“He walked in, to the party, like he was walking onto a yacht.”

Okay, it wasn’t that dramatic, but when Dexter Mitchell walked through the doors, the whole room stopped and noticed.

Dex was the new sales manager at our little family beer company, and it was his first Christmas party. Heck, it was his first anything. He’d only been with us a week.

He was tall, well-built, and had the chiseled chin of a Greek God.

I watched as the owner, Jack Benson, man hugged Dex and smiled like he was his prodigal son returning home. Jack was probably a six pack of our Kelben Christmas Ale in already, and it was only seven o’clock.

Jack started our company out of college with his roommate Erich Kelsoe. We lost Erich the previous Christmas. Cancer sucks.

Anyway, Erich oversaw all of the sales and Jack tried to pick it up, but even though he was the heart and soul and maker of the beer, he couldn’t sell it worth a damn.

“A voice from behind breaks the horny young woman’s reverie. Her BFF Angel interrupts her drooling over the new hunk...” My BFF Angel narrated herself over.

“Shut up, Angel. I wasn’t drooling,” I whined.

She mock wiped my chin and sat down with two Christmas Ales.

“He’s gorgeous,” she said ignoring me.

“He is that,” I sighed.

I hadn’t met Dex at that point, as I had to use some vacation days before the end of the year. I heard everything about him from Angel and she texted me a photo she took of him on his first day.

We giggled and toasted our yummy drinks.

As Angel took my attention away by letting know how bad her date smelled the night before, I heard, “You must be Melissa.”

Angel’s eye lit up as I turned. His smile had its own aura, as he sat in the empty chair next to me.

“I’m Dex. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

I nodded weakly. I managed all of the orders for the company, among other things, so I would work with him all the time.

He lifted my stunned hand off the table and shook it warmly with two hands. He never broke eye contact as he set it down and patted it.

I was in a daze. His smell intoxicated me more than the ale. It was clean, almost soapy, but it had a hint of musk. It was no cheap aerosol body spray, that’s for sure.

His brown eyes reflected the light and almost shimmered. I was lost in them.

“Mel,” he said giving me a nickname before I ever spoke to him, “I look forward to the future.”

He brushed his hand on my shoulder as he stood and walked away.

“Jesus, girl,” Angel whispered, “snap out of it.” You didn’t even speak to him.”

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

I turned and saw Dex at the bar. He air-toasted me and winked, before turning his attention to the accountant that walked up to him.

“What the hell just happened?” I asked.

She laughed, “I think the ghost of Christmas future just hit you with a love dart.”

“I don’t know about love, but holy shit,” I laughed.

After a nice turkey dinner, the music started. As soon as Mariah Carey started blaring over the speakers, he walked over to me.

“Would you like to dance?”

I shrugged trying to play it cool that time. “I don’t really dance to fast songs sober.”

He laughed and said, “Okay.” I watched as he walked over to the DJ, said something, and handed him some money. Before I knew it he was standing behind me, smiling again.

I have to say I smiled when he turned down two of the office cuties, when they asked him to dance.

“I’m waiting for Mel,” he said each time he declined. I don’t know why, but I felt as special as I’d ever felt.

After the song “For Christ’s Sake, It’s Christmas” came on. I held back a sigh as I felt his hand gently touch my shoulder. I looked into his expecting eyes and stood.

The moment I was in his arms on the dance floor, I was lost again. After who knows how long, I realized my head was on his chest. I was too close to the source of his power—the cologne—and almost lost control.

“You feel it too?” He whispered into my ear. I nodded. “The moment I saw you, Melissa, my knees went weak.”

“Dex, we...”

“We dance. Then we talk. Then? Who knows?”

The third slow song ended, and I hadn’t realized the first one had stopped. A fast song started, and he led me off the floor by the hand.

I sat at an empty table when he went to get us drinks.

“Well, Melissa. You and Dex seem to be hitting it off well.”

“We’ve only just met, Mr. Benson. He seems like a good fit for the company,” I said.

“Yes, good fit,” he laughed and walked away.

I shook my head and didn’t realize I made a double entendre until later.

“They’re already out of the Christmas Ale,” Dex said. He sat down and handed me a bottle of our IPA.

“I’m not surprised.” I said. “Jack only brings a couple of cases of it and drinks one himself.”

We laughed and he took my hand.

“What is it about you, Mel? You’re going to think I’m crazy, but when I saw you across the room, I felt like I saw my future. Three kids, little league, Girl Scouts, everything.”

“I don’t know, Dex. Let’s just take it one day at a time,” I laughed.

Our conversation was light and easy. He was from Chicago and wanted to work in the craft beer industry. I was from Milwaukee and took the highest paying job I was offered out of college. He was twenty-eight and single, I was twenty-five and single.

Our eyes never seemed to move from each other, there was no one else in the room, and we never had another beer when we noticed the lights had turned on.

“Well, you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here,” Jack bellowed over the microphone.

He said some more, but we weren’t listening. We were back in our cocoon and that was an appropriate metaphor. Something was being created. A bond that would never break was being made from our old individual selves.

I didn’t resist as he took my hand and led me to the coat room. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I’d go anywhere he led me.

With coats in hand, he led me to his car. “Want to get some coffee?”

“Sure,” I smiled. He smirked.

He already had Christmas music on the radio, and every song was a classic, setting a nice mood. I didn’t even notice he pulled into an apartment complex until the car turned off.

“Is there a Starbucks tucked in there somewhere?” I teased. We both knew how the night was going to end.

“It’s alright.” He said. I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or telling me. He was certainly confident.

His apartment was bare. He had obviously recently moved into it. I couldn’t get any inkling of his taste or style.

“Sorry, I haven’t had much time to unpack.”

“You better have a coffee machine and a chair in the kitchen,” I fake growled.

He kissed my cheek, and I felt the shock down to my toes.

“Of course. A man has to have his priorities in order.”

I laughed when I saw the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree on his counter.

“Very festive,” I teased as I lifted the lone red ball ornament.

He nodded and handed me a cup of coffee from his single serve machine. The cup said, “Coffee before talkie.”

“Sorry, I drink it black. I don’t have cream.”

“I drink it black, it’s perfect, thanks.”

I sat at his table, and he used his phone to start some music. It was George Straight’s Christmas album.

“You like George, huh?” I asked.

He nodded as he sipped from his steaming mug. His was shaped like a storm trooper helmet from Star Wars.

“Nice mugs,” I smiled.

“I don’t have any normal ones. Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Star Wars, huh?”

He smiled. “My favorite.” He pointed to the wall behind me. There were about thirty cups hanging on the wall. There were several Star Wars ones.

“Who displays coffee cups?” I teased.

“I collect them. I’ve got two more boxes yet to put up.”

I wasn’t consciously doing it, but I realized my foot was stroking his leg under the table. He smiled when he realized I noticed.

I sighed, “I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl. I know that sounds silly with me sitting here with us not even having a date yet.”

He laughed, “Do you really think I want a one-night stand?” He shook his head and got serious. “I don’t want you once. I want you forever.”

He leaned over and we kissed. The bitterness from his coffee forgotten as I felt his tongue brush against mine.

“I’ll be happy to take you home, but I’ll be picking you up for breakfast.”

I looked at our hands which somehow found themselves joined and shook my head no. “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve.”

He lifted my chin and kissed me again.

“Mel, would you like to see my bedroom?”

I nodded as if not in control of my own body.

His bedroom was as sparse as the rest of the rooms, but it was clean and smelled like him.

“It’s just Dolce & Gabbana. I don’t wear it very often,” he said.

“Huh?” I asked dumbly.

He laughed, “You smiled when you just took a deep breath. I assumed you like my cologne. You did it when we danced also.”

“I do like it. I love it, actually.”

We began to kiss, and he embraced me lovingly. I pulled his shirt out of his pants, and he backed up.

“You’re sure?”

I nodded and slid my dress to the floor.

He smiled hungrily as he took in my nearly naked body. I was glad I wore matching bra and panties, not that I’d have to impress him.

He said, “I’ve never seen stockings like that, I love them.”

My stockings had a pattern to them, it looked like ivy snaking around my legs.

“Thank you. Are you a leg man?”

“Very much so,” he whispered as I continued unbuttoning his shirt, “and yours are perfect.”

Once he was stripped to his boxers, I got the view of his chiseled body. The man was cut. I traced my fingers along his muscles and shrieked when he lifted me.

Before I knew what was happening, he had my panties off, and his mouth was planted on my hungry sex. “Oh, Dex!” I moaned as he entered me with two fingers. I panicked as I knew I was a squirter and that’s my trigger.

“Dex, wait!” I didn’t want to scare him by gushing all over him during our first time.

He read my mind and said, “Don’t hold back. Don’t worry about me.”

He slid up to kiss me and fingered me while using his thumb on my clit. He smiled at the sloshing sounds when I released. “Oh, God!”

He took my breast in his mouth and rolled me into a second, but smaller, orgasm.

“Wow, Dex.”

He laughed and said, “I don’t have a lot of experience, but the lady I lost my virginity to taught me how to do a lot for a woman. That’s how I could tell you were about to squirt. I loved it, by the way. You don’t have to worry about that with me.”

I refused to believe he wasn’t experienced, but I didn’t have time to think about that as he was kneeling between my legs with his hard cock ready for entry.

I spread farther for him, and he pressed in slowly.

“You feel so good, Mel, my love. So tight.”

My God! He was splitting me apart. I hadn’t had a chance to explore him, but it felt long and thick. I relaxed and he felt perfect as he slid in and out.

The slapping sound of his heavy balls against my ass filled the room as I struggled to breathe. I came again as he rubbed his cheek on my leg, opening me with a new level of penetration. I made a mental note to explore his leg fetish later.

“I’m close, Mel.”

“Inside, baby. It’s safe.”

It didn’t matter. I’d have his babies immediately if he wanted. He was rocking my world like a meteor strike, and I never wanted to let him go.

His head fell back as he filled me with shot after shot of his love. I felt him pulse inside me and it almost drove me to another orgasm. His penis felt so good, I wondered if we were made for each other’s body.

He lay on top of me still hard and I pulled him back when he tried to roll over.

“No, baby. Stay in me as long as possible.”

We kissed as he softened and eventually fell out.

He fell to my side and in a moment started snoring softly. “Men!” I sighed and snuggled into his chest.

When I tried to fall asleep, I thought of how fast I fell for Dex Mitchell. Was there such a thing as love at first sight?

I woke early the next morning to the sounds of Christmas music playing. I suppose it was appropriate for Christmas Eve. I stretched my back and rolled out of bed, only slightly embarrassed when I felt the cold damp spot.

I found his shirt from the night before and inhaled his essence deeply. I smiled when I saw he had picked up my dress and set it neatly on the edge of the bed.

I hummed along with the Harry Connick Jr. as I walked into the living room. The smell of cinnamon rolls made my stomach growl. He had set up an artificial tree and was fluffing out the branches.

I smiled when I saw him wearing a pair of Christmas pajamas, slippers, and a Santa cap. Then he started singing, “My heart told me once before, to find my dream and search no more,”

I joined in the final chorus as the band hit its crescendo, “And when my heart finds Christmas, I hope it finds you too.”

He spun around and apologized. “I’m sorry, I guess I got carried away. I hope I didn’t wake you. I’m an early riser.”

I shook my head and smiled widely when he kissed me.

“I love Christmas,” he smiled. “Have a roll. It’s my family’s tradition. Christmas cinnamon rolls and decorating the tree on Christmas Eve morning.

“You’re not spending Christmas with your family?” I asked.

He smiled, “Well, I was going to go, but my heart found you.”

I stood shocked. “You’re blowing your Christmas off for me? Get dressed right now! You’re going to have your Christmas; I can see how much it means to you.”

“Mel, wait! It’s fine. You and I can spend the day together.”

I put my hands on my hips and said, “This is not an option. What time were you supposed to be there?”

“Nine,” he said.

“Great! It’s 6:30. We can get cleaned up, dressed, and to my apartment for some clothes for me. Chop chop! Time’s wasting.”

He looked at me as if I were crazy.

“What? I can’t meet your family?” I whined.

“Uh, no. I mean, yeah,” he fumbled. “I didn’t want to scare you any more than I already have.”

I laughed. “Shut up and shower, stat!”

He hugged me, “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Sure, I do. Now, scoot!”

We walked into my apartment and my cat, Jameson, which I affectionately shorten to Jamo, took off because of the strange new person with me, immediately.

“He’ll get used to you. Don’t worry about it. Help yourself to my coffee maker and I’ll be done in a jiffy.”

I showered as quickly as I could and dressed in my nicest sweater and long skirt. I also had a pair of red tights that screamed Christmas, I put those on, and I was ready.

Just enough makeup was applied, and I pulled my curls back into a loose ponytail. I looked more than presentable to meet his parents. That’s when I freaked out. The realization that I was meeting his family tore through me and suddenly I wasn’t ready.

Jamo jumped off my bed and I turned quickly to see Dex standing in my doorway.

“You look amazing.”

I could tell by his eyes he meant it. He wasn’t capable of lying to me and I somehow knew it.

“I can find something else.”

“No way! This is perfect.”

“Okay. Let’s get on the road before I panic and change my mind.”

He hugged me and said, “Merry Christmas.”

He filled me in on his family while we drove. Upper middle class, older brother, older sister, each with two kids and a spouse. His dad was a lawyer, and his mom was his administrative assistant.

They lived in a northern suburb of Chicago; in the home he grew up in. He described it as a smaller version of the home alone house.

When he pulled up in the driveway, another car pulled in behind us. The woman was beautiful, the man was an older version of Dex, and the kids were right out of a Rockwell painting.

I was introduced to his brother, David, and sister-in-law, Molly. The kids dashed for their grandma waiting at the front door. I figured I’d meet them later.

“So,” Molly asked me as we walked up to the house, “someone finally tied Dex down, huh?”

“I guess so,” I smiled. I wondered what she meant by that. Was Dex a player?

After meeting his father, Dex Sr., and his mother Carolyn, we settled in the living room.

I smiled seeing the tree was bare and waiting for the family to decorate. The coffee table was piled high with cinnamon rolls, cookies, and brownies.

I met Dana, Dex’s sister, and her husband Christopher. Their kids were hovering over the goodies dying to be allowed to dig in.

Carolyn shouted over the noise of the group, “Heads up!”

Everyone snapped into attention.

“Since we have a new member of the family this year, per tradition, Melissa will place the first ornament.”

I tried to decline, but it was futile. They practically pushed me to the tree.

I saw a box of standard ball ornaments and hung a red silk one. The kids cheered and the adults applauded.

Dex Sr. announced, “Family, let Christmas begin!”

All of a sudden it was controlled chaos. The kids grabbed treats and ornaments, parents filled coffee mugs, and Carolyn smiled brightly as she directed the chaos into a manageable form.

“Okay spill it all!” Dana said as she and Molly sat on either side of me.

“We work together. We just met so this is all kind of sudden,” I confessed overwhelmed.

“He just started that job this week. Wow! Talk about love at first sight,” Molly prodded.

“You have no idea,” I sighed making them squeal like teenagers.

Al of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder from behind.

Dex Sr. said, “I haven’t seen him this happy in years. You did that, my dear, thank you.” He gave me a soft squeeze, as we looked at Dex laughing with one of his nieces in his arms. Dex Sr. moved on to hang an ornament, more like lift a grandchild to hang an ornament.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

Both girls got quiet, “That’s a story for Dex to tell, Melissa,” Molly said. “I’ll just say he always participates but is never this happy.”

Once the tree was decorated and lit, it was time for brunch. Dex took my hand and asked, “Enjoying yourself?”

“Yeah, everyone is so nice.”

He smiled, “Sometimes. They’re just trying to impress you. I hope you’re hungry. Brunch is a huge meal today.”

It sure was. Rib roast, turkey, and all of the traditional sides were there.

“Holy cow!” I shrieked as Dex’s sisters made plates for their kids.

“We kinda overdo things,” Carolyn said. “You have to eat up, otherwise you’re getting a big doggie bag to take home.”

I didn’t have to be told twice and filled my plate to overflowing.

“Atta girl,” David said as I sat next to him. “My parents go all out for us. They always have, it’s their thing.”

I nodded and smiled as Dex sat next to me. No one’s telling tales out of school are they?” He asked.

I said, “No, but I’m told you have a story to tell me.”

“I do,” he said. “Not today though. Enjoy yourself.” He smiled a fake smile and ate a piece of beef.

“Uncle Dex! Do the turkey monster!” One of the kids shouted and the others joined in.

Before I knew what was happening, Dex was shoving turkey into his mouth and growling. “More turkey!” He grabbed some off my plate and the closest child’s plate, then shoved it in until his mouth was full.

“Oh, Dex! Quit being a child,” his mother chastised.

The kids were giggling and shrieking, loving every moment of his silliness.

He pretended to be sad and asked, “No more turkey?” In a silly voice.

Then his father walked in and asked, “Did I miss the turkey monster?”

All the kids and Dex shouted in unison, “No!” and he started grabbing more turkey from the kids’ plates, growling, “Nom, nom, nom!” as he shoved it into his mouth.

My heart melted even more for him.

I was handed a glass of wine as we sat to watch the kids open their presents. The adults had a secret Santa drawing for each other so they exchanged those. The kids were spoiled by their grandparents much to the chagrin of their parents. That’s how it went with my family as well.