The Counterfeit Claus (5 page)
As they walked back towards Christmas Village, Adrien gnawed on his lower lip. Normally, nothing was less like him than telling a whopper like the one he’d just laid on Devon… but he’d heard Andy’s side of things, and well… he didn’t want to be just another notch on Santa Devon’s wide black belt. As they passed Annie’s Cookies, his favorite counter-girl, LaTrece, came hurrying over with two mugs filled to the brim and topped with small mounds of whipped cream. The scent of baking cookies and chocolate wafted with her. She smiled and lifted an eyebrow as she reached them. “Here, take these. Hah. I guess this makes me Mrs. Claus, huh?”
Devon snorted with laughter. Adrien looked between the two of them, his forehead crinkling up for a moment. “Oh, right. We were gonna get coco from Mrs. Claus to fix us up. Good save, Trece.”
Handing off the drinks, LaTrece flipped a hand at Adrien. The bright white of her smile grew wider in the rich brown of her flawless skin as she spoke. Within seconds the expression lit her whole face. “Baby, you the only one I let get away with dropping the La from the front of my name. You are just so damn cute, I can’t stay mad at you. Get back over to your village before those parents make another run on my coco and cookies. Some of us actually want to get out of here on time tonight!”
Adrien reached to hand Devon his drink, and as Devon took the cup, their fingers brushed. A spark of electricity jumped between their hands. Adrien gasped, his gaze flying up to meet Devon’s. The big man’s eyes were dark pools of pained longing. Adrien threw caution to the wind, baring his heart right there in the echoing cavern of the food court. “I didn’t mean it. I do have an exam tonight, but I lied about the other thing. I—Michael used to write me about you and he did say I should be careful but he also said he thought when you were ready to settle down that I should—that he thought I was maybe the guy who could get you to. Settle down. But not settle, because he said he thought maybe you’d be—”
The seconds between when Devon placed his fingers against Adrien’s mouth and when he started to speak were the longest in Adrien’s whole life. “If we weren’t standing in full sight of at least twenty-five to forty little kids and their parents, I’d kiss you until your knees gave out again. In a moment, I’m gonna take my hand away from your mouth, and you’re gonna say—yes, Devon—and you’re gonna be saying yes to these things: me coming to your house tonight. I’ll make dinner, and you’ll study, and then when you’re done I’ll put away whatever I’m doing and we’ll go to bed. I’m not going to have sex with you tonight, because if we get started, you won’t get any sleep, and then you’ll flunk your exam. So you’ll sleep under the blankets and I’ll sleep on top, but I’ll still have you in my arms all night. Then, tomorrow, after your exam is over and I get home from my regular job, we’ll spend a little time talking. You’re gonna have the night off because you’re gonna call Andy first thing in the morning, and I’m not covering another night for Rose. He never stays sick longer than a day anyway. And after we talk, I’m gonna take you to bed, but not to sleep. After that we’ll see where this thing is going.”
He lifted his fingers, and Adrien grinned up at him.
Devon stared down at him, and the whole mall seemed to fall away, all the noises of restless children and muzak versions of at least three different Christmas carols fading into the back ground. Adrien lifted his to-go cup of hot coco to his face, breathed in the warm rich chocolate and cinnamon smell of the drink and with a heart as light as the fragrant steam rising from his drink spoke the only two words possible. “Yes, Devon.”