Chapter 18: The Gift

“What time will Glace arrive, sweetie?”

I glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen. It read 9:30 p.m. “After 30 minutes, Mom,” I called out. When she didn’t reply, I continued stuffing the turkey with ingredients while humming softly to myself.

Today was the 24th of December. My mom and I celebrated Christmas religiously, even when it was only the two of us. Something about good food and conversations at night warmed our hearts, so we just kept at it, even after my father died. This day was extra special, though. It was the first time that Glace would accompany us for Christmas, and I was really excited.

I wondered if she’d give me a gift. Mine was all wrapped up and ready to go, but I wasn’t really expecting anything from her. Glace’s presence was more than enough. I just knew that it would be a wonderful occasion. One we’d both treasure for years.

When I heard the doorbell ring 30 minutes later, I almost skipped to the door and opened it widely. There she stood, looking as Glace-like as ever. What did that mean? Drop-dead gorgeous, of course. She was wearing a pink sweater, skinny jeans, and grey desert boots.

I kissed her softly on the nose, making her smile widely. “Nice sweater,” I said with a smirk.

“Oh, this old thing?” she said and held it out for me to see clearly. The statement on the sweater read, I’M IN LESBIANS WITH YOU. “Eris gave it to me as a gift this morning.”

“That girl is really something.” I chuckled. “Come to the kitchen after saying hi to Mom. I’ll prepare hot chocolate for you. Would you like it with marshmallows?” She gave a nod and proceeded to the living room while I went to the kitchen to do my business.

I was stirring the chocolate in the mug when I felt her snake her arms around my waist. “Can we play wife again?” she asked. I smiled to myself and didn’t answer. When the embrace ended, I handed her the mug, and both of us went to the living room, where my mom was at.

“You look good together,” she said to us. “It makes me think of your father. He’d really love to meet Glace.”

We sat on either side of Mom, and I leaned my head on her shoulder. “I’m sure he’d enjoy talking to Glace, Mom,” I murmured.

“I’m sure he would,” she said.

“But haven’t you been dating a guy for a few months now, Mom? You haven’t introduced him to us yet. I’d like to meet and say a few things to him.”

“Like what, honey?” Mom chuckled.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe I’ll tell him that I’ll kick him in the nuts if he breaks your heart. Nobody fools my momma,” I joked. But in the back of my mind, I was seriously happy for her. She deserved to be loved by someone other than my friends and me. It had been too long since my father died, and I wanted her to settle with a nice person.

“He’s a nice guy,” Mom said. “I’ll make him come over a few weeks from now. I want you to be there when he does,” she said to Glace. “You’re part of the family now, and your opinion of him is also important to me.”

I had this funny feeling in my stomach when Mom said that to Glace. It made me feel fuzzy and giggly. You get my point. I was so thankful that my mother wasn’t the type to hate on lesbians. If she were, maybe I’d be a rebellious kid. Maybe.

“I’d like to meet him too, Andrea,” Glace said. “He must be a handsome guy if he’s able to date you.”

Mom smiled at her. “Stop flattering your future mother-in-law.”

We were having such fun with our conversation that time passed by pretty quickly. Before we knew it, Christmas had already arrived. We ate all the food I had prepared, watched The Nightmare Before Christmas on the couch, and talked some more. Somewhere in the middle, I called my two best friends to greet them for the holidays.

Mom retired for bed at around 3 a.m., leaving Glace and me on the couch, where we cuddled with a blanket while watching a rerun of Home Alone. “Let’s go to my house later,” she whispered in my ear. “I’ll give you your gift.”

“In that case, I’ll give your gift later, too,” I whispered back.

After that, I fell asleep peacefully in her arms. I didn’t know if she continued watching the show or she fell asleep with me. All I knew was that the sun was already up when I woke up. Glace was already in the kitchen, sipping on a mug of coffee while conversing with my mom.

“Want some?” she asked when I walked into the kitchen. Mom was there, heating something on the stove.

“Sure,” I said and took the mug from her. The warm coffee immediately jolted me awake. Yum! There was nothing like the smell and taste of coffee in the morning. “I’m going to take a shower before breakfast,” I said. “I want to get out of these clothes.” When Mom and Glace nodded, I headed to my room and did my business.

We ate breakfast after that. Mom was pretty understanding when Glace and I informed her that we were going to my girlfriend’s place. She was all too aware that we needed some alone time. I had the best mom in the universe.

I was pretty nervous when we arrived at Glace’s house. My gift to her was not your conventional present. It was rather unique. Something I’d thought about for days. I hoped she liked it.

She took my hand and led me straight to her bedroom. Once inside, I sat on the bed and just watched her go to her music box and take something from it. She walked back to me and sat beside me on the bed. When she did, she leaned near me and clasped something around my neck.

I looked down and saw a necklace with a beautiful ring on it, which served as the pendant. “Please don’t speak yet,” she said quickly before I opened my mouth. She stared at me seriously. “Dulce, I… I love you so much, baby. I know you’re all about taking it slow. So instead of couple’s rings, I’m giving you my heart right there.” She touched the ring and smiled. “Wear it when you’re ready for me. Until then, I’ll wait patiently for you. Just as I always have,” she added. “You’ve given me the best Christmas ever, and I couldn’t be more thankful to you and Andrea. You do know that my own dad doesn’t care about me, so thanks for filling in the space in my heart.”

My heart melted right then and there. Glace was more than dreamy. No words could describe her. She was my unicorn. Once I found the voice to speak, I told her that I’d be giving her my gift now.

“I think it would be more suitable if I unwrapped my gift for you,” I said shakily.

She stared at me curiously. “Why? What is it?”

My trembling fingers found the buttons of my blouse, and I slowly opened them one by one. Her eyes widened in combination with her open mouth. “What the hell, Dulce?!” she gasped and stood up quickly from the bed.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued peeling away my clothing. I let my blouse, jeans, and shoes drop on the floor. My hands found the clasp of my bra, and I peeled it away from me too. All the while, I watched as Glace’s coffee-colored eyes dilated and her chest moved up and down fast in total surprise.

When I was completely naked on the bed, I said, “Draw me, Glace.” The calmness in my voice stunned even me. Glace didn’t speak for a couple of seconds. Maybe she was thinking that a demon or something had possessed me.

She shook her head as if trying to come out of her daze. “Dulce,” she croaked. “I was joking when I said that to you before. I was testing you, baby, to see if you were still the same down-to-earth person.” She placed her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes momentarily. When she opened them, she glanced back at me. “Do you really want me to draw you?”

“Yes,” I murmured. “I mean, I’m naked and everything. What else should we do?”

She gulped loudly at my question and turned away. “Okay, I’ll just get my sketch pad and pencil.”

I watched as she headed to her walk-in closet. Maybe she kept her drawing tools there. When she returned, she had a sketchpad in her hand and two pencils. She dragged a chair several steps in front of the bed and placed her things on the floor while sitting down on the chair.

“Aren’t you going to draw me yet?” I asked.

“Dulce,” she murmured and trailed her eyes all over my body. “I rarely swear, but oh my God, you’re fucking beautiful, baby.” I didn’t reply and lowered my eyes in embarrassment. For her to say that was just… I wanted to scream in delight.

Glace cleared her throat. “I also know that it took some guts to do that, so to be fair…” She didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she pulled the sweater she was wearing over her head and removed it. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Like me, she stripped off her shoes, her jeans, and her lace underwear until nothing covered her from me.

My eyes traveled hungrily over her body. Raise your hands if you think this is the best Christmas ever because, man, I wanted to die from happiness right then. “Glace,” I said sharply. “Wow. Just wow.”

I explored her body with a glance. She was well-endowed in the chest area. It was not too large, though, which made me smile inside because I didn’t want a girlfriend who looked like she belonged in porn. Every curve was perfection, and her silhouette was that of true femininity. I thought her V-line was my favorite, aside from the obvious yummier parts.

She gave me a smirk. “Sit with your legs crossed at the edge of the bed, Dulce,” she instructed. I did as she told me. Self-consciously, of course. To be naked in front of a goddess was just too much. In turn, Glace leaned down and got her drawing materials from the floor. She also crossed her legs and proceeded to draw me like promised.

I stayed as still as possible. I couldn’t say the same thing for my heart and stomach since both acted a bit too crazily for my taste. Palpitations, anyone? A couple of minutes later, I noticed Glace blushing. At least, her ears had turned red.

“Getting to the good part?” I asked with a small smile.

“Yeah,” she mumbled with a blush. We resumed our silent session.

A couple of minutes passed again, and I couldn’t help but say what was on my mind. “Glace,” I murmured.

“Hmmm?” she said while drawing on her pad.

“I’m feeling horny,” I admitted. My statement made her glance at me in surprise. She didn’t talk, though, so I had to ask her, “Are you getting horny, too? Or is it just me?”

She cleared her throat and avoided my eyes. “Yes, I feel that way too.”

I swallowed hard. “Good. At least I know that I’m not the only one affected.”

She stood up abruptly from the chair and walked to me. “I’m done,” she said and sat beside me on the bed. I felt her warm skin, even though we weren’t touching. Fudge!

She gave me the sketch pad, and both of us had a good look at it. “You’re good at drawing, Glace,” I said. She shrugged and turned her head to me. “That’s because my subject is very beautiful. You’re the only one I’ve ever drawn naked, Dulce. I lied when I said I’ve done that before. Forgive me.”

“You’re forgiven,” I said and embraced her. I’d forgotten that we were naked when I did that. The moment our fronts touched did weird things to my body that I could never explain.

“Dulce,” Glace said sharply.

“I…I… Just let me hug you, Glace,” I said with a trembling voice. I felt Glace take a deep breath against me, but she still laid us down on the bed.

We pressed our bodies together and tangled our legs like vines. She took care not to disturb any sensitive parts of mine. If she did, I’d just die, so it was a good thing that she didn’t. I snuggled against her neck and felt her arms engulf me. It was like I was wrapped in a cocoon. I felt safe and happy with her. I didn’t know that loving someone could make a person so happy.

“You’re beautiful, Glace,” I whispered.

“So are you,” she said. “More gorgeous than me.”

“I’m not only talking about your outside appearance, baby,” I said softly. “Your soul is beautiful. You make me happy. So happy that sometimes, I want to scream. I want to chase the sunrise and sunset with you, Glace.” I leaned back and touched her face. “But baby, I’m also so scared of you.”

She gave me a look of surprise. “Why?”

“Because loving someone this much is scary,” I said truthfully. “It’s like allowing you to point a gun at me. I’ll never know when you’ll decide to pull the trigger. You’re the only person who can kill me right now, Glace. And the sad part is I will let you.”

“Don’t think of our love as something that could hurt you because that will always stop you from giving your all,” she whispered. “Just surrender to it. I’m not saying that we won’t get hurt—because we will. Somewhere along the way, I will screw up, or you will. Just know that when I do, it won’t be because I don’t love you. It’s just that life can sometimes play with us.

“But, Dulce,” she continued, “I will never intentionally cause you pain. You don’t do that to someone you want so bad. So bad that you think of her with every love song you hear on the radio.”

“You’re right,” I said and took a deep breath. I glanced at her lips. They were too damn kissable. I touched the back of her head and began to pull her to me for a kiss.

“Don’t,” she said with a guarded look.

“Why?” I caught the hurt in my voice, and her eyes softened.

“Because if you kiss me now, I won’t stop there,” she said gently. “With you, kisses are never really enough. But I can’t let anything happen. Not today.” She pried herself from me and sat on the bed. I felt cold and lonely without her embrace. “You’re not ready yet, Dulce. If something happens to us now, I’ll only get hurt. But I promise you this, baby: the moment you’re ready, we’ll make beautiful music together.”

“How will I know that I’m ready? I don’t understand at all.” Glace always didn’t make sense. Sometimes, she’d say things that completely made me feel lost. This was one of those moments.

She gave me a look. “Trust me. You’ll know when you get there. And when you do, I’ll be waiting for you. Just like I always have.”