“Stop pouting already, and try this on. It brings out the color of your eyes,” Justin was holding a dark olive green suit with light colored thin stripes that accentuated the deep hue of the fabric.

“OK,” Brian said raising an eyebrow, “but only if you try one of those in return,” He pointed to the opposite corner where colorful silk underwear were hanging on a rack, “I’m tired of your tighty whiteys. I want something soft and smooth to hold on to.”

“I’m not sure if you want something soft,” Justin replied with a cheerful twinkle in his eyes, “besides; it won’t stay soft for long once you get your hands on it.”

“Care to demonstrate?”

“Why not? I know you, and better yet, I know it. I’m ready to try them on, if you are.”

Brian looked around; they were practically alone in this corner of the store. He leaned forward as if to kiss Justin, but just before their lips touched, he reached behind him to pick an ivory beige shirt from a shelf. Startled, Justin lost his balance, and took a step back only to be stopped by the shelf. Trying to compose himself, he handed the suit to Brian and headed towards the rack of underwear. On his way, he heard Brian snort as he walked to the dressing room. He was amazed at the way Brian could still affect him after all this time. He wasn’t kidding when he claimed to be so sure about his body’s reaction to Brian’s touch. He never failed to get excited even with a look, let alone Brian’s hands roaming over his body.

The silk boxers on the rack were a welcome distraction, easing the pain in his groin, with those silly smiley faces, or read hearts and lipstick marks. No wonder Brian put this forward as a challenge. Everything on the rack was made to please women or romantic teenagers. The thought of romanticism brought back an old memory, squeezing his heart in a dull ache. But now, he was back where he always belonged, thankful that it was all in the past.

Just as he was about to give up, Justin noticed dark green boxer shorts, with tiny figures on them. When he pulled it off the rack, and saw that they were pictures of mistletoe, his face brightened. It was exactly what he needed to put Brian in the holiday mood. Picking up the boxer shorts he headed for the dressing room right next to Brian’s. He knew he had to hurry up, but the sight of Brian’s bare feet over the pile of jeans distracted him. He kept staring and thinking of how to put this image on paper until the sound of a zipper behind the separator pulled him out of his trance.

Not wanting to make Brian wait, Justin hurried to take off his clothes and put on the silk underwear.

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” Brian said in a playful voice. He was standing right outside the dressing room. Justin noticed the goose bumps on his arms, and wondered for a second if it was the chill of the store or the anticipation of Brian’s gaze, before opening the door slowly.

Brian was sure he would find Justin still hovering over the rack of boxer shorts, trying to find something tasteful, but when he got out of the fitting room and wasn’t able to see Justin, he doubted his victory. The sound of an opening door made him turn around, only to find Justin standing in the booth behind him wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Justin was already hard, and his arms were spread wide open, resembling a pose he himself held a long time ago.

“So, are you coming, or going? Or coming, and then going?”

“Coming, and then staying,” he finished Justin’s question with a faint smile, and pushed him gently back into the seat in the dressing room, following him in, and locking the door from behind.

“You know what these are, right?” Now it was Justin, who was in a playful mood, pointing to the tiny mistletoe pictures on his shorts. “I think the tradition is to kiss under the mistletoe”

“Not exactly what they mean by that, but I think that can be arranged,” and with that Brian got down on his knees, and started peeling the shorts off of Justin’s body, reminding himself to add boxer shorts to next year’s “Christmas Shopping List”.