The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“That’s fine. I’ll see you at seven.” He waved and pulled out of my driveway, back at work before anyone would notice he was gone. I put the gift together. It was a small box containing the car’s title, registration, two keys, and $4, 000 in cash. I watched the news, finally leaving the house in time to be there at my usual time.

The place was packed, but Liv and the hostess greeted me with big smiles. “Merry Christmas, Leo,” she said as she brought me to my table. I smiled; finally, she was calling me Leo.

“Merry Christmas to you, Liv. Is Vicki ready for Christmas morning?”

She laughed. “She talks about nothing except what she asked Santa for, and she’ll probably try to stay up until he comes. I’ll be right back with your food.”

With it being Christmas eve, the place was packed well into the night. I finished my meal and picked up the bill, putting my usual $60 in the folder and placing the wrapped box on top. Liv froze when she saw it. “Leo?”

“Merry Christmas, Liv. Don’t open it until just before you leave tonight.”

I stood up, and tears came into her eyes as she moved forward and hugged me around the waist. “Thank you,” she said.

She had to run off to her other tables, so I took a spot at the end of the bar. Mike came over and set a Sam Adams in front of me. “There’s a lot of happy employees tonight.”

I nodded. “It’s a hundred dollars they can spend on their families instead of gas,” I said as I raised my glass. “Merry Christmas, Mike.”

The dining hall started to wind down by ten, and the wait staff was released as the tables cleared out. Mike came back to the bar, smiling like the cat who caught the canary. “It won’t be long now,” he said.

I heard a high-pitched scream from the hallway leading to the bathrooms, soon followed by two other girlish screams. A few seconds later, Liv came running into the bar area, her uniform replaced by jeans and a sweatshirt. She spotted me and ran up, crashing into my side as I opened my arms for her. “Leo?”

“It’s a car, Liv. I wanted you to have something reliable, and it wasn’t like Catherine needed it anymore.”

“OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD,” she said. “And the money?”

“You’ll have to pay sales tax on it when you register, and you’ll need better insurance. You’ll also have to claim the value above twelve thousand as taxable income. I had my lawyer figure out what it would all come to, and gave you enough cash to cover it all. It’s all in the letter with the title.”© NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

“Thank you,” she said as she squeezed me tight. Mike and some of the other employees had gathered around, and they all congratulated her like she just won the lottery. “Where is it?”

“Out in the back lot. Come on,” I said as I grabbed my coat.

She hit the OPEN button on the remote as soon as she was out the door, and the lights on the Lexus flashed in response. “OH MY GOD!” She walked towards it over the frozen ground, just a few spots down from where her old car was. Opening the door, she started it up.

I got in the passenger seat, giving her a quick orientation to where everything was. “You should get what you need out of your old car, especially the booster seat,” I said.

She didn’t grab much, and I put the booster in while she was grabbing what she needed. When done, she pulled me into another hug. “Thank you, Leo. This is the best Christmas present EVER,” she said.

“You’re welcome, Liv.”

“Leo? What are you doing tomorrow?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. King’s Place is closed on Christmas.”

“Come over for Christmas dinner? It’s not much, but I’m making turkey and the works. I’d like you to meet my Grandmother and Vicki.”

“It would be my honor,” I said. “Can I bring anything?”

“You’ve brought enough,” she said with a smile. “Show up by noon.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek, then slid down into the driver’s seat. She waved to everyone watching as she pulled out into the cold night.

I looked at the group that had gathered to watch. “I’ll see you next Tuesday, Mike,” I said with a grin before I walked around to my truck.

I felt good about myself for the first time in years.

Ch. 4

I’d barely opened the door to my truck before it hit me.

I was going to her home for Christmas, and I had nothing for her grandmother or daughter. Heck, I didn’t even know what to get Vicki; she’d never shared much about the young girl beyond her pictures.

“Wait up,” I said to the group that was heading in. “I can’t show up at a girl’s house on Christmas with nothing for her, but I have no idea what a five-year-old girl wants these days.”

“A phone,” one of the girls said.

“I can see how that would go over,” I said.

“I don’t know, dolls? Barbie stuff? You could ask her,” another replied.

“Vicki likes sharks,” Mike said. “When Shark Week comes around, Olivia has to record EVERYTHING. She watches them over and over,” he said.

Perfect. I could work with that. “Thanks, everyone. Merry Christmas.” Instead of going home, I headed to Wal-Mart, the only place I was confident would still be open at 10 pm on Christmas eve. I didn’t even know her grandmother’s name, but I wasn’t going to leave her out either. I found a bouquet of wildflowers and put them in the cart, heading back to the toy section.

The next hour proved to me how out of my comfort zone I was with shopping for girls, something Catherine had always done. I walked like a zombie through the toy aisles, looking for something to please a kindergarten-age female Selachimorphaphile. That is what Siri on my phone told me was the term for a shark enthusiast. I must have looked lost because one of the associates took pity on me and asked if he could help me find something. I explained my situation, and he scratched his chin. “I don’t know, bro, but let me ask my friends.” He sent out a text, then started reading off the ideas he got back. “Here ya go, boomer! SeaWorld at the Mall of America. They have wicked big sharks, and Barry says you can get memberships. If you can get her into Sharks After Dark, that would be way cool.”

“What’s that?”

“We did it with Cub Scouts. You sleep overnight in the tunnel at the bottom of the shark exhibit, tiger sharks swimming over your head as you sleep. It was cool!” I pulled up the website, then went to the front. It was a much better gift than a Barbie.

I picked up some cards and checked out, then headed home. I bought memberships for the three of them, so they could go as often as they wanted, then added one for myself in case they asked me to come too. I found out that the overnight was now called Sleep Under The Sharks, and was for groups of fifteen or more.

Dang. Then I remembered that Vicki’s birthday was coming up on Valentine’s Day; Liv had joked about how she got the love of her life on February 14th. As much as her mother was struggling, I doubt they’d ever had much of a birthday party. I made the reservation for that Friday night, and after paying, printed out the annual passes and the overnight. I put a season pass in each of their cards, then put the tickets for the party in Liv’s card and the example invitation in Vicki’s.

I got home, walking past the cases of Jack into the house and right to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I was excited now about a day that I’d dreaded the previous years. Christmas in the Pack meant getting together to eat, watch football, and go on a long Pack run together before heading off into the woods in pairs.

I fell asleep thinking of the children we never had.

I woke at ten, turning on the television as I walked to the bathroom. It was going to be a warm and cloudy day, with temperatures right around freezing. I had a couple of mini-donuts and a glass of orange juice, not wanting to spoil my appetite for later. I found a nice crystal vase for the flowers and set it with the gifts. Liv had said to arrive by noon, but I didn’t want to be there TOO early, so I took a little time to pick up the house and start a load of laundry. Finally, at 11:30, I was driving my truck towards town.

I pulled into the parking lot of her fourplex and parked in a visitor’s spot. The door to Number Three opened when I was ten feet away. “MERRY CHRISTMAS, LEO!” Liv and her mini-me Vicki were standing at the door, both wearing jeans and Christmas sweaters. I kept the gifts and flowers behind my back as I got to the door and was engulfed in hugs. Liv pulled me down and kissed my cheek again before stepping back.

“For the table,” I said as I brought the flowers around.