Page 85 of Christmas Wishes

I smiled at my phone. My bestie was the absolute sweetest. He and Riggs were co-presidents of my fan club.

With Riggs working and us having decided not to open the Airbnb to guests for the last half of December, I was alone in the house. I was starting to wish I’d taken him up on his offer to be with me when I made my announcement, but I’d told him it would be easier if I didn’t have an IRL audience. How wrong I was.

I can do this.

With my heart pounding, I clicked the buttons on the fancy program I used that let me go live on all my social media platforms simultaneously. I smiled at the screen and glanced at my phone and iPad that I had set up to make sure things were working. Viewers immediately flooded in.

One user caught my attention. Riggs was tuning in from whatever client appointment he was at. That wonderful man.

“Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you’re as excited about my big announcement as I am.” I made small talk for about thirty seconds while more people joined. Jesus. There were over ten thousand already.

“Enough stalling. I’m nervous. Look at how my hand is shaking.” I held up my right hand to show them. It was important to me to be real because it was all too easy to get caught up in a persona and apply filters to more than photos.

The comments were flying too fast for me to read. “You all have been so supportive this year and have loved the tutorial and makeup combo kits I’ve released with Foxglove Cosmetics. I’ve decided to go a step further and launch a quarterly subscription box. Each box will include things I love. Not only will there be small-batch beauty products, but they will also include a fun craft project. Everything in the boxes will come from queer- and BIPOC-owned businesses.”

The comments moved even faster in a blur of heart and applaud emoji.

“The first box ships next month, and sign-ups will open as soon as this live ends. Are you ready? I’ll post a video on my accounts that explains the subscription box, so comment on that post with any questions you have. Okay? Thanks so much for joining me today, and Happy New Year!”

When I disconnected, I hopped over to my online store and set the listings to go live. Then, I began refreshing like my life depended on it.

Less than two minutes later, the subscriptions were sold out.

Sold.

Out.

“Holy shit. Holy shit!” I called Riggs.

“You did such a great job,” he said by way of greeting.

“They’re already sold out!”

Riggs let out a loud laugh. “Of course they are. Jesus, Keaton. You were born for this.”

“Aw, thank you. I can’t wait to celebrate with you later.” After our now-annual New Year’s Eve party, of course.

“Me too,” he said in his rumbly voice.

“Hey, Riggs?”

“Yeah?”

I grinned, anticipating his reaction to what I was about to tell him. “I might not be here when you get back, but I’ll be home soon after. I’ve got an appointment at the piercing studio in Flagstaff.”

“You— Pierc— Huh?” I could hear his brain short-circuiting. We’d talked a lot about the idea of me getting a piercing to match his. One night, when I was edging him via piercing, he babbled about wondering what it would feel like to get fucked by someone with a Prince Albert. After a lot of research, I’d decided to move forward with it, but I hadn’t shared that with him. Until now.

“We’ll be twinning in about three hours.”

“Twin— Oh my god.”

“Yup,” I said with a hardP. “See you this afternoon, beefcake.” I couldn’t wait to give him the rest of the surprise.

I’d barely disconnected with Riggs when my phone buzzed with a barrage of texts.

Arlo: YOU SOLD OUT!!! OMG!!!

Steph: My brother is a famous influencer with a subscription box! Holy cow!

---