Making Merry (A Firsts and Forever/Castaways Series Holiday Collection) Read online

  “But what if that’s not until tomorrow, and what if the dogs go to eat one at a time, and what if their handler doesn’t even know we’re here, since we’re half a block from the office, and—” He cut himself off and shook his head. “Sorry. I know I’m getting hung up on all the worst case scenarios, and I’m going to try to think positive. I’m usually good at that.”

  “You really are. This doom and gloom isn’t like you.”

  “It’s because I know I screwed up by deciding to break into the junkyard, and I hate the fact that one of my bad decisions is having a direct impact on you.”

  “It’ll all work out, Skye. You’ll see. We’re going to get out of here sooner rather than later, you’ll finish your projects, and they’ll be great. Then we’re going to have a wonderful Christmas together and enjoy a few much-needed days off.”

  He glanced at me from beneath his dark lashes, and then he pulled something from his pocket. “I want to give you your Christmas present. I know I’m early, but I feel like this is the right time for it.”

  We both sat up, and I took the small metal box from him. It was an antique chewing gum tin, and it slid open like a box of matches. Inside was a slip of paper, and I took it out and read the single word written in Skye’s fluid handwriting. It said: January.

  “I’m giving you me for Christmas,” he said. “I blocked off the first month of the new year, just for us. I won’t be taking any clients or starting any new projects during that time, and I definitely won’t be on any deadlines. I know you were planning to give the guys in the troupe a few weeks off after the holidays, but don’t feel like you have to take the whole month off because I am. I just want to be available to you whenever you have free time, because I love you more than anything, Dare, and I hate the fact that life keeps getting in the way of spending time together.”

  I smiled at him and said, “This is the perfect gift. Thank you.” I tucked the note back in its box and put it in the pocket of my black hoodie for safekeeping. Then I cupped his cheek and kissed him tenderly.

  Skye’s eyes lit up as he told me, “I was hoping you’d like it.”

  “I love it.”

  “I thought it could go either way. Like, maybe you’d think I was being cheap by not giving you a real present.”

  “I don’t need stuff, Skye. I just need time with you, and that’s exactly what you’re giving me.”

  He suggested, “Maybe we could go away for a few days. I don’t really care where we go, as long as it’s pet friendly so we can bring the whole family.”

  “Which brings us to my gift to you. I made plans to take you to that resort on Catalina Island, the one Nana’s grandson recently bought into. We have reservations for a long weekend in January, and I called to make sure it allows pets. I was worried about being able to get away because you’ve been so busy, but now this is perfect.”

  Skye did a little dance in place and said, “That’s going to be amazing! I can’t wait to get you all to myself.”

  I grinned at him and pointed out, “Technically, you have me all to yourself right now.”

  “I do, don’t I? Well, we should use this time wisely.” Skye’s lips met mine, and he pushed me back onto the mattress.

  Dare: Chapter Three

  We spent the next few hours alternately kissing, talking, and dozing. It was actually a nice way to spend an afternoon, but our good mood ran out after a while. It got cold after the sun set, and we were both hungry and tired of being trapped.

  The dogs, meanwhile, kept up their vigil and seemed perfectly content to wait us out. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn they were working in shifts. One of them would wander off while the other stood guard. Then they’d switch.

  After a while, Skye said, “Sunset’s at about five p.m. this time of year, and it’s probably been dark for two hours, which means your show’s starting right about now.” He shivered a little and pulled the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands. “Your first number is a little more than halfway through the ninety minute program, so there’s still time to get you there, but only if we leave in the next few minutes.” He stood up carefully and found his balance as the tower rocked beneath us.

  When he pulled the flag and its pointed aluminum pole out from under the mattress, I asked, “What are you doing?”

  “Getting you out of here.”

  “How? Since you’re a total animal lover, I know you’re not planning to go down there and skewer those dogs.”

  He shook his head. “God no. They’re just doing their job. But I was thinking I could climb partway down, then use this to pole vault into that nearly empty metal bin down there. If I flip it over on top of me, the dogs can’t bite me. They’ll be super distracted by all of that, which will give you a chance to slip down the back of the mattress pile and sneak away. Once you have a head start, you can run like hell for the tree and climb back over the fence. Then you can send help for me while you head to your show.”

  I took the flag from him and said, “No.”

  “To what part?”

  “All of it. I’m not going to let you endanger yourself like that, Skye.”

  “I’ll probably be fine.”

  “Probably isn’t good enough! Those dogs could seriously injure you.”

  Just then, lights came on all around the junkyard, and Skye said, “Oh hey, that’s definitely a good thing. I guess they were on a timer. I was worried about you running in the dark, because if you tripped and fell you’d basically be puppy chow. But now it’ll be much easier.”

  When he held his hand out for the flag, I told him, “You can’t honestly expect me to give this to you so you can attempt that terrible idea.”

  “But it could work!”

  I exclaimed, “Or you could get down there and find out that metal bin is either bolted down or too heavy to flip over! Then what?”

  “Then I’ll climb back up here, but neither of those things are all that likely.”

  “It’s still an awful idea.”

  “Then think of a better one, or give me that flag!”

  Skye lunged for the pole, and I spun around and held it out of reach while the tower swayed beneath us. “I don’t have a better idea, but yours is crazy,” I said. “Now stop it, before you knock over the mattresses!”

  “Just give me the flag, and then we won’t have to worry about toppling over!”

  “No way.” I pulled my arm back with the intention of throwing the flagpole like a javelin, but he caught my wrist. We were nose to nose, and his body was pressed to mine. I muttered, “Damn it, Skye. You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.”

  “Right back at you.” He rocked his hips, and his cock grazed mine through our clothes. “Are you as turned on as I am right now?”

  “More.”

  He grabbed the front of my hoodie in his fists, and we began kissing wildly. After a minute, Skye dropped to his knees, unzipped my jeans, and yanked down the front of my briefs. Then he practically swallowed me whole. I drew a sharp breath at the incredible sensation of his wet, insistent mouth on my cock and tangled my fingers in his hair.

  There was no way I could last long with the way he was sucking me, so in just a few minutes, I yelled and came in his mouth. Skye swallowed it down as he gripped my ass with both hands. While I caught my breath, he licked the tip of my cock, then tucked it back into my jeans and zipped me up.

  We were both startled by the sound of laughter and applause, and a familiar voice called, “God bless gay America.”

  Our friends Christian and Shea stood at the base of the mattress stack, looking up at us, and Shea said, “I just have to ask. Why the flag, guys?” I realized I was still holding the flagpole, and Old Glory was waving proudly in the breeze.

  “Isn’t it obvious? They’re recreating the moon landing, but with gay astronauts,” Christian told his husband. “One small suck for man, one giant blow for mankind.”

  Skye got up unsteadily and asked, “What are you doing here? And
where are the dogs?”

  “Well clearly, we’re interrupting a good time,” Christian said. “As for your second question, the junkyard owner’s grandson called them to their kennel with a dog whistle before he let us in.”

  Skye whooped with delight as he jumped off the side of our perch. Since the mattress stack flared out at the bottom, he slid the last few yards, then leapt to his feet and threw his hands in the air as he yelled, “Freedom!”

  I planted the flag back in its spot, then followed Skye’s lead and jumped. As I slid to a stop beside them, I asked our friends, “How’d you find us?”

  Shea looked a lot like Captain America, especially when he crossed his big arms over his chest, like he was doing at that moment. “We went backstage to wish you luck before your show,” he said. “When the dancers told us you’d been missing since noon and hadn’t been answering your phone, we got worried.”

  His husband, meanwhile, looked like a rock star with his black leather jacket, layers of silver jewelry, and guyliner. Christian picked up the story by saying, “Then it was just a question of driving around and looking for the Bluemobile. I figured you’d probably gone to at least one junkyard today, since Skye’s on a deadline. He always gets squirrelly near the end of each project and thinks none of the thousands of pounds of scrap metal he already owns are good enough. Lo and behold, the truck was parked in front of the second place we looked. Shea then called his brother Finn, man is it handy to have a police officer in the family. He found us the home number of the junkyard’s owner, and one of his relatives met us here. Ta da!”

  Skye planted a big, wet kiss on his best friend’s face, and while Christian wiped his cheek, Skye turned to me and exclaimed, “There’s still time to get you to your show, but we need to leave right now!”

  “So, what are you waiting for? Come on, we’ll race you,” Christian said, and he and Shea took off running.

  We ran after them, right up the center of the property. The junkyard owner’s skinny, eighteen-year-old grandson was waiting by the open front gate with an amused expression, and he called, “Only you, Skye.”

  My husband slowed to a walk and said, “Hi Brice. Please tell your grandpa I’m sorry for breaking in. I was planning to pay for whatever I took, I swear.”

  “Oh, we know that. You’re one of our best customers. Do you still want whatever you came for? If so, just tell me what you need and I’ll call my brother to deliver it to your warehouse.”

  “Actually, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my work in progress this afternoon, and I don’t think I need that stuff after all. Thank you though, and happy holidays!” The kid wished us a Merry Christmas and slid the gate shut behind us.

  Skye got behind the wheel, and to save time, I stretched as much as I could as he drove us across Oakland. I also sent texts to several members of my troupe, letting them know I was on my way. Skye pressed the accelerator and grinned as he said, “We’ve totally got this.”

  Dare: Chapter Four

  We parked in the alley behind the former adult theater we rented for our performances, and a few seconds later, Christian and Shea’s black SUV pulled up behind us. Patrick, my friend and fellow dancer, opened the stage door when we knocked, and the four of us ran into the building. Patrick followed us and exclaimed, “Perfect timing! You’re up next, Dare. Quinn was all set to step in for you with an improvised number, just so the holiday showcase would still run ninety minutes as promised, but now he won’t have to.”

  Quinn was the best dancer in our company and could have easily carried the whole show single-handedly, so I grinned when I saw he’d recruited his husband and son to perform with him. I joined them and said, “I don’t know what the three of you are planning, but I need to see this. Go ahead and take the stage after Haley finishes his number, and I’ll follow you.”

  A tiara was nestled in Quinn’s spiky blond hair, and he was wearing a short, teal green tunic. Meanwhile, his son Aiden was dressed like a snowman, and Quinn’s husband was wearing a bathrobe and a white knit cap. Duke was an enormous, muscle-bound cop with absolutely no natural rhythm, so I was dying to see what Quinn had talked him into.

  Quinn asked, “Are you sure?” When I nodded, Aiden looked delighted. “Okay then. It was inspired by a viral video we saw of an amazing drag queen. The three of us had performed it at home, just for fun, and Aiden was really excited to try it out in front of an audience.”

  “Then get out there and knock ‘em dead.”

  Patrick spoke into a walkie talkie to let our sound guy know what was happening while I took off my hoodie and T-shirt. Then Haley left the stage to a huge round of applause and grabbed me in a hug as he asked, “Dude, where were you? All of us were worried, because we knew Mr. Reliable would never miss rehearsal or a show unless something was really wrong.”

  I took off my shoes and socks, then stretched my hamstrings as I told Haley, “It’s a long story, involving breaking and entering, a pair of hell hounds, and a stack of mattresses worthy of the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. I’ll fill you in on the details later, and I’m sorry I worried everyone.”

  He pushed his short dreads out of his dark eyes and said, “I’m looking forward to the rest of that story. I need to go change for my next number, so I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Christian and Shea joined Skye and me in the wings, and I continued to stretch while Duke dropped his bathrobe, picked up a pair of aerosol cans, and followed his husband and son onto the stage. The big cop was wearing white leggings and a tank top, both printed with a sparkly snowflake pattern. Skye whispered, “This is already awesome. I can’t believe Quinn got his husband to participate in whatever’s about to happen.”

  The curtain at the back of the stage opened, and a scene from the movie Frozen started to play on the big screen. Quinn took center stage and began performing a modern ballet routine to the song Let it Go while Aiden leapt around in his snowman costume, and Duke shadowed his husband. Whenever the cartoon character on the screen sent snow and ice swirling from her fingertips, Quinn flung his arms out, and Duke sprayed a long arc of fluffy, white Christmas tree flocking into the air. The fact that Duke did that with a dead-serious expression made it even funnier, and every spray was met with cheers and uproarious laughter from the audience.

  Throughout it all, Quinn danced like the star that he was. He did manage to camp it up a little by tossing his tiara aside when Elsa threw hers, and when she changed her dress, he pulled off the tunic, revealing a white, sequined romper that sparkled under the stage lights. But when it came to dancing, Quinn brought his A-game.

  When the song ended, he took a bow with his husband and son as the crowd gave them a standing ovation, and I murmured, “I’m so glad I didn’t miss that.”

  After their little family left the stage, three members of our crew rushed out with push-brooms and swept up the flocking, and Skye turned to me and asked, “Are you ready?”

  “No, not really.”

  Patrick hurried over to us. He’d put on a red leotard for his number with Haley, and he held up a white outfit and asked, “Don’t you want to change into your costume?”

  I shrugged and told him, “I don’t really have time, so I’m just going to dance in my jeans. They’re loose enough, so they shouldn’t restrict my movement.”

  I ran a hand over my hair as our emcee for the evening took the stage and chatted with the audience, and Skye said, “I’m sorry, Dare. I can tell your head’s not in the game, and it’s my fault.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m dancing to one of my favorite holiday songs, which is good. And it’s not like I have to stick to my choreography, since I’m really not feeling it. All I need to do is go out there and enjoy myself. Actually, do you want to help me with that?”

  “Sure, but how?”

  I grinned at him as I picked up a folding chair and took his hand, and when the emcee introduced me, I led my husband onto the stage. One of the many great things about Skye was the fact that he could be co
mpletely spontaneous, and he took this totally in stride. I set up the chair in the center of the stage and gestured to him to take a seat, and he made himself comfortable.

  I stood behind him with my hands on his shoulders, and a few moments later, Love is Christmas by Sara Bareilles began to play. I circled Skye, spinning around him before stretching backwards, over his lap. When I reached up to touch his hair, he smiled at me, and it was glorious.

  The song was slow and hauntingly beautiful, and I focused on the lyrics and my husband. Having him there with me gave meaning to what I was doing, and I put my heart and soul into it.

  I took his hand and held his gaze as I bent toward him and extended my leg straight up, then swung it forward. I leaned back and swept my hand across the stage before arching toward him again and caressing his cheek. Next, I leapt across the stage in a series of grand jetes. I danced and spun, using my body to try to convey the joy and exuberance of my love for Skye, and as the song approached its conclusion, I returned to him, grabbed his hands, and pulled him to his feet. He laughed and threw his arms around my shoulders as I spun us around. When the song ended, we came to a stop at the front of the stage, and I kissed him passionately.

  He returned the kiss, matching my passion with his own, and then he leaned back just enough to meet my gaze as he touched my lower lip. There was so much love in his eyes.

  After a moment, he smiled at me and tilted his head to the left, toward the audience. I hadn’t even realized they were giving us a standing ovation. I grabbed his hand, and we took a bow together before leaving the stage.

  Haley and Patrick were waiting in the wings with Christian and Shea. They all applauded, and Patrick exclaimed, “Holy shit, Dare! You’re always great when you dance, but that was next level. What happened out there?”

  I squeezed Skye’s hand and said, “I guess I just had the right inspiration.”

  *****