Like A Virgin - Chapter 34 (Jayma Mays/Matthew Morrison)
Title: Like A Virgin
Author: emmaschuester
Pairing/Characters: Jayma Mays/Matthew Morrison
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Harmless fun, no offence intended. Pure work of fiction.
Spoilers: None.
Summary/Author's Notes: New chapter! hope you enjoy. :) Christmas fluff
Thanks to agt_starbuck42 for the help!
He woke up early, as planned, and sneaked out of bed, stopping for a second to look at her sleeping form, so peaceful in the dark bedroom.
Smiling to himself, he crept out of the room and down the stairs to the basement, to check if everything was okay down there, and just as silently he got back to bed a few minutes later, gently gathering her in his arms.
Sun was filtering through the blinds, finally, as the rain that had been relentlessly pouring for almost a week had subsided at last, and he woke up a second time much later, to the feeling of soft fingertips tracing his jaw and chin, back and forth. He lazily squinted his eyes open, smiling. She was leaning on her elbow, as her other hand ran on his face, a soft smile on her features as she closed the gap between them and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Morning."
He kissed her again. "Good morning, beautiful. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Matty."
He snaked an arm around her waist and slowly pulled her to him, to rest on his chest, while she kept pecking his lips.
He chuckled. "Showered with kisses, can't say I'm complaining..."
She smiled. "Well, it's the rule, you know." She nodded to the headpost, and he noticed a small branch of mistletoe hanging just above his head.
"Oh, I see. Well, if it's the rule..."
She giggled as he flipped them over, touching his lips to her, their sweet kiss turning into a hot makeout session as soon as his tongue traced her lower lip, and she opened her mouth with a small moan. They spent a long time just lying in bed, never breaking their kiss if not to come up for air, until she pulled back with a smile and kissed the tip of his nose. He grinned back at her, kissed her cheek and settled down, hiding his face in the crook of her neck, nuzzling her and laying soft kisses on any patch of skin he could reach, while her hand reached the soft curls on the nape of his neck, tracing slow strokes on his scalp.
His arms closed around her waist. "Merry Christmas, Jay. I love you."
"I love you more."
He laid another kiss on her shoulder and looked up at her with his huge lopsided grin. "...presents time? Shall we go and see if you were on the 'nice' list this year?"
"Of course I was! It's you I'm not so sure about, mister."
Laughing, he jumped out of bed and took her hands to pull her up. "What?? I'm nothing short of an angel here."
She snorted with laughter. "You wish..."
They descended the stairs to the living room laughing, holding hands. He wondered if she could feel his accelerating pulse under her fingers.
-----
"Hey."
"Hey yourself." He interrupted his dinner preparations and turned around to kiss her.
"Can we talk?"
"Sure."
They sat down at the kitchen table. "What's up?"
"I was just on the phone with my mom, she was asking me when I'd be back home for the Christmas holidays." He nodded slowly, unsure what to expect.
"I told her I needed to check with you first."
She squeezed his hand. "What would you say if I told you I wanna spend Christmas day with you?"
He looked at her with a dumbfounded expression for a minute, before his face cracked up in a huge grin. "Well... Christmas was already my favorite holiday... but now..." He reached across the table and kissed her. "You sure your parents won't mind?"
"They will... but I'll go home right after. I just... I wanna wake up with you on Christmas morning."
He caressed her cheek. "That's the best thing I can think of."
"One rule though. No presents."
His eyes widened. "What?? No way. I have plans. Involving Santa. And you."
She laughed. "Fine, fine. One present. Just one. Deal?" She held her right hand out. He took it and kissed her cheek. "Deal."
-----
She dragged him towards the Christmas tree they had spent one of their rare free days buying and then decorating together. There was a small pile of presents that family and friends had brought over or sent during the previous week, and a much bigger stock of gifts sent from work engagements.
His eyes lit up when he noticed a red stocking hanging from a big branch on the front, the name "Matt" woven in glittering red on the white upper edge. He looked at her, a question on his face, and she nodded, grinning. He reached out to take the stocking and sat down beside her on the couch, tracing his name with a fingertip.
He chuckled. "This is so cool. It's my first Christmas stocking. I didn't have one as a kid, I used to find presents under the tree."
Her hand rested on his forearm and her eyes widened in mock-surprise. "Oh, really? I had no idea..."
His eyebrows shot up. "You talked to my mom?"
"Just got a heads-up from Santa." She motioned toward his lap. "So, are you gonna open it?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought the stocking was the present, you know..." With a wicked grin he reached down and dig his hand to reach for something long and slim, wrapped up in dark blue paper with a golden bow.
She could feel her heartbeat drumming in her ears from the excitement- and worry he'd actually like it.
Carefully, slowly, he unwrapped the gift. His breath hitched as he saw the "Rolex" golden writing on the black box, and his fingers failed twice at opening the lid.
She giggled lightly. "Need some help?"
He just smiled and finally succeeded in his task, revealing a beautiful steel Daytona Rolex watch he had noticed weeks before during an afternoon spent shopping with her. The thought of actually getting such an expensive object had never crossed his mind- the memory of his lean months as a struggling Broadway actor were still too recent.
He traced the outline of the watch and turned to look at her through misty eyes. "This is beautiful. Jay, this is too much..."
Her face lit up in a broad grin as she leaned over to kiss him. "Do you like it? I was so nervous!"
He threw his arms around her neck. "Do I like it? It's perfect."
"You should turn it over, you know..."
He pulled back with a puzzled look and freed the watch from the case, flipping it over. On the back face, there were a few words engraved.
One day more...
Love always,
Jay
His eyes welled up once more, and choking back the tears he pulled her in his lap. She wrapped her limbs around him as he kissed her deeply, and then, feeling his cheeks wet, pulled her in a tight hug, kissing her hair over and over.
She giggled lightly. "Extra snuggles, I think I'll get you more watches, mister."
He chuckled and kept kissing her head, her cheeks, pecking her lips. "I love you."
After a long time he finally pulled away a little. "Time for your present."
His excitement was hard to conceal and she giggled again, wondering what he had come up with since there were no new wrapped gifts under the tree beside those from friends and family.
"I need you to do something for me though. Could you sit here and keep your eyes closed until I say so?"
She raised an eyebrow, feeling flirty. "...okay, my excitement is shifting to worry..."
He laughed. "No need to worry. Just... can you do that? Please?"
She mockingly puffed a little. "Fine, fine... eyes closed."
He kissed her forehead and started towards the basement. "Now, no peeking until I say so, ok? Oh and could you also turn your hands upward in your lap? Perfect. Thanks baby."
She could hear the grin in his voice as his footsteps faded away. What the... where did he go? She sat on the couch, eyes closed, hands turned expectantly upwards for what to her felt like ages, but was in fact only a couple of minutes. When she heard the sound of a door closing and of footsteps approaching, she jumped on her seat a little.
And then, suddenly, something warm and fluffy touched her hands, as he whispered "Open your eyes, sweetie."
The sight in front of her left her speechless as her mouth opened in a perfect 'O'. A beautiful Golden Retriever puppy was looking at her curiously, wagging its tail on her knees, its head tilted to the right. A red bow was tied around its neck, a red card hanging loosely from one of its ends, reading "Merry Christmas! Love, your bigger and more annoying puppy."
She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times without sound, looking from the puppy to him. He was looking at her carefully, expectantly waiting for her reaction.
"I... what..."
"It's a girl."
"A girl..."
"Do you like her? She's eight weeks old."
Having gained some confidence, the puppy lifted from her seating position and dug her head between her hands, sniffing her skin and looking for cuddles.
She chuckled. "Is she... for real?"
He crouched down in front of her. "She is, if you want her."
"Oh my God, of course I do!"
Her hands found the back of the puppy's neck and scratched her lightly, earning a vivacious tailwagging and a lick to her wrist.
She burst into laughter. "She's adorable!! Oh Matty..."
He grinned as her lips captured his for a kiss, which turned into a laugh as the newcomer jumped up and licked Matt's chin.
"Someone's feeling left out... hey, puppy." He smiled broadly as he talked close to the dog's ear. "See? I told you she was adorable, didn't I?"
She giggled and lifted her Christmas present in front of her; one of the puppy's paws reached out to touch her nose, failing. "Well hello, beautiful."
"You need to give her a name."
"We need to." She looked at him. "I know it's my present, but could she be... our dog?"
He realized the impact of her question and entwined his fingers with hers. "I'd love that." He grinned. "But I think you still have naming privileges."
She placed the puppy down where she proceeded to sniff every angle of the couch, until she bumped her small head on one of the wrapped presents still waiting beside the tree. Lifting her head with a yelp, she sat on her back legs, staring transfixed at the everchanging lights on the branches.
Jayma laughed as he sat down beside her, circling her shoulders with an arm and kissing her head. She turned to face him, smiling radiantly. "How did you even come up with this idea?"
"Well, I knew you love dogs... and I knew you wouldn't get one because of our schedules. But I think we can do this... it'll take some organizing but..." his gaze followed the puppy as she stomped back to Jayma's feet, nudging her with her nose and a paw. "She likes you, I knew it."
She laughed and lifted the puppy on her lap, where she sniffed every inch of Jayma and Matthew she could reach, before curling up in her lap, wagging her tail lazily.
"Daisy."
"What?"
"I think she's a Daisy. Do you like the name?"
"I love it." He leaned back on the armrest of the sofa and pulled her down on his chest, Daisy squirming lightly and settling down once more, pressing her wet nose on Matt's forearm.
Jayma smiled. "She's a cuddler, she's gonna fit right in..."
He chuckled and pulled a duvet from a nearby chair to cover them all. They had more presents to open, and lunch at his dad's to get ready for, but it all could wait.
He flipped his new watch over to read the engraving for the umptenth time, and she turned her face to kiss him, slow and soft.
"Merry Christmas, love."
"Merry Christmas, puppy."
--------
"Are you sure your dad won't mind? I know you said she should be already a bit trained but she's so little... she's gonna mess up."
"I'm sure, baby. They have a dog, they're used to this. Plus I was with him when I got Daisy, so he knows we're gonna be three." He smiled at the sound of that, and allowed his mind linger for a few seconds on other possible meanings of that very sentence. Too soon... some day.
He got back to their bedroom a few minutes later, after fixing his hair in front of the bathroom mirror. She was applying makeup and brushing her red locks, and he sat on the bed, enthralled by the sequence of her gestures. She's so perfect.
He got up and walked behind her, sneaking his hands around her shoulders and back behind her neck, and before she could realize it, she was wearing a beautiful white-gold, diamond solitaire necklace.
Her head shot up in surprise. "Matthew! We had agreed on one present!"
He grinned. "Yes but some might argue a dog should not be considered as a present. Plus I was walking by Tiffany and this just screamed your name." He looked at her with a serious face, shaking his head. "I just couldn't leave this poor little necklace there, screaming for you over and over again."
She burst into laughter and kissed him softly once, twice, three times before she allowed herself to give a better look at her new present. "This is just beautiful." She slapped his arm lightly. "Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"Nonsense. Anything for you." He kissed her neck and turned her around. "Ready to go?" He looked down at Daisy, who was curled up on what had already become her duvet. "And you? Are you ready for your first outing?"
The puppy jumped up as she saw him addressing her and kissed his hands as he crouched down and lifted her in his arms, trying to hold her still while she wiggled and barked in excitement.
She laughed and scratched Daisy's ears. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."
----------
"Hey guys!" Matt's stepmom opened the door wider, calling inside for her husband, "Tom, Matt and Jayma are here!" She welcomed them both with small hugs, gushing over Daisy who was trying to climb up Matt's dress shirt to his shoulder.
They joined the rest of the party in the living room, as Matt's dad came from the kitchen, a bottle of wine in a hand, hugging them both tight. "So glad you decided to spend Christmas with us, Jayma." He nodded towards Daisy, who was being cuddled by a number of aunts, uncles and cousins of Matthew. "So, did you like the present? I had the luck to meet her first, I was with Matt when he got her"
She smiled. "He mentioned that. She's definitely the most unexpected present I've ever got... but also the most welcome one. I just hope she won't mess around today... " He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. We've got it all covered, we were expecting her today." He squeezed her shoulder for a second, a gesture of affection his son had inherited from him. "I'm really happy to have you here today." He nodded towards Matthew, who was showing off the new puppy to a few relatives. "He's just... sad when you're not around. Misses you."
He handed her a glass of wine with a smile, and she moved towards her boyfriend; seeing her approaching, Daisy wiggled her way out of the shower of cuddles and ran towards her, jumping on her feet and nudging her legs with her wet nose. Jayma laughed and complied the unspoken request, lifting her up to her chest, as the puppy licked her hands and forearms furiously.
Matt laughed and joined them on the couch, circling her shoulders with an arm and kissing her hair, as he scratched the puppy's belly with the other hand. She could feel at least eight pairs of eyes turned in their direction, and squirmed a little in embarassment.
"Now, which one of your aunts is gonna interrogate me?"
He chuckled. "Hopefully no one... if I were to say one, it'd be my dad's sister, over there. But she just told me you are beautiful and I have improved my taste in women, so it's a good start."
She took a deep breath. "It's funny, I wasn't too nervous when I met your dad. A little when I met your mom... but now... they're so many!"
He pulled her a bit closer and laid a kiss on her cheekbone. "Hey. Breathe. It's gonna be okay. My dad and stepmom are crazy about you. Seriously. And the rest... they're just curious. I have only brought home one girl for the holidays before you, and that was Chrishell... and not everybody loved her. Don't worry. They're gonna love you as much as I do in no time." He chuckled. "Well, I hope a bit less than I do, actually."
She tried to stifle down her nervousness as two of Matt's cousins sat down in front of them, engaging them in conversations and playing with Daisy.
-------
"Are they getting married?"
Tom looked wearily at his sister. "No, Kathy. Not that I know of."
"But they live together, don't they?" He nodded. "And she's just been through a divorce? Isn't it a bit too early for that?"
He sighed. "And to think you had followed me in the kitchen to help with the turkey... Here's the deal. They're in love. I think he wants to propose, but with their respective baggages they're being very careful." He sat down at the kitchen table. "I know you care about Matt, and I appreciate that. A lot. But we just have to trust him on this one, okay?"
"Trust me on what?" He was entering the kitchen with a pile of dirty dishes, Daisy hot on his heels. He set the dishes in the sink, and looked from his dad to his aunt. "What's going on? Dad?"
Tom sighed again. "Nothing, Matt. Aunt Kathy here was just wondering about your... plans. "
"For the... afternoon?"
"With Jayma."
"Oh." He reached down to caress Daisy, lost in thoughts. "Well. I don't think I should discuss this with you before discussing it with her... I can tell you we're in this together. For the long haul." He smiled. "I think I'll leave the rest to the two of us to figure out." He lifted Daisy in his hands. "Come on, girl. Back to mommy."
He got back down in his seat, circling her shoulders and allowing the puppy to stomp from his lap to Jayma's, wagging her tail happily. "Looks like someone missed her mommy..." He realized how that might sound a second too late, but she just looked at him with a radiant smile, and leaned her head on his shoulder.
---------
She was having a surprisingly great time. Matt's relatives were all really nice, nobody had played twenty questions with her yet, and his cousins were all around their age. When Tom handed her a glass of champagne she had hardly registered their meal had come to an end.
"A toast. To all of us being together. To old and new members of the family." He nodded towards the two of them. "And to spending Christmas day with the ones we love. Cheers!"
He clinked his glass to hers, grinning. "To the first of many Christmases together."
She kissed him lightly and smiled. "Cheers."
_______________
...okay. This is the most saccharine thing I've ever written and I might be on a little sugar overdose myself lol. So if you hated it, well I'm sorry. But I needed some Christmas fluff.
Also, I'm sorry for the delay in updates, but my life is crazy and I need a few hours to myself to write, and I can't always get that.
Author: emmaschuester
Pairing/Characters: Jayma Mays/Matthew Morrison
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Harmless fun, no offence intended. Pure work of fiction.
Spoilers: None.
Summary/Author's Notes: New chapter! hope you enjoy. :) Christmas fluff
Thanks to agt_starbuck42 for the help!
He woke up early, as planned, and sneaked out of bed, stopping for a second to look at her sleeping form, so peaceful in the dark bedroom.
Smiling to himself, he crept out of the room and down the stairs to the basement, to check if everything was okay down there, and just as silently he got back to bed a few minutes later, gently gathering her in his arms.
Sun was filtering through the blinds, finally, as the rain that had been relentlessly pouring for almost a week had subsided at last, and he woke up a second time much later, to the feeling of soft fingertips tracing his jaw and chin, back and forth. He lazily squinted his eyes open, smiling. She was leaning on her elbow, as her other hand ran on his face, a soft smile on her features as she closed the gap between them and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Morning."
He kissed her again. "Good morning, beautiful. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Matty."
He snaked an arm around her waist and slowly pulled her to him, to rest on his chest, while she kept pecking his lips.
He chuckled. "Showered with kisses, can't say I'm complaining..."
She smiled. "Well, it's the rule, you know." She nodded to the headpost, and he noticed a small branch of mistletoe hanging just above his head.
"Oh, I see. Well, if it's the rule..."
She giggled as he flipped them over, touching his lips to her, their sweet kiss turning into a hot makeout session as soon as his tongue traced her lower lip, and she opened her mouth with a small moan. They spent a long time just lying in bed, never breaking their kiss if not to come up for air, until she pulled back with a smile and kissed the tip of his nose. He grinned back at her, kissed her cheek and settled down, hiding his face in the crook of her neck, nuzzling her and laying soft kisses on any patch of skin he could reach, while her hand reached the soft curls on the nape of his neck, tracing slow strokes on his scalp.
His arms closed around her waist. "Merry Christmas, Jay. I love you."
"I love you more."
He laid another kiss on her shoulder and looked up at her with his huge lopsided grin. "...presents time? Shall we go and see if you were on the 'nice' list this year?"
"Of course I was! It's you I'm not so sure about, mister."
Laughing, he jumped out of bed and took her hands to pull her up. "What?? I'm nothing short of an angel here."
She snorted with laughter. "You wish..."
They descended the stairs to the living room laughing, holding hands. He wondered if she could feel his accelerating pulse under her fingers.
-----
"Hey."
"Hey yourself." He interrupted his dinner preparations and turned around to kiss her.
"Can we talk?"
"Sure."
They sat down at the kitchen table. "What's up?"
"I was just on the phone with my mom, she was asking me when I'd be back home for the Christmas holidays." He nodded slowly, unsure what to expect.
"I told her I needed to check with you first."
She squeezed his hand. "What would you say if I told you I wanna spend Christmas day with you?"
He looked at her with a dumbfounded expression for a minute, before his face cracked up in a huge grin. "Well... Christmas was already my favorite holiday... but now..." He reached across the table and kissed her. "You sure your parents won't mind?"
"They will... but I'll go home right after. I just... I wanna wake up with you on Christmas morning."
He caressed her cheek. "That's the best thing I can think of."
"One rule though. No presents."
His eyes widened. "What?? No way. I have plans. Involving Santa. And you."
She laughed. "Fine, fine. One present. Just one. Deal?" She held her right hand out. He took it and kissed her cheek. "Deal."
-----
She dragged him towards the Christmas tree they had spent one of their rare free days buying and then decorating together. There was a small pile of presents that family and friends had brought over or sent during the previous week, and a much bigger stock of gifts sent from work engagements.
His eyes lit up when he noticed a red stocking hanging from a big branch on the front, the name "Matt" woven in glittering red on the white upper edge. He looked at her, a question on his face, and she nodded, grinning. He reached out to take the stocking and sat down beside her on the couch, tracing his name with a fingertip.
He chuckled. "This is so cool. It's my first Christmas stocking. I didn't have one as a kid, I used to find presents under the tree."
Her hand rested on his forearm and her eyes widened in mock-surprise. "Oh, really? I had no idea..."
His eyebrows shot up. "You talked to my mom?"
"Just got a heads-up from Santa." She motioned toward his lap. "So, are you gonna open it?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought the stocking was the present, you know..." With a wicked grin he reached down and dig his hand to reach for something long and slim, wrapped up in dark blue paper with a golden bow.
She could feel her heartbeat drumming in her ears from the excitement- and worry he'd actually like it.
Carefully, slowly, he unwrapped the gift. His breath hitched as he saw the "Rolex" golden writing on the black box, and his fingers failed twice at opening the lid.
She giggled lightly. "Need some help?"
He just smiled and finally succeeded in his task, revealing a beautiful steel Daytona Rolex watch he had noticed weeks before during an afternoon spent shopping with her. The thought of actually getting such an expensive object had never crossed his mind- the memory of his lean months as a struggling Broadway actor were still too recent.
He traced the outline of the watch and turned to look at her through misty eyes. "This is beautiful. Jay, this is too much..."
Her face lit up in a broad grin as she leaned over to kiss him. "Do you like it? I was so nervous!"
He threw his arms around her neck. "Do I like it? It's perfect."
"You should turn it over, you know..."
He pulled back with a puzzled look and freed the watch from the case, flipping it over. On the back face, there were a few words engraved.
One day more...
Love always,
Jay
His eyes welled up once more, and choking back the tears he pulled her in his lap. She wrapped her limbs around him as he kissed her deeply, and then, feeling his cheeks wet, pulled her in a tight hug, kissing her hair over and over.
She giggled lightly. "Extra snuggles, I think I'll get you more watches, mister."
He chuckled and kept kissing her head, her cheeks, pecking her lips. "I love you."
After a long time he finally pulled away a little. "Time for your present."
His excitement was hard to conceal and she giggled again, wondering what he had come up with since there were no new wrapped gifts under the tree beside those from friends and family.
"I need you to do something for me though. Could you sit here and keep your eyes closed until I say so?"
She raised an eyebrow, feeling flirty. "...okay, my excitement is shifting to worry..."
He laughed. "No need to worry. Just... can you do that? Please?"
She mockingly puffed a little. "Fine, fine... eyes closed."
He kissed her forehead and started towards the basement. "Now, no peeking until I say so, ok? Oh and could you also turn your hands upward in your lap? Perfect. Thanks baby."
She could hear the grin in his voice as his footsteps faded away. What the... where did he go? She sat on the couch, eyes closed, hands turned expectantly upwards for what to her felt like ages, but was in fact only a couple of minutes. When she heard the sound of a door closing and of footsteps approaching, she jumped on her seat a little.
And then, suddenly, something warm and fluffy touched her hands, as he whispered "Open your eyes, sweetie."
The sight in front of her left her speechless as her mouth opened in a perfect 'O'. A beautiful Golden Retriever puppy was looking at her curiously, wagging its tail on her knees, its head tilted to the right. A red bow was tied around its neck, a red card hanging loosely from one of its ends, reading "Merry Christmas! Love, your bigger and more annoying puppy."
She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times without sound, looking from the puppy to him. He was looking at her carefully, expectantly waiting for her reaction.
"I... what..."
"It's a girl."
"A girl..."
"Do you like her? She's eight weeks old."
Having gained some confidence, the puppy lifted from her seating position and dug her head between her hands, sniffing her skin and looking for cuddles.
She chuckled. "Is she... for real?"
He crouched down in front of her. "She is, if you want her."
"Oh my God, of course I do!"
Her hands found the back of the puppy's neck and scratched her lightly, earning a vivacious tailwagging and a lick to her wrist.
She burst into laughter. "She's adorable!! Oh Matty..."
He grinned as her lips captured his for a kiss, which turned into a laugh as the newcomer jumped up and licked Matt's chin.
"Someone's feeling left out... hey, puppy." He smiled broadly as he talked close to the dog's ear. "See? I told you she was adorable, didn't I?"
She giggled and lifted her Christmas present in front of her; one of the puppy's paws reached out to touch her nose, failing. "Well hello, beautiful."
"You need to give her a name."
"We need to." She looked at him. "I know it's my present, but could she be... our dog?"
He realized the impact of her question and entwined his fingers with hers. "I'd love that." He grinned. "But I think you still have naming privileges."
She placed the puppy down where she proceeded to sniff every angle of the couch, until she bumped her small head on one of the wrapped presents still waiting beside the tree. Lifting her head with a yelp, she sat on her back legs, staring transfixed at the everchanging lights on the branches.
Jayma laughed as he sat down beside her, circling her shoulders with an arm and kissing her head. She turned to face him, smiling radiantly. "How did you even come up with this idea?"
"Well, I knew you love dogs... and I knew you wouldn't get one because of our schedules. But I think we can do this... it'll take some organizing but..." his gaze followed the puppy as she stomped back to Jayma's feet, nudging her with her nose and a paw. "She likes you, I knew it."
She laughed and lifted the puppy on her lap, where she sniffed every inch of Jayma and Matthew she could reach, before curling up in her lap, wagging her tail lazily.
"Daisy."
"What?"
"I think she's a Daisy. Do you like the name?"
"I love it." He leaned back on the armrest of the sofa and pulled her down on his chest, Daisy squirming lightly and settling down once more, pressing her wet nose on Matt's forearm.
Jayma smiled. "She's a cuddler, she's gonna fit right in..."
He chuckled and pulled a duvet from a nearby chair to cover them all. They had more presents to open, and lunch at his dad's to get ready for, but it all could wait.
He flipped his new watch over to read the engraving for the umptenth time, and she turned her face to kiss him, slow and soft.
"Merry Christmas, love."
"Merry Christmas, puppy."
--------
"Are you sure your dad won't mind? I know you said she should be already a bit trained but she's so little... she's gonna mess up."
"I'm sure, baby. They have a dog, they're used to this. Plus I was with him when I got Daisy, so he knows we're gonna be three." He smiled at the sound of that, and allowed his mind linger for a few seconds on other possible meanings of that very sentence. Too soon... some day.
He got back to their bedroom a few minutes later, after fixing his hair in front of the bathroom mirror. She was applying makeup and brushing her red locks, and he sat on the bed, enthralled by the sequence of her gestures. She's so perfect.
He got up and walked behind her, sneaking his hands around her shoulders and back behind her neck, and before she could realize it, she was wearing a beautiful white-gold, diamond solitaire necklace.
Her head shot up in surprise. "Matthew! We had agreed on one present!"
He grinned. "Yes but some might argue a dog should not be considered as a present. Plus I was walking by Tiffany and this just screamed your name." He looked at her with a serious face, shaking his head. "I just couldn't leave this poor little necklace there, screaming for you over and over again."
She burst into laughter and kissed him softly once, twice, three times before she allowed herself to give a better look at her new present. "This is just beautiful." She slapped his arm lightly. "Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"Nonsense. Anything for you." He kissed her neck and turned her around. "Ready to go?" He looked down at Daisy, who was curled up on what had already become her duvet. "And you? Are you ready for your first outing?"
The puppy jumped up as she saw him addressing her and kissed his hands as he crouched down and lifted her in his arms, trying to hold her still while she wiggled and barked in excitement.
She laughed and scratched Daisy's ears. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."
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"Hey guys!" Matt's stepmom opened the door wider, calling inside for her husband, "Tom, Matt and Jayma are here!" She welcomed them both with small hugs, gushing over Daisy who was trying to climb up Matt's dress shirt to his shoulder.
They joined the rest of the party in the living room, as Matt's dad came from the kitchen, a bottle of wine in a hand, hugging them both tight. "So glad you decided to spend Christmas with us, Jayma." He nodded towards Daisy, who was being cuddled by a number of aunts, uncles and cousins of Matthew. "So, did you like the present? I had the luck to meet her first, I was with Matt when he got her"
She smiled. "He mentioned that. She's definitely the most unexpected present I've ever got... but also the most welcome one. I just hope she won't mess around today... " He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. We've got it all covered, we were expecting her today." He squeezed her shoulder for a second, a gesture of affection his son had inherited from him. "I'm really happy to have you here today." He nodded towards Matthew, who was showing off the new puppy to a few relatives. "He's just... sad when you're not around. Misses you."
He handed her a glass of wine with a smile, and she moved towards her boyfriend; seeing her approaching, Daisy wiggled her way out of the shower of cuddles and ran towards her, jumping on her feet and nudging her legs with her wet nose. Jayma laughed and complied the unspoken request, lifting her up to her chest, as the puppy licked her hands and forearms furiously.
Matt laughed and joined them on the couch, circling her shoulders with an arm and kissing her hair, as he scratched the puppy's belly with the other hand. She could feel at least eight pairs of eyes turned in their direction, and squirmed a little in embarassment.
"Now, which one of your aunts is gonna interrogate me?"
He chuckled. "Hopefully no one... if I were to say one, it'd be my dad's sister, over there. But she just told me you are beautiful and I have improved my taste in women, so it's a good start."
She took a deep breath. "It's funny, I wasn't too nervous when I met your dad. A little when I met your mom... but now... they're so many!"
He pulled her a bit closer and laid a kiss on her cheekbone. "Hey. Breathe. It's gonna be okay. My dad and stepmom are crazy about you. Seriously. And the rest... they're just curious. I have only brought home one girl for the holidays before you, and that was Chrishell... and not everybody loved her. Don't worry. They're gonna love you as much as I do in no time." He chuckled. "Well, I hope a bit less than I do, actually."
She tried to stifle down her nervousness as two of Matt's cousins sat down in front of them, engaging them in conversations and playing with Daisy.
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"Are they getting married?"
Tom looked wearily at his sister. "No, Kathy. Not that I know of."
"But they live together, don't they?" He nodded. "And she's just been through a divorce? Isn't it a bit too early for that?"
He sighed. "And to think you had followed me in the kitchen to help with the turkey... Here's the deal. They're in love. I think he wants to propose, but with their respective baggages they're being very careful." He sat down at the kitchen table. "I know you care about Matt, and I appreciate that. A lot. But we just have to trust him on this one, okay?"
"Trust me on what?" He was entering the kitchen with a pile of dirty dishes, Daisy hot on his heels. He set the dishes in the sink, and looked from his dad to his aunt. "What's going on? Dad?"
Tom sighed again. "Nothing, Matt. Aunt Kathy here was just wondering about your... plans. "
"For the... afternoon?"
"With Jayma."
"Oh." He reached down to caress Daisy, lost in thoughts. "Well. I don't think I should discuss this with you before discussing it with her... I can tell you we're in this together. For the long haul." He smiled. "I think I'll leave the rest to the two of us to figure out." He lifted Daisy in his hands. "Come on, girl. Back to mommy."
He got back down in his seat, circling her shoulders and allowing the puppy to stomp from his lap to Jayma's, wagging her tail happily. "Looks like someone missed her mommy..." He realized how that might sound a second too late, but she just looked at him with a radiant smile, and leaned her head on his shoulder.
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She was having a surprisingly great time. Matt's relatives were all really nice, nobody had played twenty questions with her yet, and his cousins were all around their age. When Tom handed her a glass of champagne she had hardly registered their meal had come to an end.
"A toast. To all of us being together. To old and new members of the family." He nodded towards the two of them. "And to spending Christmas day with the ones we love. Cheers!"
He clinked his glass to hers, grinning. "To the first of many Christmases together."
She kissed him lightly and smiled. "Cheers."
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...okay. This is the most saccharine thing I've ever written and I might be on a little sugar overdose myself lol. So if you hated it, well I'm sorry. But I needed some Christmas fluff.
Also, I'm sorry for the delay in updates, but my life is crazy and I need a few hours to myself to write, and I can't always get that.