Brownwood: Tommy Boy Ch. 02

"Tommy, I never talked about you behind your back. Understand?"

"All right, Angie," I said gently. "I'm not upset, nor am I offended, and I'm fine with being called Tommy Boy. Mr. Pickering would have to do a hell of a lot worse than that to get under my skin.

"Angie, I'm an Average Joe out with the most beautiful woman in Brownwood. Of course people will look and judge. I'm okay with it because you've made tonight very special for me. Not only because of how you look but because you've honored and respected my feelings all evening. That is something very special, Ms. Myles, and I'm deeply grateful to you for that.

"Now, since our evening isn't over yet, I'd like to dance with you. Why don't we stop at the restrooms outside the ballroom so you can freshen up?"

She smiled, reached up and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you, Tommy Boy. Thank you for being so understanding—"

"Please, Angie," I said with a low growl. "Please don't tell me I'm a gentleman or a nice guy. I really don't want to be reminded how safe I am tonight, as well."

She stared at me for moment, then smiled.

"Okay, stud," she said, chuckling. "Let's go dance."

We started walking back to the ballroom. I was hoping we could recapture the spirit of the evening. Angie told me it might take a little while to reapply her makeup, so I should take a seat or go back into the ballroom.

I told her I'd wait for her right there.

I saw and greeted a few familiar acquaintances that passed by as I tried desperately to patiently wait. Then I heard an unwelcome voice.

"Wow, you've changed," said a voice behind me. "You've lost a lot of weight."

I turned slowly and forced a polite smile.

"Leah," I said emotionlessly, "you look good."

It was a small lie. She was still attractive, but the elegant black-flowing gown she wore couldn't hide the extra weight. She'd obviously put on a few more pounds, and true to form most of it'd settled in her butt and hips. Standing beside her was the bookworm I'd run into at the Strobe. He was extremely well dressed, but unlike when I'd seen him with Susie, he had his arm loosely around Leah's waist.

"And I did lose weight," I continued, "about a hundred and forty pounds right after the divorce. However, recently, I've lost an additional eighty pounds as well."

Was that rude? Probably, but I didn't want to sit there and try to fake any pleasantries with the bitch. Apparently, my response stunned Leah and her date. While I didn't want to play nice with her, I'd nothing against him.

"Hello," I said, casually offering my hand. "My name is Tom Swanson. I don't think we were properly introduced the last time we met.

"Theo," he said with a small smile, obviously sizing me up. "Theo Hawthorne."

"Well, Theo, it was nice to meet you, but I need to get back to my date."

"What," Leah said coldly. "The blow-up Barbie I saw you dancing with earlier? What did you do, hire her for the evening?"

I glared at her for a moment then decided it wasn't worth it.

"It seems, Mr. Swanson," Theo said smiling, "you've quite the effect on the ladies."

"Only certain ones, Mr. Hawthorne," I said smiling back at him. "But there's no accounting for taste, now, is there?"

"Hey, baby," Angie's sweet syrupy voice replied from behind me. "Miss me?"

I turned towards her and she gently reached up and pulled my face down.

The kiss she gave me made my knees give out. She pressed her soft lips into mine and instantly her tongue slid into my mouth. Our tongues danced briefly before she slowly pulled away. I couldn't help but make an audible groan as she smiled up at me.

"More than you'll ever know," I said breathlessly.

"Sorry it took me so long," she said in a soft sultry voice. "I was inflating my tits."

Angie looked over at Leah and gave her the once-over before dismissing her with a tiny snort.

Oh, the games women play, I thought to myself and smiled. At least I'm not the mouse these two cats were playing with this time.

Angie looked at Theo and smiled politely.

"Hello, Theo, how's the family?"

"Doing well, Ms. Myles," Hawthorne replied, fighting back a smile. "Thank you for asking."

I could see the surprise written on Leah's face. Angie turned her attention back to me and peered up into my eyes. Her eyes danced for a moment before her sweet smile turned evil. She pressed herself into me and lodged my arm between her breasts. I realized I might've spoken too soon about not being the mouse.

"By the way, sweetheart," she cooed, "I've thought of several more ways we can burn off the extra calories from tonight."

She reached into her purse and pulled out a small piece of fabric. It was the same dark blue as her dress. Carefully, she let the thong partially unravel before she carefully folded it and used it to replace my tux's pocket square. Gently, she patted my chest.

"So," she cooed again. "Shall we dance some more before we get down to a more serious workout?"

I was at a loss for words but thankfully was able to nod. She took my arm and began leading me back into the ballroom. I stopped abruptly and slowly turned back to Leah.

"By the way," I said calmly, "I saw your BFF, Susie the Slut, in the ballroom earlier this evening. I was a bit surprised.

"With all the Beemers, Lexus and Benz I saw tonight, I'd thought for sure she'd be working the parking lot, looking for new customers."

Theo snorted and tried to cover his smile as Leah shot him a quick glare. I turned and led Angie back into the ballroom.

"That bitch!" Angie hissed quietly as we danced. "I can't believe her."

"Angie," I chuckled, "bitches and sluts and whores... oh my!"

"Asshole," Angie said, snorting and laughing.

"Tease," I said, pulling her close as we danced.

I felt her chuckle as she placed her head on my shoulder, then she slowly made sure to press up against me with each opportunity during the dance. By the end, she was completely meshed against me and there could no doubt she could feel my throbbing erection.

As the dance ended, she stepped back, giggling.

"You were saying?" she said, smiling from ear-to-ear.

"Actually, I was thinking of something before all the blood rushed below my waist. I take it you know Theo Hawthorne?"

Angie laughed.

"Tommy Boy, I know several of the Hawthornes. I also know many of the Braughms and Thorpes, and needless to say, I know almost all of the Rutherfords in the area. Eric made sure to meet and associate with all of Brownwood's blue bloods. I know a few from the Navarro and Collins families as well. Eric didn't pursue them as strongly since he felt they were too PROVINCIAL. You do realize it was Pricilla Rutherford who Eric ran away with, don't you?"

I shook my head.

"Sorry, I didn't know who all was involved."

"Well, I'm still on good terms with most of those families since the scandal only tarnished the Rutherford family, but I'm sure the Rutherfords probably still refer to me as that big-titted bimbo whose gigolo husband ran off with their gold-digging slut!"

"Wow," I said softly. "You never told me you were famous as well as gorgeous!"

She snorted and then laughed. Soon we were both silently grinning at each other.

"You know I'll want those back," she said, breaking the silence and patting my chest.

"Aw, but Angie," I whined. "Can't I keep them, just for a little while longer?"

She raised her eyebrow and grinned. Reaching up again, she pulled me down into another kiss, not nearly as passionate as the first, but still very nice. I felt her hand on my chest right before she reclaimed my prize.

She broke the kiss. With her one hand still gently caressing the back of my neck, she peered into my eyes.

"Hell, no!" She giggled.

"Umm, Angie?" I asked awkwardly.

She looked at me what concern.

"When exactly did you remove those?"

She grinned broadly.

"Actually," she said in her sultry voice, "I removed those earlier this evening. You know a girl has to be prepared."

She chuckled when she saw my eyes grow huge.

"Relax, stud. I saw Leah and Susie within the first half hour we were here. Susie was hard to miss since she's dressed like a high-dollar call girl. I watched your ex-wife staring at you several times and knew that sooner or later she'd approach you. I wasn't sure how it would go, so I went to the ladies room and prepared a little something to throw her off if it got confrontational."

"You succeeded."

"You think?" She giggled.

I stood there, silently smiling and staring at her. I was contemplating how something so small could be classified as a WMD, weapon of mass destruction. Angie saw my grin and guessed what it might've been related to. Clearing her throat, she got my attention.

"Private thought or would you care to share why you're grinning like a big dumb animal?"

"Oh, I was wondering if it's natural for a guy to be jealous of a tiny piece of clothing."

Angie laughed.

"Tommy Boy, I'm not going to comment on your clothes fetishes."

We both smiled as we returned to the dance floor.

The rest of the evening was great. I got to hold and dance with the girl of my dreams. I felt like Cinderella when the ball came to a close. I know I was a little down as we got into the limo to go back to Angie's place. I was so wrapped up in my own disappointment that the evening was coming to a close that I'd missed the fact that Angie had been silent as well.

When she spoke, it brought me out of my thoughts.

"Tommy Boy, where do we go from here?"

"Well, I thought first I'd take you home. Then you'd give me a goodnight kiss on the cheek. Then I'd grab one of your other cheeks. Then you'd slap the cheek you'd just kissed, the perfect ending to a perfect night!"

She barked out a little laugh.

"That's not what I meant, but just for the record, I don't slap since I'm pretty decent at kick boxing. I meant what happens now that you've made your weight goal?"

"I don't know," I said slowly. "I'll probably cut down on the number of workouts but will keep the eating regimen intact."

"It's just," she said, struggling to say whatever it was she wanted to tell me, "I don't want you to stop. I really want you to push for those last twenty pounds to reach one hundred."

"Why?"

"Tommy Boy," she said in a tone resembling a mother explaining something to a small child. "You are so much more than you realize. You have an incredible strength that you only seem to tap in to on occasion. That hundred-pound goal is more than just another twenty pounds; it's the beginning of a whole new life for you!"

I chuckled. "Anyone ever tell you that you make a great cheerleader?"

"Well, actually... I've got the outfit in my closet."

"Really?" I said, instantly perking up.

"No, you perv!" She snorted and laughed. "I do have an outfit I'm going to wear Saturday, but you'll have to agree to go with us to a Christmas party in the children's ward at the hospital."

I stared at her silently.

"Erica and I dress like Santa's Helpers for the party."

"Would I have to dress up?" I said warily.

"No. We already have a Santa, and I don't think I want to subject Erica or any of the children there to you dressed up like Rudolf with a red nose and antlers. It might emotionally scar them!"

"Ouch!" I said, feigning being wounded.

We chuckled to ourselves trying to remove that mental image.

"Tommy Boy," she said, softly breaking the silence. "That goal seems to be unreachable to you in your mind, but I know you can do it. When you reach it, maybe you'll start to see there are things in this world you've written off as impossible that are really attainable. That'll make it a whole new world!"

"Shouldn't we be on some magic carpet with a genie or something?" I said, laughing.

"Damn!" she said and laughed as well, "I've got to stop watching so many Disney movies!"

We both sat there and smiled, knowing Erica would never let it happen.

"Seriously, Tommy Boy, please consider it. Maybe we can think of something that would be a suitable incentive and reward."

I snorted.

"NOT that," she said, chuckling then growing very silent.

"Asshole."

"Tease."

****

I escorted two Christmas elves into Sacred Heart Hospital Saturday morning for the children's Christmas party. The little one was the cutest elf ever. Okay, maybe I was a little prejudiced, but with her little green elf skirt, vest, and hat, along with her Christmas decorated white tights and elf shoes, I thought she looked adorable.

Her mom was dressed exactly like her. Oh my gawd!

She wasn't dressed in some slutty costume and she was completely covered, but there's something inherently wrong when a sexy beautiful woman dresses like a child. I realized she was trying to be cute dressing like that and wasn't trying to be overly sexy, but... oh my gawd! Every time I stared at her my thoughts kept spiraling down a very adult Christmas fantasy path. I was afraid to look at her, much to her amusement.

She knew she was still sexy even if she wasn't trying to be. It'd been an image she'd tried to mold herself into for years. She explained that the guy who played Santa every year only agreed to continue doing it if she continued to dress up and be his assistant.

Dirty Santa!

When we reached the children's ward, there had to be forty or fifty people there. Only a dozen were patients; the rest were relatives and hospital staff. Erica skipped over to one of the little girls there and began talking. The orange-haired nurse came over to us.

"Angie," Bree whispered, "we may have a little problem. Teddy came down sick last night and couldn't make it today. We'll need to find a replacement Santa. I'd usually ask my Zach to fill in, but he's out of town this weekend. As a last resort I'm sure one of the fathers would probably agree to do it."

"That's okay," Angie said, grinning, "I'm sure we can find someone else to play Santa for a couple of hours."

Both women turned and stared at me. The way they both smiled left me with no doubt I was the MOUSE this time.

Ten minutes later, I was Santa.

It wasn't too bad; the one size fits all costume wasn't an issue. I even felt good having to use extra padding around the middle in order to fill it out. Then there were the kids. Damn.

No kid should have to spend Christmas in the hospital. Most would agree, but that's not life, is it?

I spent the next hour ho-ho-hoing and playing up to the kids, and then I made a mistake. I went to each child and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. I went to those who were bedridden first, and then I let those who could, sit in my lap. Most of the kids almost shouted out their Christmas wishes while others had to whisper theirs in my ear.

Damn, Santa isn't supposed to cry, but some of their wishes tore my heart out. I looked up at Angie and saw the same tears in her eyes. I faked being merry to the end and even gave out some small presents. Then I made my grand exit.

When I got into a back room, I plopped down in a chair, emotionally drained. Angie and Bree had followed me and thanked me again and again. Angie told me there was still one more little girl who wanted to sit in Santa's lap.

"Ho, ho, ho little girl," I said, chuckling. "Would you like to sit in Santa's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas? Of course it only works if you've been very good... or very bad!"

Angie chortled. "In your dreams, Santa."

Both women laughed.

"Ouch!" I replied much to their delight.

"Now," Angie said smiling, "I'll go get her."

"Angie? She knows it's me, right?"

She looked at me and smiled.

"Nope, I told her you were taking care of Santa's sleigh while he was here."

She opened the door, then stopped and looked seductively over her shoulder at me.

"By the way, Santa," she cooed, "I've been a very, very good girl this year."

I groaned as Bree laughed.

Moments later, Angie was back with Erica and several of the hospital staff. Erica hopped up in my lap and grinned at me.

"Hi Santa! Remember me?" she chirped.

"Oh, yes," I said in my Santa voice, "I've been watching you very closely."

Her eyes grew huge.

"Oh, yes," I continued, "I always like watching good little girls."

Erica smiled as I looked over at her mother and saw both Angie and Bree laughing and rolling their eyes.

Erica then chattered for a couple of minutes before she grew very serious. Peering up at me, she asked if she could make her Christmas wish. I nodded.

She crawled up and whispered in my ear.

"Santa, what I want for Christmas is a real daddy."

I choked as she sat back down in my lap.

That stupid son-of-a-bitch! How could he abandon this precious little girl and her incredible momma! Damn, and I thought I could be stupid!

"Oh, I forgot!" she said, and crawled back up to whisper in my ear again, "and a pink bicycle!"

"Well, we'll see what Santa can do about that last one," I said, chuckling. "That first one may take a little while. Santa will have to find someone very special for such a very good Goldilocks."

She looked up at me and her eyes grew big with recognition.

"Santa Bear?" she said, giggling.

"Ho, ho, ho!" I said loudly and then whispered back to her, "don't tell anyone."

She squealed, laughed and then crawled down.

"My turn," Angie said grinning evilly.

Erica went over and held Bree's hand as her momma walked over and sat firmly on my lap. There were several hoots and catcalls from our audience. I swear the only thing that crossed my mind right then was—

Damn! I hate this padding!

"So, little girl, what do you want for Christmas?" I said loudly, trying to stay in character, much to the amusement of our audience.

"Well ..." she drew out, then whispered in my ear, "I've got a proposition."

"I don't think Mrs. Claus would be okay with that!" I said loudly.

Our audience laughed again. Angie smiled and whispered in my ear again.

"You make your one hundred pounds and I'll give you a lap dance you'll never forget!"

I couldn't stifle my loud groan. Our audience burst out laughing as Angie grinned triumphantly, got up, and sashayed back over to Bree.

"All right, everyone," Bree said with a smile. "Now that Santa needs a cold shower, we need to get back to our patients."

Bree looked at Angie and smiled.

"Teddy's going to be very upset he wasn't playing Santa this year," Bree said, chuckling.

"That'll teach the old perv!" Angie laughed.

I got dressed and met Angie and Erica out in the lobby.

"Boy, Santa's sleigh sure was muddy," I said loudly. "It took me forever to clean it!"

"Save it, Santa Bear," Angie said, laughing.

I looked over at Erica and we grinned at each other.

Note to self. Don't trust a five-year-old to keep a secret.

As we were leaving, I noticed the looks several guys were giving Angie. I grinned and Angie noticed.

"Meet any new friends while you were waiting for me in the lobby?" I teased.

"Humph," Angie snorted. "I think I'd three guys try to pick me up. I almost had to yell, STRANGER DANGER!"

As we drove back to her house, Angie grew quiet. I got them back home and we ate lunch together after they'd changed. Erica finally went down for her nap and I got to sit and talk with Angie.

"So," she said relaxing on her sofa, "did Erica ask for a pink bicycle?"

I nodded.

"Well, you're going to be a hero then. I already have it on layaway."

We both smiled.

"And what about her other wish?" Angie asked softly.

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head. "Some secrets Santa Bear really does keep."

She looked at me and arched her eyebrow before smiling.