Chapter 17: Almost

Three days after the school play, Glace and I still hadn't talked yet. I was more than ready to tell her everything about my feelings, but sadly, we weren't given that opportunity. Right after our performance and the kiss onstage, the lights opened, and everything went back to normal. We planned to meet up, but apparently, the paparazzi had caught wind of the whole thing despite Eris's efforts to keep them away.

They stalked Glace all the way outside the school grounds, hampering all our plans to talk. She couldn't go back to her house either because she was afraid a photographer might follow her there and discover her new property. So she had to sleep at a random hotel and stay there for days. I felt sorry for her.

I was excited for today, though. The paparazzi were beginning to relax again, and Glace thought that it was safe to visit my house. It was good timing, too, since there were only a few days left before Christmas, and I really wanted us to talk before the holidays. So there I was on the living room couch with my mom, patiently waiting for my Peter Pan.

When the doorbell rang, I caught my mom giving me a look before I stood up from the couch and walked to the front door. "Hey, stranger," Glace greeted me with a smile when I opened the door.

"Hey, yourself," I replied while letting her through. "Come in. Mom's in the living room."

I watched her walk in a relaxed manner all the way to my mom. She was cute as always and smelled really good. I followed her to the living room and saw her sit beside Mom. No further introduction was in order since both of them were already close, from what I had gathered, but I still needed to do that. For formality's sake, at least.

"Mom," I said nervously. "You know her as Frio, but this is Glace. She's my friend." I tucked my hand inside my jeans pocket and waited for them to speak up. Mom raised her eyebrow while Glace just had this amused expression on her face.

"Just a friend, Dulce?" Mom asked while looking from Glace to me and back to Glace. "I thought you'd already made your move?" Mom said to Glace.

"I was getting there, Andrea, but the paparazzi ruined the moment." She shrugged and settled back comfortably on the couch. It was my turn to look between my mom and Glace.

"What are you talking about, guys?" I asked.

"It's nothing, sweetie." Mom dismissed me with a wave of her hand. "So, both of you are not together yet?" Her question made me blush.

"No, Mom, but Glace and I need to talk."

"Yes, we do," Glace said and turned to Mom. "Do you mind if we go to her room and discuss something? I promise I'll be good." The corners of her mouth perked up.

Mom rolled her eyes and stood up from the couch. "Go ahead. Don't break her heart, though. That's my little girl right there."

"Fudge, Mom! That's embarrassing," I said and headed for the stairs. When I reached my room, I settled on the bed and had to wait for a few minutes before Glace followed me inside. She sat right beside me. Her nearness made my heart beat like a drum. Quiet down, heart, or Glace might hear you.

Sensing that I wasn't going to start the conversation, Glace turned to face me and said, "Was everything you said to me that day true, Dulce? If you were just caught up in the moment, you should tell me." She raised her hand and touched my face. "I don't want you to say it just for the hell of it. Because every time I utter the words 'I love you,' I mean every word."

I touched her hand, which was currently on my cheek, and closed my eyes for a second. "It wasn't a lie, Glace. I am in love with you," I said softly. She took a deep breath beside me and turned away to hide her smile, but I saw it.

"What are we going to do now, Dulce?"

I lowered both our hands and, in turn, reached out for her chin to tilt her face in my direction. "Glace…I love you. But we have to take it slow. There are a lot of things that we don't know about each other, and I want to enjoy every moment of getting to know you."

She met my eyes and furrowed her eyebrows. "We have our whole lives to get to know each other, Dulce."

I brought my hands down and touched her left leg. "I know, baby, but what's the rush? I'm not going anywhere. You're not going to leave, are you?"

"No," she said with a small shake of her head. "But other people may take you away from me." I caught the sadness in her voice, mirroring the expression on her face. "I don't want to lose you again, Dulce."

"You won't," I promised. "You're the only one who has ever made me feel this way, and that won't ever change. My heart will always be yours. But for now, let's take it slow."

"But what if I want to kiss you?" she said in a whisper while looking at me seriously. My eyes lowered to the bed, and, like always, my tummy did this rollercoaster thing.

"I think I'll allow that," I said with a blush. "But not while my mom is around," I added hurriedly in case she had any wacky ideas.

Glace moved nearer to my left. "Well, congratulations because Andrea just left a while ago. That means she's not around. Does that qualify?"

"I guess so." My voice trembled slightly.

She leaned near me and quickly kissed my nose. "Don't worry, baby. I won't take advantage of you," she said with a smile. "But for me, I'm already taken. In my mind, I'll always be your girlfriend. I just hope that you stay true to me too, Dulce."

I poked her side. "Hey! I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a cheater."

She poked me back. "Then what are you?"

"I'm not Miss Perfect like your childhood sweetheart. That's for sure." I didn't mean to, but my voice still sounded bitter.

"About that, Dulce…I don't really know how to explain things to you," she said. "But I think things will work out."

I surprised her by tackling her onto the bed and pinning her down. She laughed hard when I tickled her on the sides. "Things will work out? How? If you two-time me for anyone, even that sweetheart of yours, you'll regret it, Glace." She tried to remove my hands, but I tickled her more.

"I won't!" she said in between laughs.

"Good," I said with a tone of satisfaction and stopped torturing her. "And if you ever kiss, touch, or even think about anyone else while we're taking it slow, I swear to God I'll… I'll…" I was at a loss for words and didn't know how to continue.

"You'll what?" She smirked.

"I don't know. But that would really hurt me."

She wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me on top of her. I took the opportunity to rest my head on her soft chest. "I won't hurt you. Maybe other people. But not you," she said gently and began stroking my hair.

"This is nice," I murmured. "I can hear your heartbeat."

"This is more than nice. This is perfect," she replied. "You're so warm, Dulce. You always were."

"You too," I said and moved my head to her neck. She smelled so good that I couldn't help but kiss her there. She moaned low before rolling on top of me and standing up from the bed quickly. I blinked in surprise. "What just happened?"

"I don't think you should do that again. Promise me you won't. At least, not for now." She raised her hands as if calming me.

I blinked again and watched her sit on the far corner of the bed. "Okay, I promise. But what's the deal? I didn't hurt you or anything, Glace."

Her ears turned pink. "I got turned on. Sorry," she mumbled in embarrassment.

My cheeks matched the color of her pink ears. "Oh, okay. I won't do that anymore. Not ever," I said with finality. She stared at me in panic. "What?" I asked.

"But someday, you and I will." She cleared her throat and pointed to herself and me. "We… We…" She faltered and couldn't continue. Both of us stared everywhere but at each other. I didn't know if she was blushing, but OMG, I was a train wreck at that moment. Calm down, Dulce. Think of her in a non-sexual way.

It was a good thing that my phone rang when it did. Saved by the bell, I thought while standing up and grabbing my phone from the bedside table. "Hello," I greeted the caller shakily.

"Hey, cutie," said Tim. "We're coming over."

"You can't. I have someone with me." I stared at Glace and saw her raise her eyebrows in question. I mouthed, 'My friends' to her, and she nodded.

"Who's your guest?" Tim inquired. "You mother—ffff." His voice got muffled. Maybe Patty had placed her hands on his mouth again to stop him from swearing.

"Hey, Dulce." It seemed like Patty had grabbed the phone from Tim's hand.

"Hey, Patts. Can you come over another time? I'm busy."

"We can't, cutie," she said apologetically. "We're already outside your house. Tim is parking the car as we speak." I walked quickly to the window, and sure enough, I saw Tim's car pulling over. The call ended without notice, making me groan loudly.

"Is there a problem, baby?" Glace asked from the bed. I glanced at her.

"My friends Tim and Patty are here. Should I tell them about you?"

"Of course," she said while standing up. "I want to meet my girlfriend's BFFs." She walked quickly out of the room.

"But I thought we're taking it slow?" I mumbled before following behind her.

Tim and Patty got the shock of a lifetime when they entered the living room and saw Glace sitting on the couch like she owned the place. "What is she doing here?" Tim almost screamed.

I sat beside Glace and signaled for my friends to sit on the nearby chairs. "Tim, Patty, this is Glace McKenzie, a.k.a Frio. She's the one I met before school started." I lowered my eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't say it before."

When the two didn't speak up, Glace came to my rescue. "Don't be mad at her, guys. I told her not to say it." I raised my eyes and saw Tim shaking his head. "We're not mad at her. We're just a little surprised." He elbowed Patty. "Right, Patts?" he asked.

"Right," she replied.

"But what are you doing here, Frio?" Realization dawned in Patty's eyes. "Oh my God! Don't tell me you're already a couple!"

"We're taking it sl—"

Glace cut me off before I could finish the sentence. "Yes, we are." She grabbed my hand and kissed it in front of my friends. Seriously, this girl was just too cute for her own good. I could never get angry at her. "Isn't that right, baby?" she asked while turning to me.

"Yes," I croaked.

"I should be the bridesmaid," Tim gushed.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Haha, Timmy. It's too early for that.

"It's a deal," Glace interjected with a smirk.

I faced her with a frown. "What the heck are you two talking about? Aren't you going to ask me about this?"

"No," they said at the same time. Tim stood up and signaled for Glace to follow her. My ALMOST girlfriend walked with him to the kitchen. I could hear bits of their conversation.

"Now we have something in common, Frio—our love for Dulce," he gushed. "Let's plan your wedding."

I shook my head and turned my attention to Patty. "Those two are crazy," I said while raising my hand and pointing to the kitchen. She gave me a small smile.

"They are right, you know," she said. "They both love you. I can see it in Frio's eyes."

"I love her too," I replied. "But I want to take it slow."

"What for?" Patty asked. "Frio is a great catch, Dulce. If you don't seize the moment, the moment may escape you. Don't forget that she's a celebrity. Literally millions of people would die to be in your place right now."

"I know, Patts," I sighed. "But if she really loves me, that won't matter, right? Whether she's a celebrity or a plain old girl like me, nothing will push her away."

Patty pinched my cheek softly. "Hey, there's nothing plain about you. You're awesome." I touched my reddening cheek while staring at her.

"Well, so are you," I mumbled. "How's that thing with your email buddy going?"

She moved her bangs away from her eyes. "We still haven't seen each other, Dulce. But I know I'm definitely in love with her. We talk every chance we get, and we have a lot of things in common."

"Like what?" I asked.

"For starters, we both love to read." She scrunched her forehead and added, "We both love winter. She loves children too. She donates to this charity for kids, and she wants to adopt a baby girl someday. I could be really happy with her."

"Are you sure she's not just saying that to please you? There are lots of fakers out there, Patty. It would kill me if you got hurt."

"I'm a big girl, Dulce. If she turned out to be a bitch, I'd get my revenge on her. I learned enough of that from Tim."

That made me giggle. "But don't turn into Tim. One of him is enough." I hooked my arm around her neck and leaned in for a hug.

"Oooh! Lesbian love!" Tim spoke from somewhere in the room. I raised my eyes and saw Glace and Tim return to the living room. Glace's eyes flitted between Patty and me, and I immediately removed my arm from my friend.

"Done planning my wedding?" I asked Tim with a smirk.

"Girl, please. We haven't even started yet," he replied while rolling his eyes. "But Patty and I need to leave you two lovebirds alone now. If I'd known that your girlfriend was going to be here, we wouldn't have come. Heaven knows if we interrupted you while you're having sex."

"Trust me. You didn't." I glanced at Glace and saw her red ears, which made me smile. "But you are interrupting my alone time with her, Tim. Go now before we make out in front of you."

"Eeeew!" he teased and pulled Patty up.

The four of us walked to the front door and said our goodbyes. Once we saw the two get in the car, I closed the door and leaned back on it while smiling at Glace. "I didn't know you got jealous easily."

"I don't," she denied.

"Don't lie to me, Glace. I saw your face a while ago when you caught me hugging Patty." I grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her near me. "Listen to me. Patty and Tim? They are family. Get it? And you. You're mine. There's a difference."

She raised her eyebrows. "I thought we were going to take it slow."

"Maybe I changed my mind," I said and kissed her nose. She shivered in my arms and smiled widely. "I hadn't asked you before, Glace, but would you like to spend Christmas together? I want to cook for you on the Eve. I also want to spend the whole day with you. Is that okay? Or are you going to be with your dad?"

She gave me a wide-eyed stare. "I want to be with you on Christmas, too. I haven't celebrated it in a long time. Not since…" She stopped and lowered her eyes. "Not since my mom died. My dad doesn't really care about me, Dulce," she said in a small voice.

I pulled her into an embrace. "You're going to celebrate Christmas from now on, baby. We're going to eat, share stories, and exchange gifts. It's going to be great."

"You're going to give me a gift, Dulce?" she asked excitedly while holding me tightly.

"Yes, Glace. One you'll never forget," I whispered.