𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁

𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
Chocolate Milk

❅𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆-𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁❅

The next morning I woke up buried in Mazin's arms—our bare bodies pressed together.

We were both awake, but there was this calm silence between us filled with only our soft breaths.

Mazin would occasionally press a kiss to my neck or run the tips of her fingers up the side of my body.

I focused on tracing my fingertips against her back, caressing her soft skin.

It was so warm between us as we silently basked in this slow morning.

I had never silently communicated with someone this well before.

"Merry Christmas," Mazin suddenly whispered against my skin, her voice so raspy and soft.

"Merry Christmas baby," I whispered back, nuzzling even closer to her as she gently squeezed my waist.

Mazin's fingers trailed up my back, sending shivers through me despite the warmth of the blankets wrapped around us.

"I can't wait for you to open your gifts," she murmured, her voice still thick with tiredness.

I smiled against her shoulder, "I can't wait for you to open yours," I determined.

Mazin hummed, sending vibrations through us both, "You have to go first though," she determined, naturally making my smile widen.

"Fine, but only because it's Christmas and I know how seriously you take this," I said, knowing I just wanted her to be happy.

"Thank you baby," she whispered happily, pulling away slightly.

But just enough to look down at me, her dark eyes scanning my face like she was memorizing me in the golden morning light.

I tilted my head back slightly when she leaned down for a kiss, meeting her halfway as she reached up to cup my cheek.

The kiss was gentle and soft between us as she deepened it even more with her tongue, gripping me closer by my waist.

"I love you," she said against my lips.

"I love you too," I whispered back, tracing my hand up the side of her soft bare waist.

Mazin hummed in response, "Are we ready for presents?" she asked me, pulling back from our kiss to meet my stare.

I nodded, not entirely ready to leave the warmth of this bed, but I also wanted to see her reaction to what I got her.

So reluctantly, we got out of bed.

Mazin got dressed in a baggy Chrome Hearts t-shirt with matching black shorts while I pulled on one of her white shirts and a pair of her grey sweatpants, sliding on my Christmas-themed slippers. 

Once we were dressed, Mazin led me out of the bedroom, keeping her arm secured around my waist.

The last-minute Christmas tree stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, twinkling lights casting a soft glow across the living room.

Beneath it were the ridiculous amount of gifts that were stacked, some wrapped in pristine designer packaging, others with careful, neat bows—those were mine.

Mazin smiled, tugging me down to sit with her on the floor, "Pick any gift you want," she said, clearly impatient for me to begin opening her gifts.

I raised a brow, analyzing the different gifts before reaching for the first box closest to me.

I shook it a few times with a curious smile, wondering what the gift would be.

Mazin watched as I tore away at the sleek black wrapping paper, revealing the Chanel box.

It was the limited edition handbag I had admired at the mall just a week ago.

She must've added this one to the list of things to get me after that.

"I love it," I whispered, turning it over in my hands, admiring the white leather and silver hardware.

"Good baby," she murmured, pressing a kiss to my cheek, "Another one please," she said, wanting to see me open more gifts, which I thought was very cute of her.

I unwrapped gift after gift—jewelry, clothes, perfume, a limited-edition watch I knew had taken effort to get.

It was excessive, but Mazin had never been one to hold back when it came to buying me anything.

Then came the last gift.

Smaller than the rest, simple in its wrapping.

When I opened the small Cartier velvet case, my breath hitched.

Nestled inside was a delicate silver necklace.

But not just any necklace.

"It's a replica of the one I got you when you turned nine," Mazin said softly, watching me closely, "I noticed you didn't wear the other one anymore."

I swallowed past the sudden tightness in my throat, reading over the initials she had engraved just as she did all those years ago.

The last time I was gifted this, Lena and Tazmin had pulled me aside to give it to me since Mazin was too shy.

Now she's giving it to me herself and I just...

"Mazin," I whispered, pursing my lips into a smile as I glanced over to my girlfriend.

She smiled at me, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear, "Do you like it? I didn't know if you still had the other—"

"I love it. I lost the other one in the midst of moving, and I was really mad at you then so..." I trailed off awkwardly, glancing back over to the necklace, "Thank you for this. I love it a lot, I promise."

Mazin exhaled, as if she had been holding her breath, "Good, I was really hoping you would," she admitted, eyeing the necklace, "Can I put it on you?"

I nodded immediately, "Please," I said, extending the small box to her.

Mazin gently grabbed it from my hand, carefully removing the necklace from the box to hook it around my neck.

Once it was in place, I ran my fingers over the pendant with a growing smile, feeling so complete now that I had this necklace again.

"Now your turn," I suddenly determined, feeling more than excited to see her reaction to everything I had gotten her.

Mazin smiled slightly at my words, reaching for one of the wrapped boxes closest to her.

One by one, she unwrapped them all—revealing the designer pieces I got her.

It wasn't on her level of gift-giving, and I swore to go above and beyond next year, but Mazin still loved them all.

She appreciated everything I had gotten her, but when I handed her the last box, my heart pounded just a little harder.

This was the more sentimental gift I had gotten for her.

I watched as Mazin lifted the lid of the box she unwrapped, pausing slightly when her eyes landed on what was inside.

It was a custom-illustrated book that told the story of us.

"It's our story," I whispered, smiling at the illustrated cover that Mazin's dark eyes trailed over.

I watched as she carefully opened the book, remaining silent as she briefly read the front page before diving into reading the book.

It was almost like a children's book, but so much cuter.

It didn't take Mazin long to read given it was on the shorter side, but I swear I basked in every second that it took for her to read it.

"I love this," Mazin whispered, her eyes stuck on the ending page of us illustrated with happy smiles, standing in front of a Christmas tree.

She stared at it for a moment before looking at me, her expression unreadable.

I reached over to carefully flip the page, revealing the spot for pictures to go.

"The last few pages are for our pictures..." I trailed off, running my fingers across the smooth page, "I was thinking we could recreate the Christmas tree picture every year," I added, smiling slightly when Mazin glanced up to meet my stare.

And before I could process it, her lips were pressed to mine.

I didn't hesitate to kiss her back, gently cupping her soft face in my hands as I placed soft kisses on her lips.

"This is the best gift I've ever received," Mazin said, her tone truthful and genuine as she pulled away slightly to meet my stare.

Her words immediately lit something up inside of me, especially knowing how serious her parents took gift-giving.

Yet it was me.

I gave her the best gift.

"Really? You promise?" I asked her in a soft whisper, still cupping her face in my hands.

Mazin nodded almost three times in a row, "I promise—thank you so much, Virelai," she said, glancing back down to the book in her lap, "I want to read it again," she determined, flipping back to the beginning.

I smiled wider as I leaned into her, reading the book again with her as we sat in front of the Christmas tree.

Once we were finished, we set up Mazin's phone to capture the Christmas tree photo for the book.

Mazin held the book in one hand, keeping her arm around my waist as I hugged my arms around her with a wide smile—wearing our matching Santa hats. 

The picture was perfect.

I couldn't wait to print it out later and put it in the book.

It was all I thought about as Mazin prepared breakfast for us, the smell of cinnamon and vanilla coating the air.

"I remember you used to drink chocolate milk like it was the only thing keeping you alive," Mazin said in amusement as she set two glasses on the counter.

I laughed at the memory, "I was super obsessed," I said, immediately picking up one of the glasses to take a sip.

"I figured it would be our thing on Christmas morning," Mazin determined, smiling as I sipped on the chocolate milk happily.

"It can definitely be our thing," I didn't hesitate to say, setting the glass down with a content hum.

Soon, the plates were set—waffles stacked high, whipped cream piled on top, tiny gingerbread men placed perfectly as decoration.

It was adorable, and so Mazin.

"Merry Christmas, baby," my girlfriend said as she sat beside me.

I picked up my fork, "Merry Christmas, Mazi," I said, now cutting into our shared plate of waffles.

And in that moment, with the warmth of the morning sun filtering in, the twinkling lights of the tree behind us, and the taste of chocolate and cinnamon lingering on my tongue, I knew—this was home.

We lingered at the kitchen island, sipping on our drinks, occasionally feeding each other bites of food.

It was peaceful and intimate.

The kind of morning I had dreamed of having with her since I was in high school.

I knew this was only the beginning of many more Christmas mornings to come for us, and I swear I couldn't wait for more.

We just have to handle this Roxi situation and everything will be as it should be.

Tonight's the annual Christmas event, which was supposed to be in Aspen but now it's back in Miami.

After we finished breakfast, Mazin gave me the rundown of how tonight will go.

How Tahir already alerted the other gang's attending.

And how Roxi would definitely be attending, so we all need to carry on as normal.

Everyone needs to be present tonight, so Roxi assumes nothing has changed on our end.

We'll have the place surrounded and prepared for anything that could possibly occur.

I was nervous but I knew this was the best-case scenario given we're aware of who's behind all this.

That alone was better than nothing.

Mazin still wanted tonight to be special for us aside from everything going on.

We would be back with everyone under one roof, and on Christmas, which is now a blessing I realize we took for granted.

I planned to wear a black gown, the straps hanging delicately off my shoulders as the princess neckline accentuated my chest.

My dress laid on the bed beside Mazin's pantsuit as we showered and got ready in our robes.

Mazin flat-ironed my hair for me, ensuring it was perfectly parted in the middle and tucked behind my ears to emphasize my face.

Then she focused on her hair that she wore down as well, letting me curl a few of the back pieces for her.

After that, I handled my makeup and also insisted on doing hers—purposely matching my lipgloss to hers so I could kiss her as I pleased.

Then we slipped out of our robes, getting dressed in our outfits previously laid out on the bed.

We looked perfect in black, especially since we matched.

By the time we left the safe house, the sun was setting.

Luckily, we would get to go home tonight, so Mazin focused on helping security take our bags out of the house.

There was also an insane amount of gifts that we had to travel with, but the numerous SUVs were able to fit it all.

It was comfortably silent between us in the G-Wagon with light Christmas music playing from the radio.

"How are you feeling?" Mazin asked me, her hand gently squeezing mine as she focused on the road.

"Good," I said, pursing my lips together as I stared forward at the road, "Nervous, but good."

Mazin nodded, smoothly turning onto the highway, "We got this—everything's set up in our favor," she assured me, earning a few nods from me.

"Yes, I know," I whispered, letting out a deep sigh, "I'm still nervous," I admitted, knowing that Roxi felt very unpredictable.

We also don't know what she knows.

I mean, what if she already knows about our plan?

"I'll be by your side the entire time," Mazin said, interlacing our fingers together.

I nodded silently, feeling a little better from her reassurance, but I swear—

Tonight just feels so unpredictable.

But it'll be over in a few hours, and all of this will finally be over.