(Christmas 2021) I'm going to find Miranda

Delilah’s smile falters briefly, and her eyes flutter. “Oh, of course. You have yourself a good one.”

“I’ll be right back,” you promise. “We can do stuff together.”

She shakes her head. “Nah. I’d rather not be a third wheel. You two have fun.” She winks and cranes her neck, returning to her doodles.

You leave the table with mixed feelings, but when you make your way towards the basement, your mind clears and adjusts to the subject brought to thought… Miranda.

Tiny’s Tavern had poor insulation, so the basement was a warm and pleasant temperature change when you finally reached the final step. Your eyes have to adjust to the dim lighting, and you begin looking around for Miranda.

You knew she liked doing stock, especially in the morning when she used this opportunity to wake up and clear her morning drowsiness. She checked what was still in stock in the different storerooms, where they organized other products.

To your surprise, you weren’t expecting it to be so empty down here. You figured that since it was just Delilah upstairs, the rest of the staff was downstairs doing some storeroom maintenance, doing things they might not have been able to do during their busier Summer days.

Slowly, you peer inside the first room. You see Miranda standing there with her back to the door, mumbling something with a few opened boxes beside her. The contents of the boxes spill idly out as she pokes around on the shelves. “Can’t anyone in this fucking place count right, for heaven’s sake?”

Miranda doesn’t seem to realize you are behind her; she’s distracted by the cheek pad and shelves that she hadn’t even heard you coming down the stairs. You’re distracted, too; however, this is the first time you’ve seen her in full uniform. She is wearing a light blue maid’s dress with dark leggings and a white apron around her waist. Her black hair was pinned upward. It was much more sloppy from her usual ponytail, but from behind, you could tell it suited her just fine.

Even if the temptation was strong, You weren’t going to scare Miranda. You approached her and cleared your throat, intending to open dialogue with her. Instead, Miranda spins on her heel, letting a blood-curdling scream that makes you shoot your arms out in defense, explaining that it’s you.

Miranda covers her chest with her right hand and places her left palm against her forehead; she says something under her breath as she regains her composure. “What the fuck are you doing down here? And why did you sneak up on like that, you idiot!”

There’s only annoyance in her voice, which makes you feel kind of bad. You didn’t intend to offend or displease her, and having her lash out so aggressively made your emotions stir—your about to say something toxic when she sighs and apologizes for her outburst.

“Jesus. Uh, sorry…I usually try to keep it a habit not to keep my back towards the door. I was also in deep thought.” Miranda says, placing down her notepad.

Despite the rough start, you both recover relatively quickly. Miranda picks up her notepad and marks something down, glancing down at the boxes and then back at you. Her lips are curled at the corners with a content smile as she listens to you.

Her smile widens a bit more when she learns you’re here to talk with her. Hang out to a degree while she works. She snickers. “So, I’m your new Delilah then?”

“I…well…” you weren’t sure how to reply. As far as you knew, you weren’t Delilah’s only actual friend, and you kind of replaced her without a second thought.

Miranda looks down, almost as if her joke might’ve been a little too much. Finally, she clears her throat and gestures to the box beside her. “We used to get dressed up in different uniforms during the holidays, something more white and red.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she bent her knees to pluck something out. It was long and slender, black and kind of suggestive looking. You narrow your eyes to get a better look at it. Miranda strokes the shaft of the object and then points it at you. It’s a riding crop. “We also keep lost and found items down here.”

“You guys found a riding crop and added it to your lost and found bin?” You ask, somewhat confused.

Miranda nods and cranes her neck, still holding onto the riding crop. “Don’t get any weird ideas. Cowboys whip around these parts as often as you contractors do. Also, pun not intended.”

A wave of silence goes over the two of you. Miranda perks up when she realizes this conversation has already reached its dead end. She sighs and rubs the back of her neck, looking at you as if she’s deciding what to do next. “Listen, I’m not going to be your Delilah and talk to you. But I’ll admit I’m not really enthusiastic about working right now, so what do you want to do?”

“I don’t need a new Delilah. I just want to, you know…Talk to you and find out how you’re doing,” you shift your legs and look at her. Miranda was acting a little weird, but you guess you didn’t allow her to be anything but awkward after scaring accidentally.

This time, Miranda shifts her weight and looks away. She puts down the riding crop and holds her hands together. She looks down at the bin and then back at you. “We’re not technically supposed to, but do you want to go through the lost and found and see if we can find anything cool?”

A small chuckle deflates your lungs. “Seriously?”

Miranda nods somewhat, letting herself smile. “It’s funner than it seems. I’ll even dress up in that old uniform, and you can sit on my lap.”

“You sure you want me on your lap?” You tease back, making Miranda grin a more mischievous smile. “Well, tell you what, if you put on that uniform, I’ll help you waste some time. You can even tell me if I’ve been naughty or nice.”

Miranda fishes out a Christmas hat and adjusts it on her head. “I can feel it’s magic working already. You’ve been a very naughty, naughty boy, Warren.”

“Probably that goon I smoked two months back that’s clouding your opinion, Mrs. Claus.”

Miranda, without warning, starts to strip out of her maid uniform. You feel your face get red, so you look away. “You’ve already seen me stripped of my grace, Warren, you don’t need to do that.”

When you look back at her, you can see her pale skin contrasted by her dark underwear, which is pure black. Her purple eyes flutter as she regards you, fluttering with flirty sass. Next, Miranda steps into a red dress and pulls the festive fabric over her body. The hems stop at her knees, but from the box, she also produces white stockings, which she slips into as well. You probably wouldn’t have noticed them if it were for the subtle sparkle of the rhinestones twinkling from the gentle light above. The dress sleeves are cuffed with fake white fur and stop at her elbows. She hands her hands over her exposed wrists before she grabs a leather belt from the box and fixes it around her waist.

You didn’t notice it when you watched her get dressed, but Miranda had been talking to you the whole time. You blink and look at her, tilting your head somewhat to one side and then the other. Finally, she moves her head to one side and knits her brows at you as she crosses her arms and begins to pout. “Did you hear anything I just asked you?”

The usual color of her eyes seems to change. You haven’t seen her so disappointed before. You smile and shake your head, explaining that she was distracting you. Her lips curl and shift, shaping into a cute smile that quickly melts into a naughty one. She plays with the collar of her new red dress and steps closer to you. Her eyes travel all over your body and study your face, finding all the details it has to offer.

“Tell me, Warren,” she reaches out and tugs on your shirt collar. She puckers her lips and moves her head around like a charmed snake. Finally, she moves her hand near your groin and places it flat against you. “Have you been a naughty or nice boy this year? Be honest. I already know the truth.”

Before you can answer, you can feel her palm starting to pressure your junk through your pants. It doesn’t take too long for your blood to begin flowing to your shaft. Soon, you are throbbing lightly against Miranda’s pale palm. Finally, her eyes leave yours, glancing down at your private area.

Miranda’s lips click when they part. A soft giggle leaves her mouth. “Tell me, please. Are you a naughty boy? Do I need to…whip you into shape for all your actions this year?”