Christmas Tales - Brandon Witt Page 0,42

when you opened the door. Like you just drank sour milk or something.”

Shit. Well, that was starting off perfectly. “Oh, sorry. No. I was realizing I probably should be wearing a Christmas outfit, but I don’t have one. And that just made me think of walking in on Philip getting fucked by Bathhouse Santa.” I grimaced.

He laughed again. “Yep. That’s the face. And Bathhouse Santa’s a pretty good guy, actually.” James pointed at his brown-and-orange flannel shirt. “And I’m not wearing a Christmas outfit either. We’re not six, so we should be okay.”

I wasn’t sure how to recover from that announcement. Luckily I didn’t have to figure it out. James stepped through the doorway and kissed me. I’d replayed our night together on a continuous loop in the past few days. I thought I’d managed to memorize the way his lips felt. Apparently not, or my memory wasn’t able to capture the warm pressure combined with the scratch of his beard over mine. Or the way his kiss made me feel like I wasn’t able to stand, yet might burst into flight.

At last he pulled away. His warm brown eyes were bright and direct. “I’d like to keep going, but I’d just end up getting you naked, and I really want to have an actual date with you. That okay?”

No. Just get me naked. Just kiss me like that again, all night.

I didn’t want anything else, but I nodded.

“Good. I’ll get you naked later tonight if you’re not sick of me by then.” He pointed to the doorway. “You ready, or do you still want to find a Christmas outfit?”

I felt my cheeks heat. “I’m ready. No Christmas outfits, thankfully.”

* * *

James kept one hand on my thigh as he drove. “I wanted to go someplace pretty gay so we don’t have to watch ourselves, but not a bar. I was thinking Hamburger Mary’s, but they’ve got a fundraiser going on tonight. So, I opted for Racine’s. It’s about as gay friendly as you can get without it actually being a gay restaurant. That sound okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” I hadn’t been to Racine’s in years. I rarely went out to eat; it was expensive. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, though. My nerves were wound so tightly it felt like I might come undone at any moment.

James seemed to understand. He lifted his hand off my thigh and turned up the radio slightly before returning it to my leg. “I turned it to something other than Christmas music since you said you don’t like Christmas.”

* * *

Racine’s more than made up for the lack of Christmas music in James’s truck. The huge restaurant looked like it was attempting to become a winter wonderland. Massive shining ornaments hung from the tall ceilings. Three Christmas trees were spread out over the different levels of seating. Fake snow littered the top of wall dividers and counters.

It was kinda pretty. Well, if you were someone other than me, it would be beautiful. However, the fact that it didn’t make me want to turn and run away as fast as I could seemed like a Christmas miracle all on its own.

We didn’t have to wait long before we were seated close to a wall of windows. While it wasn’t snowing, the lights along the streets reflected off the snow on tree branches. It was beautiful.

What was happening to me?

James smiled at me after we ordered. “So date things. Honestly it’s been a while since I’ve been on a date. I’m a little rusty.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Really? I don’t believe that. A guy who looks like you doesn’t get many dates?”

He shrugged. “Dates and sex are different things a lot of the time. There’s not been many men I wanted to see again after sex.”

I nearly asked what the hell was wrong with him that he’d chosen me to be one of those he actually wanted to see again. It was more not wanting to see his look of pity that enabled me to keep the thought to myself than anything else.

He continued. “Okay, then, date things. Like jobs.” James lowered his voice just a touch as the tables around us were full of people. “So bathhouse. How’d you pick that career?”

I hesitated a moment, trying to see if there was judgment behind his words. There didn’t seem to be. “I kinda just fell into it several years ago. I’d been working as a line cook and hated it. I’d