A Time for Charity

A Time for Charity

“
Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells
…”

Seriously
,
Mitch couldn’t believe that it was that time of year again. He did not relish the idea of spending the holiday season alone. Again.

Mitch fought the urge to growl aloud as he struggled through crowded mall. All he needed was one little birthday gift to send across the country to his sister. If her birthday weren’t so close to Christmas, he would have mailed a gift card, regardless of how impersonal the damn things were. Hell, that’s what everyone was going to get for Christmas, as far as he was concerned. Let them pick their own presents.

He formulated a plan. Get to Redmond’s department store as quickly as possible. Grab the first bottle of perfume that caught his eye. Then make a mad dash for his car and the quiet of his little apartment. He could run to the post office to mail it tomorrow on the way home from work.

Assaulted by mind-numbing odors as he entered the teeming store, he spotted a bottle of H.G.L. perfume. Jill would definitely think the cartoonish looking bottle was “cute.” He grabbed it and made his way to the line, annoyed even before he got behind the six other men obviously buying gifts for the females in their lives.

The only positive was the guy behind the counter. Definite eye-candy, despite all the extra holes he seemed to need: three in one ear, five in the other, and one in his eyebrow for good measure.

Despite his six foot two size, Mitch had always had a thing for small, lean, and handsome. And this guy was all of that. He couldn’t have been more than five foot six with a small compact body that didn’t look like it had an ounce of extra flesh on it. And he was gorgeous and mouth-watering with his black hair and full, kissable, suckable lips.

The poor guy would definitely be starring in Mitch’s fantasies. Hell, just watching the guy smile and chat amiably with customers was beginning to make Mitch’s blood flow south, making him wish his jeans had more room in them.

The guy had a great laugh. Mitch wondered what that voice would sound like in his bedroom, moaning under him as he kissed his way down that delicious looking neck.

Mitch groaned aloud. He needed to stop before he embarrassed himself. He gave himself a good shake and looked up.

The guy behind the counter smirked and raised a brow, an amused twinkle in his green eyes.

Shit!
Mitch didn’t realize that he was already at the front of the line. He had been too busy imagining what he could do with that lithe little body.

“Sir? Can I help you?” the guy asked, his grin growing as Mitch stood there staring at the devilish mouth that had revealed a tenth, hidden hole. The silver of the cashier’s tongue ring caught Mitch’s attention.

“Sir?” the clerk—Sam, according to his name tag—asked again, barely concealing his chuckle at Mitch’s inability to talk.

“Um, yeah?” Mitch fumbled and practically threw the perfume at the clerk, winning another poorly concealed laugh.

Mitch felt a blush spread over his face as he handed his check card to Sam. He cleared his throat and pretended to be interested in the perfume display by the counter, tiny little spray bottles disguised as snow globes.

“Those are really popular with the ladies as well. Could I interest you in one for $10.95? It’s a great price. Plus, you can put any type of perfume in them.”

“Huh?” Mitch jerked at the sound of Sam’s voice, neatly knocking three of the perfume boxes by the register onto the floor.

“Uh, sorry about that. No thanks.” Mitch bent to pick up the boxes and bumped his head on the edge of the counter, hard.

“Sir? Are you all right?” Sam asked, handing Mitch back his bank card.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Mitch reached for the card, his focus straying to the delectable little smirk that Sam wore. Without thinking, Mitch licked his lips.

Before letting go of the card, Sam stuck out his tongue enough to catch the stainless steel bar between his teeth and winked. Mitch grabbed his bag and practically ran out of the store, chased by the sound of Sam’s cheerful laughter.

Fuck!
Mitch couldn’t believe the total ass he’d just made of himself. His only consolation was that he would never have to see Sam again except for fantasies, and probably not even there. Mitch doubted he could think about Sam without feeling like a fool.

*  *  *

Sam
laughed quietly to himself as he made his way to his car after work. Despite it being a long, tiring day dealing with the holiday madness, he had actually enjoyed filling in for Joan at the perfume counter, especially after tall, blond, and clumsy had come through. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen someone so obviously checking him out.

The guy was so not Sam’s type with his tall, bulky frame and blue-collar wardrobe, but he sure was fun to tease. That blush and bumbling clumsiness totally contradicted the image the guy projected. Sam chuckled again as his phone began ringing.

“Hello?”

“Sam, hey. What time do you think you’ll be ready tonight? What time do you want us to pick you up?” asked James, Sam’s longtime best friend.

Every time he heard James’s voice, he still felt a little prickle in his gut. He really was over his crush, for the most part. He had to be, because James was taken, had been for two years now. And while Sam
was
truly happy that his friend had found love, he sometimes still wished he’d spoken up about his feelings. Who knows? James could’ve been his. At one time, it seemed like James was interested, and they’d almost had sex. That was in the past, and James was so drunk at the time that he probably didn’t even remember. Sam was determined to put the last little bit of his pointless regrets to rest and find someone else to obsess over.

“Sam? You there?” James asked, breaking the silence of Sam’s thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry. Long day at work. Let’s see, it’s seven-thirty now. I need to go home, take a shower, get ready. How about you and Chris swing by around eight-thirty? Sound good?”

“Cool. See ya then.” James hung up, leaving Sam to his thoughts.

I so need to hook-up with someone and get laid tonight,
Sam thought as he pulled into a parking spot in front of his apartment building.

*  *  *

Mitch
had just finished packing his sister’s perfume when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mitch. It’s Dave. Are you busy?”

“Oh, hey Dave. No, not really. What’s up?”

“I have a really big favor to ask. The Beaverton Gay Men’s Association is throwing a party at the Double Clover to raise money for charity. The cover charge is two canned goods. My uncle is one of the people running this thing, so he expects me to be there, but my car is in the shop. Can you give me a ride? You’re more than welcome to stay. Drinks are on me if you do.”

Mitch groaned. He was already settled in for the night. He didn’t want to fight the crowds that would be at the Double Clover on a Friday night.

“Dave—”

“Come on, Mitch. I’m begging you. My uncle is expecting me, and it’s for a good cause. One dollar from every drink purchased goes towards feeding the hungry. You don’t want anyone to go hungry during the holidays, do you, Mitch? Plus, weren’t you saying the other day that you needed to get out more?” Dave pleaded.

“Fine,” Mitch sighed, “I’ll go, I’ll go.” It was for a good cause and all. “What time do you want me to come by? I gotta shower if I’m going out.”

“How about eight-thirty? Sound doable?”

“Yeah, yeah. See you then.” Mitch hung up the phone and sighed again.

“So much for a nice quiet evening alone,” he said to himself as he got up off the couch and went to shower.

*  *  *

James
arrived at eight-thirty, prompt as always. And Sam, like usual, was running late. He ran to the door half-dressed to let James and Chris in.

“Sorry. Give me five more minutes. Just gotta put my shirt on and fix my hair.”

“Hey, I can’t believe you’re almost ready,” James teased. “You almost never run ahead of gay standard time.”

Chris just rolled his eyes, sighed, and pointedly looked at his watch, not trying to hide his annoyance from anyone. “Come on. You knew what time we’d be here. Why aren’t you ready yet? I don’t want to be late. We’re supposed to be there at nine.”

“I know. I know,” Sam called from the bathroom, “but I couldn’t decide what to wear. I wanted to look perfect. Gotta look perfect to feed the hungry. How do I look?” Sam asked, walking into the room, straightening the snug, pink and white pin-striped button down that he wore over his favorite pair of worn-out jeans.

“Good enough to eat,” James said as he smiled. “Now get your coat, and let’s hit the road. If we don’t hit traffic, we should be okay on time.”

Chris shook his head and rolled his eyes again as he led the way to the car, mumbling something about how there wouldn’t actually be any needy people at the party. Even after two years, Chris only seemed to put up with Sam for James’s sake. Sam sometimes wondered if Chris knew about the secret crush he’d once had on James.

“So,” Sam said to break the silence in the car. “You think there will be any hot single guys there, or only old, stodgy types?”

“Well,” replied Chris as he turned in the passenger seat to face Sam in the back, “I’m sure there will be young and old there. A few guys I know from work are going. I’m sure you’d be able to have some fun with one or two of those guys.”

“Cool. Fun is good,” Sam murmured, looking out the window as the storefronts zoomed by. Fun was good, but Sam really wanted something more. He wanted something like James and Chris had, something more long-term than one night. He was tired of quick hook-ups and one night stands. Well, maybe tonight would be different. Maybe he’d finally meet someone worth meeting. He’d never know until he tried.

*  *  *

“Thanks,
Mitch. I owe you one. Drinks are on me tonight,” Dave promised as the two of the walked into the Double Clover and handed over their canned food. Dave took in the crowd and smiled back at Mitch. “Maybe we’ll both get lucky, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Mitch replied half-heartedly. He just wanted to get a beer, maybe play a little pool, and then call it a night. One night stands weren’t really his thing. He was basically only here because Mitch begged him.

“Oh, hey, there’s Chris, a guy I know from my uncle’s group.” Dave pointed and led the way to a couple of tables back by the pool tables.

Dave greeted the small, attractive blond leaning against one of the tables. “Hey, Chris. This is my friend Mitch. He gave me a lift and is gonna hang out for awhile.”

“Cool. Thanks for coming.” Chris leaned over to shake Mitch’s hand, flashing a pleasant smile. Turning to Dave, Chris pointed to a small, dark-haired man and a tall, lanky redhead coming toward them. “Here come James and Sam. I think you and Sam could really have some fun together.”

“Oh shit. No fucking way,” Mitch muttered to himself as he recognized the small man as the guy from the perfume counter at Redmond’s. Just great. Not only was he a total stranger to most of the people here, he also had to see the perfume guy again. He felt a blush coloring his cheeks as Sam approached with the redhead.

Sam laughed aloud as he and James joined them.

“It’s you! Who would’ve thought we’d meet again? How’s the head?” Sam smiled. Mitch felt his blush intensify.

“You two know each other?” Chris asked, eyes shifting from Sam to Mitch.

“Not formally, no, but you could say that we’ve met before.” Sam flashed Mitch a brilliant smile before turning to wink at Dave.

“This is Mitch and Dave,” Chris introduced.

Sam and Dave seemed to hit it off immediately. Mitch was relieved when Sam’s attention shifted to Dave. As soon as he was sure that Dave had a ride home, he was leaving.

He found a nice dark corner just behind the pool tables and tried to blend in with the wall. From this vantage point, he could watch Sam without having to worry about making a fool of himself again. And man, was Sam something enjoyable to watch. Those elegant hands flying around as he animatedly talked to Dave. Those mischievous green eyes and supple mouth driving Mitch crazy. Oh man, Mitch would love to know how that mouth felt on him. Mitch’s cock began to fill as he fantasized about a panting Sam down on his knees. That tongue ring teasing his balls. The tight, wet heat of that mouth driving him to the edge of ecstasy.

*  *  *

“Hey,
Earth to Mitch. You look like you’re having too much fun over here by yourself,” Sam teased as he waved his hand in front of Mitch’s face.

“Huh?” Mitch jerked out of whatever daydream he was having and knocked over his beer. “Shit!” He jumped out of the way, managing to bump into a passing patron. Luckily the guy’s mug was empty, or Mitch would be wearing a lot more than just that cute little blush.

“Steady. You okay? How many of those have you had?” Sam chuckled as he reached out to keep Mitch upright.