“Mmm.” Russell’s noise made me glance at him.
He was leaning over the island counter, reaching for a napkin that was in a small reindeer shaped basket. My comment caught him completely off guard, and he almost spit out his coffee. Instead, a little dribbled down his chin. I stood quickly and stretched my arm across the counter quicker than he did and grabbed a few napkins for him.
“Sorry,” I whispered my apology. “Do you need an ice cube or something? Did it burn you?”
Russell laughed as he wrapped his arm around my lower back. He dabbed the napkin over his mouth and chin.
“What on earth did you do, Russell?” Lily asked as she turned away from the oven and Stanley.
“Some coffee spilled out of the rim of Santa,” Russell explained.
Fuck … did he actually just say that to his mom?Instantly, dirty things filled my mind as I pictured Santa taking a hot load from Russell.
“Careful, Russell. Santa contains warm liquids,” I mumbled quietly while Lily turned back around to turn off the beeping oven timer.
Russell playfully spanked my ass … in the kitchen, with both of his parents mere feet away. Either they didn’t hear it or chose not to acknowledge it. After Lily took the cookie sheet out of the oven, she went to the stove and poured pancake batter into the skillet.
“Would you guys like Santa pancakes this morning?”
“That would be delightful, Mom. Ryan’s been looking forward to them.”
“Yes, please. Can mine have more whip cream hair?” I asked.
“Of course, Ryan. I’ll give you a few extra eyes too.”
I grinned at Russell and picked up my Santa mug. Soon, I had a plate full of Santa pancakes with Reddi-wip, bacon, and raisins. Lily and Stanley were carrying plates of cookies into the living room while Russell and I finished eating.
“Mmm,” I murmured as I shoveled a forkful of whip cream and raisins.
“What? Not only do you know what Santa smells like, but now you’re enjoying the way he tastes?” Russell teased.
“God, yes!” I ran my tongue slowly along my bottom lip for dramatic effect. “Santa’s cream tastes so good,” I whispered, trying to make it sound seductive without laughing.
Russell and I laughed our way through the rest of our breakfast, and after we helped clean up the kitchen, we went into the living room to open gifts. I was so excited for them to get their gifts I could hardly stand it.
I sat beside Russell on one of the couches while Lily and Stanley sat on the other. When Stanley reached for a small plate and put a cookie on it, I took that as the official “okay” to do so. When I reached for a plate, Lily spoke up.
“I made the oatmeal raisin cookies fresh this morning, Ryan.”
“Thank you,” I said and put three cookies on my plate.
“Aren’t you full of Santa-cakes?” Russell asked as he stretched his arm across the top of the cushions. I wanted to bust out laughing, but thankfully I kept my composure. “Alright, who wants to open something first?”
Russell stood and walked over to the tree. He picked up a few boxes of things he and I picked out for his parents when we went shopping together. Russell said his parents could both use some sweaters, socks, pajamas, and those sorts of things. After they would open something, they would chit chat a little about the gift. It was nice to sit and listen to them and see how much they appreciated each gift.
“Stanley, hand Ryan the package with the green and red plaid paper,” Lily said.
For me? This was for both of us, right?
“Here, I’ll get it. Sit down and relax, Dad,” Russell said as he moved past my legs on his way to the tree again.
Russell picked the package up with both hands and handed it to me before he sat next to me. As I held it on my lap, I could tell it was something soft. Russell put his hand on my upper back and rubbed on it while I checked the tag on the package. The tag was just for me from Lily.
I hadn’t even opened it yet, and I felt myself starting to feel emotional. It was for no reason other than Lily wanted to give me something. It didn’t even matter what was in the package. As I slowly removed the ribbon, I thought about how lucky I was to be part of Russell’s family. I opened the ends, tore away the paper, and stared at the gift. Sitting on my lap was a fleece blanket that was maroon on one side and black on the other. It was stitched together with gold thread.USC colors. In a corner on the maroon side was a baseball with a maroon number thirteen, outlined in gold. And under the baseball stitched in gold was “Ryan.” I stared at it until everything became blurry.
Too much came rushing in on me. My parents never saw me play ball in college. Well, maybe my dad would have if I hadn’t been the cause for him being sent to prison. I tried to swallow past the massive lump in my throat. There was no way for me to even try to stop the hot tears as they slid down my face. I lowered my head and stared at this incredible gift that was made by someone who truly wanted to know me and accept me.
“Russell said how much you hate the cold,” Lily said.
