Christmas Perfection (2 page)

“It’s perfect. You’re perfect. God, Derek, I love you so much.” Sky threw himself back into his lover’s arms, putting every bit of love he had into a voracious kiss. By the time they pulled back for air, Sky was aching for some alone time. “You’re making this the best Christmas ever.”

“Now all we have to do is survive dinner with our families.”

“I can survive anything with you at my side,” Sky replied. He smiled and leaned in for one last kiss.

Best Christmas ever.

*  *  *

Derek
finished straightening his clothes and looked in the full-length mirror on the bedroom closet door. He wanted to make sure that everything was in place.

Black dress pants, clean, ironed and looking good?

Check.

Collar of white dress shirt not sticking up?

Check.

Hideous Christmas sweater that his mother had given him?

Check.

Derek sighed as he studied the dancing reindeer on his chest. He really didn’t want to wear the sweater. In fact, he thought he looked like an idiot, but his mother had given it to him. She bought one for everyone in the family every year. They were getting worse. Most of the time he wished it was a tie. A tie wouldn’t have been as bad.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Sky asked from the attached bathroom where he was getting ready.

“I look like a circus freak.”

“But a festive one.”

Derek turned to find his lover standing behind him. Sky was wearing a pair of khakis and his new holiday sweater. His was blue with snowflakes and nowhere near as horrendous as Derek’s. “Your sweater is nicer than mine.”

“Maybe your mother likes me better than she likes you?”

“I’ve always suspected that you were her favorite,” Derek replied. He stepped over to Sky and lifted his left hand, pressing a kiss to the ring. Seeing it on the pale hand gave him a thrill of joy. Sky was going to marry him.

“If you keep doing that I’m going to turn into a puddle of goo and you’ll have to finish making dinner.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want that, but I do need a kiss.”

“I think that can be arranged.” Sky smiled and moved into his arms.

Refusing to release his hold on Sky’s hand, Derek threaded his free hand into Sky’s hair and tilted his head to the desired angle. He pressed his lips to Sky’s, starting off slowly. When Sky melted against him, he deepened the kiss, pulling Sky closer. Sky’s arms wrapped around him as his lover moaned into the kiss. Using the sexy moan to his advantage, Derek thrust his tongue into Sky’s mouth.

Their tongues dueled lazily. Derek let his hand slip from Sky’s hair to trail down his back. He took a handful of khaki-clad ass and squeezed. Sky pulled away with a gasp. His brown eyes were wide with desire and there was a faint flush to his cheeks. Derek thought he was the most amazing sight he had ever seen. “You’re beautiful.”

Sky blushed and buried his head in Derek’s neck. “If you keep saying things like that I’m not going to want to see our families.”

The sound of the bell ringing drifted up the stairs.

“Looks like you’ve been saved by the bell.” Derek pushed Sky out of his arms and kissed the tip of his nose. “I’ll go and answer while you try to get back under control.”

“I wouldn’t have to get back under control if you’d stop molesting me before we have company.”

“What? Molest you more? Is that what you said?”

Sky laughed and swatted his arm. “Go and answer the door. It’s probably your mother.”

“Well, that just killed the mood.” Derek grinned at the still flushed Sky and headed out of the room. He bounded down the stairs to the door, feeling like a little kid. It was Christmas. The house smelled incredible. And his lover had agreed to marry him. Life couldn’t get any better. He opened the door to find his parents standing on the front stoop. “Merry Christmas!” His eyes narrowed in on the foil-wrapped pan in his mother’s hands. “Mom, did you bring food?”

“It’s just a sweet potato dish. I just wanted to make sure that you had enough food.” Betty Hudson was a petite white woman with cosmetically blonde hair and bright green eyes. Even with her artificial winter tan, she still looked pale against the dark skin of her husband. The fact that his parents had an interracial relationship had made introducing them to Sky that much easier. He hadn’t had to worry about their reaction to Sky being white. Of course, Sky being male took them some time to get used to.

“That’s not going to be a problem. Sky cooked enough to feed an army.”

“Well, good job. I’ll just go and put this in the kitchen with the rest of the army food.” With that said, Betty breezed past him.

“Babe! Mom’s in your kitchen!” Derek called. The sounds of thundering footsteps preceded Sky down the stairs. He waved at Derek and his father before rushing into the kitchen.

“Son, that was mean. And on Christmas.” Tom Hudson had removed his coat and was in the process of hanging it up in the closet. There was laughter in his voice.

“That wasn’t mean. This sweater is mean.”

“You do have a point,” Tom commented. He turned and Derek got his first good look at his father’s sweater. He had thought that his dancing reindeer were bad. His father’s sweater had snowmen decorating Christmas trees.

“Where does she get these things?”

“If I knew, I would stop her.” Tom looked down at his sweater with a grimace. “I’m starting to think that she has someone make them.”

“Sky’s is blue with snowflakes. It actually looks nice.”

“How did he get so lucky?”

“No idea. Are we the worst?”

“I don’t think so.”

Derek led his father to the living room. He settled on the couch while his dad chose one of the chairs. “Who’s worse?”

“I think Ava might be.”

“Why?”

“Son, she’s eight months pregnant, and your mother found her a Christmas sweater.”

Derek took a moment to picture that image in his head. He shuddered. “Good point.”

“Oh, sweetie, you look so handsome in your sweater!” Betty exclaimed. Not only was she minus a pan, she had shed her coat. Her Christmas sweater was covered in holly and poinsettias. She pressed a kiss to Derek’s cheek then sat on the end of the couch nearest her husband. “And you should see the amount of food Sky’s made. It looks wonderful.”

“Yeah, he’s been cooking all day.” Derek looked up and Sky walked in and settled next to him. “He’s amazing.”

“I’m not that amazing,” Sky responded. He tucked himself against Derek’s side, resting his head on his shoulder. Derek wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to the tousled brown hair.

A knock sounded at the door, ending the small moment of peace they were experiencing. Derek’s sister Sabrina (red sweater with gingerbread men) and her husband Carson (blue sweater with sledding polar bears) arrived with bags full of presents. They had only been married for eight months and were excited about spending their first Christmas as a married couple. They also liked to spoil family members, which explained the presents. Although the seven thin boxes that Carson shoved under the tree looked like Christmas sweaters for Sky’s family.

When his brother Vince arrived with his pregnant wife Ava, Derek felt his eyes widen. His brother’s sweater seemed to have a Twelve Days of Christmas theme to it. Ava’s pregnant belly was covered with an entire penguin Christmas scene, complete with tree, presents, a penguin Santa and Christmas dinner. Derek could hardly believe that she was wearing it.

“Ava, you look—”

“Say it and I will smack you.”

“Pregnant.”

“Good save.”

Derek chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Go find some place to sit. I’m sure that Mom is dying to see you.”

“She just wants to fuss over her first grandbaby.”

“She’s like that.” Derek was about to close the door when a slender hand wrapped around the frame. He pulled the door back open to reveal Sky’s mother.

Bliss Waters was tiny, standing just five feet three inches. Both of her children were taller than she was, and, having a good two inches on Sky’s five foot eight, Derek felt like a giant standing next to her. Bliss smiled and used one hand to pull his head down to kiss his cheek. “Merry Christmas, darling.”

“Merry Christmas. I’m not sure that Sky’s going to be too happy with you bringing that.” Derek pointed at the covered dish in her hands. “He worked really hard on dinner.”

“You don’t need to worry. I have permission.”

“Permission?”

“It’s tofurkey. For Katie.”

“Do I even want to know what that is?”

“I don’t think so, dear.”

“Bliss, are you going to introduce me or are you going to make me stand out here in the cold all night?” a female voice asked. Derek watched in amusement as Bliss blushed.

“Sorry. Candice, I want you to meet Derek, my son’s partner.” Bliss stepped to one side to allow the other woman to enter the room. She was taller than Bliss with dark hair and a grounded appearance. She looked like a good fit for the sometimes flighty Bliss.

“Hi Candice, nice to meet you.” Derek reached out a hand and his was taken in a firm grip. He immediately liked her.

“Same here. I’ve heard good things about you.”

“Really? What sort of things?”

“Sorry, they were told in confidence.”

“Hi Mom,” Sky said. Derek turned to see his lover standing behind him.

“Hi, baby.” Bliss pushed past Derek and wrapped her free arm around Sky’s waist. Sky placed a kiss to the top of her head then turned and led her to the kitchen.

“Well, it looks like we’ve been abandoned,” Candice remarked.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone else.” He took her coat and hung it in the closet, assuming that Sky would eventually deal with his mother’s.

“Lead on.” Candice gave him a bright smile. Derek led her into the other room where his family was sitting. By the time he finished the introductions, Sky’s sister Kestrel had arrived with her husband Kendrin and their three children; nine year old twins Katie and Kevin, and six year old Kristy. Bliss had also made her way into the room.

Kristy had dashed straight to Ava and was talking excitedly to her about her sweater. There was a stuffed penguin dangling from her small hand. Pulling herself onto the couch next to Ava, Kristy tilted her head. “Are you having a baby?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Do you know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl?”

“No, I want to be surprised.”

Kristy nodded her head. “I think that’s a good idea, but I hope it’s a girl.”

“Why?”

“Boys are annoying and they smell,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Everyone in the room froze for a moment and then burst into amused laughter. Derek turned his head as arms wrapped around his waist. Sky was standing next to him.

“Hey, babe, how are things in the kitchen?”

“Good. We have time to open presents first.”

“Nice. It looks like Mom got sweaters for your entire side of the family.”

“You don’t think she’ll get matching sweaters for everyone for the wedding, do you?”

“I think we should be safe as long as we don’t get married near a major holiday.” Derek twined his arm around his waist and pulled Sky into a kiss. When he drew away from the tempting lips, Sky’s eyes looked glazed. “You’re under the mistletoe again.”

“You’re standing here on purpose, aren’t you?”

“That is a distinct possibility, pretty boy.” Derek swooped in for one more quick kiss. “Come on, time for gifts.” Moving his arm away from Sky’s waist, Derek grasped his hand and pulled him further into the room. The kids made room for them on the couch. “So, who’s ready for presents?”

Derek laughed as a loud cheer echoed around the room.

The kids weren’t the only ones cheering.

The seven boxes turned out to contain Christmas sweaters, just like Derek had suspected. Bliss got a pretty white sweater that had a Christmas tree on it. Candice’s sweater was dark blue and covered in stars. Kestrel and Kendrin ended up in matching gingerbread sweaters. Kestrel’s had a pink background while Kendrin’s was mint green. It would have seemed odd that the sweaters were the same, except Derek knew for a fact that Kendrin and Kestrel occasionally wore matching clothes.

Watching the kids open the sweaters was interesting. Kevin tore the paper off without any regard for what was on it, other than the tag saying it was his. His sweater had nutcrackers on it and he pulled it on with an excited yelp.

Katie loosened all of the tape on the corners of her gift before she pulled the box out from the inside. Her pink sweater had sugarplum fairies and candy on it. She looked over every inch of the sweater before she pulled it on. Once she had it on, she tugged on the collar of the other shirt she was wearing until it was settled over the neck of the sweater.

Kristy opened her gift slowly, without ripping it. Once the paper was removed, she folded it and placed it to one side. When she opened the box, she let out an excited squeal. Her sweater was a smaller version of Ava’s. Kristy jumped to her feet and ran straight to Betty, giving her a hug and asking for her assistance in putting the sweater on over the clothes she was wearing.

Watching the two families interact, Derek felt a warm flood of affection. Their families were easily meshing together into one large family. Turning his head to one side, Derek pressed a kiss to the top of Sky’s head. He felt an answering kiss against his neck. In his opinion, Christmas couldn’t get any better.

*  *  *

Sky
was starting to put the food in serving dishes when he felt a presence at his elbow. He looked to his left and saw his mother standing there. “Hey Mom.”

“Hello, my dear, do you need any help?”

“You can help me put this stuff in the serving dishes. They’re on the table.” Sky smiled at his mother as she grabbed one of his many dishes of food and took it to the table. He turned his attention back to the turkey. “Should I carve it here or should I carry this incredibly heavy cooked, dead bird to the table?”

“Carve it in here. Is the bowl with the daisies on it the one for the vegetarian stuffing?”

“Yes. That stuffing is in the pot on the stove.” Sky moved away from the turkey and grabbed a spoon and a serving dish. He then started to remove the stuffing from the turkey.