Starstruck

by Yuriko Hime

  “You’re going to give me a gift Dulce?” She held me tight.

  “Yes Glace. One you’ll never forget.”

  Chapter 18. The Gift

  “What time will Glace arrive sweetie?”

  I glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen. It read 9:30pm. “After 30 minutes mom,” I called out. When she didn’t reply, I continued stuffing the Turkey with ingredients, humming softly to myself.

  Today was the 24th of December. My mom and I have always celebrated Christmas religiously, even when it was only the two of us. Something about good food and conversations at night had a way of warming our hearts. We kept at it even when my father died. This day was extra special. It was the first time that Glace would accompany us for Christmas. I was really excited.

  My gift was all wrapped up and ready to go, but I wasn’t really expecting anything from her. Glace’s presence was more than enough. It would be a wonderful occasion. One we’d both treasure for years. When I heard the doorbell ring 30 minutes later, I skipped to the door, opening it widely. There she stood, looking as Glace-like as ever. What did that mean? Drop-dead gorgeous of course. She was wearing a pink sweater, skinny jeans, and grey desert boots.

  I kissed her nose. “Nice sweater.”

  “Oh this old thing?” She pulled it down so I could see clearly. The statement on the sweater read, I’M IN LESBIANS WITH YOU. “Eris gave it to me as a gift this morning.”

  “That girl is really something.” I chuckled. “Come to the kitchen after saying hi to mom. I’ll prepare hot chocolate for you. Would you like it with marshmallows?” She nodded before proceeding to the living room. I went to the kitchen to do my business.

  I was stirring the chocolate in the mug when I felt her snake her arms around my waist. “Can we play wife again?” she asked. I smiled to myself and didn’t answer. I handed her the mug. Both of us went to the living room where mom was staying.

  “You look good together,” she said as we entered. “It makes me think of your father. He’d really love to meet Glace.”

  We sat on either side of mom. I leaned my head on her shoulder. “I’m sure he’d enjoy talking to Glace."

  “He would,” she said.

  “Aren’t you dating someone for a few months now, mom? You haven’t introduced him to us yet. I’d like to meet him and say a few things.”

  “Like what honey?” Mom giggled. She thought I was joking.

  “Oh I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe I’ll tell him that I’ll kick him in the nuts if he breaks your heart. Nobody fools my momma.” At the back of my mind, I was seriously happy for her. She deserved to be loved by someone other than me and my friends. It has been too long since my father died. I wanted her to settle with a nice person no matter what. That was my only wish for her.

  “He’s a nice guy,” mom said. “I’ll invite him over, a few weeks from now.” She turned to Glace. “I want you to be there when he comes. You’re part of the family now. Your opinion of him is also important to me.” A funny feeling settled in my stomach when mom said that to Glace. It made me fuzzy and giggly. I was so thankful that my mother wasn’t one of those types who hates lesbians. If she was, maybe I’d be a rebellious kid. Maybe.

  “I’d like to meet him too Andrea,” Glace said. “He must be a handsome guy if he was able to date you.”

  Mom smiled warmly at her. “Stop flattering your future mother-in-law.”

  We were having such fun with our conversations that time passed by pretty quickly. Before we knew it, Christmas has already arrived. Our activities were as follows. We ate the food I prepared, watched The Nightmare Before Christmas on the couch, and had silly conversations that lasted until morning. Not necessarily in that order. Somewhere in the middle, I called Tim and Patty to greet them for the holidays.

  Mom retired for bed at around 3am, leaving me and Glace on the couch where we cuddled with a blanket, watching the rerun of Home Alone. “Let’s go to my house later,” she whispered in my ear. “I’ll give you your gift.”

  “In that case, I’ll give your gift later too.”

  I fell asleep peacefully in her arms. I didn’t know if she continued watching the show or she fell asleep with me. The sun was up when I stretched from the couch. Glace was in the kitchen, sipping on a mug of coffee while talking to mom. “Want some?” she asked when I walked in. Mom was heating something on the stove.

  “Sure.” I took the mug from her. The warm drink jolted me awake. Yum! There was nothing like the smell and taste of coffee in the morning. “I’m going to take a shower before breakfast. I want to get out of these clothes.”

  After finishing everything, including breakfast, Glace and I informed mom that we’d be going to my girlfriends place. Mom was quick to give her consent. She was all too aware that we needed some alone time. I had the best mom in the universe.

  By the time we arrived at Glace’s house, I was full on sweating. My gift to her was not your conventional present. It was rather unique. Something I’ve thought about for days. Hope she would like it. Glace took my hand, leading me straight to her bedroom. I sat on the bed and watched her go to her music box. She replaced the lid after taking something from it. Back to my side, Glace clasped a necklace on me. It was shiny, with a beautiful ring on it, serving as the pendant.

  “Please don’t speak yet,” she said before I opened my mouth. Glace was somber. “I know you’re all about taking it slow. So instead of a couples ring, I’m giving you my heart right there.” She touched the ring and smiled. “Wear it when you’re ready for me. Until then, I’ll wait patiently for you. Just as I’ve always had,” she hinted. “You’ve given me the best Christmas ever. I couldn’t be more thankful to you and Andrea. My dad doesn’t care about me, so thanks for filling the space in my heart.”

  I melted into a puddle. Glace was more than dreamy. No words could describe her. She was my unicorn. Once I found the voice to speak, I told her that I’d be giving her my gift. “I think it would be more suitable if I unwrap it for you.”

  She stared at me curiously. “Why? What is it?” My trembling fingers found the button of my blouse. I opened it slowly one by one. Her eyes widened. “What the hell Dulce?!” she gasped, pushing herself from the bed.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, continuously peeling away my clothing. I let my blouse, jeans, and shoes drop on the floor. The clasp for my bra was next. I peeled those away from me too. All the while, Glace’s eyes dilated. Her chest moved up and down in quick successions.

  When I was completely naked on the bed, I said, “Draw me Glace.” The calmness in my voice stunned even me. Glace didn’t speak for a couple of seconds. Maybe she was thinking that I was possessed by a demon.

  She shook her head, as if trying to come out of her daze. “Dulce,” she croaked. “I was joking when I said that to you before. I was testing you, to know if you were the same down-to-earth person.” She placed her hand on her forehead, closing her eyes momentarily. “Do you really want me to draw you?”

  “Yes,” I murmured. “I’m naked and everything. What else should we do?”

  She gulped loudly at my question and turned away. “Okay, I’ll get my sketch pad and pencil.” Glace headed to her walk-in closet. She had a sketchpad in her hand and two pencils when she returned. She dragged a chair several steps in front of the bed and placed her things on the floor. She didn't make a move to draw me. Glace was simply there, staring.

  “Aren’t you going to draw me yet?” I asked.

  “Dulce.” Her eyes trailed all over my body. “I rarely swear, but oh my God you’re fucking beautiful.” I lowered my eyes, embarrassed. For her to say that was just. . . I wanted to scream in delight.

  Glace cleared her throat. “I know that it took some guts to do that, so to be fair.” She didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she pulled the sweater she was wearing over her head. My jaw dropped to the floor. Like me, she stripped her shoes, jeans, and her lace underwear until nothing covered her from me.

  My
eyes travelled hungrily to her. Raise your hands if you think this is the best Christmas ever, because man I wanted to die in happiness right then. “Glace." It came sharply than intended. “Wow. Just wow.” I explored her body with a glance. Though we were shy of being adults, Glace was well-endowed in the chest area. Every curve was perfection, and her silhouette was of true femininity. Her v-line was my favorite, aside from the obvious yummier parts.

  Glace smirked at me. “Sit with your legs crossed at the edge of the bed Dulce,” she instructed. I did as I was told. Self-consciously of course. To be naked in front of a Goddess was too much. She leaned down and got her drawing materials from the floor. She also crossed her leg on top of the other. Then, she proceeded to draw me like promised.

  I stayed as still as possible. I couldn’t say the same thing with my heart and stomach. Palpitations anyone? There was a time when I noticed her blushing. At least her ears turned red. “Getting to the good part?” I asked with a small smile.

  “Yeah." She chuckled nervously. We resumed our silent session.

  I really had to say what was on my mind. “Glace?”

  “Hmmm?” She was drawing on her pad with such concentration that nothing else seemed to matter except for the pen and paper.

  “I’m feeling horny,” I admitted. My statement made her glance at me. Her hand gripped the pen tightly. She didn’t talk though, so I had to ask. “Are you getting horny too, or is it just me?”

  She chewed on her lower lip. “Yes, I feel that way too.”

  I swallowed hard. “Good. At least I know that I’m not the only one affected.”

  She stood up abruptly from the chair. “I’m done.” She went to where I was and sat beside me. I felt her warm skin, even though we weren’t touching. She handed me the sketch pad. Both of us took a good look at it.

  “You’re good at drawing Glace.”

  She shrugged, stealing a look at me. “That’s because my subject is very beautiful. You’re the only one I’ve drawn naked Dulce. I lied when I said that I’ve done that before. Forgive me.”

  “You’re forgiven.” I embraced her. Our nakedness slipped my mind. The moment our front touched, it did weird things to my body that I could never explain.

  “Dulce,” she said sharply.

  “Just let me hug you,” I said. My voice trembled. Glace took a deep breath against me, but she still lay us down on the bed. We pressed our body together and tangled our legs like vines. She took care not to disturb any sensitive parts of mine. If she did, I would combust spontaneously. Snuggling on her neck, I felt her arms engulf me. It was like being wrapped in a cocoon. I felt safe and happy with her. I didn’t know that loving someone could make a person so happy.

  “You’re beautiful,” I whispered.

  “So are you. More gorgeous than me.”

  “I’m not only talking about your outside appearance,” I said. “Your soul is beautiful. You make me happy. So happy that sometimes I want to scream. I want to chase the sunrise and sunset with you.” I leaned back and touched her face. “But baby, I’m also so scared of you.”

  She gave me a look of surprise. “Why?”

  “Because loving someone this much is scary,” I said truthfully. “It’s like allowing you to point a gun at me. I’ll never know when you’ll decide to pull the trigger. You’re the only person who can kill me right now Glace. And the sad part is I will let you.”

  “Don’t think of our love as something that could hurt you. That will always stop you from giving your all,” she whispered. “Just surrender to it. I’m not saying that we won’t get hurt because we will. Somewhere along the way, I will screw up or you will. Just know that when I do, it wasn’t because I don’t love you. It’s just that life can sometimes play with us. But Dulce,” she continued. “I will never intentionally cause you pain. You don’t do that to someone you want so bad. So bad that you think of her with every love song you hear on the radio.”

  “You’re right,” I said, taking a deep breath. I glanced at her lips. It was too damn kissable. I touched the back of her head and began to pull her to me for a kiss.

  “Don’t,” she said, a guarded look crossing her face.

  “Why?” I caught the hurt in my voice.

  Her eyes softened. “Because if you kiss me now, I won’t stop there. With you, kisses are never really enough. But I can’t let anything happen. Not today.” She pried herself from me and sat on the bed. I felt cold and lonely without her embrace. “You’re not ready yet Dulce. If something happens to us now, I’ll only get hurt. But I promise you this baby, the moment you’re ready, we’ll make beautiful music together.”

  “How will I know that I’m ready? I don’t understand at all.” She didn’t make sense. Sometimes she’d say things that completely made me feel lost. It was one of those moments.

  She gave me a look. “Trust me. You’ll know when you get there. And when you do, I’ll be waiting for you. Just like I’ve always had.”

  Chapter 19. Good And Bad

  “This doesn’t feel right,” I said to Tim.

  He placed a finger on his lips. “Shhh! Quiet down. She might hear you.”

  “How can she hear me when we’re in a crowded mall and she’s several feet away from us? Be realistic.” Despite my protest, I still said it in a low voice. Tim pushed my head down when Patty glanced in our direction. Woops.

  It was the day that she’d meet her mystery woman. We trailed her all the way to the mall to see what her email buddy looked like. Tim didn’t have trouble convincing me to do it since I was curious as well. I didn’t like the idea of Patty meeting a total stranger in the mall alone. For all we knew, the person could be a pedophile. We wanted to protect our best friend. You couldn’t have the three musketeers without the third member.

  Tim glanced irritably at his watch. “Tsk! Patty’s mystery woman is late. We’ve been standing here forever. Maybe she won’t show up.” Trust him to be bored of waiting. Tim was always like this. He was constantly on the move, even with his love life. It made me wonder how Fabio was faring.

  “Dude, we’ve only been here for 5 minutes. Chill.”

  “Someone’s patient.” He elbowed me. Before I could elbow him back, we saw Patty check her phone for text messages and walk away. Tim and I scurried a few feet behind her. We took care to blend in the crowd so she wouldn’t notice us. We were dead if she did. Patty entered a fancy shmancy restaurant. It was a good place to talk, which was probably why she wanted to meet her date there.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked Tim. He was craning his neck to see where Patty has gone.

  “What else? We’re going to infiltrate the restaurant and blend in. Once Jane Doe arrives, we’re going to corner her and question her.”

  “This is not CSI or Criminal Minds Tim,” I said sardonically. “This is real life. If Patty sees us, we’re never going to hear the end of it. Remember in 6th grade when she refused to speak to us for eating her apple?”

  Tim shuddered. “How can I forget? She liked those freaking apples. She’s an apple hoarder!” Tim hugged himself and pretended to go crazy. “Apple hoarder, apple hoarder,” he repeated.

  “Quit it.” I peeked inside the resto. “There’s a free spot right next to Patty’s table. It’s covered by this big plant. We can sit there. I think she won’t notice us.” I sought approval from Tim. “What do you say?”

  “If this is your twisted way of asking me out for a date, I’m so going to slap your face right now.”

  I swatted his arm. “You’re delusional. I only go for girls. And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m very much taken. So no, I’m not asking you out for a date.”

  “Just making that clear. I don’t want you turning straight on me. Maybe my handsome face got to you.” Cheeky little ass.

  “No thank you. We both know what parts I prefer.” I stared pointedly at his chest which he puffed up to annoy me.

  Inside the restaurant, the waiter approached us with a fake smile. “Sir, madame
,” he greeted. Gay, lesbian, my head said.

  “We want a seat at that table.” Tim indicated the area we talked about. Patty had her back to us. She didn’t have the slightest clue that we were there. The waiter ushered us to the place, handing a menu once we were seated. We ordered an appetizer and patiently waited for Patty’s date to arrive.

  A few minutes later, Eris strolled in. She was wearing huge sunglasses that was meant to cover half of her face. I could still recognize her though. Her manner of walking made me feel like I was watching a fashion runway show. What was she doing here? People were looking at her in awe. She had that effect on everyone except Glace. Hallelujah!

  Eris sashayed past our table, straight to Patty’s. Thank God she didn’t notice me. But what was going on? Did they know each other? As if to answer my question, Eris tapped Patty’s shoulder. “Excuse me. Are you Patty?” She was tense.

  “What the fudge Dulce!” Tim whispered disbelievingly. Our shoulders touched. “The mystery woman is hot. Patty is so going to fall for her.”

  “Shut up,” I said as the scene unfolded. Like one of those movies, Patty turned and made eye contact with Eris. My friend blushed like a newborn baby and gasped.

  “I know you,” she said. Recognition dawned on her face. “You’re that beautiful girl that Dulce was talking to at school. Are you Violet?”

  Eris slid in front of Patty. “Yes I. . . I’m a. . . I’m her,” she managed to spill out. Eris fidgeted in her seat. She was ready to bolt for her life. Oh God, it was priceless. If only I had a camcorder with me right now, I would have recorded the whole thing.

  Patty wasn't the least bit bothered. “I know that you have a beautiful personality, but I didn’t imagine you’d be beautiful on the outside too.” She sounded like she struck the lottery. I wanted to laugh right then. Beautiful personality? Was she really talking about Eris? I placed my palm firmly on the table and stood up.