Chapter Seventeen

Bailey

A shrill ringing pulled me from sleep, and I startled awake. I tried to figure out what was causing the horrible sound. When I realized it was my phone, I reached for it with a groan before it woke up the kids who were still sleeping soundly on the other bed. I had suggested that they take a nap after the busy day they had on Christmas Eve, participating in just about every activity on deck for kids. I had snapped so many photos of them that my battery had died.

I unplugged my phone from the outlet, but before I could answer it, the ringing stopped. I blinked at the phone screen, squinting at the bright light until I was able to make out Ollie’s name. I had been meaning to call him, but always got caught up with the kids or Arthur. I smiled, thinking about how the tables had turned. I usually teased him about being too busy with Drew to keep in touch. Now that he was also studying to become a nurse, he was even busier than usual.

I didn’t want to wake the kids while chatting with Ollie, so I checked they were still fast asleep before stepping outside the room. I kept the door partially opened so I could hear if either woke up. I sat on the floor next to the door because I still felt lethargic from sleep.

Ollie’s face popped up on my phone screen after I video-called him and he answered. I erupted into a grin at seeing his face. God, I missed him. He had a new piercing, a vertical barbell through the end of his left eyebrow. I still had only the one, but piercings had become Ollie’s thing, and since his boyfriend loved the look of it, they were both quite happy with each new piercing.

“What’s up kid?” I asked him. Although we were the same age, I treated Ollie like he was younger because he had always been vulnerable. Our relationship had started after I found out about the social challenges he had while we were both attending Stonewell University. For a while, I had fallen so hard for him. I had done everything I possibly could to win his heart, but he belonged to Drew. Everyone knew it and respected it, although at one point Ollie’s father had opposed their relationship. All was fixed between everyone though, and now they were my next favorite family after mine.

“Bailey Haughton, you are dead to me!” Ollie cried, wrinkling his nose at me.

I laughed at his antics. “What did I do now?”

Drew's freckled face and mop of untidy red curls appeared on the camera. “He’s been sitting here for the past few days expecting you to call,” he remarked. “He’s not happy with you right now which makes me not happy with you either. Fix it, Bailey.”

I gave him a mock salute with my free hand. “Yes, sir!”

Drew shook his head at me. “One of these days, Bailey.”

Ollie scowled at him. “You can’t use that tone of voice with him.”

“What tone of voice?” I heard Drew reply though he was no longer shown on the camera.

“You know.” Ollie’s eyes were completely on his man, forgetting that I was still there even though the conversation was about me.

“No, I don’t know.” Drew laughed.

“That voice you use when you’re about to do things to me.”

“What things?”

Ollie shook his head and returned his eyes to the camera. “I’ll show you what things in a bit. I’m talking to Bailey right now.”

“Then I better get out your hair, right?”

To be honest, I was usually jealous as hell when I watched the interaction between them. Ollie was such a firecracker, and Drew was the match that ignited him. Together they made a beautiful explosion and those who were around them couldn't help but notice. I took notice, and I wanted what they had. More importantly, I believed I had found the man who was the fuel to my own spark. So when Drew gripped Ollie’s chin, tilted his head back and kissed him, I smiled, feeling no envy at what they had.

“Later,” Drew promised him and walked away.

A dazed Ollie stared at me with a stupid grin on his face. At least I could thank Drew for distracting him from declaring me dead to him.

“Can you believe he still turns me on so much?” Ollie remarked.

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head at him. “No more talking about you and Drew with that shit-eating grin on your face. It’s my time to tell you about someone I met.”

“Is it your boss?”

I gave him my best venomous look. “Well dammit, you could have at least waited for me to tell you.”

He shrugged. “I kind of figured. You talk about him an awful lot, Bailey. So?”

“So what?”

“Do you think he’s the Drew to your Ollie?”

I scowled at him. “Stop making yourself the benchmark of every relationship.”

He giggled. “Sorry. I’m just so happy. So tell me everything. Have you fucked yet or are you making him wait for it?”

Trust Ollie to be so frank. Sometimes it was hard to reconcile this blunt Ollie with the shy guy I had befriended during his first class at university. I didn’t bother to deny it, but spilled the beans, telling him everything. He must have realized how serious I was because he didn’t once stop to tease me like he usually did.

“Sounds like you’re serious about this guy if you’ve introduced him to the kids,” he remarked with a frown. “Do you think he feels the same way you do?”

“I think so. He acts like it.”

“We’re so flying out to Alabama to meet him,” Ollie stated. "He has to know someone has your back if he hurts you."

“You’ll definitely not do that,” I told him. “Things are still at the beginning stage for both of us. He can change his mind about the kids later, and you know I’ll never let anyone come between me and the kids.”

“How are they holding up?”

“They’ve improved so the trip wasn’t a complete waste.”

“Plus you got laid,” Ollie snickered. “There’s nothing wrong with having some fun even though you have kids to take care of, Bailey.”

“I may not have them for long.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I explained to him about the money my brother had taken from my mother to pay off his mortgage which she now wanted back. I told him everything about maybe not having a home soon and having to hand over the kids to her.

“But you’ll still be homeless if she takes the kids,” he remarked. “If you need a place to stay, Bailey, you come stay with us. Drew and I would love to have you here.”

“We would drive him crazy,” I answered. "And I don't want him coming to my bed to find you."

His face went red as we both remembered Ollie sneaking into my bedroom to ask advice about Drew.

"I snuck in your room once and you never let me forget it!" he cried, but smiled. "Thank God Drew understands our friendship. I'm not sure many men would have put up with our friendship Bailey, and I'm glad for that because I don't want to lose you as a friend. Your guy isn't jealous, is he?"

“I'm not sure."

Ollie was right about Drew's trust in him. I wondered if Arthur would be this calm if he found out how close Ollie and I were together. I knew it had taken a whole lot of convincing for Drew's parents to stop being suspicious of us, but Drew didn't even bat an eye at our friendship. When news came about my brother's death, and I had sought solace in Ollie, Drew had opened up their home to me. He had fixed us both a drink then left us alone to talk.

"Will you be okay?" Ollie asked, worry in his eyes.

“I'll be fine, Ollie. I'll figure it out.”

“But if you don't then come to see us. You don't have to do everything on your own. We are your friends, and we want to help you.”

I felt better just by talking to him about my situation. I asked about his classes, wishing I had been able to complete my degree at Stonewell. After almost half an hour on the phone, he had to go so we promised to keep in touch.

“Call me tomorrow and wish me Merry Christmas,” he ordered. “It only takes a minute.”

“Alright. Will do. Love you, man.”

“Love you too, Bailey. And please, if things get too rough for you, call us.”

He made me misty by the time I hung up, and I started to feel melancholy. People always thought I had it easy because I took life in strides and made enough lemonade out of lemons that I could open up my own lemonade stand. I got along well with people, but only Ollie knew the insecurities even though I hadn't told him about my life in the streets before David found me. He knew my mother was as homophobic as his had been, and that had cemented the bond between us. I felt like I was keeping things from Arthur by not mentioning it to him, but why should my past matter especially when what had happened to me had been through no fault of my own? Then why did I feel so guilty about it? I tried not to think about that part of my life because it wasn't something I was proud of, even if I did what I had to in order to survive. Maybe I would have felt better about it if I had been the one to decide who I slept with for cash. But that hadn't been my call. Kept like a dog on a leash, the door opened, and I got down on all fours as was expected of me.

I was pulled from my thoughts at the sight of Emily walking toward me. I couldn't decide the mood she was in today. Rising to my feet, I greeted her. “Hey, Em.”

“Hey, what are you doing out here?”

“I had to make a phone call, and the kids are asleep. Didn't want to wake them.”

“Ooh.” She pushed the door open and entered the cabin with me behind her.

“You okay?” I asked as she shrugged out of her jacket.

She nodded. “Finally, I am.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, I spoke to Steve.”

“Then you told him?”

“Yes. I didn't feel so bad when he also confessed he was seeing someone else too, and that was the real reason he wasn't coming home for Christmas.”

I couldn't resist patting her back. “I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be. It's actually a relief. It's not even about Clay, that guy I've been seeing. I'm no longer seeing him by the way. It was a fling I needed, but the truth is, I just want to be alone for a while.”

I felt bad for her, sensing a whole lot of pain behind words she wasn't saying. “If you need anything let me know.”

“Right now I need some sleep,” she replied. “You should go find that guy of yours. I saw him leaving the Santa post. I'll keep an eye on the twins for you.”

I wanted to take her up on her offer, but felt like I was taking advantage of her. “You need a break. I can wait till they wake up, and then we all go together. I'll see him at the tree lighting tonight anyway.”

“I need the distraction, Bailey so I don't mind. Go on. You know you want to.”

“You won't think badly of me for leaving them in your care? It will be for just an hour at most.”

“For God's sake, Bailey, it's fine. Now go.”

I gave her a hug, squeezing her before I left the cabin. The elevators were busy so I ran up the stairs, apologizing when I passed people on the steps who seemed in no hurry to get to their destination.

Outside Arthur's suite, I paused to gulp a deep breath and steady my rapidly beating heart, which had little to do with running up the stairs. I was simply excited at seeing Arthur without the kids in tow.

I knocked and waited. A few seconds later, the door opened, and I found myself staring at a fake white beard and mustache. Arthur grinned at me, but I grabbed him by the lapels and kissed him, fake beard and all. The grin left his face as he cupped my ass and pulled me flush into him.

“Look, Mommy, that man is kissing Santa!”

That pulled me out of Arthur's spell.

“That's okay, Lucy,” a woman's voice returned the little girl's comment. “Santa can be gay.”

“Oh.”

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation as Arthur pulled me inside the room and shut the door. I leaned against it, pulling him back to me so I could devour his lips once more in private. I barely noticed his beard tickling my face, but I did notice the extra padding in his suit prevented me from getting as close to him as I wanted.

“Hold up.” He tore his lips away from mine. “Where are the kids?”

I fell in love with Arthur even harder then. His question proved to me he wasn’t pretending to like the children because he wanted me in his bed. He was genuinely concerned about them. Most men would have already had me out of my clothes and jumping my bones.

“They’re napping,” I answered. “Emily is keeping an eye on them.”

“How long do we have?”

I shrugged. “Maybe an hour. I don’t want to leave them for long, and I’m not sure Em is her usual self.”

“We better not waste it then.”

When I thought he would have kissed me, he instead pulled me to a chair in the room, sat and tugged me onto his lap. I didn’t just sit. I straddled him, smiling at the position we were now in. I could feel his arousal hard against my ass. I couldn’t resist wiggling my ass over his cock and felt satisfied at his moan. His hands clamped down on my thighs.

“Be still or I'll have to put your name on the naughty list,” he growled at me.

“In a minute I have a feeling I'm gonna end up there anyway,” I said on a grin.

He chuckled. “Before we do, it’s your turn.”

I cocked my head to the side while I stared at him. The happiness shining in his eyes was a reflection of mine. “My turn for what?”

“Sitting on Santa’s lap and telling me what you want for Christmas.”

I shrugged. “That’s easy. If you remove your hands, I’ll show you exactly what I want for Christmas.”

He shook his head. “That doesn’t count, my horny boy. I mean something you really want.”

“And I’m telling you. I really want you. Can’t you feel it?”

“Jesus, you got a one-track mind,” he said. “Okay, that will be granted in a few. But tell me, what is it that you really want most?”

I saw he was being serious so I stopped trying to get him to fuck me in the chair. I frowned, thinking about the one thing I would want most. It was really an easy answer. I’d love to be able to keep the house and the kids. I would want to never have to worry again that I would have to give them up to Mother. Even if I found a way to keep the house or find another suitable arrangement for me and the kids, I had no doubt my mother would still try another way to get the kids from me.

“I-I’d want to keep the twins,” I answered. “My mother thinks she would make a better guardian for them, and she’s trying to take them away from me. That’s why this cruise means so much to me. It’s been good to get away from her and all the hassle.”

“But your brother wanted you to look after them, right?”

“Yes. Mother has never really been involved in our lives. She gave up David when he was just a baby. He didn’t even live that far away, but I had no idea I had a brother until David found me.”

“Doesn’t sound like she would win any Mother of the Year award.”

“No shit,” I replied on a dry chuckle. “She hated that David was bisexual, and then I turned out to be gay. She thinks I am a bad influence on the kids.”

“That’s crazy!” he cried. “You’ve been a wonderful guardian. I see the way you take care of those kids, and it’s obvious they love you too.”

“Tell that to her,” I scoffed, then placed both my arms around his neck. “Anyway, that’s what I’d love this Christmas.”

“But I don’t know how to make that come true for you,” he answered on a frown. “I could have my lawyer look into it.”

I shook my head, touched that he would go out of his way to help me, but this wasn’t his battle. I didn’t want anyone digging into my past and definitely not someone close to Arthur. “No, that’s fine. I’ll find a way to take care of it.”

“Alright, but if you need assistance, Bailey, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“Okay.” I would do no such thing, but something told me he wouldn’t get off the topic if I didn’t consent to doing that, and we were already down several minutes out of the short time we had together.

“Good.” He stroked my cheek. “But I’m all out of lollipops to give you now.”

I grinned at him, wiggling my ass again over his crotch. “Oh, you’ve still got the one I want, dear Santa. Can I unwrap it? I’ve been a good boy all year.” I gave him my most innocent wide-eyed stare.

“I’ve watched you for the better part of the year, Bailey,” he said softly. “I think I’d be very accurate to guess that there’s very little truth to that claim. In fact, you’re about to disprove how good you’ve been, aren’t you?”

With a grin, I slid down his lap and reached for the zipper to Santa’s pants. By the time I had his pants down his thighs, my mouth watered at the candy-cane treat he’d brought me. The reddened tip of his cock was already sporting in a film of precum. Watching him from beneath my eyelashes, I dabbed a finger to the sticky spot and brought it to my lips. I moaned as the tangy taste of him hit my taste buds. I was torn between wanting to feel his cum coating the back of my throat and wanting him to breed my ass.

“I think I prefer the naughty ones,” Arthur growled at me.

Chuckling, I slid off his lap until I was between his legs. I placed both my hands onto his thighs and leaned forward to lick the tip of his cock. When he gasped, I did it again. He grabbed hold of the sides of the chair, and I had the feeling he was trying to hold back his desire to grab my head and thrust his cock where he wanted it. But I had more interest in exploring every single inch of him.

After rubbing my tongue across his slit, I licked down his shaft until I reached the seam of his balls. His sacs were bigger than most men’s and the weight of them on my tongue intrigued me. I sucked him into my mouth, enjoying the way his balls moved around in my mouth. I could feel him clenching in the chair as he tried not to bust his nut in my mouth.

“God Bailey, I don’t know how long I can last if you keep that up,” he said with an adorable half-embarrassed laugh.

I released my hold on his sac and licked my way back up to the tip of his cock to have a little mercy on him. I couldn’t resist sucking him into my mouth though. He stretched my lips wide with his thick girth and licked the underside of his cock while my head bobbed.

“Fuck!” he grunted, his ass leaving the chair for a couple seconds as he lost control and thrust. His length slid down my throat, but I contained my gag reflex by relaxing my throat muscles. His hand found my head and his fingers tangled in my hair as he pressed my face to his pelvis, his hips thrusting over and over. He released me suddenly, and I pulled back dropping to my haunches as I gasped for air. I wiped the saliva from my chin. He was coated with the stuff, lubricated just enough.

While he worked on steadying his breathing, I undressed completely. I returned to my position, kneeling before him as I reached backward to tease my ass with my fingers.

“Lie on your back, and let me watch,” he said on a shaky breath.

I did just that. I was so pulled by the look of passion in his eyes that I would have done almost anything he asked. I would have gotten down on all fours on the floor and upended my ass in the air for him to fuck me. Like a puppy exposing his belly, I lay on my back and raised my legs in the air. I spat in my hand and brought it between my cheeks to moisten and prod with my fingers. My hole clenched around the two fingers I had inside me, and while I fingered myself, Arthur watched, panting in excitement. I loved watching him watch me.

My cock pulsed as the effects of him watching and my fingers stimulating my insides gripped me in intense passion. My head fell back, my feet lowering to the floor as my pelvis rose. Touching myself wasn’t a new phenomenon, especially not over the past year where I had no one else to do it. Still, it was different to have someone watching me do it. It was more arousing, and soon my nipples stung so that I had to use my free hand to rub them.

I startled when I felt Arthur clutch my legs and tilt them upwards, my hips rolling toward my chest as he presented my ass to himself. Amidst the rush of passion in my ears, I hadn’t even heard him get up out of his chair.

“It’s my time to torture you,” he remarked then dribbled saliva between my cheeks. My pucker pulsed in search of the pleasure the intense look in his eyes promised.

“I’m not complainiiiiiing,” I gasped, the last syllable drawn out as he dipped his head and surrounded my entry point with his lips. His fake beard tickled my ass, but it didn’t feel unpleasant. More like having a cloud rubbing gently over my skin. He loved my rosebud with his tongue, licking and swirling before sliding his tongue inside me. Pressing my legs even more forward so my butt angled almost vertical to the ceiling, he ran his hands down my torso, latching his fingers about my nipples and squeezing. My yelp turned from the initial sharp pain to a long moan of pleasure as Arthur rolled my nipples.

“I-oh-Arth…urrrr!”

“I love the way I make you squeal,” he murmured, rocking back. He lowered my pelvis and reached for my shoulders to help me to sit up across his thighs. I moved eagerly with him, fastening my mouth to his and kissing him as he plied my cheeks apart. I shifted my hips until I felt his cock at my entrance. I sat, taking him deep inside my body until my ass was snug into his pelvis. I didn’t move at once but wrapped my arms around his neck and deepen our kisses. He sucked on my bottom lip, sinking his teeth into the plump flesh which prompted a moan from me. I wanted him more than I could remember ever wanting anyone else in my life.

Arthur released my ass to smack me hard, only to clutch my bouncing cheeks. He helped me set a rhythm as I rose and fell on his cock. I tore my lips away from his and tilted my head back. His mouth fastened on my neck, tracing hot kisses and biting nips while I worked on bringing us both to pleasure. The trail of his fake beard rubbed over my skin in sweet friction that caused heat to pool in my belly.

“Hang on,” Arthur said as he clutched me to him and rose with me in his arms.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and bonded my arms about his neck as he clutched my ass. He pulled out and slid back home, driving inside my heat over and over before turning to deposit me onto the chair where he had been sitting. He placed me on my knees in the chair, and I sat back so my ass hung off the edge. I reached back for him, wanting him to fill me once more.

Arthur caught my face and kissed me as he fitted himself back inside me. I sighed into his mouth at his claim. “I love your passion,” he whispered in my ear. “You stay with me, Bailey. Be mine, and I’ll take care of you.”

His hand slid around my neck to hold me while he started thrusting. My cheeks trembled from each slap of his pelvis that connected with my ass. I leaned back into each thrust, pushing my ass back for him to claim me deeper. The more he gave, the more ravenous I became. I reached for my cock, my hand pumping to the beat of his hips. Our harsh labored breathing filled the suite, and I made no attempt to temper my cries.

It was the whisper of Arthur’s fake beard against my back which did it. “Fuck!” I exploded onto the chair, barely hearing Arthur’s hoarse shout as he pressed his pelvis to my ass.

“Bailey!” His hands wrapped around me, pulling me back into his arms, almost crushing as he filled me with his release. I allowed myself to fall back against his chest, my back cushioned by the softness of the top of his Santa outfit. My chest heaved, and I struggled to breathe, but I’d never felt so whole.

“I’ll take care of you and the kids,” he murmured against my neck, kissing the skin where my neck and shoulder met. “Just don’t- don’t make a fool of me. Please, don't.”