This story was contributed by dollygrand

I wasn't surprised to see the empty parking lot when I arrived at work around half past five in the morning. I normally didn't start my day so early, but with the holidays right around the corner, I had to make sure to complete my current project in order to enjoy Christmas without leaving people in trouble during my vacation. We were in the middle of upgrading our servers – I worked for the IT department – and a screw-up had delayed our process by two whole weeks.

I got out of the car, pulling my winter coat tighter around me when the chilly winter wind tried to sweep me away in the open area, and hurried to the door. I fished my key card out of my pocket and pressed it against the sensor, but the light on it stayed red. The door didn't budge.

"No... don't do this to me..." I whined when I realized no one had gotten my memo about arriving early today – the building was still on lockdown like it always was during the nights. I yanked the handle a couple of times, pressing my card harder on the sensor as if that could've helped me somehow.

Welp, there goes my plan to get a head start...

"Tom? You do know it's not even six yet, right?"

I jerked my head towards the security camera that was watching me on the corner.

"Jake! Please come to let me in! I'm freezing!" I yelled over the wind.

"You're a werewolf – how can you be cold?"

"Do you see fur anywhere?!" I yelled back and started laughing in relief. "Come on! I need to get started with the servers or I'll have to say goodbye to Christmas!"

"Fine, I'm coming," Jake replied.

It took him only a few minutes to come down to the front door. I hurried in the second he stepped out of my way, trying to shake the cold off.

"Why are you here so early?" Jake asked while locking the door again.

I explained my plan to him as we started walking past the reception. He then told me that no one had informed him I was coming and apologized for it.

"It's fine – at least I did get in," I smiled at him, hoping that my heartbeat wasn't spilling my secrets.

It always started racing whenever he was nearby.

"Your tie is crooked," I said when I managed to rip my eyes off his handsome face.

"Not again..." he sighed, looking down at his uniform.

"Let me fix that for you," I said and stepped in front of him. "It must suck to not have a reflection."

"I've been meaning to get one of those mirrors that are meant for vampires," he explained quietly. "But it always seems to be sunny when I have free time to go shopping..."

"I think I've heard of them," I said and backed a little once I was done with his tie. "Don't they last like six months?"

"Well, I heard the best ones can last up to three years until the magic wears off."

"Oh, interesting," I said as we continued walking. "I didn't see you at the Christmas party last week."

"I don't do Christmas anymore," he muttered. "You get tired of it after two hundred years."

Yes, the guy was drastically older than me – one hundred and seventy-three years to be exact – but age was just a number. Besides, he looked thirty, maybe thirty-five. And extremely hot, especially in his security uniform...

I often had trouble focusing on my work when he was around.

"So, I'm guessing you don't have any plans for Christmas?"

"I'll be here at work," he replied with a shrug just when we stopped next to the elevators.

"You're not going to even see your family? Or friends?" I asked with a frown, and he shook his head. "That's not very Christmassy."

He chuckled at my words. "Like I said, I don't celebrate Christmas. Besides, I was Jewish when I was still human, so I wouldn't celebrate it anyway."

"I didn't know that," I said as the elevator arrived. I turned to glare at it for a short second, trying to find an excuse to stay for a little while longer, but in time of need, my head always refused to work, so I smothered a sigh and turned to look at him again. "Well, duty calls."

"If you need anything just give me a call – you should be able to get into the server area without causing an alarm."

"Thanks," I nodded and stepped into the elevator. When the doors closed, I let the sigh out and slouched against the wall.

I'd had a crush on that guy for almost a year now and I was still too much of a chicken to ask him out. A big old werechicken.

I worked my ass off with the servers for several hours, keeping myself busy so I wouldn't start thinking about Jake and my inability to ask him out. I almost succeeded at it. By the time lunch break rolled around, I had already found out where to find those mirrors Jake had mentioned. There was one shop twenty minutes away, so I skipped eating and drove to buy one instead.

I got him one of those that lasted at least three years and had simple metallic frames around it. There were much fancier versions available, but Jake didn't seem like he enjoyed flashy filigrees or baby bunnies. I also got a small paper bag that didn't scream Christmas! and put the mirror carefully inside it. Once I got back to the office, I wrote "Happy Hanukkah to Jake!" on the bag and left it at the security desk. The orc on duty raised her eyebrows at the bag, then at me.

"It's an inside joke thingy..." I muttered.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said and went to put the bag on another table at the back. "I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thanks," I said with a smile.

I was nervous for the rest of the day, even long after I got home. I mean... What if he hated it? What if he thought it was weird? By the time I went to bed I had already decided it had been the stupidest thing I'd done, and he would never want to even be in the same room with me.

Funny how the mind works. It was just a gift, after all.

I was too scared to leave early for work, so when I arrived, the parking lot was almost full, and I had to leave my car at the farmost corner and run the way to the front door so I wouldn't freeze on the way. I then hurried up to the server room, going around the security station because I was too nervous to see Jake.

The dim light of the server room greeted me when I stepped in, and I was glad to see no one else had arrived yet. I was feeling way too unstable to be able to interact with other people at that moment, so the sweet silence was more than welcome.

I continued where I left off the day before and in thirty minutes I had managed to fill my head only with work. Things were going great until the door opened. Jake's scent filled my senses, and something froze in my chest. His heavy footsteps were slowly coming my way, even though I was trying to be as silent as possible – he was a vampire, so of course he knew I was there, hiding behind the servers.

"Tom?"

I turned to look back just in time to see him walk around the corner. "Oh, hi," I managed to spit out, trying to sound delighted even though I was nervous as hell.

"So... how are you?" he asked, leaning against the wall close by.

"Good... I'm good," I nodded, conjuring a smile on my face. "How are you?"

"Good," he nodded as well. "So, uhh... Thank you for the mirror – I take it that it was you who gave it to me?"

"Oh – yeah, that was me," I said. "I just happened to walk by the store that sold them and decided to grab one for you."

"You just... happened to walk by the only store that sells them?" he asked, the corner of his lips twitching upwards.

I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks, but since he found my little lie amusing, I started relaxing. "Well, I may have been in that area on purpose."

"Uh-huh," he said and looked down for a moment. "Thank you. That was... very nice of you."

I hesitated for a moment, but then found my courage to step closer to him. "You've been so nice to me even though I'm making your job more difficult – like yesterday – so I wanted to get you a gift. I know you don't celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah so just think of it as a thank you gift for everything you've done for me."

"All I did was open the door for you," he chuckled and looked up at me again.

"It was very important that you opened the door for me," I smirked. "My balls were in danger of freezing off, you see."

He started laughing. I put my hands in my pockets and leaned against the wall as well, unable to take my eyes off him. He looked a hundred times more handsome when he laughed...

"Well – I should let you get back to work. I just clocked out so I better hurry before the sun comes up," he said.

"Oh, okay, sure," I said, mentally slapping myself for not asking him out. I tried to push those words out of my mouth as he started retreating to the door, but I was failing.

No! Not this time!

"Jake," I hurried after him when he vanished behind the servers. I caught up with him, but when he turned to look at me, his eyes meeting mine, I felt like I was choking on the words I had wanted to say for so long. "I... Would you... I mean... Never mind..."

"What?" he chuckled.

"I mean... You said you're not going to spend time with anyone during the holidays, but... would you... should we go grab a bite? Pizza or something? Have a few beers and all that."

That went well...

"You don't have to pity me," he said. "I don't mind being alone."

I took in a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm trying to ask you out," I muttered. "On a date."

There we go, attaboy.

The silence in the room got so devastating that it even muffled the humming of the air conditioning. I didn't dare to look back down. I just waited for his response. And hoping the earth would swallow me whole. The sooner the better.

"Huh..." he then said, and I peered at him.

"Huh...?" I repeated.

"Huh," he nodded. And then he started laughing.

"Sorry – I shouldn't have said anything..." I muttered, feeling my cheeks turn bright red.

"No, no, no... I was just shocked. I didn't think you'd want to go out with me, that's all..." he said. "I mean... I'm old. And I'm just a security guard... And a vampire..."

"I don't care about those things," I told him quietly. "I think you're a great guy."

"All right," he spoke slowly. "I... I mean... Yeah? If you want, then sure."

"So, you... want to go out...?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah... I... Yeah," he nodded. "Sure."

"Sure? Okay, great," I nodded as well, and we both fell silent for a moment.

Then he let out a short chuckle, shaking his head. "Can this get even more awkward than it already is?" he asked with a timid grin.

"I'm sure it can," I said and laughed a little. "So, we have a date?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "We have a date."

*****

The rest of the week went by fast, and when Friday arrived, I left work feeling happy and excited. For one, I had finished my part with the servers so I could enjoy the holidays without feeling guilty for leaving a mess behind. And two, Jake was coming to pick me up at eight!

Before I even knew it, I was sitting in front of him in a nice, quiet restaurant. I had seen him only a few times during the week, so I was feeling quite nervous. He seemed excited as well, so I hoped things would turn out great. I had a big smile plastered all over my face – I don't think I had stopped smiling ever since I asked him out.

We had picked this restaurant because it was in the hidden part of the city, where only our kind and those humans who knew about us supernaturals were allowed. It was always far from enjoyable to visit places where we had to be careful of what we say so we didn't accidentally reveal ourselves. For that same reason Jake and I – and a few thousand others – worked for the Storm Enterprises, a company owned by orcs.

And this particular restaurant catered towards those who had a particular diet.

"Here are your menus," the waitress who arrived at our table said, placing them in front of us. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'll have sparkling water," I said and turned to look at Jake.

"I'll have a pint of blood," Jake said, turning to look at me before he added, "I mean if that's okay with you?"

"Sure – why not," I shrugged.

"Great! We have both A and O positive, but the specialty of the day is AB positive," the waitress spoke with a wide smile.

"AB positive?" Jake said with an impressed look.

"We don't often have that on our menu," she said with a wink. "A bit more on the pricey side, but it is a rare treat, wouldn't you say?"

"Well, why not?" Jake said with a nod. "Haven't had AB in years."

"Great! I'll come back with your drinks," she said and vanished in thin air.

"I'm guessing AB positive is a rare blood type?" I chuckled, and he turned his green eyes at me.

"It's rare. Not something you find in restaurants," he explained.

"Is it any good?" I asked, leaning towards him.

"It's different," he chuckled.

I found myself staring at his pretty eyes, so I forced myself to turn my gaze away. I didn't get far. "You've done something to your hair," I noted. His short, dark hair was usually a mess, but not anymore.

"Thanks to you I could actually see what I was doing," he smirked. "I can't believe no one told me how bad it looked..."

"I liked it," I said quietly. "Messy hair suits you."

"Uh... Thanks?"

"You're welcome."

The waitress returned to our table and placed the drinks in front of us. "Are you ready to order?"

We both scrambled to get the menus, muttering "uhmm" very audibly. I spotted a big-ass steak on the second page and pointed at it. Jake did the same only a second later.

"Great! How would you like it?"

"Extra rare," we both said at the same time and turned to look at each other. I had to hold back a laugh.

"Great! Anything else?"

"Nope," I said without looking away from Jake.

"Great! I'll be back, and while you wait–" I tuned out when the waitress talked about the salad bar. Neither of us was going to eat salad.

Once she left, leaving a sweet silence behind, I leaned even closer to Jake. "So, you don't celebrate Christmas? Sorry – Hanukkah."

"Do you?" he asked without replying.

"Yes! I love Christmas. My sisters and I went crazy while decorating my place – you should see it."

"Maybe I should," he said slowly.

"Maybe a little bit of that Christmas spirit would rub off on you," I added with a wink.

"Hmm, maybe," he said, taking a sip of his drink and turned to look around. I followed his example and spotted a big Christmas tree by the back wall. The whole place was filled with decorations, and suddenly, I had a certain song about a certain reindeer playing in my head.

"I don't hate it, for the record," he suddenly said, gaining my attention. "Christmas. Just... I haven't had a reason to celebrate it, that's all."

"That's a relief," I told him and hesitated for a moment since I wasn't sure if it was too soon, but.... "I mean, I'm having a small gathering on Christmas – just friends and family – and I'd like you to come."

"I'm very awkward in social situations..." he muttered.

"Hey – did you see me asking you out? Now that was a disaster, so I can't say I'm any better with people," I smirked, making him laugh. "I'll go get you a bottle of AB blood," I added when he still didn't seem sure about coming.

"Wouldn't your family mind?" he asked.

"Not at all. Although, my sisters may get a little obnoxious... In a good way. I guess... I mean... They... know I have a crush on you..." I mumbled, my voice turning quieter by each word.

"Is that supposed to be a good deal?" he asked, laughing lightly.

"Uhm... Yes?" I grinned.

He stared at me with a warm look in his eyes and a crooked smile on his lips. I was practically melting at that point.

"Okay, sure, I'll come," he then said, making my stomach do a few happy flips inside me. "Just... how obnoxious?"

"Like kindergarteners," I groaned, thinking about all the Tom has a boyfriend! chants coming our way.

"Yikes..."

"They mean well," I added.

He nodded slowly, but then his smile turned a bit timid. He rubbed the back of his neck, when he asked, "How long did you have a crush on me?"

"I'm not telling you that," I said, turning bright red on the spot. "Let's just say long enough."

He let out a short chuckle. "For me, it has been almost a year," he said quietly.

I could only stare at him. For all this time...? "Oh goddammit," I groaned. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

We had so much fun that night. I really enjoyed his company, and I loved the fact that now I was able to stare at him to my heart's content. He was so great. We laughed a lot, we talked a lot, we had great food and we got to be ourselves – the night truly was perfect.

And when it was about to end, I was sad because of it, but at the same time, I was excited about the next one.

"So, I'll see you on Christmas?" he asked when he walked me to my door.

"Yes," I said as demandingly as I could.

"I'll have to go get you a gift," he said. "Any tips?"

"You don't have to do that," I told him, but he shook his head.

"I want to," he said with a smile.

We stopped by my door and I turned to take one last look at him. We were both silent. My heart started beating faster when he gave me such a gentle look, and I knew he could hear it. Then he stepped right in front of me, placing his hand on my arm before leaning in.

My mind grew completely blank when his lips brushed over mine. I was unable to even breathe because everything I was, my entire being in this world, could focus only on the kiss. I had dreamed about this moment for so long, but nothing compared to this. He was the one, I already knew that. Every single one of those thousand butterflies in my stomach knew that.

When he pulled back – way too soon – I could only smile at him while my head was trying to jumpstart itself.

"I had a great time," he nearly whispered.

"Me too," I breathed out, feeling dizzy and happy.

He never spent his Christmas or Hanukkah alone after that.

Neither of us did.

Dolly Grand writes gay romance and fantasy for young and new adults, enjoys teasing her readers with slow burns, loves mixing genres and messing with stereotypes, and spends way too much on Christmas decorations. Read more from Dolly here .