Page 12 of Babygirl for Christmas

The tree is gorgeous, and the guilt I thought I would feel at decorating without my grandma doesn’t seem to happen. I grapple with whether or not I’m ready to move on one small step at a time. It feels a bit like a betrayal, but with Nick here, it seems reasonable.

My eyes move from the tree to the mantel where pictures of grandma and I decorate the space. In each one, we are standing in front of the Christmas tree. That sadness comes back, but I try not to let it consume me. Nick must sense the change in my mood because he squeezes me a bit tighter.

“What’s wrong, babygirl?”

“Nothing… just-” I trail off with a shrug, not wanting him to think I’m ungrateful because I am.

He follows my line of sight, and understanding dawns on his face. He gives me a sexy smirk. “We can fix this, sweet girl.”

He turns us so our backs are to the tree and takes out his phone. Before I can protest, he’s taking a selfie of us with the tree. Then he’s kissing me, and there is a snap of the camera again. He encourages me to make a silly face, and so we take a dozen pictures… sweet, silly, sexy… all kinds of pictures. It’s not the same as with grandma, but this is its own kind of special.

My heart is lighter than it has been in months, and it’s all because of Nick. I should be worried that things are moving so fast with us, but at the same time, it feels natural. Like all the years we’ve known each other have accumulated, and instead of starting from scratch, we are merely building on what we have.

10

Nick

Thirty minutesintoA Christmas Story, Cherry falls asleep in my arms. I lift her and carry her to the bedroom. My girl is exhausted. She’s been working long hours and running herself ragged. I lie her down, but she sleepily grabs ahold of me and refuses to let go.

“Stay,” she murmurs sleepily. “Please, daddy.”

My resolve shatters, and I find myself helping her off with her clothes and then stripping to my boxers before climbing into the bed behind her. I pull her against me, spooning her as she drifts back to sleep. Cherry wiggles in her sleep, making content and happy sounds. I can’t hold back my smile at being the safe place for my girl to cuddle up to.

I’m not sure what time I finally drifted to sleep, but it’s early when I wake up. I carefully extract myself from Cherry’s grip and head to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast. I make scrambled eggs and French toast—Cherry’s favorite. The one benefit of knowing her for so many years, I know her favorite things and can use the knowledge to take care of her.

She wakes up a few minutes later, coming into the kitchen looking sexily mussed and happy. She wraps her arms around me from behind as I flip the last piece of toast. I pat her hands and give her a little squeeze. Cherry nuzzles into me and doesn’t let go when I move away from the stove. She clings to me like a little monkey.

“You gotta let me go so I can fix your plate, babygirl.”

“Uh-uh,” she mumbles. “Don’t wanna.”

I shake my head, chuckling. It seems she’s fully embracing the little side I knew was locked away inside her. I grip her hands and gently extract myself from her hold. I turn around so I can hug her. She returns her arms around my waist again and clings.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask her, dropping kisses to the top of her head as I run my fingers through her messy hair, working out some of the tangles.

“Better than ever, daddy. I had the best snuggle buddy.”

“Is that right?”

“Mhm… a big ole teddy bear,” she says with mock seriousness.

I manage to make her plate with her still wrapped around me, then we walk in sync to the table. I set down her plate, then lift Cherry so I can sit her in my lap. She doesn’t want to let go of me, and I’m finding it hard to let go of her. She immediately reaches for my cup of coffee, and I snatch it from the table before she gets to it.

She gives me a little pout. “I need coffee.”

“Little girls don’t get coffee until they’ve had their milk.”

It’s then she notices the glass of milk beside her plate, and she turns her nose up at it. “I don’t want milk. I want coffee.”

“Milk first,” I say firmly.

She whines some more but ends up drinking the milk all in one go. She then smiles at me and reaches for the coffee again. The little brat. She takes a sip of the coffee and makes a happy sigh.

After breakfast, Cherry has to get ready for work. “I wish I didn’t have a full schedule today,” she says with a bit of a whine. “I would totally take advantage of being the boss and call out.”

I shake my head. “Except you are the boss and the responsible one.”

She sighs. “Sometimes I hate always being the responsible one.”

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