“Even if I was permanently disfigured?”
“Yes.As long as there’s no blood.I’m queasy around blood.”
Tom pulled down Randall’s beard, where a big smile waited for him.He leaned in, wondering if Randall would lean, too.Their lips met and made Tom whole again.
“Hey!Hey!”The security guard ran over and yanked Tom off of him.“No kissing Santa!How many times do we have to tell patrons?”
“It’s okay,” Randall said to the guard.He turned to Tom.“This is not the first time someone has tried to put the moves on Santa this season.”
“I wasn’t putting the moves on Santa.We were reconciling,” Tom explained to the guard.“And in my defense, I didn’t use tongue.”
“No hanky-panky with Santa!”the guard said, not amused.
Too late for that.
The guard led Tom away from Santa’s Workshop.
“Wait!”he heard Randall yell.
Randall caught up to them.He kissed Tom on the cheek.“Maybe you can give me a ride home tonight?”
Tom couldn’t stop grinning.
CHAPTER16
Christmas Day
Tom and Randallhad gone back to Tom’s apartment last night once Randall’s final Santa shift was over.They talked a little bit more about what happened, but then Randall suggested they watchDie Hard, and things quickly escalated.Tom broke out the antlers again.
They awoke the next morning, Tom in Randall’s muscular arms, his biceps squeezing against Tom’s chest, his morning wood digging into Tom’s ass.
Merry Christmas, indeed.
“Good morning, Santa,” Tom said.He dangled a finger through Randall’s messy hair.
“You can’t call me that anymore.”Randall’s eyes squinted open.His raised his arm to block out the sun.“I’m officially no longer Santa Claus.”
“The mystery is over.You’re just regular now.Bummer.”
Randall cocked an eyebrow.
“How does it feel to no longer be Santa?”Tom asked.
“I won’t miss the costume.That’s for sure.”
That led to an awkward silence, not out of memory of the costume, but about what happened next.Randall’s time in Oakville was coming to an end, something Tom was always aware of, but it hit him extra hard now.When he was in the thick of the holiday season, Tom didn’t think much of life post-Christmas.It was in this foggy future that seemed far off, like retirement.Oh, come January 2nd, I’m going to get my life back on track and learn five new languages…
But January was closer than ever now.
“So Wisconsin next, right?”Tom asked.“Do you have another job lined up?”
“Not yet.I may wise up and go someplace warmer.Wisconsin in January is probably not ideal.”
“Yeah.That’s smart.”Tom got a lump in his throat thinking about Randall moving to some warm, far-flung location.“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.Maybe there’s a farm I could work on, or I can work at a luxury resort setting out lounge chairs.”
“What do you want to do, though?”Tom asked.He thought about the track he had been on at The Décor Store, and he wondered if Randall wanted anything like that.Some people weren’t meant for structure.“Do you want a career or anything long-term?”
