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Chapter 19

    Winter came in full force, dumping all her might on us in the form of thick layers of glistening white snow. On one of Daniel’s days off, we spent nearly the entire day outside building snowmen and all the cutesy things that came along with snow.

    I watched while laughing my butt off as Daniel tried to build what he called a snow fortress. Let’s just say that he managed to make two walls of snow just above his knees before the snow toppled over on top of him. I ended up jumping through the remaining mound of snow on top of Daniel and slapping a few kisses on his rosy cheeks.

    Time with Daniel blew past and before I even knew it, we were setting up a small Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Daniel insisted that he do the manly bits and set up the tree, while he gave me creative reign over the decorations.

    “I think you have this tree crooked,” I said as I took a step back and put a hand on my hip.

    Daniel stepped beside me and turned his head a little to the right. “Nah, it’s perfectly straight when you look at it like this.”

    I scoffed playfully and pushed him lightly. “Well, fix it!” I said with a laugh. “How am I supposed to make a crooked tree beautiful?”

    Wrapping his arms around my waist from behind me, he placed a kiss on the side of my neck. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

    Rolling my eyes, I pulled from him and poked him in the chest. “You better be happy I love you. To think I have to live in a house with a crooked Christmas tree. What is my world coming to?” I grinned up at him.

    This time, Daniel rolled his emerald eyes. “Get your butt to decorating, wench.”

    I gasped in faux surprise. “Wench? I am not a wench.”

    Daniel grinned, making his beautiful eyes twinkle. “You’re my wench. Now, get to work.”

    I stood on the tips of my toes and placed a kiss on his lips gently before doing a small curtsy and turning back to the crooked tree. Daniel helped me string the lights; it turned out that it took way more skill putting those little suckers on the dang branches. I strategically placed the colorful glass balls on the branches so that they would catch the most light, and thanks to my handiwork, the light echoed off the ornaments, sending a rainbow of color nearly bouncing off the walls.

    “There,” I said with a proud grin as I took a step back to admire my work, “you can’t even notice your crooked tree now.”

    Daniel wrapped an arm around my shoulders simultaneously pulling me into his chest. “I’m so happy you’re the one spending the holiday with me.”

    I smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Me too, Daniel. This is the first Christmas I’ve been excited for in years,” I spoke truthfully. “Christmases at home were always so stressful. My mother tried so hard for everything to be perfect and always threw this huge party, while my father just drank and made a fool out of himself.”

    Placing a kiss on the top of my head, Daniel said, “Well, I get the whole week leading up to Christmas off and then the day after as well.”

    Turning in his arms, I leapt into his chest. Automatically, Daniel caught me as I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Really?” I beamed.

    Daniel laughed and grinned his lopsided grin. “Really. Really.”

    “That’s amazing!” I wrapped my arms around his neck, nuzzling my face into his skin and resting my head on his shoulder. “I’m so excited; I couldn’t ask for anything better!”

    That was the truth. Time with Daniel always felt extra precious to me because of the time he spent working, but now, he and I would have so much time together. It was the perfect present.

    I couldn’t help but think that maybe it was a gift from my father, but I shoved that out of my brain as quickly as it appeared.

    “If I knew you were this easy to please, I wouldn’t have put so much thought into your gift.” Daniel said hintingly.

    Meeting the greens of his eyes, I lifted a brow quizzically. “You already have my gift? Christmas is a few weeks away.”

    Daniel grinned wildly. He reminded me of a child who couldn’t contain his excitement as he ran downstairs to find the bicycle he always wanted. “It was a spur of the moment thing, but I know that you’re going to love it.”

    I bit my bottom lip then couldn’t help but grin. “What is it? Is it here?” Now, I sounded like the one who couldn’t contain his excitement.

    Laughing, Daniel sat me back on the ground. “I’m not telling you, and yes it is,” I felt a devious idea pop into my head. I was totally going to go on a mission and dig for my gift while Daniel wasn’t home. Obviously reading my mind or crazed expression, Daniel added, “but don’t even think about looking for it because it’s a complete and total waste of time. You’ll never find it.”

    I laughed and ran my hand through my hair. “I would never think to do such a thing.”

    Daniel leaned down and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Yeah, right.” Walking over to the tree, he glanced over his shoulder. “I believe my prince forgot to put the star on the tree.”

    Running a hand through the back of my hair, I shrugged. “I couldn’t reach.”

    Effortlessly, Daniel placed the silver star on the very top of the crooked tree. “There, now it’s perfect.”

    “I agree,” I said as I sat on the edge of the couch.

    Daniel walked over, sat on the far end of the couch, and placed his head in my lap. “My parents called me a few days ago.”

    My fingers played with his dark, growing hair as he smiled up at me. “Oh?”

    He nodded his head lightly. “I told them about you.”

    My stomach dropped, and I felt my heart climb into my throat. “How did that go?” I had to tell myself not to bite my lip; I didn’t want Daniel to see my nervousness, but something in his confident smile told me that he already did.

    “Very well, actually.” I felt relief rush through my system. “They asked me if I could bring you down for dinner on Christmas.”

    The nerves came back, and I stopped running my fingers through his hair. “They want me over for dinner?” I never even thought about meeting Daniel’s parents. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it; it just never crossed my mind.

    “Don’t sound so horrified, babe,” Daniel said with a grin as he sat up beside me. “I told them that I was in love, and they want to meet the, as my mother said, man who conquered my heart.”

    I raised an eyebrow. “I conquered your heart?

    “Apparently. My mom has been telling me to find someone worth my time and settle down for awhile now.”

    I leaned into Daniel‘s strong chest, resting my head on his shoulder. “Of course, I would love to meet your parents,” I said honestly. Despite my honesty, I still felt incredibly nervous.

    “You look terrified, Tyler,” Daniel said with a small laugh.

    I shrugged. “I’ve never been in this situation before.”

    Daniel rested his head on top of mine. “They’ll love you, babe. You don’t understand how my parents are, but when I say that they’ll love you, I mean it.”

    That caught my attention. Lifting my head, I met Daniel’s eyes. “Why does that feel like there is a story behind that?”

    Doing his best to feign innocence, Daniel lifted his eyes and tried to keep a straight face. “What do you mean?”

    I rolled my eyes and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Oh, just spit it out already.” I couldn’t help but smile at how Daniel rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his dark locks nervously.

    He was absolutely perfect.

    “My parent’s didn’t really approve of my choice in men. I never went into incredible details with them about my love life, but they knew that I never really stuck with one man for too long.” Daniel blushed slightly as he spoke. “Basically,” he said as he cleared his throat, “they hated that I didn’t take love and all that seriously.”

    I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his chest. “So, what you’re saying is that your parents will love me even though I’m a crazy just because you’re taking the time to settle down?” I tried to keep my face as straight as possible, but a grin slowly tugged at the corners of my lips.

    Daniel furrowed his brow. “You’re not a crazy, Tyler.”

    I waved him away. “It was a joke.” Though, I knew for a fact that some people would think differently.

    A grin grew on his lips as he spoke. “You’re right though. If you were a crazy, they definitely wouldn’t mind as long as I was serious with you.”

    “That’s a comforting thought, actually.” I paused to purse my lips. “I just don’t want to mess anything up, Daniel.” I didn’t want to mess anything up that would make him leave me.

    I couldn’t survive without him.

    Daniel kissed the top of my head gently. “Everything will be absolutely perfect, my prince.”

    Smiling, I took a deep breath and allowed myself to believe Daniel spoke the truth. I gave this man my heart, and if I believed in souls, I would have given that to him as well. “I believe you, my knight.”

    The last weeks leading up to Christmas were surprisingly lonely. Because Daniel was getting so much time off, he worked even longer hours than before, leaving me to myself. When he finally did come home, he looked so haggard and exhausted that I did my best to make sure that all he had to do was come home, eat, and sleep.

    The most quality time we had together was on his last day of work. Daniel was running late, as usual, so I packed dinner away and ran myself a nice bubble bath. Daniel came home and tapped on the bathroom door before pushing it open.

    “Hey, babe,” he mumbled. His voice was gruff, and his eyes were way past bloodshot.

    I didn’t like seeing him this way; it almost made me think that having all this time off wasn’t worth Daniel running himself into the ground. “Hey,” I said, doing my best to offer him a smile, “how was work?”

    He practically threw himself on the toilet, raking a hand down his face. “Do you even need to ask?” He yawned. “I’m just looking forward to our time together; we’re not going anything for an entire week but spending every last second together.” Despite the exhaustion lacing his words, Daniel managed to sound cheery.

    “Do you have any idea how perfect that sounds?” I said with a wide grin. I would get to wake up in his arms every single morning.

    Daniel managed a light chuckle. “I’m going to take a guess and say that it sounds about as perfect as getting in that bathtub with you sounds to me.” Daniel began unbuttoning his dress shirt, pulling free of its grasp. In one swift movement, he pulled his undershirt over his head.

    Watching, I admired his wide shoulders and strong chest. He untied his shoes and tossed them to the side haphazardly then stood. As he moved, the muscles in his abdomen tightened.

    Daniel finished undressing and climbed into the bathtub. I sat up, giving him plenty of room to sit in between my legs. Lying back, he rested his head on my chest and sighed contently as the water flowed over his body.

    I kissed the top of his head lovingly as I draped my arms down his chest. Grazing my fingers over the warm flesh of his chest, I felt his body shudder. “That feels amazing, Tyler,” he nearly groaned as I worked my fingers back up to his shoulders. I applied more pressure on the way back down his hard chest.

    Smiling, I continued to weave my fingers over his skin. His breathing deepened as he fell asleep. I placed a kiss in the dark tendrils of his hair before sighing contently.

    There was no way in hell that it got any better than this right here.

   

    “Get up! Get up!” Daniel said as he threw his body on top of mine. He jumped on the bed a few times, jarring me awake from my perfect slumber.

    I rolled onto my stomach and let out an ungodly groan as I buried my head under the pillow.

    “Tyler, get your ass out of bed!” Daniel said excitedly as he jumped on me once more.   

    I groaned once more. “No,” I said stubbornly in my groggy morning voice.

    “It’s Christmas!” He shouted as he pushed himself to his feet, straddling me.

    A smile crept onto my lips as I rolled over. “Marry Christmas, Daniel,” I said as happily as I could considering that the blasted sun wasn’t even up yet. Reaching up, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the bed.

    Instantly, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight embrace as I rested my head on his shoulder. “Marry Christmas, Tyler, my prince.”

    I kissed his neck lightly. The whole week leading up to this holiday was sheer and utter bliss. Daniel and I slept in every single day, spent every waking moment together, and had more sex than any two people should.

    It was amazing.

    It was beyond amazing.

    “Now, get your happy butt up!” Daniel barked, nearly yanking me out of the bed as he pulled me toward the living room.

    Thankfully, Daniel’s t-shirts were massive on me, coming down to my knees and covering the bits of myself I didn’t want flashing around. After all, his t-shirt was the only article of clothing on my body.

    “I’m up; I’m up,” I said with squinted eyes as I fell on my face on the couch.

    Daniel placed his hands on my shoulders and shook me. “You are not!” He wined. “Get up, Tyler.”

    I pretended not to hear him and snored loudly.

    “You have got to be kidding me,” Daniel said in exasperation.

    I leapt at him suddenly, dragging him to the floor roughly as I crushed my lips to his. Daniel opened his mouth, giving way to my venturing tongue as his arms wrapped around me securely. When I finally pulled away I was more than awake in all the right ways. “Good morning,” I said rather breathlessly.

    Daniel blinked a few times before smiling brightly. “Good morning to you too.” He gathered me in his arms and sat me down on the couch. “Anymore stunts like that, and you aren’t getting any of your gifts.” There was a dark twinkle in his shining emerald gaze that had my stomach in a tizzy.

    I had to cross my legs on the couch to keep myself from pouncing on him once more. “Yes, my knight,” I said with a wide grin.

    “Ok!” Daniel said clapping his hands together as he sat in front of the brightly lit Christmas tree. “I want you to open this one first,” Daniel said happily as he handed me a medium sized box with silver wrapping paper. In my hands it was definitely heavier than I thought it would be; I resisted the immediate, child-like urge to shake the box.

    I felt bad that everything under the tree was for me, but I had a little, devious plan of my own that made me feel slightly bit better; I just hoped that Daniel would enjoy it as much as I thought he would.

    I chewed on my bottom lip and smiled as I tore into the metallic paper. When I reached what was inside, I felt my jaw drop. It was a rectangular mahogany wooden box with several shelves and a silver clasp. I pulled out on of the drawers to find an entire set of acrylic paints.

    It was an entire new art kit, an expensive art kit.

    “I noticed that you really only had pencils, and even those were really worn down; I thought you would appreciate it,” Daniel said proudly.

    I blinked back tears, refusing to allow myself to cry on the first dang gift. “This is wonderful,” I said meeting his gemstone gaze. “Daniel, this is so wonderful.”

    “You already said that,” He beamed brightly. “This one,” he began, reaching for a smaller present in the same silver paper, “goes with it.”

    He walked over and placed it in my lap as he knelt in front of me. I sat the art kit beside me and ripped away the paper, revealing a black, leather-bound sketch book. “The one you have is nearly filled,” he began as he lifted his hand, cupping my cheek, “and I know that a lot of the work inside it is from a really long time ago. I just wanted you to have a new sketchpad that you can fill with images from our time together.”

    I couldn’t contain the tears any longer. Being kind and caring were just part of what made Daniel so special, but this was just beyond my comprehension. How could a single man be so thoughtful and loving? How could ever single move he made be so absolutely perfect? How could a single man care so deeply for me?

    I threw my arms around Daniel’s neck, burying my face in his neck as the tears streamed freely from my eyes. “Why are you crying?” Daniel asked softly as he wrapped his arms around my back. One of his hands snaked to the back of my head so he could run his fingers through my hair.

    I took a deep breath to calm myself and lifted my head. “You would think that by now I would be used to you caring so much about me,” I choked out, “but I’m not. You still surprise me every single day, and I don’t know what to do in return, Daniel.”

    Daniel’s lopsided smile gathered on his lips as he wiped away my tears. “I like surprising you because I love you, Tyler. I want to be everything you will ever need; you don’t have to pay me back. You just being with me is more than enough payment, babe.” He leaned down and captured my lips in a sweet kiss.

    I closed my eyes and rested my head against his forehead. “You are the most amazing person in the world, Daniel,” I breathed.

    He chuckled and kissed the tip of my nose. “I’m glad that you think so, my prince.” He hugged me tightly once more as he sat me back down on the couch. “You have one more gift before you get your actual surprise.”

    I smiled down at him as he crawled over to the tree and pulled out the last present. He handed to me as I wiped the remainder of my tears away with the back of my hand. This box was thinner and weight considerably less than the other two. I tore into the paper and reached a white box.

    Opening the box, I grinned like a total idiot as I found a hideously beautiful Christmas sweater. It was red and green with a Santa face taking up the majority of the front. When I lifted it out of the box, I found an identical sweater underneath it. “That one is for me,” Daniel said, answering my question before I could even ask. “These are for when we go eat dinner at my parents’ house.”

    “These have got to be the ugliest sweaters on the face of the planet,” I beamed as I held it against my body. “I love it!”   

    Daniel leaned forward, kissing my cheek. “I thought you would, but,” he began as he grabbed a hold of my wrist, pulling me to my feet, “I think you’re going to like your surprise the absolute most.”

    I lifted a brow questioningly as Daniel led me to the front door. “It’s outside?” I asked as Daniel pulled open the door, allowing free entry to the bitter cold outside. “I don’t have any pants on, Daniel,” I wined as I grabbed the edges of his shirt, making sure that the wind didn’t make me flash my private bits to the world.

    “You’ll be ok, babe. No one is going to be outside; it’s way too cold.” He said as he pulled me out the door. Daniel was a total cheater. While I wore practically nothing and strode through the early morning barefoot, he wore a sweater, a thick pair of sweatpants, and house shoes. When we descended the stairs, my little toes felt like they were going to snap off like popsicles and my teeth were chattering loudly.

    “I’m freezing,” I wined.

    Daniel came to a stop and picked me off the ground so I didn’t have to walk through the snow as we stepped into the parking lot. I wrapped myself around his neck, bringing myself as close to his warm body as possible. “I really hope you like this,” he said self-consciously as he came to a stop.

    I lifted my head and glanced around the parking lot. There wasn’t anything out of place out here; the regular cars sat in their regular places with snow draped over their hoods and windows. “What am I looking for?” I asked through my chattering teeth.

    Daniel laughed and pointed to the only car that had the snow dusted from it.

    I stared at the car then back at Daniel then back to the car. Realization slapped me in the face like a baseball to my teeth. I forgot all about the cold as I felt my eyes widen. “You bought me a car?” I gasped.

    Daniel nodded silently.

    “How in the hell did you buy me a car?” I nearly shouted. “Oh God, Daniel. This is too much; you can’t spend this much money on me. I don’t even have my license, and I still don’t drive very well.”

    Daniel crushed his lips to mine, probably to silence my panicky ramblings. “I had some money saved up, and your Dad pays me pretty well, Tyler.” He said when he finally pulled his lips from mine.

    I opened my mouth to protest, but Daniel went on.

    “I thought it would come in handy for when you do get your license. I can pay the insurance on it when that day comes, but ultimately this is my gift to you because I know that you’re perfectly capable to handle the responsibility of getting a job and having your own car.”

    All I heard out of that was get a job.

    “You want me to get a job?” I said almost sadly.

    Daniel sighed deeply. “You’re impossible, Tyler,” he said with a smile. “I’m saying that I know you’ve been thinking about trying to get a job, and I know that you have to get bored sitting alone at home. I figured that if I got you a car, you would be more inclined to do what you really want to do.”

    He was right. I had been thinking about getting a job, but I never thought that I could handle being around people, but somehow, Daniel’s faith in me made me grin as the situation finally sank into my hard head.

    “I have a car?”

    Daniel nodded enthusiastically. “You have a car.”

    “You bought me a car?” I said as I bit felt my grin widen to inhuman levels.   

    “Yes, Tyler, I bought you a car.”

    I crushed my lips into Daniel’s, digging my fingers into his hair. I felt him stagger backwards as his hands wrapped around my back even more tightly. “You’re definitely getting you’re gift from me right this very second,” I said, hardly unable to control my enthusiasm.

    Daniel raised his eyebrow as surprise flickered over his green eyes.

    “You have to take me inside first,” I said as I became aware of the cold once more. Instantaneously, my teeth started chattering all over again.

    “I can do that, my prince,” he said as he kissed my forehead and walked back up the stairs to his apartment. Once inside, Daniel placed me on the ground.

    My body felt numb as I rubbed my hands up my bare arms. “Wait here,” I said, pushing him to the couch. Amusement flickered in his eyes as he sat down. “I’ll be right back.”

    With that, I ran off into the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth. As I rinsed my mouth, I placed the palms of my hands against the porcelain frame of the sink and stared at my reflection. My cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold. “You can do this,” I whispered to myself. “You totally have this.”

    Stealing a deep breath, I ran a hand through my hair and straightened my back. With one final look at my reflection, I pulled Daniel’s t-shirt over my head and opened the door, stepping into the hallway stark naked.

    My heart pounded loudly in my ears as I walked into the living room, stopping just behind where Daniel sat. He started to turn around, but I said, “Stop and keep your eyes closed until I say, ok?”

    Daniel laughed but nodded. “Yes, my prince.”

    I stepped in front of him and grabbed his hand. “Keep your eyes closed, Daniel,” I warned. “I’ll lead you.”

    Daniel bit his lip as he smiled.

    I pulled him to his feet and led him through the hallway and into the bedroom. Once Daniel was in front of the bed, I told him to sit; he obeyed. With one last deep breath, I pulled my hand from his and squared my shoulders. “Open your eyes.”

    Daniel opened his eyes and caught his breath. Though he and I spent a lot of time naked together, I never made a point of it to be flashy about it. “You’re stunning, Daniel, but what in the world are you doing?”

    I chewed on my lip and ran a hand through my hair. “Your Christmas present,” I said matter-of-factly.

    Grinning like a kid in a candy store, his emerald eyes lit up. “I get you for Christmas?”

    I smiled timidly and shook my head. “You’ve always had me, Daniel. Today, I get to have you.” The words felt odd coming from my mouth, but I did my best to say them with confidence.

    Daniel’s eyes widened as a slight blush reddened his cheeks. “Really?” He asked.

    “Yes,” I said as I took a step forward, leaning down and claiming his lips. “You’re going to have to help me though,” I whispered as I blushed. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

    Daniel laughed lightly and kissed my cheek. “You’re just full of surprises, huh?” He asked as I pushed him backwards, straddling his waist.

    I placed a kiss on his neck and pulled his sweater over his head. I carried the kisses across his bare chest and felt his breathing quicken. “I guess you’ll just have to find out.”

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Sorry for the longer wait on this chapter, guys and gals, but hopefully it'll be worth it to you?

As always, please vote and leave a comment down below! I love chatting with all of you about my story.

I have to say that I've been getting a bit emotional with these last few chapters because I know what is about to happen. You guys and gals are just right up to the climax of the story.

Are you ready? I'm so nervous about it!

*edit*

I forgot (again) to mention that HOLY COW THIS STORY HAS OVER 4K READS NOW!

That's roughly 1k since the last chapter <3

Seriously, you are all freakin' amazing and perfect!

xoxo - Mason

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