Page 10 of You Otter Know
“That’s exactly what I mean.” River bent to kiss Bohdi on the forehead. “It doesn’t matter. I really like you, and I just want to hang out with here with you, eat whatever food they’ll give us, and make love.”
“Okay.” Bohdi leaned in and he took a hug, his brain racing as he thought about how he would try to convince his new lover to be more than a weekend holiday fling. But he had time. He would figure it out.
One way or the other.
Bohdi didn’t really wantthe day to end - even when they were sitting in front of a crackling fire at midnight, wrapped around each other with a heavy blanket on top of them, dozing and listening to Christmas carols, the twinkling lights on the tree really going to town. He was yawning, but he wasn’t ready to go to bed.
“You okay?” River asked, stroking a hand down his back.
“I am. I am so much better than okay. Did you have a good day? Better than being at home with your folks yelling at you about having babies?” He knew he was fishing for compliments, but he wanted to hear that River had enjoyed spending Christmas with him too.
“Oh sweetie, this was infinitely better. You were amazing company, not to mention smoking hot. I’ve had the most fun today.” River turned his head, meeting Bohdi’s gaze with those dark eyes, and then took a kiss that curled his toes right underneath the blanket.
He slid a hand behind River’s head to hold then together and opened his mouth, letting River in. Their tongues tangled, andhis breath caught in his throat. All he could do was press up against River and beg for more of the contact.
They rocked together, their cocks meeting as they rose. They hadn’t bothered to wear clothes under the blanket. So they were cooking with gas in no time.
He wanted to do much more. But he felt himself getting wet, and his cock was hard enough to actually ache a little bit.
They came together in an explosion of need that surprised him, and River let Bohdi take him in. He knew River should be wearing a condom, but he wasn’t able to care at this point. And when River’s knot engaged, it didn’t matter if it was probably a mistake. Bhodi just let it go. River was huge inside him, so perfect and hot, and when Bohdi came, River grunted, spilling himself deep inside Bohdi’s body.
It wasn’t like the condom hadn’t broken before.
They rested together, and all he could do was think, “This is mine, and I want to keep it.”
Now he just had to figure out how.
Christmas with River was magical.
Bohdi couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a good Christmas day. He knew it had to have been when he was young, possibly the last time Santa Claus actually came. His parents were eminently practical types who, once he found out there was no Santa Claus, just stopped doing anything on Christmas morning. They had started doing Christmas on Christmas Eve and then traveling on Christmas Day to go see family, so that no one else would be out there on the road.
And then in the last few years, it had gotten where everything was about, “When are you going to have babies, Bohdi? Whenare you going to find a mate, Bohdi? When are you going to give us grandchildren, Bohdi?”
And he had always just wanted to scream at his parents, “Well, then why didn’t you give me the ability to shift?” Which wasn’t fair.
Christmas Day here with River was amazing though. They had a sweet little miniature tree and a bunch of weird little decorations to go on it, a string of garland and a pair of miniature stockings that were filled with weird candies and those kind of tiny plastic gifts that you got in those British Christmas cracker things.
They had teasingly wrapped up a bunch of stuff in toilet paper and napkins: cans of tuna, a little package of truffles that they’d found on the doorstep outside, some river rocks that they’d harvested when they went for their swim.
They’d sucked on candy canes, drank hot chocolate, and opened those non-present presents, making surprised faces at each other and dissolving into laughter.
Now they were wrapped up together in a blanket, sitting in front of the fire with the TV on. It was playing Christmas carols and showing twinkly lights and other holiday animations. It felt so perfect. It felt like they had known each other forever.
“Merry Christmas, Bohdi,” River told him, leaning around to kiss him on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas. I’m glad we’re here together.”
“So am I.” He got a wild grin. “You’re so much better than my mother, who I’m not going to think about right now because, ack.”
“Right, we’re not talking about our families.” He winked because he didn’t want that to intrude—none of it: the worry, the doubt, the way his mom would be yelling at him right now for being sleepy and lazy. He didn’t want any of it there with them.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make a shift in the mood.” River chuckled. “Tell me about your favorite Christmas tradition.”
“I love stockings.” He shook his head at himself, but it was the truth. “I love the idea of a present appetizer, where you see your stocking on Christmas morning, the Christmas cards poking out of it —my parents still do cards— and then you get all these weird little things that are like the precursor to your bigger gifts.”
“I love that. I felt that way today.” River poked him in the ribs with one elbow. “I really did. Like those little stockings they gave us were so cute.”
“I adore my little hand mirror. It’s tiny and super adorbs.” It was so silly, but at the same time, Bohdi figured it was right. The mirror had no significance at all except that he had gotten it with River, and it would be something to remember, as if the image of them together would always be reflected in it for him.
