My December Darling

19. Luke

19

LUKE

W hen Catalina explained the concept of a parranda to me, I pictured it like a Christmas movie, with a small group of people stopping in front of houses to sing a few Christmas songs before walking to the next one.

The reality is far more exciting, and one I immediately find myself enjoying as everyone departs the bus and enters the first house on the Martinezes’ list of guests.

“ Parranderos !” Mrs. Martinez waves her tambourine in the air. “Get your instruments here.”

A crowd forms around Mrs. Martinez and Josefina Lopez while they pass out maracas, tambourines, and other noisemakers. I reach inside the basket and grab a maraca, which seems like a safe bet.

Mrs. Martinez gives my cheek a kiss before whispering, “Thank you for being here. My daughter might not tell you herself, but she’s happy you came.”

A warmth spreads through me as I glance over at Catalina, Aiden, and Gabriela. They are talking amongst themselves, or more like Gabriela is animatedly telling a story, her hands waving in the air as she talks with them.

As if she senses me watching, Catalina glances over at me with a shy smile that beckons me forward.

Josefina stops me first, and I grab a music pamphlet from her hand before heading over to my friends.

Aiden throws his arm around Gabriela and drags her against his body, and I wish to do something similar with Catalina, but I resist the impulse. I’m not sure where we stand as far as PDA goes, and I’d rather not make tonight’s fun activity awkward by attempting anything that makes her uneasy.

So I hover close enough to smell her perfume while remaining far enough to look casual from an outsider’s point of view.

Mrs. Martinez walks up the steps and asks, “Is everyone ready?”

The crowd forming near the entry of the house confirms with a shake of their instruments while a few people shout “yes!”

Catalina shifts her weight for the third time since I appeared, so I lean my head down and ask, “Are you feeling okay?”

She looks up at me. “Yes. I will be.”

Will be.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just get a little nervous with big crowds, but it’ll go away.”

“Anything I can do to help you feel better faster?”

She tucks a curl behind her ear, drawing my attention toward the holiday-inspired earrings she is wearing that look like miniature gift-wrapped presents. “Just…stay close?”

“How close are we talking?” I waggle my brows, making her laugh.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Aiden and Gabriela looking at us, along with a few other people based on the way the back of my neck prickles, but I ignore them all while I wait for Catalina’s response.

She doesn’t speak, but her hand reaching out to grab mine is the only one I need. Her hold is tight, most likely to disguise her trembling, so I readjust and grasp hers with a strong grip.

“Thank you,” she says as we walk up the steps together. For a moment, I panic, thinking Gabriela ruined my surprise for later.

“Thank you for what?”

“For being here. With me.” She looks up at me with a dazzling smile that rivals all the twinkling lights covering the house in front of us, and I’m stunned by the sheer intensity of it.

Stunned by her .

I’m quickly learning that the next ten days won’t be enough time for us, or at least not when a smile and a simple thank-you make me feel like I’m on cloud nine.

While I’m certain of my feelings, Catalina is the complete opposite, and I’m not sure where we will stand once it comes time for her to leave for her next job in California.

Focus on the present.

I’m trying my best, but what happens when the future I want is tied to the woman who is slowly drifting out of my reach?

We make it through four houses without any incidents, and our group of carolers has doubled in size since the very first stop. I try my best to sing in Spanish— try being the key word—and earn a few laughs from Catalina in the process. Despite the happiness shining in her eyes, there are a few moments when they turn cloudy from unshed tears, and I quickly figured out that Catalina’s tears are triggered by Nicolas Lopez playing the cuatro, which apparently used to be her grandmother’s job before she passed away.

I can’t do much besides wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side, offering my support in the only way I know how. My proximity seems to do the trick, and Catalina eventually seeks me out on her own.

I’m nervous but excited by the time we make it to the final house.

“No way!” Catalina rushes over to the table of snacks after the parranderos finish singing. “Gabriela! Look at this!”

Gaby flashes me a knowing smile before walking up to her sister. “ Tembleque . Abuela and Papi’s favorite.” She grabs one of the small plastic cups and a mini spoon.

“Who made it?” Catalina asks.

I rub the back of my neck subconsciously before scolding myself for giving me away.

“I wonder…” Gabriela does a shitty job at hiding the truth.

Catalina’s gaze swings around the room. “Was it Mami?”

“No.” Gabriela scoops a spoonful of the coconut pudding from the cup and takes a bite. “That’s…um…” Her brows scrunch together.

Fuck . It’s terrible, isn’t it? I should’ve known Aiden was lying when he taste-tested the thing, but he swore to me that it was good, so I believed him.

“What?” Catalina snatches a spoon from the table and tries a bite from her sister’s cup. Her eyes widen, increasing my anxiety two-fold.

Shit . Thank God I didn’t tell anyone about me baking the dessert or else I would’ve never lived the embarrassment down. I only bake for Aiden and myself, so bringing a dessert to an event?

Nerve-racking to say the least.

Catalina shocks me by stealing another spoonful of tembleque from her sister’s cup before earning a slap on the wrist.

“Get your own,” Gabriela hisses.

Catalina takes a bite with a smile. “Damn. That’s so good.”

Aiden shoots me a look and mouths, I told you so.

Huh . Maybe there is hope for me in the kitchen after all, so long as I stick to baking.

“You’ve got to try this.” Catalina grabs my hand and pulls me toward the table. “It tastes exactly like my grandma’s recipe.”

My chest clenches at her statement. “I’ve heard.”

“You have?”

Gabriela pops her head out from behind my back. “Yeah. I told him about it when he asked if he could bring anything for the parranda .”

Catalina’s eyes bounce between me, her sister, and the table. “Did you…”

Aiden claps a hand on my shoulder. “Luke woke up at the crack of dawn to start making it.”

Catalina’s eyes widen. “You did?”

I resist the temptation to rub my neck, trying my best to ignore the prickling sensation. “Yeah.”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “I had no idea you baked.”

“I mess around sometimes.”

Aiden’s eyes roll. “By mess around , he means obsessively practicing a recipe until he finally believes it’s good enough.”

“I’m going to assume that means you use a scale?” Catalina looks up at me.

I fake an outraged scoff. “Is that even a question?”

Catalina places her cup on the table, pushes Aiden aside, and wraps her arms around my waist. “Thank you.”

I hold her firmly against my chest. “You’re welcome.”

She tilts her head back so I can get a good look at her eyes. “When did you start baking?”

“Aiden’s mom suggested trying it out to reduce stress, and turns out it works.”

She lets out a soft laugh. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“I’m just glad what I made is edible. It’s my first time trying out that particular recipe.”

“It’s more than edible. It’s amazing .” Her eyes light up. “My grandma would’ve loved it.” She pulls away from my embrace all too soon. “I appreciate you going through the trouble of making it.”

“See, I wanted to impress this girl…”

Aiden chokes on a laugh, and I elbow him in the ribs hard enough to make him stop.

“I have a feeling she is more than impressed.”

“Are they flirting? It’s hard to tell,” Gabriela whispers loudly behind me.

“I’m starting to understand why Luke has spent the last couple of years single.”

I flip him off, making someone nearby gasp.

Catalina flashes me a smile. “Do you want to go outside and get some air?”

“Hell yes.”

Catalina ignores Aiden and Gabriela’s commentary as she reaches for my hand and pulls me away from the crowd. I follow her out of the house and onto the warm, empty bus.

“Be honest with me. Was it really that good or?—”

Catalina cuts my question off with a searing kiss that makes my breath hitch. One of her hands wraps around my neck, securing me while the other presses against my pounding heart.

I grip her hips to hold her in place while she unleashes a torrent of feelings. My desire grows with every pass of her tongue across mine, and my cock thickens in my pants as she presses her body against mine. I swallow her groan and swivel my hips, and she tugs on my hair and sucks on my bottom lip in retribution.

It’s a game of push and pull. Like a mental tug-of-war, wondering who will break first, taking the attraction we share to the next level. I’m not sure how long we stand there, exploring this growing connection between us, but I’m reluctant to stop.

Catalina is the one who pulls her mouth away first, but not before she plants one last soft kiss against my lips. I press my forehead against the top of her head in an attempt to shield my flushed face.

I’m not prepared to look at Catalina just yet. Not ready to scare her away with whatever emotions are clearly written across my face.

She brushes a hand down my shirt, smoothing the cotton material she wrinkled in her tight fist. “Why did you make tembleque ?”

“Because Gabriela told me how much you liked it.”

“What else did she say?”

I hesitate to answer.

Catalina draws invisible circles around my heart with the pad of her finger. “Your heart is beating fast.”

“Because you make me nervous.”

“Nervous?” She cracks a smile. “Me?”

“Yeah. You .”

“Why?” she asks with a smile in her voice.

“Because you’re you.”

“And who am I exactly?”

The girl I can see myself falling for, even if she has no intention of falling with me.

“Someone special,” I answer instead.

Her head tilts. “That’s it?”

“Were you expecting some kind of love confession after only three dates?”

“Two,” she corrects while holding two fingers up.

I grab her hand and kiss her palm. “I’m counting the double date with Gabriela and Aiden as one.”

“Can it really be considered a date if I had no idea?”

“I think you put two-and-two together real fast.”

Her eyes sparkle with amusement. “Doesn’t make it an official one.”

“It’s not like I could’ve come out and asked you straight away to go out with me.”

“I would’ve said no.”

“Exactly.”

She traces an invisible heart over the spot where mine beats rapidly in my chest. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not open to another.”

Her confession makes me elated. “Really?”

She rises on the tips of her toes, and her mouth hovers over mine. “But just one.”

We’ll see about that.

She seals her comment with a kiss, and goddammit, I know it’ll never be enough with this girl. It’s a gut feeling, and one that becomes solidified with every interaction we have.

It becomes clear to me that Catalina’s time in Lake Wisteria might be coming to an end after her sister’s wedding, but ours as a couple has just begun.