Working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day may not sound ideal to most people. But I liked it, because I found that the customers tipped better on holidays, as if they felt bad that I was working.
I needed the roads to clear up so I could get that tip money.
The diner didn’t offer any paid days off, so I’d be out the flat wage, too.
Tex rustled in bed, shifting slightly, his cock jamming closer against my butt.
It made me want to strip out of my Christmas elf costume and show him what a Merry Christmas could really be like.
Tex had something sad and forlorn in him. And I wanted to soothe that pain and take it away.
The pain I felt in him might also be one of the things that drew me to him. I’d had a slight feeling of melancholy that had come to live with me long ago and never left again. We were kindred spirits in that regard.
I hid it from my friends well. If I were being honest, I even hid it from myself.
But it was there. Always lurking. A small reminder of everything I didn’t have in life.
Like Tex had said, it wasn’t about physical possessions. I missed something I’d never had. Stability. Community. A place to belong. And people to belong with.
Astrid was great. She was my best friend, and I loved her dearly. But I needed more than justonefriend. The rest of our friends were lovely, but I wasn’t as close to them. We had fun times, but I wasn’t sure they’d be around when bad times struck.
Those were the kinds of friends I wanted. The kind that would have my back through anything.
I got the feeling Tex’s friends were like that. He’d known most of them since childhood.
I could count the times I’d gotten close to someone as a kid, only to move a few months later. It had made it hard to build deep connections.
Tex stirred again, a tiny satisfied groan escaping past his lips.
Then he breathed deep, as if he were inhaling the scent of my hair.
But then he must have woken up because he muttered, “Oh, shit. Sorry,” and pulled away.
His hand let go of mine, and suddenly there were inches between us.
Instantly I missed his warmth.
So I told him, “I didn’t mind. You were warm.”
He let out a sleepy laugh. “Don’t tempt me, Chloe. Or I’ll find a way to really warm you up.”
“Did Grumpy Santa just tell a joke?” I asked as I flipped around to face him.
It was early morning, dawn just breaking, and his face looked soft in the morning light, and younger.
I was tempted to run my fingers through his beard to find out how soft it was.
“Grumpy Santa?” he asked with one sleepy eye open now.
“Hm. It was either that orSexySanta. Those are the two nicknames that Astrid and I came up with for you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You gave menicknames?”
I gave him a wicked grin. “We sure did.”
Tex cleared his throat. “So, Sexy Santa. Is that what you thought of me? Or was that all your friend?”
“You got the sexy vote from both of us.”
