Chad vs. the Holiday Hoopla

By Michael P. Thomas

If Chad is reticent to drop in on Dr. Fortescue's big annual holiday bash without a date, imagine his horror when he arrives to discover the party revolves around a city-wide scavenger hunt with a two-to-a-team policy stricter than Noah’s. Worse, his efforts to pair up with his hunky doctor crush are thwarted, and he winds up being assigned the doofus with an elbow in the punch bowl as a partner.

It turns out scavenger hunts are hard -- were they really supposed to dognap the doctor's neighbor's dachshund and carry it around the mall all night? But running around with Jarek is easy. And kinda fun.

Even with help from an unsuspecting celebrity and Santa’s sexiest elf, it’s starting to look like a participation trophy might be the best they can hope for prize-wise, but Chad starts to wonder if losing alongside Jarek might not be its own kind of win.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781646562190

Michael P. Thomas

Michael P. Thomas is a former flight attendant whose mid-life career change to 911 operator has shown him that the widespread fear of sharing and receiving love is a real emergency. He writes to spread love and encourage others to do likewise. And a little bit to scare the gay-haters. For more information, visit facebook.com/GoReadMichaelPThomas.

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Chad vs. the Holiday Hoopla

By Michael P. Thomas

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2019 Michael P. Thomas

ISBN 9781646562190

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Chad vs. the Holiday Hoopla

By Michael P. Thomas

Marlys already knew the real reason I’d agreed to go with her to Dr. Fortescue’s annual Holiday Hoopla—and it wasn’t to play Santa, as hilarious as my friends all found it that I’d sprouted both a belly pot and a gray beard this far ahead of thirty-five—so she passed on the guilt trip I started shilling tickets for as soon as she canceled on me.

He’s still gonna be there, she said.

That’s not the point, I told her, inadvertently admitting by knowing who she was talking about that it kinda was. I mean, who? I amended, ridiculously.

She laughed. Who? As if we’ve talked about anyone else since Dr. Sabroso came to the ER.

Actually his name was Felipe Reynoso (M.D., thank you very much), but sabroso is a Spanish word for delicious, and boy, was he. Six-two in his hospital-approved clogs, beefy and broad through the shoulders, tight and trim in the tummy, his narrow waist flared into flanks like a speed skater’s that kept me up at night, lost in prayer: if I should die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take—and weave it into a pair of green cotton scrub pants, that I might spend eternity clinging to Dr. Sabroso’s thighs.

But I’m not gonna know anybody, I whined on, rewarming my theme. "You were my in. Dr. Fortescue invited you."

"He invited us and you know it. You were standing right there."

"He’s not gonna remember that. He only has eyes for you."

He’s gay.

Well, he certainly doesn’t have eyes for me.

He’s married. And him and husband have a little boyfriend, I think. He doesn’t ‘have eyes’ for anyone, he was just being friendly.

He doesn’t even know my name.

Marlys made a show of taking a big breath in, then expelled one of her long-suffering sighs. But he will recognize you, and you will tell him your name, and he will say ‘Oh yes, of course’ and thank you for coming and invite you inside and offer you a cup of eggnog. It’s not brain surgery, Chad, it’s holiday partygoing.

"Yeah, but it could be brain surgery if he wanted; he probably knows how."

He probably does, Marlys allowed. "Maybe he’ll show me; it can’t be as hard as trying