It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
- 1 Month Until Christmas
A soft sigh escaped Mike’s lips as he gazed into the mirror, seeing tired, dark-brown eyes staring back. His dyed blond hair hung in wild strands upon his face. And to Mike’s general disappointment, the stubble, which had grown overnight, did not improve his appearance.
He turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on his face, hoping that it would gain some color, or at least make him feel more awake. The long evenings in the office slowly but surely took a toll on the young CEO, who anticipated the winter holidays eagerly. Even though he never really had time off, he was at least looking forward to working on a warm beach under the sun instead of his very dreary office in the company building. But before he could start his well-deserved vacation, he still had to face his personal final boss, the company Christmas party, preferably unscathed.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t stand Christmas per se, he was glad he got time off because of it. But Mike couldn’t stand the fake expressions of love and the masks of happiness people put on. People who he had not heard from all year, such as family members, as well as acquaintances suddenly came to him and expected gifts.
But despite it all there was also a good reason which made Mike stick to the tradition of celebrating Christmas: Chris Thompson, Mike’s personal secretary, and the biggest Christmas fan he had ever met.
Mike washed the shaving foam from his face and tried to bring his hair into an appropriate shape. He then turned his attention to his closet and the twenty different suits hanging in it, sorted by color and brand. Mike tilted his head, weighing his options, wondering if a dark red suit was too much for a normal business day.
During the drive to his office, the daily grind began to pelt down on Mike. In the half hour it took him to arrive at work, he had already received five phone calls and answered three emails, a perfectly normal working day for the young CEO.
Things were no less hectic at the company, where Mike had scheduled two meetings that morning, followed by planning for the Christmas party, hoping to have time for a little breakfast at some point. There were only a few weeks left until Christmas, the most stressful time of the year for him, not only because of the preparations for the Christmas party, but also because of the deals that had to be closed before the end of the year..
“Do you want me to go get you some breakfast?” A soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Chris - my rescue.” Mike rubbed his temple with the index fingers while his eyes were closed briefly. He felt warm hands resting on his shoulders, massaging them gently. “That feels good,” Mike sighed before he remembered where he was. He opened his eyes and sat up straight, smoothing out his suit and clearing his throat. “Mr. Thompson.” A grin formed on the brown-haired secretary’s lips.
“Mr. Smith,” he breathed into Mike’s ear and moved away from the office desk. “Breakfast like every morning?”
“Yes, thank you.” Mike glanced after the other, looking like a complete fool, a wide grin on his face, his cheeks slightly flushed. “You’re driving me completely crazy, Chris, what did I do to deserve this?” He mumbled while getting back to his countless emails and a phone which rang penetratingly. This romance between Mike and his secretary had been going on for several years. Even before Mike had risen to being a CEO, they had started meeting in secret. It had started as an innocent flirtation, but over the years they were both not quite sure if it was still just a friends with benefits situation between them. No feelings for each other, that had been their condition; just friends who occasionally had fun together, so as not to endanger the working atmosphere. They met in hotels, never at each other’s homes, trying everything to keep this relationship as well as possible under radar.
- 4 Weeks until Christmas
“The Christmas party has to be perfect, you know?” Mike paced nervously up and down the large conference room.
“It will be, don’t worry.” Levi, one of Mike’s closest aides, leaned against a wall. He watched, almost gleefully, as his boss tried desperately to figure out which one of the two red tablecloths, spread out before him, would fit his Christmas vision better. “No matter which red you pick, Chris will love it.”
“Why do you mention Chris now? All of this,” Mike made a motion with his index finger toward the sample decoration. “All of this has nothing - nothing to do at all with Chris.”
“And I’m the Easter Bunny,” Levi laughed, removing one of his brown curls from the forehead. “This is going to be the best Christmas party ever, trust me, it’s even going to top last year’s.”
The previous year’s Christmas party had really been an insane success, a dream of green and red. And a certain Thompson Chris had been more than thrilled. The success of last year’s party definitely had to be surpassed this year; and that fact was stressing Mike out more than the 150 mails and 7 missed calls showing on his phone display.
“You look so stressed again, Mike,” Chris remarked as he brought his boss a cup of coffee to the office.
“You know the end of the year means twice as much work as the whole rest of the year.” Mike exhaled audibly and leaned back in his office chair.
“I’ve got an idea how we can take your mind off things for a bit.” Chris had a mischievous grin on his lips as he walked around the office desk and leaned against it in front of Mike.
“Chris, we’re at work,” Mike complained playfully.
“Like that ever stopped you,” Chris whispered as he leaned down to Mike.
The storage room was cramped, too cramped actually for two people, but enough space for two people who wanted to be close. Mike’s suit jacket lay carefully folded on one of the shelves, Chris’s next to it. Mike gently ran his fingers over Chris’s neck, down to the half-unbuttoned shirt, appreciating the other’s soft skin. They understood each other without words, a well-rehearsed team, knowing exactly with which touches, which movements they could elicit sweet sounds of pleasure from the other. Soon the clothes of the two lovers laid on the floor, carelessly crumpled in a heap in the wave of lust. Their bodies pressed against each other, greedy for the closeness and the feeling of skin on skin. They lived for these moments in togetherness, escapes from reality and everyday life. Hands greedily searched for the right places, which would bring the other into ecstasy. Kisses, which were gently pressed on their heated bodies, elicited the sweet sounds of pleasure from their lips. They lost themselves in the heat of the moment, blanked out everything around them, concentrated fully on the other. Their bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, as if made for each other. And they knew how good they were for each other. Knew that only the other could elicit these sounds from them, and that only the other knew how a movement of them made the other drop all his shells. They rode together on this high, higher and higher until their bodies burned like fire, until the touches made them lose their last drop of sanity - and they writhed under the pleasure that this encounter brought them. Closer and closer they reached their edge, intoxicated by the feeling the other gave them, they collapsed under a loud moan in each other’s arms, holding onto the other as if they feared they would run away.
