Charlotte's Tangled Web: L.B. Pavlov (21 page)

“Thank you.”

I turned the corner and looked over at him with a competitive smirk, and then I took off. Daniel couldn’t keep up with me today, and I wasn’t going to go easy on him. I finished and waited for him as he came jogging up, laughing.

“OK, you’re not as fragile as we all think you are, I get it. I’m sorry for underestimating you.” He winked at me as he was trying to calm his breathing.

“OK then, I will give you until Christmas Eve to kiss me. I won’t wait one day longer.” I smiled at him and looked into his pained eyes.

“I’m not punishing you, I don’t want to hurt you,” he said sadly.

“Daniel, it’s a fat lip. You’re not going to hurt me. It hurts me more that you are acting like I’m broken,” I said.

He leaned forward and gently kissed my lips, but he avoided the side that was split.

“Is that better?” he asked in his raspy, sexy voice.

“Much.”

We spent the rest of the day baking and eating. When Dad and Jack got home, they let us know that Blane would be prosecuted as an adult for assault. Apparently he was already eighteen years old. Blane was also expelled from St. Viator’s; the school had already contacted my dad. Everyone was happy with the outcome, and I just wanted it all behind me. I looked at the grave faces on my father, brothers, Daniel, and Lenora. I went in the living room where our big, beautiful Christmas tree was, and I found all of the Santa hats that we kept in the game cabinet. I walked in the kitchen and began placing a Santa cap on everyone’s serious little heads. They all just stared at me, especially because everyone except for Lenora had to bend way down for me to place the hat on his head. Finally, I walked around them with the tray of Christmas cookies, offering them each a few cookies. Everyone just started laughing.

“OK, we have all the bad stuff behind us. Can we please just start getting excited about Christmas?” I said, smiling.

Lenora turned the Christmas music on, and the mood in the house seemed to change.

.

chapter
9

it’s finally christmas

The next few days flew by. Daniel and I did some last-minute shopping for little things. I was so excited for Christmas this year because I loved the gifts that I had picked out for everyone.

Our house was festive with decorations. Lenora and I had really done well. The inside looked like a Christmas wonderland. Dad hired a company to do the outside every year. They had covered all of our trees in white, twinkling lights as well as the perimeter of the house. We also had a giant Santa Claus that lit up in our front yard, and three large reindeers twinkled as well. I loved it.

Our neighborhood was also decked out; all of the houses were bright with holiday spirit. The Hollingsworth family always decorated their house with bright-colored lights, and they had a big Santa riding in a sleigh on their roof. They had talked about not doing it this year, but I begged Tom to put it all up. I think Grace secretly wanted him to do it again too. Grace decorated the inside with cute snowmen everywhere. It was very jolly, and they had a giant tree in their front room as well.

Daniel and I always decorated both trees together; we had started that back when we were in kindergarten. My brothers and Daniel’s brothers had slowly stopped joining in, but I would never let this tradition go. I loved it. Daniel would just laugh as I sorted all of the ornaments for us and talk about the memories associated with each one.

Christmas Eve was the next day, and I was giddy. I helped Lenora wrap a few final presents, and we were both excited. My face was almost healed. The cut on my cheek was barely noticeable, and my lip was almost completely whole. I was looking and feeling like myself again.

Packages were arriving on our front doorstep each day. Both sets of grandparents had shipped our presents, and other relatives and friends who lived out of town had done the same. I loved unloading the boxes and placing each gift under the tree. The stockings were all hung, and Lenora and I were going over to Grace’s to see if she needed help setting up for Christmas Eve dinner the next day.

Grace was hosting the big dinner, and Christmas morning would be spent with our own families. Daniel and I would exchange our gifts on our own. I had my gifts for him hidden under my bed in the hopes that I could give them to him first thing in the morning. I always made Daniel a stocking, and I had it loaded with his favorite candy, gum, socks, pajamas, sports magazines, and little chocolate footballs, et cetera. The scrapbook had turned out just how I had imagined it. It was packed full of every clipping and photo taken of him on the football field over the last four years. It was perfect. I had also ordered him a Notre Dame sweatshirt and baseball cap. I had picked up a copy of
Charlotte’s Web
, and I inscribed it:

Daniel
,

If you get lonely when we are apart, read “our book” and I will be with you.

I love you,

Charlotte

I was proud of the gifts that I had gotten for him this year. I thought he would like them a lot, and I couldn’t wait to give them to him. I heard Daniel come through our front door, and he was laughing with Eric. When he saw me, he grabbed me and spun me around. Eric ran upstairs to find James.

Daniel put me down and smiled at me. “I see you’re biting your lip again. This must mean you’re almost healed,” he said, leaning close and speaking in my ear.

I felt a tingle run through my entire body. I turned toward him, and he kissed me. I had missed his lips against mine.

He pulled away quickly, though, and said, “You are not completely healed, and I’m not risking tearing your lip open again, so we are taking it slowly.” He gently stroked my face.

“OK fine. I will take what I can get.” I smiled.

“Come on, I’m taking you out for dinner. Just you and me,” he said, hugging me tightly.

“OK. Should I change?” I asked.

“It depends. Where do you want to go?” he asked playfully.

“Pizza and hot chocolate!” I said excitedly. “And maybe I will beat you at pool!” I added, teasing him.

“OK, let’s go,” he said, and he grasped my hand.

When we walked outside, the sky was dumping snow. I was so excited. It would make for a perfect Christmas.

The next day went by so fast that I couldn’t believe the following day was Christmas. I had a fun-filled Christmas Eve day. Daniel, Jack, Eric, James, Preston, Devon, and I all had a big snowball fight. The snow had fallen all night and throughout the day. Grace and Lenora were cooking all day at the Hollingsworths’ house. After we finished up our Christmas Eve dinner, everyone was full and happy.

Tomorrow was Christmas. I couldn’t believe how fast the year was going. I wished I could press pause at that moment in my life because I was beyond happy.

Everyone had already left the Hollingsworths’, but Daniel and I were playing
Monopoly
with Tom and Grace. When we finished the game, Daniel walked me home. He bundled me up in my coat, gloves, a scarf, and a hat. I laughed and reminded him that I only lived across the street.

When we got to my door, he turned and kissed me. “I will see you later,” he said, and he winked at me.

I told him I was worried about him climbing the tree because of the snow. He laughed and reminded me that he had climbed that tree way too many times for me to worry about it. “I promise, we will wake up together on Christmas morning,” he said sweetly.

I hugged him tightly.

“Get inside. It’s cold,” he said firmly, and he turned and jogged across the street.

I said good-night to the boys; they were still awake in the game room playing pool. Lenora and Dad had gone to bed already. I peeked at the Christmas tree before I went upstairs. I loved to look at all the ornaments sparkling in the twinkling lights.

I went upstairs and ran a bath. I soaked in the tub and thought about how much had happened in the last few months. I thought about how Daniel had been there through everything. I couldn’t wait to give him his presents. I finished up and brushed through my hair, looking in the mirror. My face practically looked like its old self. My lip was almost completely healed, and my cheek had healed.

I put on my lavender lotion and debated over what pajamas to wear. It was very cold out, and I decided to wear my long-john pajamas. I had the TV on, and I was starting to doze off when I heard the window open slowly. Daniel was climbing in, and he had a backpack on his back.

“It’s almost Christmas, Charlotte,” he whispered.

I was euphoric. “What’s in the backpack?” I asked, bouncing on the bed.

“You’ll see in the morning,” he said, laughing.

He looked gorgeous. He was wearing baggy jeans with a warm, cream-colored, knit sweater and a black knit cap on his head. When he pulled his cap off, his wavy, brown hair fell out perfectly. His cheeks were all rosy from the cold air, and his lips were red and plump. He stopped and caught me staring, and he looked at me with his unbelievable green eyes.

He pulled off his sweater and he had on a thin, white T-shirt. I couldn’t wait to slide my hands underneath it and touch his warm, soft skin. I lifted the covers and patted the bed, waiting for him to insist on sleeping on top of the covers, but he didn’t. He climbed under the covers and rolled on his side to look at me.

“I don’t want to be separated by a blanket tonight. I just want to hold you close to me,” he said affectionately.

I felt my heart skip a beat. I never wanted the blanket between us either. He was stroking my face so gently, and I could feel his warm breath on my skin.

“I hope you get everything you want for Christmas,” he said softly.

“I already have everything that I want,” I replied and leaned forward and kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around me and he kissed me passionately. I pulled away for a moment, and he asked with concern, “Are you OK? Did I hurt you?”

“No. But I want to talk to you about something,” I said nervously.

“OK, what is it?”

“Is it hard for you, um, that we don’t have sex?” I said, whispering.

“Why do you think that?” he asked while stroking my cheek softly.

“I think, um, that, um, when Blane was acting like a crazy person that night in Sean’s room, he um, said some things about me being a prude and a virgin. He said that maybe you would, um, go elsewhere? And I just don’t know if I’m ready, but I really want you to be happy too,” I said self-consciously, staring down at the bed.

Daniel put his hand gently under my chin and lifted my eyes to his. Their greenness blazed through me. “Charlotte, first off, you should have told me that he said that to you. He is a complete prick. He knows nothing about you or me. He is the last person that you should listen to. If you’re worried, you need to come to me.” He paused and gently stroked my cheek. “Let me explain a few things to you. Will you hear me out?” he asked sweetly.

“Of course,” I said shyly.

“I love you. I want your first time to be special. And the first time that we make love shouldn’t be because you think it’s too hard for me to wait. Nor should it be because you want to make me happy. It should be because we are both ready. You seem to think that because I’ve had sex before I’m unable to wait. That’s just not how it is.” He paused to gauge my reaction.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

“I mean that being here with you is so much better than anything I’ve ever had with anyone else. Ever. Nothing has ever come close. You are the only girl that I have ever or will ever love. Period. I only want you. I want to be your first, but I want to be your last too. I don’t want your first time to be with me sneaking in your window and making love to you in your childhood bedroom with your father home. That’s not romantic. I think we should both be living on our own. Not worrying about who is home, or who is going to hear us. And not because you think I can’t wait. I’ve never been happier. Ever. There is no rush here, Charlotte. I plan on ‘us’ being forever. We can take our time. OK?” He gazed into my eyes, and I realized my eyes had filled with tears.

“I want it to be forever too, but I don’t want to lose you when we leave for school,” I said, and I leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

He pulled back to look at me. “Charlotte, I need to know that you trust me. I’m not going anywhere. I have complete faith in you, and I hope you have faith in me as well. We don’t need this to happen before we go to school or because we will be separated. You don’t need to put pressure on yourself about a timeline. Does that make sense?” he asked, gently wiping away my tears.

“Yes, but making you happy is important to me too, and I’m afraid if I’m not ready that may be frustrating for you,” I said, looking into his eyes again.

“Do I seem frustrated at all? I’m so happy. Being with you makes me happy. It has nothing to do with when we make love. Do I think about making love to you? Of course. I think about it a lot,” he said, laughing, “but I see it in our future, and I’m not worried about when it’s going to happen. It’s important to me that we don’t rush this and that we do this right for you. It’s very important to me that you don’t feel pressured about when it happens, Charlotte.” He leaned forward and gently kissed me on the lips, and then he pulled back and smiled at me. “But that doesn’t mean that I am not going to kiss you from now until Christmas morning,” he teased.

That was exactly what he did. He tipped me back on the bed, pulled me close to him, and kissed me. He kissed me and held me the entire night, and I was more in love with him than ever.

It was only 5:00 a.m., but technically that counted as morning, I thought. I sprung up and ran to the edge of the bed.

Daniel sat up. “What are you doing?” he asked softly.

“It’s Christmas. I want to give you your present,” I said eagerly as I dropped my head down to look under the bed.

I grabbed hold of the packages and pulled them up on the bed. I reached for his stocking and for the Santa hats I had hidden under there as well. I sat up and looked at him. How was it possible that he looked just as handsome as always at five o’clock in the morning? After being momentarily distracted by his mesmerizing eyes, I handed him a Santa hat and slipped one atop my head as well.