Chapter Thirteen

"You've spent every night together?" Emma whispered, keeping her voice low so know one else could hear. She and Van were visiting in her kitchen while the others enjoyed the fire in the living room.

"Every night." Van grinned at her.

"You're in love with her."

"Madly."

"Are you happy?"

"Deliriously."

"I'm so happy for you, I like Cara." Emma hugged Van. "Now, let's go join our beautiful girlfriends. It's Christmas Eve."

Van went and sat next to Cara on the couch, where she sat with Anna and Tia. Emma joined Melinda, opposite the three of them.

"I think it's time for a toast," Emma announced to the crowd of women, who had enjoyed a nice leisurely dinner together. The party had been festive as the group had looked forward to Christmas day with family and friends. "To friendship, love, and to the future, my friends and my love are my future. I thank God every day for my luck in finding Melinda and that my friends are the very best of women."

"Here, here." Melinda kissed a smiling Emma as Anna and Tia looked on. Van and Cara were sharing a kiss of their own.

Van and Cara were back at Van's by nine-thirty and decided to open their gifts from one another. Seated on the floor in front of the tree, they shared several kisses before Van handed Cara a large, gaily wrapped box.

"You open the first one, please."

Cara quickly tore the wrapping from the box, and opened it to find a soft deerskin jacket. "Van, this is a beautiful jacket, thank you."

"I thought you could wear it at work."

"I love it. Now, it's your turn."

Cara handed a package to Van who quickly opened the professionally wrapped box. Neatly folded inside, was a beautiful, fashionable business suit in a deep, dark purple. It was one of Van's favorite colors.

"What a fantastic color, I love this." Van grinned happily at Cara. "You have great taste in clothes."

"I don't. The woman at Nordstroms has great taste. I just described you to her, and she picked this out." Cara laughed, remembering the day she bought the suit.

"Open this next one, please."

Cara shared a kiss with Van, before she began opening the next package. Slipping the lid of the box open, she revealed an old thirty-five millimeter camera, and a collection of lens nestled in the case.

"Archie told me you have been looking at this camera for weeks in the pawn shop." Van watched Cara carefully to see if she liked the gift.

"When did you talk to him?' Cara was reverently holding the camera in her hands, as she smiled at Van.

"I called him at work earlier in the week, and told him I wanted to get you something you really wanted for Christmas. He told me about the camera."

"I can't believe you did this."

"I had the camera checked out at a camera shop, along with the lenses. Everything is in perfect condition. There are ten rolls of black and white film in the box, so you can try it out. I know you like to take black and white photographs, and the guy at the shop recommended the film, so that's what I got."

"Van, this is too much." Cara was very uncomfortable knowing how much Van spent on the gift.

"Cara, I wanted to get you something you really wanted. Don't you like it?" The slight hurt in Van's voice made Cara soften.

"I love the camera, but it is so expensive. Besides, I did get something I want. I met you."

Van's eyes welled with tears, as Cara kissed her. "Cara, I love you."

"I love you." They hugged tightly, overwhelmed, and very much in love.

"You have a couple more presents to open."

"So do you, but can we wait until tomorrow morning to open the rest? I would like to go to bed and hold you all night long." Cara pushed away her discomfort over Van's extravagant gift.

"I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas."

They headed for bed, and instead of making love, they cuddled and hugged, whispering to each other until they fell asleep. It was a perfect ending to a period evening.

Van was the first to wake up early that morning, and she slowly woke Cara up by kissing every inch of her body, until she dissolved into a series of orgasms that shook her to the core. Once she recovered, she drove Van crazy with her lovemaking. It was a perfect start to a Christmas morning. They opened the rest of their gifts, pants and a sweater for Cara, leggings and a shirt for Van. The best gift of all was Van's presentation to Cara with a key to her condominium. Cara promised to give Van a key to her apartment the very next day. They couldn't have planned a more satisfying Christmas.

"Does this look okay?" Cara was standing nervously outside Van's mother's home.

"Cara, you look perfect and beautiful. Come on, honey. My mother will love you."

"I hope so, because I love her daughter."

"I love you. Now, come on, honey, we don't want to be late."

The brunch was fun, and Cara found Van's mother and stepfather very friendly. She had enjoyed herself very much. But Cara had the same nagging problem. It was very obvious that Van grew up with wealth and it worried Cara. They stayed until early afternoon. What surprised Cara most of all, was that Van's mother and father had each given Cara a gift. Cara had brought a bottle of their favorite wine, after she had asked Van what they wanted. It just was surprising to be included as a member of their family, so soon. She loved the feeling. It was the most overwhelming part of the day.

She and Van spent the rest of the day sitting around Van's condominium, Cara getting to know her camera, and Van reading, and generally relaxing. They spent the night at Van's, going to bed early, and making love until they were exhausted, slowly slipping into sleep, still wrapped around each other.

The rest of the week slipped by and they spent New Year's Eve with Emma and Melinda, and their life together began. Very quickly, they developed a routine, two to three nights at Van's, and then two to three nights at Cara's. Going back and forth was not convenient, but neither one had broached the idea of living together in one place. For some reason, that final step was difficult for the two of them, especially for Cara. She couldn't afford a place like Van's.

Several weeks later, their schedule found them at Cara's apartment. Van had just gotten home from a long day of work. Cara was talking to Van, who was taking a hot bath. "Honey, Alex said his party starts at three."

Alex, Cara's partner, was putting on his annual St. Patrick's Day party. He had a big celebration every year, inviting his co-workers and friends. He had specifically requested that both Van and Cara were expected to show up.

"Okay, but we need to do some laundry Saturday morning, or we aren't going anywhere."

"You got it. Are you staying in there all night?"

"No, I am going to climb in bed with my very beautiful sex slave."

"Are you ever going to stop teasing me about that?"

"Nope."

They crawled into bed and fell in to their natural lovemaking that was as perfect as the rest of their relationship. In the two months they had been together, they had fought only once. That had been over finances, when Van had refused to take any money from Cara for bills at the condominium, especially since she had offered to help Cara with expenses at the apartment. Cara's feelings had been hurt, and she made it clear to Van that she could and would pay her own way. They had resolved the problem by evening's end, but it was still a very sore subject. Van made a lot more money then Cara, and she was very generous with it. Cara was more than a little sensitive about making so much less, and she wanted to pay her share. They both knew it would come up again. It wasn't a week later, that Van and Cara ran into the problem again.

"Van, I can't afford to go to Hawaii for vacation."

"Honey, I can pay for the tickets and the airfare. Wouldn't it be incredible to spend a week in the sun?"

"I don't want you to pay for everything. You know how I feel about this. If I can't pay for half, I don't want to go to Hawaii." Cara was getting very angry and this was new to Van.

"I don't know why it's such a big deal. I make a lot of money, Cara. What I make is as much yours as mine. We're a couple." Van was getting a little irritated herself, as she slumped down on to the couch.

"Van, I don't want your money. We can go somewhere I can afford for a vacation."

"But Cara..."

"Damn it, Van. I can't afford Hawaii." Cara lashed out, frustrated and embarrassed.

Van turned from Cara, her feelings hurt. "I'm going to bed."

Cara watched her leave the living room, both too angry to speak to each other. Cara sat for a long time in the living room, before crawling into bed herself. For the first time since they'd met, Van and Cara didn't kiss goodnight. They lay side by side, not touching, hurt feelings getting in the way.

Cara woke up early and watched Van sleep for quite a while before she got out of bed. She loved Van so much and she didn't want to fight. She needed to make things better.

"Cara, you're up early." Van rolled over and looked at her girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, Van." Cara touched her cheek with her hand.

"Honey, I'm sorry. It's such a silly thing. We can save for a vacation to Hawaii. We can go any where you want. I love you, Cara."

"Since you love me, you won't mind if I make you scream with pleasure?" Cara's hands were already stroking Van's body.

"I would love it if you made me scream." Van smiled as they kissed passionately. And scream she did, as Cara drove her crazy with her lovemaking. Van was equally as generous, as she loved Cara thoroughly, making up in the most perfect of ways. But the problem hadn't gone away, it was just temporarily ignored.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14