Julien spots a wrapped present still tucked up underneath Greg’s wide, muscular arm. “Is that for them? I’ll stick it under the tree.”
Greg stumbles back. “It’s not. It’s for you.” His cheeks flame crimson.
“Oh.” That blaze in Julien’s chest has crept up onto his own face. Once he calms himself, he tells Greg he can still put it under the tree.
“I wish you wouldn’t,” Greg pleads. “It’s, uh, NSFW.”
Julien swallows his “oh.” He says, “We’re not at work.”
“Okay, then it’s NSFF. Not safe for family.”
Julien can’t help it. He bites his lip. “I have a similar sort of gift for you in my bag.”
When Julien had gotten Greg’s text, he figured it would be silly not to get him a little something. They had been working together and sleeping together for almost three months now. Julien had given his therapist a gift—a Target gift card and a glittery bath bomb. The least he could do was run to the sex shop and pick out something for Greg, which would ultimately be something for him, too, when he thought about where Greg would be using it.
“Hmm. I’m looking forward to unwrapping it tonight,” Greg says, slowly, decadently.
“I am...” Julien adopts Greg’s tone “...also looking forward to unwrapping something tonight, but it’s not this.” He waggles the present in the air—all crinkly paper and shiny tag—before turning to stuff it in his bag.
GREG
After the mocktails and the turkey and Augustine caroling her head off to Ms. Carey’s greatest hits, Martin parts the curtains. The streets are filled with snow. When they turn on the weather channel, the meteorologist is suggesting that residents of the Lehigh Valley stay home and enjoy their white Christmas at least until the roads can be cleared in the morning.
“Stay the night,” Martin says jovially, offering up the first-floor guest bedroom, which used to be Julien’s bedroom.
“I couldn’t impose like that.”
“It’s Christmas. Imposing isn’t a possibility,” Martin says.
“Ex-ha-hackly,” Augustine says, on the fun side of tipsy. She’ll be fine after some water and some sleep. Martin begins taking her up to bed.
“Are you sure?” Greg asks, looking more at Julien than anyone else.
Julien nods. “I’ll take the couch. It’s not a problem.”
“There. It’s all settled.” Martin reaches the stairs. “You two don’t stay up too late or Santa won’t come.”
Greg waits until Martin and Augustine are safely on the second floor of the house with their door shut before he laughs, low and rumbly.“You,”Greg says, “are the only man I’m concerned about coming tonight.”
“I got you something that I think might help with that.”
“Me, too.”
Julien brings his bag over to the couch. Under the glow of the rainbow Christmas tree lights, they exchange NSFF gifts. Julien insists that Greg goes first.
From the weight and shape in his hands, Greg has a pretty good guess what this is. When he opens it, he finds a flesh-colored hollow dildo. The exact same size and model as...
“Wait, open yours.”
Julien gasps when he sees that they accidentally bought each other the same thing.
Greg laughs quietly so as not to alert anyone upstairs. “But no harness...”
“Gah,” Julien cries softly. “After we talked last, I had this thought that you were going to get yourself a harness for the dildos we’ve already been using, so I figured this would be a good alternative.”
“And here I was thinking you might get me a harness?” Greg cringes. “I know that’s presumptuous, but I went to Cupid’s Arrow, and Paulie there said he’d seen ‘the wine guy’ the day before looking at the harnesses. Given your preference for bottoming, I just assumed. We reallyGift of the Magi’ed this, huh?”
Julien shakes his head, disbelieving. “Not exactly how the story goes, but sure, yeah, kinda.”
