Chapter 27
Colton
Colton arms were full of gifts for Dean as he rode the elevator up to the loft. It was two days before Christmas, but he was determined to convince Dean to spend Christmas with him and his family. If he got his way, he'd be leaving the loft this evening with both Dean and his gifts.
Dean had declined to spend Thanksgiving with Colton and his family, opting instead to volunteer at The CC, which Colton greatly admired, even though it saddened him to think of all the holidays Dean spent alone, without friends and family.
It was his personal goal to see to it that Dean never spent another holiday alone.
Colton stepped off the elevator and reached for the doorknob, but paused before opening it.
Did he smell cookies baking?
Dean rushed to the door as he entered, wearing a gaudy, delightfully hideous Christmas sweater with ‘Santa loves his Ho’s’ scrawled across the chest. Colton immediately cracked up as his heart fluttered. “Holy shit, that sweater is priceless!”
Dean laughed and gestured toward the kitchen. “Come on in, I’m baking cookies.”
Colton rounded the corner to find Aiden sitting on the sofa, playing with a mini keyboard.
“Aiden, come say hi to Colton,” Dean called.
Aiden looked up from his keyboard, cracked a big, toothy grin, and galloped over to Colton.
“Hi, Mr. Colton!” Aiden threw his arms around Colton’s waist.
Colton shot Dean a look of confusion and disbelief.
“Aiden is staying with me for Christmas.” Dean absolutely glowed with joy. Dean was now officially Aiden’s benefactor, so the shelter had allowed Aiden to stay with him for a few days.
Colton looked around the loft, spotting the giant seven-foot Christmas tree between Dean’s bedroom and the pool table with a mound of gifts underneath.
There were candles throughout the living area, a Christmas runner draped across the dining table, a festive holiday centerpiece, and of course, holiday music filling the loft.
Dean had a fire going and three stockings hung on the mantle above the fireplace. Upon closer inspection, Colton noticed the names on the stockings…
Dean Colton Aiden
Colton felt warmth spread across his cheeks, the kind of warmness that only Dean could conjure. “Oh my God. I have a stocking?”
“You do!” Dean grinned, obviously proud of himself as he walked Colton over to the tree to deposit his bag of gifts. “But no peeking.”
Colton felt overwhelmed with emotion. He hadn't been expecting any of this when he walked through Dean’s door.
“I want to kiss your fucking lips off, right now,” he whispered.
Dean winked, poking his belly. “Easy tiger. Soon, I promise.”
“I came here tonight to try and convince you to come home with me, to spend the holiday with my family. You didn’t tell me Aiden was coming for Christmas.” Colton gently elbowed him.
Dean helped Colton unload his bag of gifts, placing them under the tree before turning to Colton with an apologetic look in his eyes.
“I asked two weeks ago. The shelter approved it yesterday. I spent the last twenty-four hours getting the loft ready, and Aiden arrived an hour ago, so it was kinda last minute. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry! I was only concerned you’d be spending Christmas alone. It’s great that you get to spend it with Aiden.”
“I wish I could spend it with you too.” Dean squeezed his arm. “But I’m pretty sure your mother would not be pleased if I kept you away at Christmas.”
Colton laughed. “Oh yeah, she’d be like Krampus on your roof! You’d want no part of that!”
“But don’t worry about me. Most of my staff don’t have anywhere to go for Christmas.” Dean opened his arms to the loft. “My place has always been The Land of Misfit Toys! I’m hosting Christmas here for all my boys.”
"That sounds amazing." Colton turned to Aiden with a smile. “Aiden, are all these gifts for you?” He pointed to the large pile of presents under the tree.
“Yes sir, I think so, but I have to wait until Christmas morning.”
Such a polite kid, Colton thought. Dean is already rubbing off on him.
“You don’t have to call me sir, Aiden. Just call me Colton.”
Aiden smiled and returned to his mini keyboard on the sofa.
Colton held on to one small gift. “Here.” He handed the gift to Dean. “This is your stocking stuffer, but I want you to open it now.”
Dean accepted the gift and eagerly tore through the wrapping paper, revealing a black and white photo in a silver frame. The photo was of Dean and Colton’s first handshake on the day of the video shoot.
“Wow! I love this! Who took this?”
“The team archivist.” Colton answered.
Every NFL team had an archivist, a photographer and videographer to document anything and everything about the team, preserving history.
Thankfully, the photographer had captured the moment of their first handshake.
Their first touch, their first thunderbolt.
When Colton first saw the photo, he had almost been embarrassed at the huge smile that showed the level of adoration in his face.
But upon closer inspection, the photo captured the same admiration in Dean…
seizing a moment in time for the both of them.
“I love this so much! Thank you.” Dean hugged Colton, kissing his cheek. “This is going on my desk in the studio, right next to your note.”
Dean showed Colton around the loft. The roof was decorated with another Christmas tree, along with festive, illuminated life-sized snowmen around the edge of the pool.
In the guest bedroom, where Aiden would be sleeping, Dean had another small tree decorated with ornaments of musical instruments and sports doodads. All specifically catered to Aiden.
Colton grabbed Dean in the guest bedroom and kissed him deeply. “Dean, this is adorable! You did all this in twenty-four hours?”
“Yep! I want Aiden to have the best Christmas ever. I’m gonna spoil him rotten. Even if it is just for four days.”
Colton couldn’t help it. Tears began to leak from his eyes.
“You’re crying?! Okay we must be spending too much time together. I’m starting to rub off on you!” Dean joked.
Colton poked his ribs. “You dork! No but, this is really sweet, Dean! Aiden is going to have a great Christmas.”
“That’s the plan! Speaking of…it’s time to decorate cookies!” Dean grinned, grabbed his hand, and pulled Colton back into the kitchen.
***
Dean
Colton grabbed a drink from the fridge and took a seat at the island.
“Okay, Aiden,” Dean called. “You wanna decorate some Christmas cookies?”
Aiden dropped what he was doing on the sofa, ran to the island, and hopped on a stool.
The holidays were Dean’s fondest memories of his childhood. Thanksgiving and Christmas were his favorites, but no matter the holiday, the entire family would converge at his grandma’s house in rural Georgia for a meal.
The country house with pale yellow clapboard siding sat at the end of a long dirt driveway and had a porch that stretched across the entire front of the house with a swing hung between the white columns.
During the holidays, his grandma would cook for hours.
Cooking for her family was her love language, and Dean was happiest helping in grandma’s kitchen.
Each holiday, extra tables were set up in the kitchen and down the central hallway, to accommodate their massive extended family. It was always a chaotic, boisterous affair…with good food, laughter, sometimes arguments, but always family.
Those holiday dinners with his grandma were what Dean missed most. He'd never forgive his parents for tossing him aside, depriving him of all those festive dinners with his family.
Over the years, many of his cousins and in-laws had reached out, offering support for Dean and expressing their outrage over his parents actions.
Dean was appreciative and stayed in contact with that part of his family, but despite the many invitations, there was no way he would ever attend another Harris family holiday dinner in rural Georgia.
There was no way he would ever subject himself to the torture of standing in front of his asshole parents ever again.
They never attempted to contact him after he left, after they threw him out. And if they showed up today, on their knees, begging for forgiveness…Dean honestly didn’t think he could grant them that.
Still, he had his cherished childhood holiday memories and he was determined to share those memories with Aiden, his dancers, and Colton.
Dean brought a tray of cooled sugar cookies to the island, along with little cups of icing in various colors, and placed them in front of Aiden.
“One of my favorite memories as a kid was decorating Christmas cookies with my grandma. I want to share that memory with you and you can decorate these any way you want.” Dean placed some toothpicks and a tiny offset spatula on the counter, and Aiden began to paint.
Colton watched Aiden while he sipped his cider and Dean moved to his side, kissed the top of his head, and sat on the stool next to him. Without thinking, Dean took Colton’s hand, interlacing their fingers while they watched Aiden decorate his cookies.
Colton smiled, looked down at their hands, then back up to Dean, and gently squeezed his hand.
“What?” Dean asked, pulling his attention from Aiden.
Colton glanced down. “This is the first time we’ve ever held hands.”
“Oh…sorry…is it too much? I didn’t even realize I’d done it,” Dean said sheepishly.
Colton sighed. “No, it’s not too much. In fact, it’s not enough. I want to stay here and spend Christmas with you two.”
“Oh, I wish you could! That would make me so happy. But I know you can’t.”
“Maybe we can FaceTime on Christmas morning?”
“I would love that. But you’ve got to stick around tonight, at least until Aiden goes to bed. I’ve got a special gift for you,” Dean whispered, squeezing his hand.
“You do realize I can hear you two, right?” Aiden smiled, still decorating his cookies.
Colton howled in laughter. “Aiden, you’re going to fit in just fine around here!”