Christmas Perfection Read online

  Christmas Perfection

  “You hate me, don’t you?”

  Stunned, Derek looked up from his study of his morning coffee and turned his attention to his lover. Sky was up to his elbow in the largest turkey that Derek had ever seen. His brown hair was a mess and his brown eyes were snapping. Derek was fairly certain that no one should look that hot stuffing a turkey. “Sorry, babe, what did you say?”

  “You hate me, don’t you?”

  “No, I love you. Why would you think that?”

  “Do you want your family to stop liking me?”

  “No.”

  “Then why the fuck am I cooking Christmas dinner for your family and mine? I mean, seriously, why would you want to put your nice, normal family through the horror of spending the holiday with mine?” There was a slightly plaintive note to Sky’s voice. He pulled his arm out of the turkey with a faint slurping sound and grabbed more stuffing out of the pan by his elbow.

  “I happen to like your family, babe. Your mother is really nice.” Derek smiled at his coffee. “She makes me cookies.”

  Sky snorted. “My mother is a hippie who named me Skylark and she’s bringing her new girlfriend to dinner. At least she didn’t make you ‘special’ brownies.”

  “Your mother has a new girlfriend?” Derek’s eyes widened as the second half of Sky’s comment sank in. “Wait, special brownies? When did your mother make you special brownies?”

  “I was in the third grade. She didn’t do it on purpose. She gave me the wrong pan to take to school.”

  “That must have been an interesting time. Now, tell me all about the woman your mother is bringing to Christmas dinner.”

  “Well, she’s…” Sky trailed off. “Not the point, Derek!”

  “What does she look like? What’s her name?”

  “My God, Derek, you are so lucky I have my hand up a turkey’s ass.”

  “There are better things you could be doing with your hands.” Derek leered at his lover’s back. His eyes traveled down the T-shirt clad back to rest on the round and perky ass encased in pajama pants.

  “The only reason I’m not throwing this thing at you is because it weighs twenty-six pounds and then we would have nothing to eat.” Sky shot him a dirty look over his shoulder and went back to stuffing the turkey.

  Smothering a grin, Derek pushed away from the table and walked over to his agitated lover. He wrapped his arms around a trim waist, rested his chin on the thin shoulder, tucked a strand of brown hair behind a ridiculously cute ear and pressed a soft kiss to Sky’s cheek. “Calm down, pretty boy. Everything will be fine.”

  “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” Sky sounded disgruntled, but he was starting to relax in Derek’s arms.

  “No, I believe it.” Derek gave Sky’s neck a nip. “Plus, I don’t want you to ruin the food.” He danced away from Sky before his lover could swat him.

  “How did I let you talk me into cooking Christmas dinner for fifteen people?” Sky glanced away from stuffing the turkey long enough to give Derek a half-hearted glare. “Not only that, but Christmas dinner in our brand new house that we’ve only had for six months.”

  “I asked you during sex. You say yes to anything I ask you during sex.”

  “I get in a lot of trouble that way.”

  Derek grinned at Sky as he headed over to the fridge. Passing the counter, he noticed what he thought were stuffing ingredients. “Hey babe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What are you putting in the turkey?”

  “Stuffing.”

  “Did you forget this stuff over here?”

  “No. That’s for the other stuffing.”

  Other stuffing? Okay, that’s a little odd. “You’re making more than one stuffing?”

  “Katie refuses to eat anything that once had a face, and that includes food that has been inside something that once had a face. So, she gets her own stuffing.”

  “Isn’t Katie nine?”

  “Yep.”

  “And she’s decided to not eat meat?”

  “Yep.”

  “And your sister is okay with that?”

  “Kestrel is her own person.”

  “And that means what?”

  “That my sister is insane.” Sky removed his hand from the turkey and turned to face Derek. “I mean, come on, she married a guy named Kendrin and then gave all of her children ‘K’ names. She’s a freak.”

  Derek shook his head in amusement. “So, I guess I got the normal one in the family.” He abandoned his fridge approach and stepped into his lover’s arms, pressing a hand against Sky’s cheek and marveling once again at the contrast of his mocha skin against Sky’s pale complexion. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips, pulling away when he felt Sky relax. “I definitely got the better kisser.”

  “Ass kisser.”

  “You know it.” Derek placed one more kiss on his lover’s lips then finally made it to the fridge to get the milk for his cereal. He froze when he opened the door. “Um, babe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “There are seven pies in here.”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “And one of them is yellow.”

  “That would be the lemon meringue pie for Kristy.”

  Derek cast his mind back over his memories of his mother making a lemon meringue pie. “I thought meringue was white?”

  “Kristy will only eat food that is yellow.”

  Derek nodded to himself. That explained the two bottles of yellow food coloring on the counter that he had been too chickenshit to ask about. “How are you going to make the turkey yellow?”

  “I haven’t figured that out yet.”

  “So what’s with the other pies?”

  “I have two apple, one pumpkin, one cherry, one pecan, and one blueberry. I figured that would cover what everyone would like. I also have ice cream and fresh fruit. Oh, and I think I’ve got stuff for chocolate fondue in the cupboards, plus the chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer from when we had the Indiana Jones marathon.”

  Ooo, Indiana Jones cookies. Those were good. “Babe, what time did you get up this morning?”

  “I don’t know, like four, but I got a lot of prep work done yesterday.” With that said, Sky turned back to his food preparations. Derek dug around behind the numerous pies and managed to pull out the milk. He placed it on the small amount of counter space that was clear of Christmas dinner ingredients, got a bowl from the cupboard and poured himself some Lucky Charms. Sky’s lips twitched in a small grin. “All the food sitting around here and you’re eating Lucky Charms?”

  “Hey. I figured if I tried to touch any of the other food you’d kill me, so I’m sticking to cereal. Plus, I like Lucky Charms.”

  “I know. It’s one of the many odd things that I love about you.” Sky walked over and stole a kiss. Derek opened to his lover’s questing tongue and threaded his fingers through the silky brown hair. He gave the strands a tug as Sky pulled away. Sky licked his lips. “You taste like candy.”

  “It’s ’cause I’m sweet.”

  “No, I think it’s the cereal.” Sky gave him one last peck before heading back to his cooking endeavors. Derek settled himself back against his chair, cradling his bowl to his chest. Christmas was shaping up to be an amazing day.

  * * *

  Sky mentally went over his dinner plan as he scanned his nearly spotless kitchen. Everything seemed to be prepared and cooking on schedule to be ready by the time he planned to serve dinner. He just needed the guests to arrive on time, which tended to be a problem with his family. The very thought of the guests arriving late made all the nerves that had finally fled from his body start to creep back. Just as he felt himself beginning to tense
to the point of discomfort, strong arms wrapped around his waist.

  “You panicking yet?” Soft lips pressed against his neck.

  “Maybe a bit.” Sky relaxed back into the body holding him close.

  “Then it’s time to calm down. Come on. I’ve got a present for you.”

  That perked Sky right up. “I like presents.” He turned around still within the circle of Derek’s arms. He looped his arms around the older man’s neck. “Is it a naked present?” His question got him a laugh and a kiss on the nose.

  “No, it’s not a naked present. We don’t have time for a naked present. Come on. Your present is by the tree.” Derek gave him one more quick peck, pulled out of the embrace, grabbed his hand and started tugging him out of the kitchen.

  Sky glanced behind him as he was pulled out of the room. His eyes scanned the kitchen for anything out of place. He just wanted everything to be perfect. After bouncing off the doorframe leading to the hallway while looking back at the kitchen, Sky turned around just in time to walk into his non-moving lover. “Ow.” He reached up with his free hand and rubbed his nose, which he had banged on Derek’s shoulder. “Why did you stop?”

  “Mistletoe.” Derek pointed up at the doorframe that led into the living room. Following the motion, while still rubbing his sore nose, Sky looked up to find the little green plant happily attached.

  “Where did that come from?”

  “I put it there.”

  “When?”

  “You were busy in the kitchen. Now, give me my kiss,” Derek instructed. Sky smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss.

  Derek’s lips pressed softly against his. Sky sighed into the sensation and melted against his lover’s strong chest. He parted his lips and eagerly accepted the tongue that came seeking its mate. He loved the way Derek kissed him. Just a simple touch could set him on fire. Sky ran his hands over Derek’s closely cropped hair and cradled his skull, tilting his head slightly so he could deepen the kiss. He moaned as he felt one of Derek’s hands fist in his hair. Sky whimpered when Derek pulled away from him.

  “Sorry, babe, but if we keep that up, we’re going to get in trouble.” Derek’s lips looked delightfully kiss-swollen.

  “How can anything we do together be trouble?”

  “Our parents are coming over. No messing around when there is the chance that they’ll walk in on us.”

  “Your family would at least knock first.”

  “Yes, and your mother uses her key like she lives here. Come on,” Derek said. He tugged on Sky’s arm and led him to the couch. After pushing him onto the cushions, he rummaged around under the tree. Sky watched with a smile on his face. Clothed or unclothed, Derek had a great ass. Sky settled back in the ridiculously comfortable couch that his mother had helped pick out and looked around the room.

  Derek had really outdone himself with the decorations. The room looked amazing. Garland, lights and bows were strung around the room and the tree was a work of art. It looked like a magazine picture of what a living room should look like at Christmas. There was even a fire in the fireplace. Hearing a triumphant shout, Sky turned his attention back to his lover. Derek had found whatever it was that he was looking for under the tree and was moving back to the couch. Sky smiled as Derek settled next to him.

  “Have I told you how amazing this room looks?” He reached out and ran a finger down Derek’s nose. Sky let his finger pause across Derek’s lips and got a soft kiss. He pulled his finger away with a smile.

  “No, but I’m glad that you like it. I wanted our first Christmas in our new home to be special.”

  Sky reached out and linked his fingers with Derek’s again. “Well, you’ve done it.” He lifted their linked hands and pressed a kiss to the back of Derek’s hand. “This is turning into a wonderful Christmas.”

  “Here, open this,” Derek said. He handed Sky a small box wrapped in shiny green paper with a red bow.

  Sky smiled at Derek as he took the small package. He and Derek had exchanged gifts the night before, and while he had one other small thing for Derek to exchange with the family there, he hadn’t expected anything else from his lover. He pulled off the bow and tore off the paper. When the black jeweler’s box was sitting naked in his hand, his heart started to pound. Sky looked up into the chocolate eyes he had loved for years. Derek smiled softly and nodded at the gift. With shaking hands, Sky opened the small box.

  Sitting inside on a black velvet backing was a ring. The small piece of jewelry was made of white and yellow gold set in platinum. The two colors of gold were designed as vines and wove around each other. The platinum made a border for the vines. “Derek?”

  “Sky, you mean the world to me. Until I met you, I didn’t believe that there was someone in the world who I was meant to be with. Marry me. Marry me and let me spend the rest of our lives showing you just how much you mean to me.”

  Tears of joy clogging his throat, Sky was unable to do anything but nod and throw himself into Derek’s arms, which clamped around him and held him close. Getting himself under a semblance of control, Sky pulled back and wiped his eyes. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “I love you.”

  “And I love you, too. So much.” Sky, still gripping the box in one hand, pressed a kiss to Derek’s lips. He pulled away from the kiss and wiped his eyes on Derek’s shoulder. Sky couldn’t remember the last time he had been so happy.

  “Here, let me put it on you.” Derek pulled the box from his hand and lifted the ring from the velvet inside. Sky held out his shaking left hand and watched as Derek slid the ring onto his ring finger. If fit perfectly. Derek leaned down and kissed the ring. “It looks good there.”

  “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. God, Derek, I love you so much.” Sky threw himself back into his lover’s arms, putting every bit of love he had into a voracious kiss. By the time they pulled back for air, Sky was aching for some alone time. “You’re making this the best Christmas ever.”

  “Now all we have to do is survive dinner with our families.”

  “I can survive anything with you at my side,” Sky replied. He smiled and leaned in for one last kiss.

  Best Christmas ever.

  * * *

  Derek finished straightening his clothes and looked in the full-length mirror on the bedroom closet door. He wanted to make sure that everything was in place.

  Black dress pants, clean, ironed and looking good?

  Check.

  Collar of white dress shirt not sticking up?

  Check.

  Hideous Christmas sweater that his mother had given him?

  Check.

  Derek sighed as he studied the dancing reindeer on his chest. He really didn’t want to wear the sweater. In fact, he thought he looked like an idiot, but his mother had given it to him. She bought one for everyone in the family every year. They were getting worse. Most of the time he wished it was a tie. A tie wouldn’t have been as bad.

  “So, what’s the verdict?” Sky asked from the attached bathroom where he was getting ready.

  “I look like a circus freak.”

  “But a festive one.”

  Derek turned to find his lover standing behind him. Sky was wearing a pair of khakis and his new holiday sweater. His was blue with snowflakes and nowhere near as horrendous as Derek’s. “Your sweater is nicer than mine.”

  “Maybe your mother likes me better than she likes you?”

  “I’ve always suspected that you were her favorite,” Derek replied. He stepped over to Sky and lifted his left hand, pressing a kiss to the ring. Seeing it on the pale hand gave him a thrill of joy. Sky was going to marry him.

  “If you keep doing that I’m going to turn into a puddle of goo and you’ll have to finish making dinner.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want that, but I do need a kiss.”

  “I think that can be arranged.” Sky smiled and moved into his arms.

  Refusing to release his hold on Sky’s hand, Derek threaded his free hand into Sky�
�s hair and tilted his head to the desired angle. He pressed his lips to Sky’s, starting off slowly. When Sky melted against him, he deepened the kiss, pulling Sky closer. Sky’s arms wrapped around him as his lover moaned into the kiss. Using the sexy moan to his advantage, Derek thrust his tongue into Sky’s mouth.

  Their tongues dueled lazily. Derek let his hand slip from Sky’s hair to trail down his back. He took a handful of khaki-clad ass and squeezed. Sky pulled away with a gasp. His brown eyes were wide with desire and there was a faint flush to his cheeks. Derek thought he was the most amazing sight he had ever seen. “You’re beautiful.”

  Sky blushed and buried his head in Derek’s neck. “If you keep saying things like that I’m not going to want to see our families.”

  The sound of the bell ringing drifted up the stairs.

  “Looks like you’ve been saved by the bell.” Derek pushed Sky out of his arms and kissed the tip of his nose. “I’ll go and answer while you try to get back under control.”

  “I wouldn’t have to get back under control if you’d stop molesting me before we have company.”

  “What? Molest you more? Is that what you said?”

  Sky laughed and swatted his arm. “Go and answer the door. It’s probably your mother.”

  “Well, that just killed the mood.” Derek grinned at the still flushed Sky and headed out of the room. He bounded down the stairs to the door, feeling like a little kid. It was Christmas. The house smelled incredible. And his lover had agreed to marry him. Life couldn’t get any better. He opened the door to find his parents standing on the front stoop. “Merry Christmas!” His eyes narrowed in on the foil-wrapped pan in his mother’s hands. “Mom, did you bring food?”

  “It’s just a sweet potato dish. I just wanted to make sure that you had enough food.” Betty Hudson was a petite white woman with cosmetically blonde hair and bright green eyes. Even with her artificial winter tan, she still looked pale against the dark skin of her husband. The fact that his parents had an interracial relationship had made introducing them to Sky that much easier. He hadn’t had to worry about their reaction to Sky being white. Of course, Sky being male took them some time to get used to.