for pillage.

“Oh my!” Cassidy said, sounding very awake when Mark began to toy with his entrance. “That’s a surprise!”

“A good one?” Mark hoped, stroking one finger in and out. “The kind with tinsel and bows?”

“Yeah, sure—that kind of surprise—oh! Oh wow!” Mark had added another finger. “And that’s an even bigger surprise!”

Mark chuckled, wanting his hand back so he could stroke Cassidy’s chest and play with his nipples and stroke his cock. “Want an even bigger surprise?” he asked, placing himself at Cassidy’s entrance.

“ Yes !”

Oh yes.

Mark’s rhythm wasn’t too fast—it couldn’t be—but coupled with Cassidy’s beautiful responses, the way he rocked back and forth just as Mark needed him to, the way he begged for touches, his nipples, his cock, and then used his own hands because Mark only had one that could reach—all of it made the experience exquisite and beautiful.

Mark wanted this. He drove himself into Cassidy’s body like he’d driven himself into the man’s life—without reservation or conscience.

And Cassidy gave back without inhibition or fear.

It was beautiful, perfect, and as Mark’s climax snuck up on him, a surprise convulsion of need and seed, Cassidy gasped and clenched down, pulling Mark into the here and now with the force of his own orgasm.

They both gasped and cried out and then went limp into the mattress, and Mark kissed his way down Cassidy’s spine as he waited for the moment they absolutely, positively must separate.

“Mm,” Cassidy mumbled. “That was glorious. Why’d we do that?”

“Because I love you,” Mark said. “And I don’t want to wait until your leg is better. I want to tell you now. Merry Christmas, Cassidy. I love you. I want you in my bed all the nights we can manage. I’m moving in tomorrow—is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Cassidy said. “I love you too. I won’t argue. Move in. We’ll make it work. Merry Christmas, Mark. Thank you for all my gifts.”

Mark chuckled. “I haven’t even given you your gifts yet.”

“Yeah, you have,” Cassidy mumbled, obviously falling back asleep. “My life. It’s still my life, but it’s got all the things I ever wanted in it. Those are your gifts, your family’s gifts. I can’t unwrap them, but I’m not giving them back.”

Mark chuckled softly and nuzzled his cheek against Cassidy’s spine. “I won’t ask for them back,” he promised, and then he fell back asleep too.

THEY BOTH woke up two hours later because Mark’s phone was buzzing.

It was his mother, asking when they’d be there for Christmas.

What followed was a frantic, almost comical effort of the two of them to get dressed and ready to go one house down to celebrate Christmas. Brushing teeth, putting on pants, using the bathroom, all of it made more cumbersome and more irritating by Cassidy’s cast and Gus-Gus’s frantic need to pee. Finally Mark had to take Gus-Gus out and leave Cassidy to dress himself.

When he came back inside a few minutes later, Cassidy had struggled back into one of his pairs of “modified” pants, complete with boxer shorts, and into a dress shirt and sweater. He grinned proudly at Mark, showing off white teeth, and Mark laughed and promised he’d be out in a sec.

He dressed in record time, and when he came out, he helped Cassidy gather the pile of presents they’d put underneath the tinsel-decorated window and put them in a canvas grocery bag to bring to Mark’s family.

Cassidy didn’t have to tell Mark this was the first time he’d done this— really done this, not as an obligation from a lonely child, but as an opportunity for a happy adult.

Finally they were ready for Mark to push him down the walkway to the sidewalk, then down the sidewalk to Mark’s mother’s house, and Mark’s chest ached as he saw Keith had installed a makeshift wheelchair ramp to get Cassidy up the two porch steps and into the foyer.

Mark bent and whispered in his ear as he saw that. “This is going to be a good day.”

Cassidy sent a smile over his shoulder, and they entered the chaos, the happy children chattering, Keith and Dani and Yvonne discussing what needed to be done for breakfast, and even the stereo playing Christmas music loud enough to be heard over the noise.

Yvonne broke off from her business in the kitchen and gave Mark a big hug and a kiss, and then bent to do the same thing for Cassidy.

“Glad you could make it,” she chided, and Mark saw Cassidy blush.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Didn’t mean to be late for Christmas.”

“Oh no, my boys,” she said happily. “Christmas is whenever you show up with the people you love. It’s impossible to be late for Christmas. Now come inside and ruin your breakfast with cookies.”

Mark pushed the chair through to the living room and bent down to whisper in his ear. “Hear that? It’s impossible to be late for Christmas.”

Cassidy laughed softly. “Since Christmas started in bed with you this morning, I think you might be right.”

Mark kissed the top of his head before nuzzling his temple.

Yeah, he thought. Yeah. There was a lot for them to do as a couple, but he had all the hope in the world. After all, if he could get Cassidy Hancock not to worry about being late for Christmas, it was possible they’d be on time for many Christmases to come.