“Did you give me a trip to Bora Bora?”
“Yes!” she squealed, clapping and bouncing on her pillow. “Are you excited? Please tell me you’re excited. The dates aren’t set because I wasn’t sure about your hiatus, but I was thinking about March because it’s really nice there in March, but we can go whenever, if you even want to go. I’ve always wanted to go and it looks so romantic and tropical and I just thought we would have a really great time—”
“This is incredible, Kal,” I interrupted her nervous rant. She would have gone on forever if I had let her. “This looks amazing,” I said, flipping through the resort brochures and airline information. “It’s too much, babe.”
Her hands came to my knees as she lifted up from her pillow, her face now almost even with mine.
“It’s not too much, it’ll never be too much. You’ve given me something I’ll never be able to repay you for, so you’ll let me take you to Bora Bora.” Then she leaned in, wrapping her arms around my neck, taking me in for a hug, but her mouth came to my ear. She whispered quietly so no one else could hear her, “I’ll let you pick out all my swimwear.”
It’s uncomfortable having an erection around the Christmas tree surrounded by your family.
Luckily, Rachel saved the day and said something about shopping for bathing suits and all returned to normal.
Kalli and Kevin exchanged presents and even though they weren’t gifts filled with meaning and history, it was a beginning for them, and they both understood that. Kalli seemed to really love the scarf her father gave her, and Kevin was thrilled to have tickets to a Chargers game.
The day had turned out to be nearly perfect. Nearly. But I wasn’t done with my gift giving.
Chapter Twenty
Nowhere Else
Kalli
I’d had reasonable Christmas expectations. I’d expected to be happy, to be sad, to miss Marcus on my first Christmas without him, to feel loved spending the day with Riot. But I could have never imagined how wonderful the day actually turned out. Having Kevin, Rachel, and Sharon there was special. I wanted a relationship with them and spending a holiday together seemed like a great way to lay that foundation down. Not to mention how touched I’d been that they’d probably abandoned their own traditions to spend the day with a bunch of strangers. That had meant a lot to me.
It was a little more touching to think of Riot setting the whole thing up for me. He had such a huge heart and I’d never be able to repay him for opening it to me and allowing me in, but I could spend forever trying.
There was nothing I could say about the photo album Mara had made me. It was beyond words. It had been a long time since I’d spent Christmas with my mother, but being with Riot’s was special, and she made me feel so incredibly loved.
After we’d cleaned up the mess from presents and finished nibbling on all the delicious food Mara had prepared, Riot and I retreated to his bedroom to finish getting ready for the day. There were some more of Riot’s family members coming over for dinner, and he’d wanted a break.
He was lying on his bed, freshly showered, hair still damp, and I was draped over his chest, listening to him breathe as he played with the hair still atop my head in a messy knot.
“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, fingers stalling.
“I feel good,” I answered honestly with a small smile.
“Are you missing him a lot?”
I thought about his question and thankfully I didn’t feel the rush of panic that used to come over me when I thought about Marcus. “You know, I miss him, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.” I was silent for a moment, but then continued. “I think your mom’s gift helped a lot. It’s harder to live life always fixated on the fact that he’s gone, but your mom went out of her way to make sure he was here, with me, in a way. I’ll never be able to thank her for that.”
He pressed a kiss against my forehead.
“I love the necklace you gave me,” I said, my fingers finding the pendant. “It’s beautiful.”
His forefinger came to my chin, pulling my eyes up to look at his. “I meant what I said, Kal. You’ve got me. Forever. I don’t want anyone else but you. I know we’ve only been back together for a short time, but—”
“Shhh.” I silenced him by putting my fingers over his mouth. “You don’t have to convince me to be with you. I’m here, and there’s nowhere else I want to be. Ever. I want to spend the rest of my life right here,” I said, tapping his chest right over his heart, “with you.”