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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.

Chad vs. the Holiday Hoopla

“We’re not supposed to be back here,” I whispered as I followed him through.


“If they throw us out, we’ll leave.”


“It’s not embarrassing,” Jarek insisted. “He doesn’t care that we’re not supposed to be back here.”


“He’s right.” This from Santa’s sexiest elf, who had seen or heard or sensed us following him through the door and waited around the corner at the door to a small employee locker room and toilet. “Unless you’re following Santa and not me. Then I care.”


“We’re following you,” I confirmed.


“Then come on in,” he said with a wink.


It turned out ours was not an elf who scandalized easily. “I’m not taking off my underwear for a couple of randoms if they’re not gonna fuck me,” were his exact words.


“It’s a very generous offer,” Jarek hurried to placate in a suddenly squeaky voice. “And on another night, maybe after dinner and a nice glass of wine—”


Chapter 13