7. HENRY

I fought the urge to jump over the desk and plant my face down on top of his. I needed his tongue so far down my throat I was able to taste how many peppermint mochas he’d had so far today, and vice versa. It took me by total surprise to feel our conversation flow naturally and for us both to want all the things we’d talked about in our emails.

Once I was back at my desk, I looked at the teddy bear with a lot more admiration. It represented the flowers that Daddy Kringle had said he was going to get me.

In the chaos of all the feelings, I hadn’t yet told Fallon what had happened. He screamed down the phone, expressing just how excited he was for me. And then we made plans for a celebration tonight. I hoped I wasn’t going to be invited out for drinks again, I would immediately give into the peer pressure of the new job, and I needed my little time.

An email came through on my phone to the legal elf email.

‘ I hope we can still email each other here. I’ve been looking over some old emails. I promised I would pick you up and whisk you away in one of those emails. I can still do that, if it’s what you want. I’m also looking forward to this weekend. And please, call me Daddy Kringle, because I’m about to make your Daddy dreams come true.

Sincerely, Daddy.’

My body near melted in the office chair. I wanted to spin myself around until I was throwing up all the hot chocolate I’d had to drink. We’d said so much to each other, I could pin point parts of it out but there was a whole lot I was definitely forgetting, like his promise to whisk me away.

‘ Of course, I like to keep a record of everything you’ve promised. So, I’ll be making a list, and you’ll be checking it twice. I hope you find out if I’ve been naughty or nice. And I remember you promising to be a stocking filler, and make me a stocking. I want to hold you to that one.

Signed sweetly, Legal Elf.’

I was straight up reminding him that I was more than ready for intimacy, and after a short dry spell, the holiday season had something in it that turned me in a horned up monster, with clip on elf ears and a little blush to rouge my cheeks and nose.

‘ The stocking is hung, and I’m ready to fill it. I’ll send you my address on Friday so you won’t be given the chance to Zillow me. That would put you on the naughty list. I’m kidding, of course. I still have to decorate before then, but I’ll be ready and waiting.

And yes, I will be wearing my Santa outfit.

Yours, Stocking Filler.’

Distracted to the maximum, all my blood rushed to the erection growing in my slacks. I couldn’t deal with it here at work. I pressed the back of my hand on it as I scooched the chair under the desk to hide it. I didn’t have anything important to leave my desk.

The flirting was more personal now that we’d seen each other, and even spoke. I knew it was a gray area in terms of dating a partner, but I was willing to plead ignorance and not even attempt to find out what rules there were around it. We weren’t officially dating, and maybe not even physically compatible yet, but I was desperate to give it a go an see just how much of him was compatible inside me.

‘ You’re gonna get me in trouble with my boss. I have to hide my boner now. I don’t feel like I’m being a good elf. I’m going to need a reward for not acting on my impulses.

Very frustratedly, little elf.’

We went back and forth a little more. My mind being pulled in several direction, but my workload wasn’t that high right now. I’d already managed to discover some legal arguments for the case, and with a couple tickets to the large Christmas ball happening, I should’ve been thinking up some more.

Just before finishing, Grant came by my office. He had his gray trench coat on with a red scarf around his neck. “You want to walk out together?” he asked. “So you can update me on the case.” He raised his voice a little, almost making a point to anyone who was listening in.

I licked my lips before biting it and nodded. “Yeah, let me get me things.”

If the lift we entered hadn’t been full, we might’ve done something reckless in it. We were pushed close and our hands touched, he wrapped his pinky finger around mine and gave it a little squeeze. I knew that was a sign of him wanting to do more.

“I sent you an email earlier, we have a meeting with Lila on Friday,” he said.

“Oh. Right. Yeah, I saw that. It was added to my calendar.”

“I know it might feel like she’s going over your head to me, but that’s why I’m on this one. She requested a partner on the case.”

I understood it, and I didn’t feel like it was going above my head at all. “I think it’s a good thing since I’ve only just started, I bet you’re a great mentor.”

“Don’t let other associates hear you call me that, they’ll definitely be jealous then,” he said.

The elevator dinged and we all got off at the lobby. I wanted us both to stay on it a little longer, just the two of us, but that wasn’t a good idea considering the were definitely cameras on the inside. Our hold on each other’s pinky fingers had to part, as did we.

I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong, or even right idea about us. Mentally, we’d known each other for so long, but physically, we’d only just got to know each other. And I wanted more than just to rest my hand on his lap or stroke the inside of his hand with my pinky.

I took the subway back to the apartment, aka the long way home. I passed a bodega on the way and grabbed a bottle of our favorite unpronounceable cheap rose wine. Fallon had always laughed about my upbringing and my mother’s love of fancy wines, which clearly hadn’t passed to me. I preferred the stuff that pinched the inside of my cheeks with its tartness and then had a very strawberry after sweetness.

Fallon was already home, cartoons on in the living room. He ran toward me, slipping around in his onesie. “No adults allowed,” he shouted, bundling up a onesie in his arms.

He held my briefcase up in one hand and bodega wine and snacks in a paper bag. “Take these then, and I’ll go change.”

I needed to debrief him on the rest of my day after lunch. Fallon had it easier working around stuffed teddies all day, I was jealous of it, but I wouldn’t switch jobs with him for even a minute—mostly because he’d get me disbarred the minute he was in my shoes.

My onesie was plain blue that covered my feet with an attachable hood. I opted for the hood and optimal comfort. All I needed now was my stuffie, a tattered lion named Arnold. He’d been with me for years, and I was far too scared to have him professionally cleaned. The laundry people might take his sparkle away. I’d occasionally put him in the sink with all the sudsy soap to clean him before.

Fallon had prepared the tea set for us to play with on the low set glass coffee table, it reflected all the bright lights from the Christmas tree and even the glitter of the foil garlands hanging from the ceiling too. In bowls, different flavored chips were placed and the bottle of wine had been emptied into the tea pot.

“I was going to get chocolate as well, but I forgot on my way home,” he said, gesturing me to sit on the cushion across from him. “I want all the gossip. Is he an absolute Daddy? And if not, does he want to become an absolute Daddy?”

I broke out into a giggle. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“He does!” He squealed.

“I think so. I think we’re also going to play Santa and elf when we have our date at his place on Friday.”

Fallon jumped around on his knees, clapping his hands against his thighs. “Oh my god, that’s major!”

“Major major!”

“So major!”

“Massively major!”

“Beyond major,” he snorted.

“Doesn’t beat massive,” I said. “So, I need to dig around and find that elf outfit. You know, the one we were twinning in last Christmas.”

“If you can’t find yours, you can have mine,” he said. “Unless Sterling wants to play elf and Santa too.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already,” I giggled, although I knew Fallon didn’t have the same excited interest in Christmas, but as a little, Christmas and all the decorations and colors were our kryptonite for attention. It was impossible to look away from a nice shiny ornament.

Fallon poured the wine into the tea cups. We had our pinky fingers out which got a little laugh out of me, and then we sipped, a little sip as both of our faces winced up and we stuck our tongues out.

Little time didn’t have an agenda, and depending on what we were doing in little space, we would accommodate accordingly. Tonight was our version of a paint and sip. We had so many coloring pages and a giant chest of crayons and coloring pens. The wine was our sip of choice.

“You need to tell me more about your new Daddy,” Fallon said. “I can’t rely on your description of a slimmer Santa without much of a beard, but still has facial hair forever.”

“I’ll show you a picture, but only if you tell me he looks good,” I said. “And don’t tell me you’ve slept with him before.”

“Oh no, but what if I have?”

I grabbed my phone from my onesie pocket and searched for Grant online. The picture they used for him on the company website was first up. I looked at his face, falling fast into a day dream about what it would be like to smush my face against his and have him squeezed up against me.

“I don’t think I have,” Fallon said before I could show him the picture. “I’ve never slept with any lawyers before.”

Showing him my phone, he looked at him for a moment and cocked his head to the side. “I’ve never seen him before, but I see what you mean. He’s got the type of face that looks fun to ride.” He giggled.

“You can’t say that about him, he’s mine.” I took my phone back. “But you’re right. He does look like a fun ride, a Santa sleigh ride.”

“When are you meeting him? Friday?”

“Yep.”

“Then I’ll bring Sterling over then and we can have the apartment to ourselves,” he said.

“You know you can bring him over whenever you like. I don’t mind it.”

“I know, but it always feels like I’m throwing my relationship at you,” he said. “We always said we’d find Daddies together, not the same one, but like at the same time.”

I continued to look at Grant’s face on my phone. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing. Besides, I’ve been talking to him for like a year, or something.”

“Even when we were in Mexico this summer?”

“Not as often, we were on vacation, but yeah. Anyway, we’re both gonna have Daddies this Christmas, and that’s always been the dream.” I’d also argue it was somewhat a Christmas miracle, but I still needed to figure out where things were leading to with Grant, and how much of a Daddy to his word he was.

We went back to coloring and finishing off the wine from the plastic tea cups. It was absolute sophistication personified from our view, littles, pretending to be adult. It often sent us into a giggle-induced snort off with each other.

In little space, I colored out of the lines and threw as much color on the paper as possible. I just wanted to scribble and create messy art. It was currently my only form of emotional expression, I was waiting on a Daddy for the other forms of expression to come out of me. And while I would see Grant again tomorrow, I wasn’t going to see him as Daddy Kringle for another couple of nights.

‘ Today was great to finally meet you. I’d never ask you to keep a secret, but for right now, I think we should keep this a secret. I hope you’re ok with that. I don’t want my little elf to get in trouble with the North Pole, and I certainly wouldn’t want to get in trouble either.

Think about me tonight when you’re playing with your candy cane. I’ll be thinking about you.

Playfully, Daddy Kringle.’

He always made blood rush to my candy cane, I wondered if he knew just how much influence he had over my anatomy. From little space, I crafted him an email back.

‘ Little elf, reporting for duty. I’m here to help Daddy Kringle empty his sack. I know they must be full with Christmas cumming soon. I hope there aren’t any delays in your schedule, but if there are, I have a very good throat that could help wet your candy cane and you’ll be able to squeeze inside me.

Oops, I meant inside my chimney.

Open for business, Legal Elf.’

Fallon noticed me laughing and glanced over to see me with my phone in hand. “Are you looking at porn?”

“No, I think I might be reading it.”

It was close enough. This was the promise of porn, almost, and I couldn’t wait to finally be alone and away from prying eyes to see how much of Grant my little elf body could handle.