Page 85 of Stained Hearts
He smiled and his eyes twinkled. Just as he was about to say something, there was a pounding at the bedroom door.
“Tom!”
Oh, great. They’d sent Robert.
“If you’re having sex, let us know now so we can get to opening the gifts without waiting on you. Andy’s awake and chomping at the bit to see what Santa brought him.”
I turned to Aiden. “He knows Santa isn’t real, right?”
Aiden shrugged. “Andy’s… different. He’s all wide-eyed and innocent, so maybe he does believe. I don’t know.”
Could someone be friends with Galen and be someone who, allegedly, had quite the sexual past, yet still be wide-eyed and innocent? Maybe. From what Galen said, Andy had a hard time believing himself worthy of love until he met Marco. Maybe that was what his history had been, trying to find that person who could make him feel safe and wanted, and now that he had Marco, he could let that guard down.
“Do you want to go down?”
He grinned at me. It was lascivious, and his gaze was filled with heat. My cock reacted.
Robert knocked again, louder this time. “What do you want me to tell Mom?”
The mention of Mom was like splashing ice-cold water on my erection, causing it to shrivel.
“Yeah, we’ll be down in a minute.” The receding footsteps echoed down the hall. I turned to Aiden. “Quickie blowjob?”
He snorted. “With Mom wondering where we are? Fat chance, buddy.”
The next few minutes were a blur as we each dressed, and then he grabbed his walker and pulled it in front of him.
“We can do the chair, if you want.”
The police had recovered Aiden’s chair, and when he looked at it, he went chalky white. I got rid of it while Olivia comforted him, then went back and held him until he calmed. A few days later we went out and bought him a brand-new electric one.
“No, I want to walk there.” He bit his lip. “Is that okay?”
“Whatever you want to do is fine. Your therapist said I needed to not only listen, but to hear you.” I got up and opened the door, gesturing to him. “Après vous.”
“I think you meanapres toi.” He snickered. “And either way, speaking French ain’t getting you laid, Morticia.” He winked. “At least not until we get back to our place.”
I followed him into the living room, where everyone sat around the eight-foot tree, which was decked out in lights that raced around, chasing from one end of the string to the other. There were kitschy baubles of all kinds adorning it, some beautiful, some whimsical. The crowning glory was the star atop it. It had been my grandparents’, and their grandparents’. As far back as I could remember, the star had always enthralled me. It was like a link to the history and made me feel closer to those who’d come before me.
And with that thought came another. One day this star would belong to our child, who would pass it on to theirs. The circle would continue to be unbroken.
And that made me deliciously happy.
“Aiden, here’s a gift for you.”
From the wrap, I knew it was mine to him. It was our first Christmas together, and I wanted to give him something special. It was awkward with his arm in a cast, but he managed to open it and take out the cards. He let loose a small gasp.
“Chocolate of the Month Club?”
I grinned at him. “Twelve months of some of the best chocolates in the world.” I stroked a hand over his face. “For my little sugar fiend.”
“But there’s like ten different ones in here.”
My cheeks warmed. “I wanted you to have chocolate every day, if you wanted it. There’s enough there that you won’t run out for a year. If you like it, we’ll renew it again next Christmas.”
He grabbed me and pulled me down into a kiss. When he drew back, his eyes glistened. “Thank you. I love it.”
For the next hour, we handed out the gifts for each other. Robert gave Galen a rust-color sweater he said would make Galen’s gray eyes pop. In turn, Galen gave him an envelope that Galen said contained something Robert had wanted for a long time. Robert opened it and drew out a sheaf of papers, which he scanned quickly. As he did, his eyes misted over.
