“Did you know it’s Kiss a Ginger Day today?”

​

Connor glanced up from the vegetables he’d been cutting for omelets and squinted at his boyfriend. “Isn’t every day?”

​

Jesse laughed and continued setting out plates for their breakfast. “In my world, yes. I mean it’s a national holiday.”

​

Connor frowned. “Like … officially? Is this some Canadian thing I didn’t know about?” Even after years of playing hockey with Canadian guys, he felt like dating Jesse had been a crash course in Canadian culture.

​

“Well, no, it’s not official,” Jesse said with a laugh. “And it’s not Canadian either.”

​

“So it’s just one of those silly, made-up holidays?”

​

"Technically, all holidays are silly and made up,” Jesse said, leaning against the counter next to him.

​

Connor opened his mouth to protest that the Easter and Christmas holidays he'd grown up celebrating weren’t but … from Jesse’s non-religious perspective, they probably weren’t much different. “Okay, fair,” he admitted.

​

Jesse beamed. He always seemed pleased at the way Connor was working through his complicated feelings about leaving the Catholic faith and entering into the much messier world of being agnostic. Connor was less of a fan, but it was annoyingly necessary.

 

Jesse said, “So no, it’s not a bank holiday either of our governments recognize. But I think we should celebrate.”

​

Connor set down the knife he’d been using to chop mushrooms. “And how do you plan to do that?”

​

“Wellll,” Jesse said, sidling closer, his familiar, mischievous smirk fully on display now. “Viv will be here in a couple of hours to pick the kids up, yeah?”

​

“Yeah,” Connor agreed, a little wary. Jesse scheming about things could be very dangerous.

​

“And Nolan is doing stuff with Kyler today, right?”

​

“Yes.”

​

“So I was thinking that maybe after that … we should go back to bed.”

​

“In the middle of the day?”

​

It was a Sunday and they had a rare day off from everything. The kids had no school.

They’d played last night and they had practice tomorrow, but today was a true rest day.

 

Jesse snorted. “Yes. And why do you sound so scandalized? We take pre-game naps all the time.”

 

“I know,” Connor said. “And sometimes we end up in bed spontaneously. But planning it ahead of time seems …”

 

“Decadent?” Jesse teased, looping his arms around Connor’s neck.

 

“Maybe a little,” Connor admitted.

 

Jesse’s smirk deepened. “I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

Jesse leaned in, whispering in his ear. “I’m gonna strip off your clothes and kiss every inch of you.”

​

“Every inch?” Connor asked with a lift of his eyebrows. Because there were some places Jesse hadn’t gotten his mouth on yet and Connor’s face felt warm just thinking about it. Rimming Jesse was one thing. Having Jesse rim him was quite another.

​

“If you’re okay with that.” Jesse shrugged. “If not, I’ll stick to the other parts.”

​

“Well, I’d be a fuckin’ fool to turn that down.”

​

Jesse pulled back, grinning. “I know the girls will be down in a few minutes, but maybe we can get started now actually. We’ll keep it G-rated, of course.”

​

When Connor arched an eyebrow at him in disbelief, Jesse shrugged. “Okay, PG. Only parts that are exposed by your clothing.”

 

“Deal.”

 

Jesse began by kissing his face.

 

Soft, feather-light kisses across his cheeks and jaw and forehead. Connor smiled and closed his eyes when Jesse pecked the tip of his nose. He even placed soft kisses on Connor’s eyelids.

 

He’d just worked his way around one ear and was focusing his attention on the spot just below it when Connor dimly heard the thunder of little feet down the stairs and a giggle.

 

“Eww, they’re kissing again,” Maura whispered.

 

“They do that a lot,” Evie said, sounding equally disgusted.

 

Jesse pulled away with a laugh and Connor opened his eyes to see his daughters wrinkling their noses at them.

 

“Do you know why I’m kissing your dad?” Jesse asked.

 

“Because you love him!” Maura said.

 

“Yes,” Jesse agreed. “But also because it’s National Kiss a Ginger Day! Did you know that?”

 

“Noooo,” Evie said. “What’s that?”

 

Jesse shrugged. “Just a day to celebrate people with red hair.”

 

“Daddy’s hair is red,” Maura pointed out.

 

“Yep, exactly,” Jesse agreed. “Which means he gets all the kisses today. Go get him, girls!”

 

As if they’d practiced it, the girls lunged at Connor, and he let out a fake “ahh!” sound and pretended to run from them, darting into the living room. He let them tackle him onto the couch, where they proceeded to place loud, smacking kisses on his cheeks.

 

He laughed, impossibly happy, his heart so full it felt like it might burst.

 

That feeling only grew as Jesse wormed his way into the pile, draping himself over Connor’s legs, a solid weight pushing him into the cushions as he gave Connor a showy but chaste kiss on the lips.

 

Connor gathered the three of them up into his arms and let out a happy sigh, squeezing them tight before he let go.

 

“Thanks for helping me celebrate,” he said thickly. He was touched, even if it was just a fake holiday.

 

“We love you, Daddy! Maura and me and Ducky all do!” Evie said, sitting up.

 

Jesse nodded his agreement. “Sure do.”

 

“Thanks, Peanut,” Connor said to Evie, giving her a smile. “I love you all too.”

 

Maura let out a happy sigh and buried her head against Connor’s neck. “Does this mean you’ll make us chocolate chip pancakes, Daddy?”

 

Connor chuckled, because she’d gotten in the habit of expecting chocolate chip pancakes for every special occasion.

 

“I don’t know,” he said, feigning reluctance. “I’m not sure this qualifies,”

​

“Oh, I think it might,” Jesse said, sitting up. “I mean, it is a national holiday.”

 

“That means we’ve got to have them!” Evie said, bouncing on the cushion and nearly kneeing him in the kidney.

 

“Pleaaaaseeee,” Evie, Maura, and Jesse all chorused, looking at him with big pleading eyes.

 

Connor grinned at them, helpless to do anything else.

​

Despite his chaos demon ways, Jesse had no problem telling the girls no or being the disciplinarian when he knew they were breaking the rules or trying to get away with something Connor seriously didn’t want them to do.

 

But sometimes, when he knew Connor was just playing at being stern, he’d join in on their pleading. It was, unfortunately, extremely effective.

 

“Okay, okay,” Connor said with a pretend grumble. “I guess that’s okay for today.”

 

They all cheered.

 

“Who wants to help?” Jesse asked, bouncing to his feet, and the girls raced into the kitchen ahead of him, arguing about who was going to do what.

 

Jesse shot Connor a smile over his shoulder as he followed them, and Connor just lay there for a moment, watching them all with what was probably a dumb look on his face.

How had his life gotten so good?

 

There was so much more joy in this house now that Jesse was here.

 

By the time Connor heaved himself upright and joined them in the kitchen to finish prepping the omelets, Jesse was already whisking up pancake batter.

 

The funny thing was, Jesse didn’t even eat chocolate chip pancakes much. He’d have a few bites, pronounce them delicious, then happily switch to the omelets, turkey sausage, and oatmeal he preferred.

 

But the girls loved them and Jesse was so soft for them. They were just as soft for their “Ducky.”

​

And Connor, well, he might never say it aloud, but he was soft for all three of them.

 

***

 

Later that morning, after the girls had left for Viv’s house—looking forward to a day at the children’s museum with their mother—they were finally alone. Nolan was spending the day with his boyfriend Kyler and Kyler’s family.

 

Connor didn’t complain as Jesse towed him up the stairs to their bedroom.

 

Inside, with the door locked just to be safe, they both stripped off their clothes because sometimes they were more about getting to the good stuff than taking their time with things.

​

When they were both naked, Jesse gently pushed Connor back onto the bed and pressed his lips to his shoulder, right where it sometimes ached after games.

 

Jesse moved slowly now, dragging his lips across Connor’s chest.

 

He didn’t linger long anywhere, just kissing his way across what really did seem like every inch of Connor’s skin. He worked his way down each arm and along his ribs, which made Connor squirm a little.

 

He kissed Connor’s stomach and hips and worked his way down his legs, before moving back up.

 

Connor held his breath when Jesse reached his cock, but he didn’t take him in his mouth, just pressed more of those soft, damp kisses along it. He was mostly hard already, aroused by Jesse’s touch.

 

He’d never had anyone take so much time just touching and kissing him. Every so often, he caught a glimpse of Jesse’s blue eyes when he glanced up at Connor to check in. But mostly, Jesse kept his eyes closed like he was enjoying this too. Like he was savoring this moment just as much as Connor was.

 

Something soft and easy in the midst of a life that was always busy and chaotic.

 

Eventually, Connor let himself be rolled over onto his stomach and he reached under himself to adjust his cock so it lay flat and hard against his belly, the weight of his body pressing it into the mattress, creating a gentle aching pleasure.

 

Jesse straddled his body, his skin warm as he bent his head to kiss Connor’s arms and shoulders. His neck. Connor shivered and Jesse laughed softly, his hard dick dragging against Connor’s ass in a damp, teasing glide.

 

But rather than get impatient, Jesse continued to work slowly down Connor’s back and across his ass, then down both of Connor’s legs.

 

When Jesse got back up to Connor’s ass, Jesse nudged his thighs apart.

​

Connor gasped at the feel of Jesse brushing his lips across his nut sac, but he held his breath when Jesse parted his ass cheeks.

​

To his surprise, the first press of Jesse’s lips to his hole was so light it hardly felt like anything at all. Connor was oddly disappointed.

​

Connor had learned he liked a couple of Jesse’s fingers inside him, but he had no idea how he’d feel about a mouth on that spot, or a tongue there.

​​

He fucking loved doing it to Jesse, thought the noises he made when Connor rimmed him were some of the hottest ever. But Connor still tensed when Jesse dragged his tongue between his cheeks.

​​

“Okay?” Jesse asked in a low voice.

​

“Yeah,” Connor said, even though his stomach flipped with weird little nerves. He’d showered a little earlier, so it wasn’t that. It was just …

​

But the thought dissolved when Jesse licked him again and Connor let out a soft gasp.

​

And then Jesse was really licking in earnest. Broad, flat strokes of his tongue and then little swirls around Connor’s opening.

​

Connor gasped and buried his face against the pillow.

​

Jesse ran a soothing hand along his back, and Connor nodded at the unspoken question.

​

“Yeah,” he rasped. “Keep going.”

​

And Jesse did. He teased the tight ring of Connor’s opening with his tongue, coaxing it to soften, then pushing inside. And that was good too.

​

So good it made Connor gasp and squirm under him.

​

Jesse coaxed him up onto his knees and Connor’s face felt hot with his ass up in the air like this, but it did give Jesse more room to work.

​

Jesse did something with his mouth, some kind of sucking motion, and Connor reached under himself to grab his cock because he suddenly felt like he wasn’t as far off from release as he expected to be but still not quite there yet.

​

Jesse pulled away long enough to pass him some lube, and when Connor wrapped a slick hand around his cock just as Jesse pressed his tongue inside again, Connor moaned.

​

Oh, fuck yeah. This was good. But with Jesse, what wasn’t?

​

For a long while, Connor rocked between Jesse’s tongue and the tight grip of his fist, sweat breaking out on his skin. Jesse held onto his ass cheeks tightly, really getting in there deep and eating him out, and Connor came with a sudden, loud, shocked gasp.

 

Jesse kept at it, licking him through the orgasm as he panted and shook. He shot into his fist and felt like he was flying into a million pieces.

​

When Connor collapsed onto the damp sheets after, he didn’t even care about the wet spot against his belly. His head whirled and his skin hummed and all he wanted was for Jesse to be even closer.

 

Jesse must have figured that out because a moment later, he stretched out over Connor, his body long and warm. He pressed a kiss to the nape of Connor’s neck, making him shiver.

 

“Oh my God,” Connor croaked.

 

Jesse laughed and kissed him again. “You like it, huh?”

 

“Yeah.” That was about all Connor could manage at the moment, but it was enough because Jesse just pulled him closer, scattering more little kisses across his neck and shoulders.

 

“Happy Kiss a Ginger Day, Captain Growly,” Jesse said with another soft laugh. His cock was still hard, pressing hotly against Connor’s hip.

 

Connor needed to get up, needed to roll over and get his mouth on Jesse’s dick, needed to make him come, but for a moment he just lay there and sighed, utterly content.

​

“Fuckin’ love made-up holidays,” he mumbled into the pillow.