Eighteen

Garrett

“So, would you have time to stop by my parents’ house for a while before your Thanksgiving dinner?” Steve had asked the day after he’d stayed here.

“Yeah, I mean we don’t eat until later so it shouldn’t be a problem.” I smiled unable to hold it back. Even through the phone I could feel his nerves.

“Really?”

“Sure, but only if you come over to my house that night after everything is done. I’d love to spend some time with you, and I have the day after Thanksgiving off.” I wasn’t sure how that had happened, but I wasn’t going to complain, and I was going to enjoy the hell out of it.

“I was told today I have it off too,” Steve said.

“Then it’s a date. Maybe we could go to Folsom, or I don’t know, somewhere to shop since it’ll be Black Friday.”

“You know I hate shopping, right?” he said, and I imagined him trying to act gruff but failing.

“Oh, I know. You’ve said this several times. But I’m sure there’s a few gifts you could buy and that might be the perfect day.”

“Yeah, I guess, as long as we can spend the day together, I don’t really care what we do.”

“You might just regret saying that, but okay.” He laughed and we made plans for meeting on Thanksgiving. His parents lived in Orangevale, so they were in the middle of where both of us lived.

“What do you think of getting there around noon? They usually have food set out by then and they’re busy choosing a game to play while football is on in the background.”

“That sounds great, what can I bring?”

“You don’t have to bring anything,” Steve said.

“Steve, there’s no way I’m going to your parents’ emptyhanded. Plus, you know I love food. I’ll come up with an appetizer, how does that sound?”

“Perfect. I’m making nachos. I know I said I don’t cook but I can handle that.”

“Oh, I’ll keep that in mind and make something that will go with them.” My mind was already on what that would be. My parents were serving their usual turkey and all the fixings. I’d be bringing a side dish for it, but neither would take all that long to make.

“How late do you work today?” he asked. It was midmorning and both of us were getting ready for work which our lives seemed to rotate around.

“Probably late, the day before Thanksgiving will be even crazier. Which is why I’ll be shopping tonight for anything I need.” I pulled a shirt on and then threw the ball for Teddy.

“Mind if I come by later?” he asked.

“I’d like that. You can even go shopping with me if you want. I mean it’s not all that exciting but I’m hoping to get it done and maybe find a few little gifts.”

“I’ll shoot you a message when I’m done with work and see if you’re still working,” he said as I locked my door and walked outside. There on my car was a Christmas cake.

“Oh my god, I got a cake on my car this time,” I said, and looked around hoping to see who had put it there.

“They’re sneaky, whoever it is. Any ideas?” he asked.

“None, unless it’s one of my relatives. I wouldn’t actually put it past some of them.” I chuckled and put it on the seat next to me as I got into the car. “Now I have a treat for later.”

“I wish I had someone who gave me treats,” Steve said, making me laugh.

“Well, I’ll be sure to pick up a box of Little Debbie trees when I shop for Thanksgiving.”

“Hey, I won’t complain,” he said, and when we hung up, I missed him. There was something about him that drew me in, and it wasn’t that the sex was on a whole new level, it was more than that. He tried to act like nothing affected him but the way he looked at Teddy when he held him told me he loved being loved and craved that warmth just like everyone else no matter how much he fought it.

Driving into the parking lot at work the first thing I noticed was the crazed energy coming off every employee I saw. Everyone scrambled around hurrying to either sort deliveries for the different routes, or they were packing those packages into the truck that would deliver them. Everyone’s truck was loaded as full as it could get and none of us expected to be done early the next few weeks. But it was Christmas, and when I noticed one of the other drivers had decorated his truck with a wreath it made me smile.

“I’m decorating the truck,” I said to my supervisor who shrugged his shoulders and went on with whatever he was doing.

“Nothing too crazy,” he yelled back at me over his shoulder. One of the other drivers looked at me and I knew from his look we’d both be pushing it to the limits of what was “too crazy.”