His First Real Christmas

“So what’re you getting Danny for Christmas?” Emily asked as they two friends folded sweaters for the new display.

Mallory sighed. “I dunno. He’s hard to shop for. I mean something for the bike is always good, but that looks a little too much like I’m trying to change him. Same thing with clothes or something for his apartment. I like him the way he is; I’m not looking to change him.”

“So get him what you get Patrick,” Emily suggested.

“I think a gift card to the sporting goods store, while he’ll like it; is a little too impersonal for me to give the guy I’m sleeping with,” Mallory complained.

Emily studied her best friend for a moment. She knew her pretty well after eleven years of friendship and could tell she was hiding something. “You’ve thought of something,” she accused. “You just aren’t sure what he’ll think of it.”

“I might have an idea, but I’m not sure how Danny will feel about it,” Mallory admitted. She put the last sweater on the pile. “Nor am I sure how to hide it from him until Christmas.”

Emily glanced around the store which was actually empty at the moment. Grabbing Mallory’s arm, she towed her friend over to their stools behind the counter. Mallory sighed, but took a seat on one. “Now I really want to hear what you’re thinking of,” Emily said.

Mallory turned beet red. “Geez, Emily, it’s just an idea.”

“Mall-ory, just tell me.”

Mallory rolled her eyes, but complied. “It’s called an eyes only tattoo. It’s on the inside of an upper thigh and normally has the other half’s initials on it somehow. What I was thinking of though was a Celtic knotwork M and D intertwined over a heart. Placement would stay the same though.”

Emily inhaled and fanned herself. “Jaysus, Mal. He’ll go insane.”

“Yeah, I know. Just not sure if he’ll go insane in a good way or a bad way. I mean he’s got a few, but that doesn’t mean he wants one on me.”

“Danny has tattoos? More than one?” Emily asked.

“Yes. And no, I am not telling what or where. I’m just not sure what he’d think of one on me.”

Both women turned towards the door as the bell announced a new customer. “You could ask him,” Emily suggested.

“Ask me what?” Danny wanted to know as he crossed over to them and kissed Mallory hello.

“Nothing,” Mallory answered. “We were just gossiping.”

Emily grinned, clapping a hand over Mallory’s mouth. “What would you think of Mallory getting a tattoo?”

Danny leaned on the counter and looked at the woman in question, who had stopped struggling the moment the last words had left Emily’s mouth. He grinned at the two; Emily, who was watching gleefully, and Mallory, who just looked resigned. Reaching out, he pulled Mallory towards him, blatantly looking her up and down as if trying to figure out where she would put it. “It would definitely depend on what it was and where,” he said in a low voice.

Mallory shivered at the look in his eyes. Clearing her throat, she said, “Maybe we can discuss it later?”

Danny sighed, obviously regretting his next words. “Unfortunately, I just got called in. I’ve got to work until two.”

Mallory nodded, understanding his predicament. “Anything in particular you’d object to?” she asked, rubbing a thumb across his knuckles.

“Besides the obvious?" Danny asked. "If you put another guy’s name on your body permanently, I’ll kill him.” He shrugged. “Think more girl than guy.” Glancing at his watch, he leaned over and kissed her quickly. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“All right. Be careful.”

“I will. Good night, Emily.” Danny squeezed Mallory’s hand and started to walk away, then turned back for one last kiss.

Emily grinned as he sauntered out of the store. “I think you have your answer.”

“Okay so the idea of me with a tattoo turns him on, but that still doesn’t help me hide it from him until Christmas.”

Emily shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is. You get it a week before Christmas and are just really careful having sex with him for that week.”

“Yeah.” Mallory blushed. “That’s easier said than done.”

Emily glanced at the door to make sure no one was about to walk in and than said, “I know I’m going to regret this, but why do you say that?”

“Danny has a…” Mallory fiddled with the edge of the scarf on the counter. “I guess you could say a habit or a kink. He likes to go down on me. He likes it a lot. If I suddenly refused to let him, he’s going to get suspicious.”

Emily’s face screwed up in a look of comic disgust. “Okay. I was right. TMI!” She considered the issue for a minute and then shuddered. “Okay, that was a picture I did not need thank you very, very much, but I’ll keep thinking. Getting one sounds like a winner of an idea.”

Mallory tossed a tube of lip gloss at her friend. “You asked! Don’t ask if you don’t want me to answer!”

* * * * * * * * * *

The next few weeks flew by with Mallory becoming busier at the store as the holidays approached and Danny working doubles on occasion to keep up with the crime that always seemed to blossom in the city during the season. Still they managed to find time to be together, even if it meant snatched moments between work shifts. As Christmas approached, Mallory decided she did want to get the tattoo and she enlisted Emily's help in figuring out how to hide it from Danny until the holiday. Micah was asked to sketch out a design for her and she talked to a friend of his that she knew about doing the actual inking.

“We’re due at Gram’s at four on Christmas Day,” Mallory commented as she watched Danny undress from her position on her bed.

Danny’s hands stuttered on his shirt buttons, but then he continued pulling his clothes off. “Um. About that.” He turned away from dropping his clothes into the laundry basket. “I’m not going to make it.”

Mallory opened her arms, inviting him to lay down with her. “Why not?”

He rested his head against her breasts, snuggling his arm around her waist. “It’s never mattered to anyone before where I was for Christmas so I’ve always agreed to work. I guess I didn’t even consider that you might want me to spend the day with your family.”

Mallory ran a hand through his hair; soothing him and just letting her touch tell him that she wasn’t upset. “I’m not mad at you. I understand.” She nudged him, trying to get him to shift over. “Since you’ll be working, do you want your present now?”

Danny ran his finger along the waistband of her pajama bottoms. “It’s a bit early, don’t you think? Besides I’d rather wait until I can properly thank you for it.”

Mallory winced. “Yeah…about that. I did something and I kinda told you I had my period so you wouldn’t know.”

Danny sat up, looking down at her, concerned now. “Mal-lory,” he warned, “what did you do?”

Mallory lifted up, sliding her pants down over her ass. “Take them off,” she requested softly.

He studied her for a few minutes, tracing random patterns on her bare hip. “Are you afraid I’m going to be mad at you?”

She nodded. “A little.” When he continued to play with her skin, she glared. “Would you just take my pants off?!”

Laughing softly, Danny pulled the pajama bottoms off and looked at her legs. At first he didn’t see anything different, but as she let her legs fall open, he spied some color he didn’t recognize on her inner right thigh. Pushing her leg down so he could see it, he studied the new addition to her body. About halfway down her right thigh was a tattoo about two and a half inches in length. Outlined in black and filled in with red; the heart took up the majority of the artwork. Inside the heart were two letters, both Celtic knotwork designs. It took Danny a moment, but he deciphered them. They were his and Mallory's first initials intertwined.

“I don’t know what to say,” he told her. Leaning down, he kissed it gently because he could still see the irritation from the inking.

“You could start with whether you’re mad at me or not.”

“Not mad. Very, very turned on. And very jealous of whoever did it.” He ran his finger around the edge, carefully not touching it.

“It’s not that tender, Danny, you can touch it.” Mallory rolled partially to her side; not moving her leg out from under his hand. She snagged her lotion bottle off the nightstand. “Why don’t you put this on for me?”

Danny spilled some of the lotion into his hand, asking, “So who did the inking?”

“A female friend of Micah’s." At his raised eyebrows, she shrugged. "I figured you'd be less pissed if a woman did it."

"Considering it's a friend of Micah's, I'm not sure that's any comfort," he pointed out.

"She's straight and she's trying to get into Micah's pants. Does that help?"

He grinned as he smoothed the lotion over her leg. "Definitely. So who designed it?"

"I knew what I wanted so I told Micah and he drew it." She saw the look on Danny's face. "He knew I wanted a tattoo, but he doesn't know where it is. And I told her that I'd sabotage any hope she ever had of dating Micah if she told him." She ran a gentle hand through Danny's hand. "I know what Micah thinks of putting a guy's name or initial on your body."

Danny slid up the bed so he was laying beside her. "Maybe he just hasn't found the right person," he commented.

Turning his head towards her, she kissed him gently. "So you like it?"

"I love it." He considered the tattoo for a few minutes and also the meaning behind it. Mallory's feelings about putting a guy's name on her body weren't that much different from Micah's. That she had done this for him meant a lot. He snuggled against her, for once feeling no urge to make love to her immediately. He wanted to be close to her, but he didn't want that sexual connection, instead he just wanted to hold her. Considering, he offered her something he thought might mean more to her, "How about I try to switch shifts so I work earlier on Christmas?"

"You don't have to," she answered. "I understand why you agreed to work."

He kissed the side of her head. "Yeah, but it's important to you that I be there."

Mallory sighed. "Danny, I didn't do this to make you feel guilty about something you always do. I did it because I wanted to."

"I don't feel guilty." He stopped at her look. "Well, okay, I do feel guilty, but not in the way you're thinking." He ran a gentle hand down her side. "If you want me to go to your gram's, I'll try to be there."

She shook her head. "No. That's not fair to the person's who's shift you agreed to take." Propping herself up so that she could look down at him as he rolled onto his back, she said, "But next year, you're mine on Christmas Day."

"Absolutely," he promised.