Christmas Delights 3 (5 page)

She had the nerve to blush. “Oh no, sir, I wouldn’t want to
trouble you, and that is actually her seat. I just felt this little girl would
be better up here.” I heard someone mumble, “Unbelievable.”

I couldn’t help myself I followed those legs all the way up,
pausing for a moment at his zipper, squeezing my stress ball harder to suppress
a moan that tried to escape. My eyes continued to travel up, I never realized
how tall I was until my eyes moved up his long body. As I reached his face his
jaw muscles were clinching.

“So, let me get this straight, you don’t want to trouble me,
someone who has no issue with her sitting next to me. But you’re okay with
troubling this guy who obviously does have an issue and is probably wishing you
would go away. Plus, she actually already has a great seat where she wouldn’t
have anyone sitting next to her.” The flight attendant opened her mouth but my
hero a.k.a Adonis cut her off. “By the way she is no little girl, she’s a teenager
who’s dying of embarrassment.”

“I was just—”

“You were just trying to assert your authority, you’re
annoyed for some unknown reason that this guy is in first glass alone, so you
made the decision to embarrass him, the kid, piss me off and annoy everyone on
this flight.” I was shocked to hear people start to grumble in agreement. “Can
she just go back to her seat so we can get the hell up in the air?” The flight
attendant wanted to say something but everyone clapped and he turned and walked
away, heading back to his seat.

I was a mess, I was waiting for security to come and escort
him or me off the flight. Instead the pilot announced that we were getting
ready to take off and that we needed to fasten our seatbelts.

I watched the flight attendant, her face red with anger as
she huffed and escorted the girl back to her seat. I leaned my head against the
window, with a death grip on my stress ball. “Now the fun begins,” I whispered.

Chapter Two

Coolidge

I can’t believe I’m sitting on a plane headed for Hawaii
five days before Christmas. All because the new owner of the company has no
family, doesn’t care about anyone else’s or the plans they may have had. The
whole time I’d tried to explain to him about my family, how we spend Christmas,
he’d just nodded and stared at his computer, punching him had not been an
option.

“Mr. Reese, I could just as easily explain the new
software on a video conference, taking a trip to Hawaii would be a waste of
your money. Even though I haven’t met River, he is the best IT guy I’ve ever
worked with. He knows the new software I developed inside and out just like I
do. It’s just my family has a long standing tradition at Christmas.” He said
nothing; I cleared my throat. “See we always spend Christmas on Big Bear
Mountain. We rent a couple of cabins up there.” I stopped talking for a minute
not wanting to delve into my family drama. “Well, it’s hard for us to all get
together and this is just a special time for us.”

“Big Bear you say.” Finally he’s interested in what I’m
saying. “I’ve been thinking about buying a cabin up there.” Then he laughed.
“Hell, I’ve got enough money to buy the mountain.” He laughed again. “What do
think about that? Should I put a bid in for the mountain? It is my money to
waste after all.” He stared at me with his small blue eyes, mocking me.

Man this guy was an arrogant ass. “Well, I’m not sure
it’s for sale, sir, but you could always check into it.” I tried for the humor
I wasn’t feeling.

“Huh.” Mr. Reese leaned back in his chair, locking his
fingers behind his head. His shirt stretched across his chest and stomach; the
overworked buttons trying desperately to keep it together. “Everything is for
sale, Cool, even you. That’s why you’re going to Hawaii even though you say you
have family stuff, you don’t want to lose your job just like everyone here.
Take Kelsey out there.” I turned to see Kelsey sitting at his desk looking
defeated, shoulders hunched over his desk. “His grandmother’s funereal is
tomorrow but he will be on that flight tomorrow same as you because he needs
his job, just like you do. I pay you very well for what you do so therefore I
bought you, Kelsey, this business, this building and everything and everyone in
it.” He leaned forward, returning his attention back to his computer. “I didn’t
get where I am by caring about the people I hire or their families. I’m not
like other business owners or executives that pretend they care, blow smoke up
your ass and then fire you because you put your family first. If you don’t like
it leave, and I’ll have you replaced tomorrow.” He continued to stare at his
computer, he laughed at something he was reading and I knew our conversation
was over.

I left his office feeling like Kelsey looked, defeated. As
much as I hated for the bastard to be right, I knew he was. I needed my job
only for a few more months and then I would be out on my own. But until then I
guess I was going to Hawaii. The only thing I was happy about was meeting River
for the first time. I hadn’t spoken to him in a couple of days and I hated when
that happened. When I first started talking to River it seemed weird that I
never met him and I came up with all these descriptions of him. None of them
pleasant and I kept everyone in stitches over it. But over the years I had
really grown very fond of River and started thinking about him more and more.

So here I sit on flight 444, at ten in the morning heading
for Hawaii, my only saving grace was the guy in first class. I had seen him
walking around the airport, I couldn’t miss him really. It’s not often I see
someone as tall as I am. He was just leaner, long and tall. I bet most people
thought he was a ball player. I get that a lot; people see me and automatically
think I play some sort of sport, usually basketball.  They always seem
surprised when I tell them that I am a computer geek. Even though I played
sports in high school, which is how I earned the nickname ‘Cool’. I never felt
cool; I felt awkward and scared, and I hated every minute of it. But it seemed
the only way to hide being gay. Now at thirty-four I live in one of the few
states where it’s legal for couples of the same sex to get married. I’m out and
don’t really care who knows it and if I thought Mr. Long and Tall was gay I
would be working my way up to first class.

His skin was the color of mocha and his head was shaved. I
love a bald-headed man. I about jumped for joy when I saw him stop and sit at
our gate.  Now with the flight attendant driving him crazy, he looked like any
minute he was going to crawl out of his skin. I think if I hadn’t stopped the
idiot flight attendant he would have gotten off the plane which would have
sucked. I liked the idea of knowing he was going to be in Hawaii with me, even
if I never saw him again.

I half listened to the flight attendants give their safety
instructions while we taxied down the runway. I turned to see Kelsey a few rows
back put his phone away, giving me a short nod as he noticed me watching him.
He had been on the phone the whole time we were in the airport talking to his
family. I gave a nod back and turned my attention out the small window and
watched the scenery pass by, there was no getting out of this so I decided to
make the best of the trip and let fantasies of Long and Tall take over my mind
and body.

Chapter Three

River

The flight was horrible. There was turbulence the whole trip
and I felt my stomach roll with every dip and jolt of the plane. I had damn
near shredded the stress ball and the stepford wife flight attendant kept
rolling her eyes at me, even when she asked if I would like a beverage. When
she went to open the Coke I nearly shouted for her not to do that and I told
her I would take the whole thing. I think she wanted to argue but she caught
herself and handed me the can without any issues. As I reached for the can I
tried to control the shaking in my hand but wasn’t able to hide it. She seemed
to get some sort of perverse pleasure out of that. But the worse part of the
trip was my body was completely aware of Adonis sitting a few rows away. I
wanted to walk back there and say thank you for the help but I was safely
secured in my seat and couldn’t bring myself to leave it. The entire flight I
imagined him comforting me, letting me know that I was safe with him and that
he wouldn’t let anything happen to me and before I knew it we were landing.

I had to wait for everyone to disembark from the plane
before I could move. The line of impatient passengers moved slowly, stretching
their necks, checking, ahead to see how far they had to go. They reminded me of
a herd of cattle searching for an opening to break free. The teen girl whose
face still appeared to be red from earlier walked by giving very little eye
contact as she waved goodbye to me. I watched Adonis walk by,
no wait;
Adonis stopped, standing next to my seat, he gave slight tilt of his head, his
dark eyes boring into me. But his features had softened not hard like when he
was talking to the flight attendant. “Do you need to get your bag?” His deep
voice made me shudder, my body felt boneless. He just stood there as if waiting
for something.

I opened my mouth to say something because somewhere
floating in my mind I knew he had just asked me a question but I had to sift
through the mush of my brain to find it. The word
bag
had floated by and
I grasped onto it. I somehow put the rest of the question together and realized
he asked if I needed to get my bag from the overhead compartment. I looked
behind him to see how far back the line went because I didn’t want to be the
center of attention again only to see that he was the last one, well that we
were the last ones on the plane. I fumbled with my seatbelt that was still
securely fastened. The thing that helped me feel safe was now acting like my
captor and wouldn’t let me go. Once it released I slid across the other seat I
had purchased, stepping out into the isle, and standing to my full height,
putting us eye to eye. We stared at each other but only for a brief moment,
because I lost my nerve and turned to get my laptop and other carryon.

Adonis took a step back to give me room. As I brought
everything down, putting one bag over my shoulder and the over my head so the
strap was lying across my chest I turned to walk away and suddenly realized
that he would be walking behind me. I tried not to have people walking behind
me at all costs. It was just one more thing that I had to deal with and that
was an understatement because most times it’s impossible, but when I can avoid
it, I do. I tried to step aside in the small aisle to give him room to go by
but he just waved me forward.

I mumbled a quiet, “Thank you.” I turned to head out of the
plane, I felt nervous, I could feel his eyes on me. I wanted to run but I kept
my pace steady and I continued down the tunnel. As we reached the end there was
another guy just standing and waiting. His arms were crossed over his chest, he
was tapping his foot and his eyebrows were knitted together but he was looking
past me not at me. I gave a quick glance over my shoulder only to catch Adonis
staring at my ass and ignoring the impatient guy. But that couldn’t be right
because Adonis was not gay.

“Come on.” I glanced back over to impatient guy beckoning
Adonis to hurry up. “What took you so long? Baggage claim is this way and then
we need to get to the rental to pick up the car.” The other man took off at a
fast clip whereas Adonis brushed by me, his hand grazing my ass as he slowly
strolled by.

I jumped at the contact and I heard his deep laughter as he
walked ahead. My heart started pounding as I realized I also needed to go pick
up my luggage. I slowed down, lagging behind, taking my time. I knew our
luggage would not be there yet because we just landed and I didn’t want to
stand around feeling uncomfortable, letting my anxiety take hold of me, that
could lead to a panic attack and then Adonis would see me turn into a ball of
mess and then … I had to tell myself to stop and to breathe, I was working
myself up. I just had four more things to do and that made me feel good, I
sighed in relief because four was a good number.
Get my luggage, rent my
car, check into the hotel I am staying at and find my room.
And then I
would be done with this god awful day, I could do this.

Chapter Four

Coolidge

I couldn’t tell you how long the drive was to the hotel, I
was distracted with thoughts of the way Long and Tall’s ass sat perfectly in
his jeans. I tried not to touch when I walked past him but my hand spasmed and
just shot out on its own. Okay, well maybe it didn’t spasm, I just needed to
know if it was as toned as it appeared to be and it was. Damn, thinking about
having that ass in the air had me hard. But what I also noticed was that he
didn’t seem offended or pissed off that I copped a feel, shocked yes, offended
or pissed, no. Kelsey was saying something about the scenery as we pulled in
front of the hotel, when my focus returned I had to admit it was beautiful. As
soon as I stepped out the car I could hear the ocean. I turned to see the
bluest water I had ever seen. California beaches are beautiful but wow this was
amazing. I just stood there for moment and took it in. Maybe being in Hawaii
for Christmas wouldn’t be that bad.

Kelsey looked around as we exited the car. “Hey, I wonder if
River is already here?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked in a
couple of days, but I know he’s going to be staying here.”

“Don’t you think it’s kind of weird we’ve never met him and
have no clue what he looks like, everything is just rumors, kind of like
Where’s
Waldo
.”

I gave my shoulders a slight shrug. “I guess I never thought
about it.” That was lie, I found I was always thinking about River and what he
looked like. But Kelsey seemed to take me at my word and we headed toward the
hotel.  The outside of the hotel was moderately decorated but the inside looked
like Christmas blew up in the entry way. A giant tree that stood at least ten
feet tall sat off to the side decorated Hawaiian style. Instead of ornaments
they used beautiful colored silk flowers. And instead of an angel or star at
the top of the tree there was a hula dancer. The front desk had several surfing
Santa’s giving the hang loose sign. All of the front desk staff were wearing
red, green and blue Santa hats. The Hawaiian version of “Rudolph The Red Nosed
Reindeer” was play over the speakers; I had never heard it played on a ukulele,
there was a lightness about it and I found myself humming along with it.