Screw & Nail Chronicles Pt. 1: A Christmas Curse (A Short Hallmark Gay Porn Story)

1.

“No, seriously, this is the only place in town with no Christmas stuff. Not a single wreath in sight. Just a hardware store with zero holiday cheer. Can you imagine? Oh I bet you can, you bore. I don’t know, I hope he’s a serial killer. That could be fun!”

James was standing on a ladder, reaching for a box on a top shelf and holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder. The ladder wobbled as he tried to pull the box from the shelf.

“Well, we have different definitions of fun then. Listen, I’ll call you later, I kinda need both hands now. Not for that! Alright, tell Liz and kids their gay uncle said hi. Bye, man.”

James finally got a firm grasp on the box and held it in front of himself, leaning precariously backwards as he stepped down the ladder. His foot met the floor earlier than James expected, and he lost his balance completely, falling into the arms of a man who came to the rescue at the last moment.

As James turned around, he first felt stubble scratch his ear and then saw his boss holding him steady.

“Everything okay, James?”

“Yeah, thanks, Mr. Kelly. Just being a little clumsy, rattling the chains, you know,” James shook the box with a deep metallic sound. “Marley was dead, to begin with.”

“Humbug,” said Mr. Kelly and took the box from James. “What did I tell you about holiday cheer?”

“No holiday cheer. Store policy. Sorry, sir. No cheer from now on, sir.”

“Get back to work, James. There’s a whole crate of light bulbs to unpack and put on the shelves. I’ll do deliveries and will be back in no time,” said Mr. Kelly and took the box. He stood in the door and turned to James again. “And I’m not a serial killer. Sorry about that.”

Mr. Kelly went to his truck, leaving James blushing alone at the store.

“A lot to unpack indeed.”

2.

Dayton Kelly was driving back to the Screw & Nail hardware store. Delivering orders to local farms was a nice break from usual work, but the town’s streets made Dayton uneasy. Every house, every store, and every street light in Normanrockville was covered in holiday decorations. After all, the small town made a huge chunk of its budget during the Christmas season. Rationally, he understood the appeal and the craft of all these sparkling, glittering, shiny red and green ornaments, but he was not having any holiday spirit himself at all. He seemed to run out of it a few years back, and from that moment on Christmas was a rather unwelcome time for Dayton.

Still, Normanrockville was Dayton’s hometown, and he had his store here, with a nice bachelor’s, or, to be precise, third time divorcee’s apartment above it. So he held tight and tried to avoid Christmas as much as he could. He’s been hiring someone to help around the Screw & Nail when holiday season hit him the hardest. This year’s hire was James Podolsky, a new in town thirty-something with a disposition a bit too sunny for Dayton’s liking. But truth be told, Dayton held a grudge against Christmas, not fun itself, and he was growing to enjoy the younger man’s company.

Dayton walked into the store and saw James with a customer. James was wearing a fluffy Santa hat. Dayton sighed.

“Ma’am, we here at Screw & Nail hardware store are very supportive of all things male to male, but we do not carry male to male extension cords for two reasons,” said James, gesturing theatrically to the shelves with electrical supplies. “One, they are a fire hazard, and two, I think they might be an urban legend.”

“Can you tell that to my husband? You’re a very persuasive young man,” said the woman wearily.

“Look, how about this heterosexual extension cable with whole three outlets, so it’s poly I guess. You make sure to keep the receipt and return it if this does not work out for you and your husband, okay?” James looked around and saw Dayton standing at the counter, watching the scene unfold. “Better yet, Mr. Kelly right here would be happy to provide his expert services at properly plugging things around your house for Christmas.”

James waltzed towards bemused Dayton and plucked the business card from the counter.

“Here, you give this to your husband, and I’m sure the prospect of being utterly humiliated by a seasoned professional like Mr. Kelly will indeed motivate your man to get his Christmas lights together. This will be $24.99, do you need a bag with it?”

The woman smiled at Dayton as James bagged the cord.

“This young man deserves a raise, Mr. Kelly.”

“I’ll think about that, ma’am,” said Dayton. “Good luck with your lights, and have a nice day.”

He waved when the lady left the store with the bag and the card, and then turned to James.

“Take that thing off.”

“Sure, boss,” said James, quickly taking off the Santa hat and hiding it under the counter. “Are you okay? You look awfully pale.”

“I told you not to bring out any Christmas stuff.”

“I’m sorry! I thought you just didn’t like it, not that you’re, what even is this? Allergic? PTSD? Do you need a glass of water or something?”

“I’ll be fine in a moment, thanks, James,” Dayton leaned heavily on the counter. “Just keep this between us, and please, don’t wear that thing around the store again.”

James looked at his boss, concerned. Dayton looked back at him, took a deep breath, and grinned.

“Hat aside, great job, James. Keep it up.”

3.

Dayton held the door open for James, who hastily put on his coat and flipped the sign in the store window to “Closed”. James stood in the street looking at his boss with worry.

“You sure you’re okay, Mr. Kelly? You really frightened me there today.”

“I’m fine, thank you,” said Dayton, locking the store for the night. “And maybe stop calling me Mr. Kelly. I’m not that old, you know.”

“You sure look great for eighty, sir. Dayton.”

Dayton shot a menacing look at James.

“Watch it,” he smirked.

“Look, this is probably none of my business, but if there’s something wrong with your health, I know CPR, just not sure what you need. Should I worry? I’d rather be able to help.”

“You shouldn’t worry, James, I don’t think there’s anything you can do about my situation,” Dayton said plainly. He saw the look on James’s face. “I’m not dying! It’s fine!”

“What is it, then?”

“I’m cursed.”

“What?”

“Three years ago Santa put a curse on me.”

4.

“Santa.”

James was sitting at the bar in Dayton’s kitchen, staring in disbelief at his boss.

“Yes.”

James tried and failed to wrap his head around what exactly was happening, why his grumpy boss invited him for a drink, or how he picked up his jaw off the pavement and followed Dayton upstairs.

“Santa put a curse on you.”

It seemed like the confession took a huge burden off Dayton’s shoulders, and the older man now looked more composed, cool, and even a little taller than James had ever seen him.

“Yup. Three years ago.”

James looked up at Dayton. There wasn’t the faintest trace of a smile on the man’s face. 

“You keep saying it like it explains things. I assure you it doesn’t. It honestly has the opposite effect.”

Dayton poured two glasses of bourbon, handed one to James and leaned on a kitchen counter.

“Well, I’m telling you like it is. Three years ago my then wife and I went Christmas shopping in Chicago. After a long day of picking presents she thought it would be funny for two grown-ass adults to take a photo with the mall Santa. Jenny stood next to Santa and told me to sit on his lap. As you may guess, I hesitated, but he hohohoed at me in his jolly damn fashion, and the next moment I was on Santa’s lap like a five-year-old. And, well, right before the photographer took the picture...”

Dayton took a swig of bourbon.

“What?” said James impatiently.

“Right before we said cheese, Santa patted me on the shoulder and went ‘Now who’s been a good boy this year?’. It’s all a bit blurry after that, the whole drive back home from Chicago, but I’m pretty sure that was the moment when something in me snapped, I don’t know what, but something must have. Our marriage was not in a great place to begin with, and after that, well…” Dayton trailed off. “Wanna see the picture?”

He walked to the bookcase and picked a photo album from the shelf.

James looked at the picture and saw Dayton sitting on Santa’s lap with a strange, almost haunted expression on his face, like he was caught doing something embarrassing beyond simply taking a photo with Santa Claus at age 42. That actually looked more like the Dayton Kelly he had met a week ago when he had wandered into the store across from his apartment having noticed a ‘Now hiring’ sign in the window. He looked up from the picture. Dayton shrugged.

“Since that day any and all Christmas stuff gives me...” Dayton paused, choosing the right words. “Let’s say it makes me dizzy. Lightheaded. Like all blood drains from my brain.”

“And it goes where exactly?” James squinted at the photo. “Hey, is that...”

Dayton quickly took the picture from James. The doorbell rang.

“I hope you’re hungry. Burgers have arrived.”

5.

The windows above the hardware store across the street were dark save for dim flickering light of a TV in Dayton’s dining room. James’s place was dark as well, lit only by the phone screen to which the man barely paid any attention, scrolling mindlessly through app after app.

Dayton’s story was hard to believe, yet James had seen with his own two eyes how the man had reacted to a silly novelty hat. And then there was the way Dayton had snatched the Santa picture from his hands. There was something in it Dayton didn’t want him to see.

James, however, was pretty certain he had caught a glimpse.

And now all he could do was sit in the dark, look out the window and think of what his boss was doing there alone in a dimly lit room. A burger, fries, and bourbon, however, had James fight an uphill battle with sleep. The town was quiet under the falling snow, and Christmas lights were mostly gone for the night.

The sound of the closing door outside woke James up with a start. He looked out and saw Dayton leave his apartment and walk down the street. James quickly pushed his phone into the pocket, struggled with the boots for a moment, threw on his coat and ran downstairs. He opened the door trying not to make any sound, peeked outside and went after his boss into the night.

This was probably, it occurred to James, in a number of ways, a bad idea. The footprints in fresh snow, on the other hand, were too clear not to follow.

James turned the corner and came face to face with Dayton. The man quizzically raised an eyebrow, turned around and walked his way. After a few steps he looked over his shoulder and waved at James to keep up.

Two men walked down the empty street in silence. James shot a quick look at Dayton, who winked at the younger man. James hoped it was dark enough to hide his blush. As Dayton reached into his jacket, James recoiled in fear, but sighed with relief as he saw a bottle of bourbon in the man’s hand. Dayton took a gulp and passed the bottle to James.

“You’re shivering. And it’s not that cold tonight.”

James took a drink and felt it burn his throat, shaking off the feeling of a weird dream he was having. He looked around the unfamiliar buildings.

“Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular. Just taking a stroll. Don’t you think the night is beautiful?” said Dayton and took a deep breath of cold air.

They slowly reached the end of the street which opened into an old overgrown park, now barren and white, with a few tables and benches hiding under a thick blanket of snow. Dayton sweeped a spot on a table clean and took a seat there, his feet on a bench. James cleared the rest of the bench and sat next to him.

“So, James. Your turn.”

“My turn for what?”

“Spill. I told you my secret, now you tell me. Why are you here?”

“Late night walks, mainly. I heard they’re lovely around these parts.”

“I’m serious.”

James looked up at the man sitting next to him. Dayton looked back at him, studying, waiting for an answer.

“Boyfriend cheated, the store I worked at went out of business”, sighed James. “Had a lousy Thanksgiving with my family, packed my stuff and drove here. Not much of a secret, really.”

“But why here?”

“We used to visit this town every Christmas when my brother and I were little. So, yeah, when my adult life went to shit, I moved back to Disneyland. Or the North Pole. Or whatever this place is in winter. Which I think says enough about where I’m at emotionally. Also, I’m telling all this to the man who denies he’s a serial killer and is afraid of Christmas.”

“I am not afraid of Christmas!” Dayton slipped down from the table to the bench, turned to James, and saw him trying to stifle a smile. “Oh, you are so fired.”

“I’m so not! Now that I have the dirt on my boss, I’m going to blackmail the pants off you.”

“James,” said Dayton with a gentle smile and wrapped his arm around the younger man’s shoulders. “See all this soft, fluffy snow? You try any shit, your body won’t be found ‘til springtime.”

“Oh yeah? You think you can take me, big guy? Not when I got this!”

James pulled a Santa hat out of his coat pocket, put it on and blew the fluffy pom pom out of his face. Dayton immediately took his arm off James’s shoulders, moved to the other end of the bench and sat there cross-legged.

“Oh. My. God,” said James. “I knew it.”

Dayton turned to him, startled. James was glowing. Dayton shifted in his place clumsily and put his hands in the jacket pockets, pulling it lower.

“I saw that!” yelped James. “You’re not afraid of Christmas. You’re fucking horny for it!”

6.

“Could you please not scream this at the top of your damn lungs?”

“Christmas gets you hard!” whispered James.

“Go back to screaming, this is creeping me out.”

“So I didn’t hallucinate a boner in that Santa picture of yours? You get uncontrollably horny around Christmas stuff, and you become dizzy because blood rushes away from your head. Wait, hold the phone, does this mean you got a huge dick?”

Dayton sat there silently pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I take it as a yes.”

Dayton looked gloomily at James. He pulled the hat off James and handed it to him. He then scooped snow in his hand and demonstratively put it on his crotch.

“And how is this a curse, then, exactly? I’m pretty sure people your age pay good money to get it up, and you can, what, look at a holiday card and presto?”

“People my age?”

“Don’t be sad, your life only begins at seventy.”

Without saying a word Dayton took another handful of snow and rubbed it into James’s face. The man looked at the result, gave a satisfied nod, stood up and started walking away. James got up and followed.

“Seriously, Dayton, is it that bad? Can’t you just jerk off or something?”

“Of course I can!” snapped Dayton, but quickly took a hold of himself and went on in a normal voice. “I can and I do, okay? A lot. It doesn’t do shit. I mean, it takes care of...”

“Your enormous schlong.”

Dayton raised his hand, shook a tree branch and showered James in snow.

“It takes care of my erection. For a little while. But this nagging feeling, this, I don’t know, buzz? Bells jingling? This itch I just don’t know how to scratch, it doesn’t go away no matter what I try.”

“And you tried…” said James, shaking the snow off himself.

“I tried a lot. And I’m not discussing it with you. Period.”

“Alright then. Keep your secrets. But hear me out,” James caught up with the man and placed his hand on Dayton’s shoulder. “You can talk to me if you need to. I am super intrigued by this whole ordeal and I genuinely want to help. I’m not joking here.”

Dayton looked James in the eye.

“Thanks, James. I understand you’re going through a rough time yourself, and I really appreciate what you’re saying, but thanks, I’ll manage.”

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

Dayton stopped and squinted.

James hesitated, avoiding Dayton’s gaze for a moment, then looked up again.

“I can blow you if you want.”

Dayton’s eyes widened.

“Haha, gotcha!” James forced a short laugh. “Ha?”

“James, I like you,” smiled Dayton reassuringly. “But I just don’t think it’s the best idea.”

James let out a loud sigh of relief.

“We’re good?”

“We’re good, James.”

“I get carried away sometimes.”

“I noticed,” grinned Dayton. “Now let’s go back home, this wind is getting goddamn cold.”

They walked back through the snow side by side. James got the bottle out of his coat pocket, took a big gulp and returned bourbon to Dayton. The wind was rising. It grew into a proper blizzard as the men came to James’s door.

“This was fun, though, right?” said Dayton. “Let’s do this again sometime.”

James smiled and nodded.

“As you say, boss,” he hiccupped.

“Jeez, you’re a lightweight, James. Go get some sleep. Good night!”

Dayton turned and walked across the street to his place. As James unlocked his door, he heard the man shout back at him.

“I take it as a compliment, by the way!”

“What?” said James, confused.

“You know what!” laughed Dayton and closed the door behind him.

James told himself his cheeks were red because of the cold wind. Definitely wind. He walked into his apartment, dropped all his clothes to the floor and fell into bed. He lay there for a few minutes, got up and rummaged through his coat and jeans. The Santa hat was still in his pocket.

James got back into bed, pulled the warm blanket over himself and slowly put his cock inside the hat, soft and ticklish around him. James got a firm grip on it and after only a few short, quick moves came into the hat. He took a deep breath and fell asleep.

7.

Saturday morning James ran into the store holding two cups of coffee as an apology for being late, as usual. The scene inside would have been jarring even under regular circumstances, but in the light of recent discoveries immediately sent shivers down James’s spine. The store was full of elves led by Santa Claus, all hurriedly picking rope, hooks, screws, and other assorted hardware, and right in the middle of this commotion was Dayton. The store owner looked concerned and a little distressed, but collected, advising the colorful customers what suited best for their emergency. James quickly made his way to the counter.

“Oh, great, James, you’re here,” said Dayton, carefully pushing aside an elf with a power drill. “There’s a bit of a snafu at the town’s square, I gotta go help these guys. You stay and hold the fort.”

“What happened?”, said James, looking around the crowded store.

“The wind blew down the tree and other holiday stuff overnight, we need to put it all back up again.”

“Will you be okay? How about I go with the elves and you man the store instead?”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Stay put.”

James helped Dayton and the elves load the truck and watched them leave. This was exactly the kind of silliness he expected to cheer him up in this town when he moved here, but now James stood at the door feeling uneasy instead.

“Okay, this is stupid,” said James to himself, returning to the store from the cold. “He gets a boner, not a heart attack. He’ll be fine. Why do I even care?”

He spent the next couple hours distractedly serving customers and checking his phone for updates from the town’s square. He saw his boss in a few recently posted videos, putting holiday decorations back together, giving orders to elves and looking gruff, but level-headed and in control, a reluctant hero the town needed. At one moment Dayton wiped the sweat off his forehead and gave the camera a thumbs up, and James uttered a quiet, proud “Awww”.

When all the Christmas decorations were put back together and the tree was secured in the proper upright position, James saw Dayton’s truck pull over in front of the store and hurried outside.

“Hey, you saved Christmas!” he said. “Oh god, are you alright?”

Dayton got out of the truck and stood there on wobbly legs, pale and sweaty.

“I think I need a little break. I’ll go take a quick shower,” said Dayton and stepped towards his apartment door. “Shit, nope, no upstairs for me.”

“Let’s get you inside, man,” James rushed to hold Dayton steady and guided him into the store. On their way in he put the “Back in 15 minutes” sign on the door and shut the blinds.

Dayton leaned on the counter and took a heavy breath. He saw the morning cup of cold coffee still standing there and downed it in one long gulp.

“I overestimated how much Christmas I can take,” he gave James a crooked smile. “This was a bit too much for me. The tree gave me wood.”

“Backroom. Now.”

“What?”

James threw Dayton’s arm around his neck and walked the man to the storage where a small desk with a phone and a laptop also sat, serving as the store’s office. He carefully put his boss in the old chair and closed the door behind them.

“James? What are you doing?”

“What you’re too nice to ask for,” said James and dropped to his knees. “This counts as your Christmas gift, by the way.”

He carefully undid Dayton’s belt and opened his fly. He looked up at his boss, who was seemingly not fully believing what was happening.

“James, I see you’re the man of your word, but please, there’s no need… Holy fuck, please don’t stop.”

James put his hand on the man’s bulge and gave it a slow rub. Dayton closed his eyes and threw the head back with a low, guttural moan.

James’s heart was racing as he pulled down Dayton’s jeans and boxers. His boss wasn’t rock hard, but he was hard for a long time, the inside of his underwear soaking wet with precum, pubic hair a damp, musky mess. Dayton’s cock lay heavy on the man’s thigh.

“No wonder your head is spinning,” James muttered.

He leaned closer and pressed his lips to the base of the shaft, then went a little higher, and higher, and finally gave a slow, wet lick to the head and felt Dayton shiver.

“I’ll be gentle,” said James softly and took Dayton’s cock in his hand, licking circles around the head. He slowly stroked the shaft and caressed the man’s hairy balls in the other hand. He watched the dick get hard and curve upwards, closed his eyes and took it in his mouth. Feeling it throb on his tongue, he wrapped his wet lips tighter around the shaft and began to suck, tilting his head from side to side, moving his mouth and fist along and around Dayton’s cock.

James took his hand off the cock and swallowed it deeper, breathing slowly and trying not to gag, getting drunk on the smell of his boss’s unruly crotch. At last, he took the whole length in his mouth and held still, making quiet choking sounds around the cock pushing down his throat, face buried in wet, sticky pubes. As tears began to well in his eyes, James felt Dayton place his hands carefully on his head, not pushing him down, only messing up James’s hair and holding him steady, then gently pulling him up until just the tip of the cock was inside. Dayton kept gently guiding James like that, calmly pacing them both, letting James breathe and savour the taste and smell, no rush, they had time, they could both enjoy themselves, yeah, no need to force it, just relax and make that little moan again, it feels so good.

James kept going, falling into a hypnotic rhythm of a strong, tender touch guiding him. He couldn’t tell if he was hearing Dayton whisper sweet nothings or this was all in his head, and he didn’t care. He felt two hearts beat at once, his head was empty, his mouth full, and he never wanted it to end.

Dayton’s grip on his head tightened.

“I’m close,” he whispered hoarsely.

James wrapped his hand tight around the shaft and gave it a fast stroke. He felt cum shoot into his throat, long, salty bursts, and he swallowed one after another, spluttered and swallowed some more, and licked off every drop. He took Dayton’s cock from his mouth with a loud wet pop and took a deep breath. He rested his head against Dayton’s bare thigh and felt a warm hand lazily tousle his hair.

8.

“Let’s try to observe your situation in a rational light.”

James was sitting on the counter when Dayton came back to the Screw and Nail after taking a quick shower and changing into clean clothes.

“Yes, let’s do that,” eagerly agreed Dayton. “You first.”

“I mean, if I were to guess what could have led to your predicament, and I did not believe in curses or Santa, I would say that three years ago you accidentally stumbled upon a kink you never knew you had.”

“You don’t believe in Santa?” Dayton made a sad face.

“Focus. We need to figure out what triggered your response in the first place.”

“Ugh, is this therapy?”

“This is forensics. This. Is. Science!” said James, punctuating each word with a clap on a countertop. “Now here’s two markers and this helpful chart, please circle where Santa touched you and where you’ve never been touched before over the span of three, which, oh my god, three marriages, and maybe the overlap will show us something.”

James gave Dayton a sheet of paper with an outline of a human body and a few lines above it.

“Isn’t this for autopsies?” frowned Dayton. “Why do you even have one handy?”

“It absolutely is, and I just printed it out, don’t change the subject. What?”

Dayton was leaning over the counter, head tilted slightly, looking James in the eye with a curious expression.

“What? Do I have something on my face? Oh fuck, I know what I have on my face,” James rubbed his chin.

“No, there’s nothing on your face,” chuckled Dayton.

“What then?”

“Are all guys this good, or is it you?”

“It’s me,” firmly nodded James. “And you have no way to prove me wrong unless you’re willing to travel. There’s like three guys on Nutcrackr in this town, and I’m pretty sure two of them are the same person in different underwear.”

“Nutcracker?”

“You know. The app. The Pokémon Go for gays.”

“Listen, you want science, here’s science. You gave me the best blowjob of my whole life, and as I’m rethinking all my choices, I want to do something nice for you in return. Maybe give you a Christmas bonus. Or eat your ass. Is this what you guys do? Eat ass?”

“Be still, my heart,” gasped James. “A Christmas bonus! How did you know I love money?”

“I thought you wanted science.”

“Twenty dollars can buy many science!”

“Twenty bucks? Who do you think I am, Jeff Bezos?”

“Fine, eat my ass then!”

“I will!”

“Then I need to leave work early!”

“By all means!”

“Why are we shouting?”

“We’re excited!”

“Fuck yes we are!” James tore the autopsy chart into little pieces and threw them in the air.

“Clean this first.”

“Yes, boss.”

9.

James buzzed Dayton in and opened the door wearing nothing but flip flops and holding a towel.

“Hey, make yourself at home.”

Dayton closed the door behind him and watched James turn around and go finish toweling off in the bathroom. He took off the jacket and awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed.

“There’s beer in the fridge!” yelled James from the bathroom.

The buzz of offering to eat a man’s ass has worn off, and Dayton walked to the fridge, but then decided he didn’t want to drink and started slowly pacing around the room. Outside the window in the dark the snow was falling again, blurring Christmas lights on stores and houses. The view had the man feel his cock twitch, but he still wasn’t sure what to do with himself in the situation he got into.

James stepped out of the bathroom naked, dry, and still in his hot pink flip flops.

“Is it too bright in here?” he said and clicked the switch off, leaving only a string of tiny lights over the headboard.

He placed his hand on Dayton’s shoulder and looked the man in the eye.

“You okay?”

“Fine, fine,” said Dayton and smiled.

“You don’t sound fine. Got second thoughts?”

“What’s in this for you, James? You’re young, and gay, and hot, and I have a gut, three divorces, and a whole lot of lightbulbs. Why do we...”

“Because I want a sugar daddy,” whispered James into Dayton’s ear, chuckling. “Dude, you paid more attention to me during one blowjob than my last boyfriend did during our whole relationship.”

Dayton looked at James.

“He sounds like a jerk.”

“And you don’t. Also, your dad bod? Hot. Your dick? Huge. So get naked and shove your ruggedly handsome face in my ass.”

“Gee, if you ask so nicely,” grinned Dayton, unbuckled his belt and pulled it from the loops in one move.

“Now we’re talking!” James dropped on the bed and watched Dayton leisurely unbutton his shirt, take off his boots and jeans, socks and boxers, throw everything on the floor and sit next to him naked.

“You got anything for Christmas besides these lights?” asked Dayton, running his hand down James’s chest and stomach.

“You wanna?” James stumbled mid-sentence when the hand reached his cock. Dayton gave it a little squeeze and pushed his hand lower between James’s thighs.

“I wanna. So?”

“There must be a pair of socks in the top drawer,” James breathed out and whimpered when Dayton stopped touching him and went to the chest. “I had that Santa hat, but it’s, um, I spilled something on it.”

Dayton found the green and red striped socks and saw the hat peeking from under the bed. He picked it up and took a look inside.

“Spilled something, huh?” he said. “Something sticky, it seems. Sealed it  shut! Let’s see if I can open it.”

Dayton pulled the fluffy trim open and shoved his hand into the hat.

“Oh look, it’s loose and ready again! So warm and nice!” Dayton put the hat on. He leaned over James with a stern look on his face, the hat’s pom pom falling on the younger man’s neck. “Still don’t believe in Santa? And when Santa’s your boss, what does that make you?”

James bit his lip trying not to smile.

“Can’t hear you.”

“An elf!” James burst laughing. “You fucking Christmas dork!”

“You love it,” grinned Dayton. “Now get your ass up, Santa’s hungry.”

James turned onto his stomach and felt big, strong hands spread his butt open. Dayton leaned lower and took a deep breath.

“Mmm,” he hummed and licked a long wet strip over the tight hole. James closed his eyes and let the sensation wash over him.

Dayton had his upper arms rest on James’s thighs, hands holding him open, face buried deep between the butt cheeks. Tender, warm tongue circled and probed his hole, Dayton’s heavy breath felt cold on his wet skin, stubble scratched his most delicate parts, and the fluffy pom pom gently tickled him.

Dayton lightly bit the ass, planted a small kiss on the pucker, and then grabbed James tighter and started rubbing the whole face in, licking, smelling and growling. Dayton’s tongue got deeper and deeper inside the hole, opening and teasing James. The man stopped, got his head up, as if admiring the view, spat on the hole and got back to eating it.

James lost track of time, overwhelmed by how generous Dayton’s rimjob turned out. Finally the man slowed down, gave a hole a sloppy lick, and lay on top of James. Dayton’s throbbing hard cock got pressed along the cleft of James’s ass, and he heard the man’s raspy voice in his ear.

“I want to fuck you.”

“Please,” sighed James.

10.

Dayton’s hand moved unhurried from James’s neck to his back and lower, cupped the butt, and went a little further, fingers brushing over the hole and going down to explore the balls. The man gave James a light slap.

“Turn over.”

Dayton sat up and put James’s legs on his lap.

“A little holiday cheer before I deck your halls,” smiled Dayton.

He took the striped socks from the chest of drawers.

“Let’s have your feet more festive on my shoulders. You know how I get when Christmas is around, don’t you?”

He put socks on James’s feet, gently tickling and stroking his legs from ankle to thigh. James rubbed his foot over the man’s erection, reached for the nightstand and took lube and a condom from it. Lying on his back, he watched Dayton slick his cock and put on a rubber, then spread James’s legs apart and pour lube on his fingers.

Dayton reached between James’s butt cheeks and slipped one finger inside. Feeling the hole already loose around him, he added another and carefully, but steadily started to stretch the opening, twisting his hand, moving it back and forth, crooking his fingers to reach the spot that had James breathing sharply every time he did. He pulled his hand away, looked at the sloppy pink hole and threw James’s legs over his shoulders.

“You ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Taking deep breaths, James felt Dayton’s cock slowly thrust into him, stretching his hole wider, pull back, thrust again, stronger and deeper, working James soft and open. James’s hard cock hit his stomach with every Dayton’s move. The man’s thrusts got faster and picked up a steady rhythm, his cock punching James’s prostate and balls making a wet sound with every slap. Dayton grabbed James by the thighs and pushed harder into his hole, grunting heavily every time his cock went all in, making James moan and whimper.

Through the blissful haze James watched as Dayton kept railing him, sweat running from under the Santa hat, glistening in the warm glow of fairy lights, listened to the man grunt, growl and pant, and felt his orgasm approaching. The warmth was spreading from his boss’s cock slamming into his guts, growing and filling his own erection, coursing further through the whole body. Instead of strong, fast spurts he got jerking off, James shot a steady, long stream of semen spilling over his stomach, pulsating slightly to the rhythm of Dayton’s thrusts. His orgasm came like a soft blanket he was slowly drowning in, falling asleep safe and happy, feeling the thrusts grow fast and irregular, and the grip on his legs tighten so much it could bruise. A little pain was nice, though, sharp and exciting, keeping him from drowning completely.

James opened his eyes. Dayton lay next to him, chest heaving, eyes closed, and mouth agape.

“Santa?” whispered James.

“Mmm?” smiled Dayton, not opening his eyes.

“Are all Santas so good, or is it just you?”

Dayton laughed heartily.

“Just me. All the others are just guys in costume.”

“And you’re out of costume.”

“Yeah. This is why I’m so good.”

11.

“Did we fall asleep? What time is it?” James squinted at the sun shining through the window.

“Who cares, it’s Sunday,” mumbled Dayton. “It is Sunday, right?”

James rummaged for his phone on a nightstand.

“It is. And it’s 10:30.”

“Get back under the sheets, then,” Dayton pulled the blanket over their heads.

James woke up again with a start, grabbed his phone and saw it was 10:45 now. His place smelled of coffee and toasts, so it was either stroke or breakfast. He got up on his elbow and saw Dayton in boxers spreading jam on toast. There was a full pot in the coffeemaker.

“Morning,” said Dayton. “I hope you don’t mind me making a little something to eat.”

“Be my guest. After all you did to me last night, honestly, take the whole coffeemaker with you if you want. Take the fridge, too, it’s empty anyway.”

“Well, not really what I would pick, but let’s discuss that when you’re fully awake and have a cup of coffee in your hands.”

James hurried to the bathroom, and in five minutes was sitting down at his kitchen table opposite Dayton with a mug. He took a big gulp and gazed intently at the man.

“Weren’t you supposed to be straight? Like, thrice so?”

“If you like clear labels, there’s a lot of work at the store just for you. But I guess I was? I don’t know. Maybe I am. Maybe I’m bi. Maybe I was gay this whole time, only didn’t know how to gay? Does that make sense?”

“It honestly does,” James took a bite out of his toast. “Mmmhm, I got it! Your Christmas thing!”

“What about it?”

“So you live your whole life like so, married fifteen times, never had your ass eaten, and then one day boom, you sit in Santa’s lap and you feel like that’s kinda your thing, only you don’t know it’s kinda your thing, so you make the next best thing kinda your thing!”

“Is it bad I understand what you mean?” scowled Dayton. “So it’s not a curse, and more of a sleeper agent kinda thing? That’s kinda cool. Why Christmas though?”

“Because Christmas is so goddamn gay, but you never realize it until someone points it out for you!”

“You mean like Yuletide?”

“No, I mean like in the ass. Think about it. Santa is the ultimate sugar daddy. You wait for an older man to sneak into your house late at night and bring you shit. That’s the gay experience in a nutshell! And then there’s a bunch of tacky shiny stuff, outlandish color choices, Mariah Carey, singing for money in weird costumes, loneliness and alcoholism, the bases are covered, really, and all that Catholic shit, oh mama!”

“What’s gay about Catholicism?”

“Oh, don’t even get me started!”

“So you’re saying that I spent three years miserable instead of, I don’t know, having my dick sucked? That’s a bummer.”

“I’m saying you spent your whole life like that,” mumbled James around another bite of toast. “But ya.”

Dayton stared into the distance for a little while.

“Alright then. Does this mean we cracked it? I can go outside and be normal around Christmas stuff?”

“First of all, I cracked it. Second, I guess? You’ll never know until you try. Just put some pants on before you go investigating.”

James got up and washed his mug without looking at Dayton.

“James? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry. I just need some alone time I think. This is my only day off, after all!” James gave Dayton a big, bright smile.

“Oh-kay,” hesitated Dayton. “You call me if you need anything. I think I’ll go out, I mean, not out out, but like outside. I guess I got some stuff to process, too. You sure you’re alright?”

“Oh, for crying out loud, just go already! Pants though!”

Dayton got dressed, put on his jacket and paused at the door.

“Are you absolutely...”

“Yes! I am sure, thank you,” smiled James. “Gonna have a spa day or whatever.”

“I had a great time with you.”

James rolled his eyes.

Dayton winked at him and left.

12.

“Say cheese!”

On Monday morning Dayton walked into the store and was surprised to see James there already. He gave his employee a confused smile, and James took a picture.

“Good morning. What’s going on here?”

“Look, I completely forgot,” said James. “You have an Instagram account now. Well, not you the Dayton, you the store. Well, also kinda you. You’re a little famous and dare I say a meme. Well, not a meme.”

“You lost me.”

“Jeez, grandpa,” sighed James. “While you were saving Christmas this Saturday, I needed something to keep me busy, so I made an account for Screw & Nail on Instagram, a popular social platform you never heard of. I took a bunch of pics of the store, the street and all that for flavor, reposted a few videos of you being rugged, stoic, and secretly sporting a boner, and it looks like people kinda like you. Shocking, I know.”

Dayton scrolled through the app on James’s phone.

“You just did it? Out of boredom?”

“Mostly out of anxiety. But yes.”

“Thank you. I need a little time to wrap my head around this, but thank you, James.”

“Don’t mention it. See, and now here’s the conundrum. You can go one of two ways, really. You may stay the only store in town without any Christmas shit, or you can join the festivities and get tourists to buy, I dunno, Christmas screwdrivers. Either approach got its benefits, so I guess the deciding factor is, well, how did it go yesterday?”

“It was a disaster.”

“Shit,” James leaned onto the counter. “What happened?”

“The usual. Dizziness, unwanted erection, weird feelings towards Santa.”

“So I didn’t crack it, huh? Sorry, boss.”

“It’s okay. I’ll live,” said Dayton. He looked at the phone again and smirked. “Why no pics of you?”

“Why would I post my pics? I won’t be here long anyway, will I?”

“What do you mean? You’re moving again?”

“Dude, you hired me for the holiday season. I’m your Christmas human shield. You take away the tree, well, you don’t have a tree, but imagine you had a tree, so when you take it away, you may as well take me with it to the dumpster.”

Dayton came closer and stood at the counter with James.

“Is this why you were upset yesterday? Please, don’t deny it, I know you were.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, no. I mean, kind of. It’s complicated. You scared me.”

“I did what?” Dayton shook his head in disbelief.

“You got all domestic, and nice, and so fucking effortless, like we have been sleeping together for god knows how long. And then you were like, yup, mystery solved, thanks, James, bye now! Like, man, I’ve been there before, don’t fucking tease me like that, I’m not falling for it. I know I’m disposable and I don’t get attached. Screw your toasts and your walking around in boxers like you own the place. Have fun with your boners. I’ll give you the password to the account. You may fire me now.”

Dayton said nothing, just stepped closer and held James in his arms. James got tense, but Dayton did not let go, holding the man tighter, his stubbly chin scratching James’s ear again.

“Is this why you never kissed me?” whispered Dayton. “Because I kinda really want to kiss you.”

They stood like that a little longer, then Dayton loosened his grip, and tilted James’s face up to look him in the eye. The younger man’s nose was red and eyes were glistening. Dayton gently put his hand on James’s cheek.

“Now who’s my good boy?”

James froze in his boss’s arms, looking at him silently, and quietly sniffed. Dayton said nothing and pulled James in for a kiss.

When they parted lips, a mistletoe fell on James’s head. Dayton took it and held between them. He looked at the ceiling, then back at the mistletoe.

“When did you put a mistletoe up there?”

“I didn’t,” the younger man’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. I think that’s it!”

He shook Dayton’s arms off, typed something quickly into his phone, then shoved the screen to Dayton’s nose. “Watch.”

“What am I watching?” asked Dayton, looking at the phone. “Is this a trailer? This is a Christmas movie, right? What does it… Holy shit.”

“Right?” James touched Dayton’s crotch.

“Nothing.”

“Bingo!”

James hugged Dayton.

“You’re uncursed!”

“Yay!” Dayton hugged James and lifted him off the floor. He put him back and shot him a wicked smile. “Now, where were we?”

“I was going through some shit, and you were kissing my worries away.”

“Like this?” Dayton kissed James again.

“I remember it more like this,” James kissed Dayton back.

The men held each other, kissing and smiling, with a mistletoe tucked behind Dayton’s ear.

The store’s door opened, and somebody quietly coughed.

The men broke their embrace and hastily tried to look serious. The woman who had bought the extension cord last week was standing there, smiling awkwardly.

“Can we help you?” cheerily asked James. “How’s your lights? Do you want to return your cord?”

“No, just wanted to thank you,” said the woman. “I took your advice and left your card on the fridge. Our house is safely shining like a giant Christmas tree!”

“I’m glad you worked it out”, smiled Dayton.

“I see you worked something out between you boys as well,” giggled the woman. “You ever walk down Holly Street, find the brightest house and come say hi. Merry Christmas!”

She waved at them and left, blushing.

“Merry Christmas! Have a nice day,” said Dayton.

“So, between us boys,” murmured James, pulling Dayton closer. “You got any plans for holidays?”

“Spend Christmas with me. Take lots of pictures. Together. Post them all. How’s that for a plan?” said Dayton. “And then stay for New Year’s. Valentine’s. Easter. 4th of July. Halloween. Huh?”

“Only if you let me take you clubbing on New Year’s.”

“Deal,” Dayton kissed James.

“Naked.”

“Super,” he kissed him again.

“Covered in glitter.”

“Bring it,” Dayton slowly licked James’s ear.

“On a leash.”

“I’ll need training.”

“We got time, you’re a fast learner,” James took the mistletoe from Dayton. “Seriously, where did it come from?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s a Christmas miracle, Jimmy,” said Dayton.

“Nobody called me that since preschool,” chuckled James.

“I don’t care. Jimmy,” Dayton savoured the name on his tongue. He tousled James’s hair and held him tight.

“Yeah. Jimmy. Jimmy all the way.”