“What the…” I heard her say quietly to herself. “Are you for real right now?”
I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing, but my smile was as big and full as my heart.
“Surprise!” Rachel shouted, right after I heard the door open. Screaming and jumping ensued, and then I heard Kevin’s distinct voice say, “Merry Christmas, baby doll.”
The house was quiet for a moment, and even though I wished I could see Kalli embracing her father as I knew she was, I was glad they were having the moment together.
When they all finally came into the kitchen, Kevin’s arm slung around Kalli’s shoulders, her face was flushed and her cheeks were wet. She left his arms and came straight into mine, caring nothing about everyone else in the room as she pressed her lips against mine.
“I know you’re behind this,” she said, her lips still pressed to mine, refusing to break our connection.
I kissed her again, but then pulled away and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You said you’d like to spend Christmas with your family, so here they are.” Her hand ran down my cheek, her eyes, full of love, staring directly at me. I kissed her nose, but then moved her off my lap so I could stand and shake Kevin’s hand. He introduced me to the woman at his side, his wife, and told me her name was Sharon. It took all of twenty seconds for Kalli to introduce Rachel to Halah and the three were thick as thieves.
I spent the rest of the night listening to the three girls laugh, watching Kevin as he took in the sight of his two daughters spending a holiday together, tasting Ma’s spiced cider, which Halah was terribly upset she couldn’t have, and stealing glances at Kalli as she spent a night in a room filled with people who loved her.
When it was time to turn in, we showed Kevin, Sharon, and Rachel to their rooms, then I led Kalli to my childhood bedroom where she spent an hour showing me exactly how grateful she was for my surprise, while I forced her to remain silent as I made her come multiple times with various parts of my body.
The next morning, Kalli woke up like a child, excitedly shaking me awake, telling me it was Christmas morning. I groaned and got out of bed, laughing as she threw her hair into a messy bun and went to wake up her sister.
We found my mom in the kitchen preparing her famous and traditional Christmas morning casserole for breakfast. The table filled with my and Kalli’s family, and throughout the entire meal, her hand was on my thigh under the table.
Afterward, we moved to the family room, all finding places to sit around the Christmas tree. I took the overstuffed club chair near the window and Kalli sat on a big pillow on the floor between my knees. Rachel volunteered to be Santa and spent a few minutes passing out presents to everyone, and I smiled every time she brought one to Kalli. She hadn’t expected to be spoiled by my parents, but I knew Ma and Pops loved her and wouldn’t let her spend Christmas here without a pile of gifts.
Once they were all delivered, the mass opening of presents commenced. I watched as Kalli received concert tickets from Halah, along with a pair of sunglasses that apparently were very much “in” at that moment. The gift from my dad to her was a simple gold charm bracelet, which Halah also received. I saw the way Kalli paused when she realized my dad had given her the same gift he’d given his own daughter, and she smiled shyly as he winked at her.
I got the typical gifts from Ma and Pops—some baseball tickets and necessities; socks and underwear. I rolled my eyes at my mother’s gifts, but Kalli laughed in a way that said she thought it was cute my mom still bought me underwear for Christmas.
Kalli finally got to the gift I put under the tree for her and I made her turn around and face me when she opened it. It was a small box and anyone would have guessed it was jewelry. She took the bow off, slid the top off the box, and then pulled out the velvet box that lay inside. She gave me a half grin, but then returned her eyes to the gift as she lifted the lid.
Her eyes went soft when she saw it, and her mouth turned down into the cutest pout, then her eyes snapped up to me.
“Riot, it’s beautiful. Thank you.” She dropped her hands to her lap but reached up and gave me a short and sweet kiss, attempting to be polite in front of our families, but before she could fall away from me completely, I gripped the back of her neck and held her mouth close to mine, looking her right in the eye.