Egg the Halls Read online

  Egg the Halls

  By Jessica Payseur

  Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

  Visit jms-books.com for more information.

  Copyright 2016 Jessica Payseur

  ISBN 9781634862547

  * * * *

  Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

  Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

  All rights reserved.

  WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America.

  * * * *

  Egg the Halls

  By Jessica Payseur

  Chapter 1

  Dom tackled the biggest tree first. Kiko had three set up in Yolks on You, his niche, mostly-egg-themed store, two smaller and one twelve-foot monstrosity. When Dom arrived, the Latino man presented him with more boxes of ornaments than he figured could possibly fit on all of them, even if he really squeezed them on there.

  “Why so many ornaments?” asked Dom as he popped open a box to reveal a number of sparkling, egg-shaped decorations, all with price tags. They were all styled similarly in reds, golds, and greens, festive Christmas-time eggs. It figured.

  “Because people buy off the tree,” said Kiko, returning to whatever he was doing at the computer behind the counter.

  Dom stared at the task ahead of him, thinking he probably should have offered to stay home and clean the bathrooms instead. At least that would be over fast. But no, he wanted to be near Kiko, and this was a change from the ordinary. Normally Kiko had him stocking shelves while he did his paperwork, packaging, and whatever else it was he puttered away on that made the place run.

  “People actually buy this shit,” said Dom under his breath, reaching up to hang the first glittering egg on a plastic-needled branch.

  “I heard that,” said Kiko over his shoulder.

  “Come over here and adjust my attitude, then,” said Dom. He wouldn’t be so bold, but at nearly four in the evening on a Sunday a few weeks before Christmas, Kiko’s store was fairly empty. Outside the sky was so gray and dark that it looked like it was night. Considering the sun went down around five it might as well be, Dom figured. Flakes of snow came down off and on, as if the weather couldn’t decide whether it really wanted to be festive or not.

  He could almost hear Kiko smiling at him.

  “Get back to work,” he said. “Rewards later. The faster we get everything here taken care of, the faster we can go home.”

  Dom grumbled good-naturedly and hung more eggs. Unsurprisingly most of the ornaments were eggs: glittery eggs, delicate, carved-looking eggs, flat 2D eggs, papier mâché eggs that could be personally painted, eggs in scarves. There were a few ornaments in the shape of geese or other birds, and a few breakfast-style ornaments, such as bacon and eggs in a frying pan.

  “How do you want these?” asked Dom. It occurred to him Kiko might want them organized a particular way. He was often very particular about things; it had put a strain on their relationship early on when Kiko wanted his house kept cleaner than Dom was used to, but they had figured it out in the end.

  “Just mix them all up,” said Kiko. “However you want.”

  Dom stared at the perfectly trimmed hair on the back of Kiko’s head. He was wearing his normal button-up and a festive tie, despite the fact that there couldn’t have been many customers today. Dom generally found his nerdiness attractive, and the lack of concern now was unusual.

  “Really?”

  “You’ll do it anyway.”

  Dom gritted his teeth at that. Kiko seemed to have little faith in his organizational abilities, even after all these months. And true, he couldn’t load the dishwasher quite so full, nor could he seem to fit as many socks in the drawer, but he wasn’t complete shit at everything. He was going to prove Kiko wrong. He stepped back, glanced at the boxes of ornaments. The eggs would all go on the big tree: geese and birds on one of the small trees, breakfast on the other. He would astound Kiko. And he would be able to smugly demand whatever position in bed he wanted later.

  Kiko faced away from him as he worked. Dom found his mind blanking out as he repeated the motions and completely filled the large tree with ornaments. He moved boxes by their respective trees, snagging glances at Kiko, who looked busy with the most boring paperwork Dom had ever seen. If this was what owning a business was like, Dom was glad he worked for someone else. At least he got to go home at the end of the week.

  He glanced at the time on his phone. After five. He and Kiko should be getting home and figuring out what to eat. Even Kiko’s goose, Mother, seemed irritated in his cage at the back of the store. Dom could hear him pacing around and fidgeting with his feathers. Snow was falling harder outside now, and the light was really starting to disappear from the sky.

  “Let’s call it,” he said, and Kiko waved a hand at him.

  “Give me twenty, thirty minutes,” said Kiko. “You finished?”

  Dom glared at the two smaller trees.

  “You need them all done?” he asked, trying not to groan.

  “Don’t make me come over there and adjust your attitude.”

  Dom begrudgingly began to hang the geese and other birds on the tree, wishing Kiko could just handle everything himself when he got in tomorrow. Nobody showed up early Monday morning, and his time with Kiko was running out. When he considered getting a meal and handling chores, sex didn’t seem very likely. As much as he loved Kiko, sometimes the rigors of everyday life really grated on him.

  When the bell on the door jingled, Dom nearly swore aloud. A customer. Just what they needed to slow everything down even more.

  * * * *

  Kiko turned in his chair to see Cat Vankel enter from the far door near the largest tree, now sparkling with eggs. When he stood, he caught sight of Dom’s expression, a scowl on his scruffy face that reached to his brown eyes and told of the plentiful profanity he was holding back. Kiko stifled a laugh and smiled at Cat as she brushed snow off her coat.

  “Kiko,” she said, crossing to the counter. She was in her late forties with black shoulder-length hair bleached at the tips, and a plump but cheery face. She owned Cats N Canvas and Cat’s Ceramics in Catsville and rarely made it out to Mount Angus, where Yolks on You was. “Glad I caught you.”

  “We were about to go home,” said Dom.

  Kiko rolled his eyes. “What would you like, Cat?” he asked, drawing her eyes back from Dom, who she appeared to be appraising. He tried to address everyone who entered his shop with a warm positivity that made them feel at home, and this was no different for people he already knew.

  “Well,” she said, offering a smile that said she’d been scheming something. “You know Mount Angus always hoards all the good things, and I could really use a business boost for Christmas this year.”

  “Is this about the Twelve Days of Mount Angus?” asked Kiko. He’d
been explaining the festivities to Dom yesterday. They’d just come out of Turkey Turmoil Days, complete with charity run to raise money to put a turkey on every table, in which Dom actually decently tolerated Mother wearing his turkey costume and being jogged along in a stroller. But the Twelve Days of Mount Angus was something a bit bigger.

  Kiko liked it because it encouraged people to shop local for Christmas. Twelve lucky businesses were given rubber stamps and a day of Christmas from the song—Kiko’s was naturally day six, geese a-laying. A customer could earn a stamp on a special card for each purchase, and turn each completed card in for a prize drawing on the last day. Occasionally people from out-of-town would swing by and shop just to get an entry into the drawing.

  “Well, it’s linked, definitely,” said Cat. “Nobody drives out to Cat’s. So I figured, why not bring Cat’s to them?”

  Kiko’s smile faltered. He imagined she was having a harder time of it than normal, considering her brother had recently moved back into the area and had opened Angus Arts just a few weeks ago. Ben even snagged a stamp this year, for the day four calling birds.

  “I’m afraid I just don’t have the space to display an entire gallery of work,” began Kiko, but Cat waved a hand.

  “No, no, I’m not asking that. But I was thinking if you could spare the room for a few items…I’d give you a fee or a percent, whatever you’d prefer. It’d be themed, of course—a lot of my artists really get into the spirit of the season. I have art based on the geese a-laying verse of the song—you know, paintings and a few other pieces—and ornaments you can hang. A few of my pottery pieces. It wouldn’t be much, but it would certainly fit with your décor.”

  Kiko opened his mouth to reply but Dom got there first.

  “More ornaments?” he asked.

  “I won’t make you hang them unless you force me to,” said Kiko and shot Dom a look. Dom grinned at him in response and he felt a stirring under his skin. He’d been wanting to be close to Dom all day now and decided right then that when he’d finished up with Cat, they’d go home. Kiko figured there’d be time for him to get to anything Dom hadn’t managed.

  “Thanks, Kiko,” said Cat, sounding relieved. He turned back to her with a grin.

  “I haven’t said yes yet,” he said.

  “Stop flirting with other people,” grumbled Dom, and Cat laughed.

  “I think I can clear up some space,” said Kiko. “Make sure you bring some business cards, too, so people know where they’re buying from.”

  “That’s great,” said Cat. “Thanks so much. Elena said yes, too. And a few other places. The bakery, the nursery, Pasta La Vista…Haven’t asked the brewery yet.”

  “I’m sure Buddy will be interested,” said Kiko. “He’s been complaining about being assigned the drummers drumming. It was supposed to be in honor of a drumroll, since he’s unveiling that new beer he’s been working on with Martha soon.”

  “Can’t wait to see what that is,” said Cat. “We have wine and paint nights now and then down at the Canvas; maybe we should have beer nights, too?”

  “That’s an idea,” said Kiko, not wanting to mention he thought he’d heard that Ben was doing those down at Angus Arts. Cat must have seen something in his face, though, because she sighed.

  “Well, better get going. I have to prepare for pot throwing tomorrow morning. Thanks again, Kiko; I’ll call you when I have it all together and we can figure it out.”

  Dom waited until Cat had left and her taillights disappeared down the road before complaining.

  “And I bet I’m your errand boy.”

  Kiko smiled and left the counter to snag Dom by the waist. He was definitely feeling the pull now. His mind tried to calculate time and everything they had to do yet tonight, then grew frustrated and threw it all out. They’d make time.

  “Don’t I pay you well?” asked Kiko, leaning close. Dom kept stiff as Kiko nearly brushed his lips against Dom’s. He listened for Dom’s breath but the man was holding it.

  “I thought you wanted me to get back to work,” said Dom, then pulled back and grinned when Kiko tried to kiss him. Kiko released him, even more turned on now, and stalked back to his computer.

  “What are you waiting for then?”

  * * * *

  Dom realized he was staring at Kiko’s ass when it disappeared behind the counter. He blinked and turned back to a box of sparkling red cardinals, feeling bothered and wound up. However long Kiko was planning on staying here, it was too long as far as he was concerned. He wanted to get back home. He considered calling it quits and driving back home to get an early start on food.

  “Why don’t we hang everything else on that tree?” asked Kiko, and when Dom glanced up he saw Kiko had shut off the computer and was approaching. “Birds and breakfast. It has a ring to it.”

  “Sure,” said Dom as Kiko pulled the boxes of fried eggs and other breakfast ornaments over. It didn’t matter to him. Kiko’s trees could look ridiculous for all he cared. It went with the rest of the store anyway.

  “I’ll put all Cat’s art around that last five-foot tree. It’ll be its own little section. Should be easier to direct people that way, even for Chad.”

  Dom listened to Kiko babble, affixing a white and gold dove to the tree, but when Chad was mentioned, he rolled his eyes. Kiko’s teenage assistant only worked very part-time hours and Dom had decided weeks ago that Chad was the reason why Kiko couldn’t get any time off. Kiko had managed to spend an entire day last month solely with Dom, but not having a second full-time employee he could leave to run Yolks on You really cut into their love life.

  “I noticed you don’t have an ad up online,” said Dom.

  “I’m managing,” said Kiko, his upbeat brainstorming suddenly run its course. Dom felt guilty, which irritated him. Of course it would be his fault if he ruined the mood. Never mind that it was Kiko’s stubbornness putting them in this position in the first place.

  “Right,” he said, then, “You or me cooking tonight?”

  “I figured something simple, like a salad,” said Kiko. “I think we have a few strips of bacon left, and a chicken breast kicking around in the freezer. A ripe avocado.”

  “Sounds good,” said Dom, already hungry. Everything Kiko made tasted good. And if it was fast, all the better. Kiko seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  “Good. Salad for the first course, then.”

  Dom glanced around the tree at him.

  “Courses?”

  “Yeah,” said Kiko, meeting Dom’s eyes with his own. They glinted. “You’re second.”

  Dom grinned.

  “I like the sound of that menu. Dessert?”

  “Oh, I’ll give you desser—”

  They were cut off when Dom’s phone went off, the ringtone filling him with instant dread. Years ago he’d stopped calling some specific numbers, but he’d kept them in his phone with a particular ringtone so he wouldn’t accidentally pick up when it rang. But just hearing it ring made him feel hollow inside.

  “Dom?” asked Kiko after several long moments.

  “I’m not talking to them,” said Dom, looking away when Kiko tried to meet his eye. His phone rang for what sounded like forever before the messaging picked up; Kiko said nothing more until it beeped. Dom swore under his breath. Whatever this message was, he didn’t want to hear it.

  “Could I ask who it was?” asked Kiko into the silence.

  Dom decided not caring was the best way to handle the situation. Because he didn’t care about any of them.

  “No one I want to talk to,” he said, shrugging it off. But Kiko looked concerned now.

  “You’re not doing anything illegal, are you?”

  Dom laughed before he could stop himself.

  “Hell no. It’s just family, Kiko.” He hung a bird on the tree so forcefully he dislodged a shower of green glitter. Kiko moved around the tree to his side. His concerned expression didn’t go away.

  “I wondered,” he said, and Dom cringed. “You n
ever seemed to talk to anyone on the phone.”

  “Neither do you,” said Dom.

  “I call my mother and sister once or twice a month,” said Kiko. “Plus social media.”

  “You wouldn’t know,” said Dom, wanting Kiko to leave him alone. “You’re never home.”

  Instead of starting an argument, Dom watched as his words only seemed to cause Kiko to sigh. Kiko touched him gently on the arm. He was smart; he could figure it out. They’d both solved a few mysteries together before the police, after all. Hiding this would never have been easy. And now it was the holidays.

  “You planning on never talking to them again?” he asked.

  Dom blinked. He was expecting Kiko to tell him to call whoever it was back. He pulled out his phone to look at who had called. His brother, Devin. The sibling who was closest to him in age, only a year and a half older. They’d never gotten along, even before Dom had come out.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Never really liked Devin.”

  “Any idea why he’s calling?”

  Dom shook his head.

  “Can’t believe he hasn’t gotten a new number in all this time, actually.” He glanced up, and the moment he met Kiko’s gaze he knew he’d need to listen to the message. Avoiding it would only lead to something worse in his experience. He sighed, held up the phone. “Wanna listen to it with me?”

  Kiko said nothing, just stepped closer, and put his head near Dom’s. He put the phone up to their ears and played the short message.

  “Hey, Dom, it’s Devin. Been awhile. Mom thought you might be sick of being alone for Christmas. Give me a call back when you get a chance.”

  * * * *

  Chapter 2

  Dom pulled away first, but Kiko resumed hanging ornaments before he did. Kiko observed Dom as best he could as he worked, watching Dom slide the phone back into his pocket. The message had been short, but obviously still distressing.

  Kiko figured it was best to wait for Dom to speak first. He recalled what he’d learned a few months ago about Dom’s coming out experience, and the Grady family had not been supportive in the least. It hadn’t been a stretch to conclude they were still not supportive, even more than a decade later, and Kiko wished there was something he could do. His family had been accepting; it made him sad that even so many years later Dom didn’t talk to his own.