Chapter 27 #2
The pile of presents under the tree had doubled in size by the time Christmas morning arrived, and Dean couldn't wait for Aiden to see it.
He bounded out of bed at the ass-crack of dawn and put on his "Santa loves his Ho's" sweater again —Christmas only happened once a year, so it was totally acceptable— too excited to see Aiden flip his shit to stay in bed a moment longer.
He wanted to burst into Aiden’s room and drag him out of bed so he could open his gifts. He decided to let Aiden wake on his own and started a pot of coffee instead as he gathered the ingredients he'd need to begin prepping for the huge meal he’d planned for Aiden and the dancers.
As he hummed and chopped vegetables, his mind returned to his grandma and that old country kitchen in Georgia. God, he missed her! Her kitchen always smelled of coffee, baked sourdough bread, and deep-fried foods. He could still smell the aromas that had always seemed synonymous with her kitchen.
After she passed, he was given her recipe box.
She kept everything on handwritten index cards, in a little wooden box that sat on the sill above her sink.
That little box now sat proudly on Deans countertop next to his sink.
He stirred the sauce he was preparing, doing his best to recreate his grandmother's recipe.
Dean’s reflection was interrupted when he heard Aiden stirring in his room. He smiled a huge smile as he set the mixing spoon aside and rinsed his hands, more than excited to start Christmas!
Aiden galloped out of the guest room and slammed into Dean. “Merry Christmas Dean!”
Dean laughed and squeezed him tight. “Merry, merry Christmas Aiden!” He kissed Aiden’s temple, filled with joy, doing his level best not to cry. “Are you ready to open your gifts?”
“Yes!” Aiden jumped out of the hug and dashed to the tree as Dean chuckled, grabbing his coffee and following behind him.
Aiden had never talked about what happened with his family, how he ended up homeless at fourteen and Dean never pushed, confident that Aiden would tell him about it when he was ready.
But moving forward, Dean would do everything in his power to ensure Aiden had nothing but happy memories.
Aiden gleefully tore through the wrapping of his gifts, revealing new clothes, shoes, toys, sports gear, musical instruments, a new iPhone, and a new gaming system. With a wide smile and bright eyes, he gave Dean a monster hug. “Thank you so much, Dean.”
Dean squeezed him tight. “You’re very welcome, Aiden. I love you very much.”
Dean noticed Aiden’s smile disappear, a hint of sadness crossing his face, and lifted his chin with his finger,
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Aiden looked back at the pile of gifts at the tree, then to Dean. “I love my gifts, but I can’t take them back home. Things like these don't last long at the shelter,” he said, his lower lip trembling as he fought the tears welling in his eyes.
Dean sighed. “Well, I figured as much, so I thought you could keep everything here, that way you could come and play as often as you’d like.”
“Really?” Aiden’s smile returned, his eyes brightening once again.
Dean grinned. “Really. Aiden, I want us to do this every year. I want to spend more time with you. I want this to be a place you can come to whenever you want. Would you like that?”
Aiden threw his arms around Dean, nuzzling his neck. “Yes. I would like that very much.”
“Good. We’d better call Colton. The guys will be here soon.”
After a short FaceTime with Colton, where Aiden had to display and demonstrate every gift he received, Dean beaming with pride in the background, they began preparing for their Christmas celebration with the rest of the crew.
In anticipation of everyone’s arrival, Dean hit play on the holiday playlist and left the front door open, so everyone could enter the loft freely.
Dean was preparing a traditional southern holiday feast with all the trimmings; roasted turkey, sausage dressing, potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream.
Aiden helped by cleaning up around the Christmas tree before washing and drying the dishes. Dean’s heart was full to bursting as he futzed around the kitchen with Aiden, preparing for their family holiday celebration. He wished his grandma could be there. She would have adored Aiden.
The elevator dinged and the uproarious sounds of Dean’s boys tumbled into the loft. Sean, Jax, Harry, Nelly, and Justin rumbled through the door, with David and Jordan bringing up the rear.
“Merry Christmas!” Dean shouted from the kitchen as they corralled themselves into the entryway. Many of them had never seen the loft and they stood there with their mouths agape until Dean ushered them in, gave them a whirlwind tour, and introduced them to Aiden.
He had already sent out a group text explaining who Aiden was and that he was going to be with them for Christmas, warning them to be on their best behavior, but proper introductions for Aiden's sake were in order.
Knowing his boys, Dean could only smile and hope for the best.
Everyone placed their gifts under the tree and gathered around the kitchen island, helping themselves to wine, cocktails, and finger food.
“Damn, Dean, it smells amazing in here!” Jax exclaimed, sniffing the air.
Dean beamed. “Thank you. I’m serving all the traditional southern favorites.”
Everyone hummed in approval. “I’m gonna be in a food coma for two days.” Nelly chuckled.
“That’s the plan!” Dean winked.
“Oh my God, Dean, I love your sweater!” Sean giggled. “Where the hell did you find that?”
Dean smirked. “I found it on Etsy. Isn’t it gloriously hideous?”
“Honey, hideous is definitely the right word,” Harry quipped. “But I do like that you’re acknowledging Santa’s Ho’s.”
“Right?” Aiden chimed in. “You know Mrs. Claus’s old ass ain’t keeping Santa jolly all year long. Those Ho’s deserve some recognition!”
Everyone looked to one another in bewilderment for a moment before the boys all erupted in a roar of laughter.
“Aiden!” Dean chastised, trying to hold back a smile.
“What?” He innocently batted his eyes. “This ain’t my first rodeo!”
“Oh my God, Dean, we looove him. Can we keep him?” Jax mussed Aiden’s hair as Aiden grinned proudly.
Dean rolled his eyes. So much for being on their best behavior. But he chuckled on the inside.
Aiden was going to merge into this family perfectly.
“Wait, Dean, Colton isn’t coming today?” Nelly asked, and everyone turned to Dean inquisitively.
“Oh, no, he’s with his own family today.” Dean shrugged and poured a glass of cabernet sauvignon.
“But he was here the night before last,” Aiden interjected. “And they exchanged…gifts.” He waggled his eyebrows.
The boys all cackled and teased, but Dean just pursed his lips and sipped his wine. As much as he wanted to tell his family what happened with Colton, he had to be sure Colton was okay with it first.
“Yes, Colton dropped off his gifts the other night,” Dean admitted, matter of fact.
Jordan jumped in, knowing Dean wanted to steer the conversation in another direction. “We all like Colton, very much. We’re just disappointed he’s not here today.”
Dean smiled at Jordan. “Me too. But he wishes everyone a merry Christmas. And he will be here for New Years!”
The merriment was high, the chatter lively and raucous. Truly a happy occasion. God, how Dean had missed those gatherings!
After a short period of drinks, conversation, and nibbles of appetizers, Dean called for everyone to gather around the tree.
“It’s time for your gifts!” He grinned.
His little chosen family spread out on the floor or in chairs pulled from the dining room table and Dean began handing out envelopes to everyone.
“These are your stocking stuffers. Once everyone has theirs, I want you all to open them at the same time.”
Dean stepped back once he’d handed out all the envelopes and waited with a smile.
Everyone tore into their envelopes, pulling out the single item he'd placed in them. Their eyes bulged wide and they all looked around to one another, then to Dean.
“Whoa! This is one helluva stocking stuffer!” Justin grinned.
“Dean, what is this?” David asked stunned, as he looked once again at the paper in his hand.
“Those are your Christmas bonuses!” Dean beamed. “It’s been a great year, we've had some amazing shows and I couldn’t have done any of it without you! This is just my way of saying thank you, and letting ya'll know how much I appreciate each of you.”
“Dean, this is very nice but this is way too much…$10,000?!” Jax spoke with a sputter, trying to hold back his tears. The other dancers nodded in agreement.
“Nonsense! You’re worth every penny.” Aiden walked to his side and Dean wrapped his arm around his back. “I love you all very much. You’re my only family, and I’m going to spoil my family as much as I fucking can.” He looked lovingly at each dancer with tears beginning to slide down his cheeks.
Everyone rushed to stand and engulf Dean in a massive group hug, each of them expressing his own love for Dean and their little family.
They broke the hug and Dean smiled through his tears. “Besides, now you’ll each have tons of spending money for shopping while we’re on tour!” Everyone laughed and hooted.
“But we’re not done yet.” Dean shooed everyone back to their seats. “We still have gifts to open.”
Over the past year, Dean had made every effort to talk to, and really listen to, his staff. He'd learned their favorite colors, favorite foods, favorite designers and clothing labels…really gathered as much information as he could about everyone on his staff.
Dean had chosen a gift for each person from their favorite designer which he handed out one at a time…
Sean held up a Thom Browne polo shirt, his wide smile a clear indicator that Dean had made the right decision.
Jax received a Versace bomber jacket. He gave Dean a crushing hug before putting it on and modeling it for the others.
Harry’s gift was a gorgeous Loro Piana wool sweater. Everyone oohed and aahed as he displayed the thick, lux garment.
Nelly quickly and gleefully tore through the wrapping paper, opening the box to reveal a Hermes varsity hoodie.
Justin opened his box to find a pair of Fendi biker boots. “Holy shit! Thank you, Dean!”
Dean winked at him and moved on to David.
With a huge smile, David opened his gift, a Dolce and Gabbana leather jacket. He thanked Dean with a beaming grin.
Dean went behind the tree and pulled out a long, flat box. “I didn’t forget about you, Jordan.” He handed the gift to him and Jordan quirked an eyebrow, looking at the flat, oddly shaped box.
“What could possibly be in here?” he asked.
“Well, open the damn thing and find out!” Sean snipped with a smirk.
Jordan ripped the paper off and opened the box with a loud gasp. He pulled a navy-blue suit from the box and everyone joined in the gasping as he showed it off.
“Holy shit! It’s a Brioni suit! I’ve always wanted one of these!” Jordan smiled, his eyes wide and glassy.
“I know!” Dean winked. “That’s why I bought it for you.”
Jordan leapt out of his chair, wrapped his arms around Dean, and lifted him off the floor. “Thank you…so much!”
Dean giggled as Jordan finally put him down. “You’re very welcome, Jordan…all of you. Now, who’s ready for a holiday feast?”