Page 20 of The Nutcracker

He smiled. “Patient enough. Like I said… one step at a time. In the meantime, kiss me. Close your eyes and kiss me.”

I did exactly what he asked me to do. How could I not?

I kissed those gingerbread lips.

I pressed my aching crotch against his sturdy, studly hard-on.

I wrapped my arms around his torso, feeling every fold of flesh, every mound of muscle on his back, his shoulders, until…

Chapter Nine

I opened my eyes and blinked at the bitter cold wind.

The snow fell fierce.

I was no longer in the arms of Curtis.

Instead I was standing in the middle of Main Street… only Main Street was now also home to the train station fromThe Land of Wishes, complete with the stationmaster’s house right behind me.

I watched with numb confusion as a train appeared through the snow.

It was nothing more than a red engine with a big teddy bear at the helm, a coal car full of chestnuts and a caboose with a giant sprig of holly on top.

As the train pulled into Main Street, snow swirling out of its path, a train driver stepped out from behind the teddy bear and gave me a salute.

Only it wasn’t just any train driver.

It was Curtis.

“I’m afraid there’s no room for passengers,” he said. “This train is already full as you can see.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“But I think… I think I want a ride. I think I want to go wherever it is you’re going.”

Curtis simply smiled and gave me a wink. “Don’t worry, I’ll be coming back this way again. Just look out for me. Will you remember my face?”

I smiled back. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

With that Curtis blew the whistle and the train left the station—or rather, Main Street—in a flurry of snow. Through it I could hear his distant voice calling, “I’ll see you again soon, Jordy.”

Chapter Ten

“Jordy! Jordy, can you hear me? Wake up!”

The voice came from far, far away.

“What? Where am I?” I murmured, everything in my head like a blur; like a blizzard.

I heard the groan of metal. Hinges straining in the freezing cold.

I opened my eyes, confused and startled.

“Jordy! Are you okay?” came the voice again.

As the world came into focus I saw not Curtis, but the face of Jim, the mechanic of Coopers Mill. His ruddy cheeks were even more flush than usual, his eyes desperate with concern.

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