“I never said you had to get married and have babies, boys. I simply said you needed to quit pretending you’re against love and commitment.” She focused her piercing blue eyes on Jag and said, “I’ve never seen you this happy in as long as I’ve known you, and I’m including the time you dated Chase. You two weren’t meant to be together like that, but you’ve continued a beautiful friendship over the years. Chase found the man he was meant to be with, and because he did, you’ve found the person you’re meant to be with too.” She turned and looked at me next. “Thank you for bringing joy and happiness to JJ’s life. I no longer see the shadows of sadness in his eyes, and that’s all because of you.” She stood on her tiptoes, and I leaned down so she could kiss my cheek. “You boys have a very Merry Christmas.” Jag bent over so she could kiss his cheek too before she left as fast as she’d arrived.
“I hope I’m as spunky as she is when I’m her age,” I said as I watched her walk over to her fiancé.
“I can make you spunky as soon as we get home. There’s no need to wait another forty years.” Jag purposely misconstrued what I meant. “I haven’t had too much to drink, and I promise you I can get it up.”
“Why wait? There has to be an empty bathroom somewhere in this house.” I said it loud enough for Chase to overhear as he made his rounds with a tray full of snacks. Chase narrowed his eyes as he tried to fight off a smile.
“Santa is going to bring you a lump of coal, Miller,” he replied teasingly. He stuck out his tongue and continued on with his tray of goodies, purposely skipping us.
“I guess he told you.” Jag pulled me close and whispered huskily in my ear. “I want to go home and open my next Sexmas gift.” Jag was enjoying the gifts even more than I thought he would. I got pleasure from seeing his laughter and being on the receiving end of whatever his gift was that day. I couldn’t remember a time I’d loved Christmas more.
We spent Christmas Eve at my parents with my brother and his family. Lucas and Lily were all over Uncle Jag the minute we walked through the door. I’d never forget the look on his face when the kids started referring to him as their uncle. His widened eyes and slack jaw had turned into a broad smile and a joyful expression.
My mom cooked an extraordinary meal for all of us, and we ate so much we practically had to roll ourselves to the Christmas tree to exchange gifts. Jag was surprised by how many gifts he received from my family and that he had a Christmas stocking with his name on it, but like I’d reminded him on the way home, he was one of us. My mom never called to talk to me without asking about Jag. An invitation to dinner at her home always ended with “Bring Jag.”
My parents didn’t need us to make a formal announcement that we were together or in love. It was accepted and understood that Jag was the part that made me whole. Hell, I didn’t even know I was only half a person until I’d met him. Every day we shared seemed to bring us closer and closer. I never questioned how he felt about me or worried he would tire of me and move on someday. On the other hand, I wasn’t opposed to making our commitment permanent. I would gladly marry him if it was what we both wanted, but it wasn’t make or break for me.
Jag and I exchanged gifts when we got home from my parents’ house. We said we wouldn’t get too carried away, and we mostly stuck to that agreement. I did buy him an expensive watch, and I got a secret thrill seeing it on his wrist. His extravagant gift for me was season tickets to the Nationals. As much as I loved the baseball tickets, my favorite gift was the glow-in-the-dark dinosaur boxer shorts. He loved the boxers I’d bought for him that saidJingle Theseabove a giant set of silver bells that hung over his crotch. Later, we modeled our new undies for each other, but we didn’t get to wear them long before we yanked the shorts off each other and tossed them to the floor.
The next morning, Jag surprised me with another gift. “It’s from Santa Claus,” he said as he laid it on the coffee table.
“Why is it wrapped in the same paper as your other gifts? Are you saying Santa bought his wrapping paper from Target too?”
“Apparently, he did, Miller. Quit being silly and open the gift.” He sounded a little nervous.
I stared at the large rectangular box for a few minutes before curiosity got the best of me and I ripped into it like a child. “Huh?” I said when I lifted the lid and found a miniature sand box filled with white sand. On top was a child’s sand shovel and rake. I looked up at him, and he grinned wickedly at me.
“Use those tools to excavate until you find your gift.”
“You haven’t left this anywhere Maleficent or Ursula could find it, right? That’s not the kind of gift I want to dig up.”
“No cat poop. Scout’s honor.” He held up his hand and gave me theStar Treksalute, not the Boy Scout one.
“You’re no Boy Scout, Jag.”
“I’m always prepared.” He pulled a condom and a tube of lube out of his robe pocket, both from his Twelve Days of Sexmas gifts.
“Wow, this must be some giftSantabrought me. You’re all prepared to receive thank-you sex on his behalf.” I picked up my shovel and rake and began to comb through the sand. The box was deeper than it appeared. The first thing I dug out was a pair of cheap sunglasses. I looked at him with a raised brow.
“Keep digging, Bones.”
“I suppose this is to keep my lips supple for the blow job I’ll give you once I figure out my gift,” I said, holding up a tube of lip balm I’d unearthed.
“Now that you mention it…” He laughed again at my skeptical expression after digging up the first two items. “Get to digging so I can get my thank-you sex.”
I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt, but then I began digging again. I didn’t admit it just then, but I thought this was the coolest gift I’d ever received. I dug out a bottle of suntan lotion followed by a plastic suitcase that probably belonged to a Ken doll. I shook the little suitcase and realized it had stuff in it. I pulled out a pair of doll-sized flip flops and a pair of swim trunks. My heart started to speed up as I realized what I was uncovering. At the very bottom was a folder that contained two airline tickets and a pamphlet showing gorgeous pictures of a resort in Turks and Caicos.
“Jag.” I was completely shocked by the gift. “Oh my God. I can’t believe it.”
“You’re going to take me with you, right?” He gave me a pouty look and pleading puppy dog eyes like Indy would give me when he wanted a bite of steak.
“I wouldn’t dream of taking anyone else.” I looked around me on the couch where I’d laid the treasures I’d uncovered. “Where’s that lip balm?” Jag laughed happily and pulled out the pair of handcuffs from his pocket before he began peeling out of his robe. “After thank-you sex, you can tell me when we’re leaving on our vacation to paradise.”
“Anywhere you are is paradise, Bones.”
“Oh man, you’re going to make me gag.” I smiled to let him know I was only teasing. I hoped he saw how happy his words made me.
“I have something you can gag on,” he said, stroking the erection beneath his new boxers.
