Christmas Tales - Brandon Witt Page 0,36

back. The corner of his lips turned up in a way I was already getting used to. “You’re a good kisser.”

I was? Had I even kissed back? I’d been too enraptured to even think about kissing back.

He didn’t wait for an answer and took my hand, pulling me into the hallway. “Which way?”

After unlocking the door, I nearly warned him again. Instead I pushed it open, stepped in, and flicked on the lights.

James followed.

After closing and locking the door, I looked up at James and found what I’d expected. Judgment.

“You don’t have a Christmas tree.” He angled his head to see into the other room of my tiny space. “Do you put it up in the bedroom?”

Maybe the expression was more confusion than judgment. I couldn’t tell. And it wasn’t about the toys. I was so thrown off I was honest. “Oh no. No tree. I’m not a fan of Christmas.”

“Really?”

I nodded. A bite of annoyance tinged my tone, though I tried to keep it away. Why was everyone so astounded I didn’t like Christmas? Lots of people didn’t like Christmas, at least if they were honest.

“Yeah, really. Don’t love Christmas.”

“Oh.” He must have noticed my irritation. Of course he did. He wasn’t deaf or stupid.

He looked around the room again. Now I’d get the judgment about the toys. And sure enough, he sucked in a breath and walked toward one of the cabinets, of course the one with the top shelf of Barbies. He didn’t pause at the shelves, but kept going to Angel and Spike’s home by the window.

“Holy shit. I’ve never seen one so big.” His gaze followed the tubes to their highest point, which made him crane his neck upward slightly, revealing a stubble-covered Adam’s apple and thick cords of muscle.

Holy clichéd shit, Batman, I was lusting after the man’s throat, for crying out loud.

James squatted down, hands on his knees, and peered into the main housing portion of the cage, which only shifted my lust from his throat to his ass. “Who’s in here?”

“Angel and Spike.” I crossed the room and knelt down beside the cage. “Want to meet them?”

“You bet!”

I unhinged the door and reached inside, removing the roof of my hamsters’ blue wooden house nestled in the pine chips. Spike blinked up at me, obviously annoyed at being woken up. He gave a tiny yawn as I scooped him up and pulled him out of the cage. With my other hand, I reached back in and picked up Angel, who also gave me a withering stare.

I held them out on open palms toward James. “This is Angel and Spike. They’re teddy bear hamsters. The fluffier one is Spike.”

He chuckled. “He looks a little frazzled. They are crazy cute.” He glanced back at the labyrinth of tubes and compartments. “And they have no idea how good they have it. This is the high-rise of hamster houses.” He held out his hand as he turned to me again. “Can I hold one of them? Maybe Spike. I like how he looks a little crazy.”

None of this could be real. A man like James. In my apartment because he wanted to fuck me. A man like James, who kissed like he did. And he genuinely liked my hamsters. Made no sense.

“Sure.”

I held out my hand next to his and tilted it just enough so Spike would know what I wanted. He stepped from my hand to James’s, who instantly raised him closer to his face for inspection.

“He really does look like a fat little teddy bear. So fucking cute. And Spike. I’d expect that name for a Rottweiler or something. Not a little guy like this.”

“It’s from Buffy. Angel is too.” The words were out before I could stop them.

He looked at me quizzically, and then his eyes widened. “Oh. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, right? My daughter loved that show. I’ve never seen it.”

“Oh, you have to! It’s the best show of all—” I made myself quit talking. The way he was looking at me. All large eyes and a weird expression on his face. “What? Did my geek level just freak you out?”

“You just keep getting cuter, Brian Jeffrey McKay.” He held Spike out to me. “Here, if you don’t mind putting these little guys back. I’d like to focus on their daddy at the moment.”

All thoughts of Buffy and hamsters vanished. “Uhm, sure.” I replaced Spike and Angel. “I’m gonna… hop in the shower. I’ll be quick. Can I get you a beer or