My December Darling

20. Luke

20

LUKE

C atalina and I fall into a pattern over the next few days of meeting up at work to write her speech, spending our free time together building the LEGO set, and texting during the in-between. I feel like I’m in high school again, constantly thinking of my crush and counting down the hours until I see her again.

I’ve been careful not to push Catalina too hard, so I usually wait for her to text me first, although I can’t resist kissing and touching her as often as possible. We haven’t taken anything further than that, and the wait is driving me crazy, but I refuse to be the one to break first.

I want Catalina to be begging for me to touch her. To fuck her hard?—

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Aiden turns around. The man working on the hem of his tuxedo pants double-checks the length before asking him to step down.

“Nothing.” I toss my phone on the couch and step onto the platform.

“Catalina?” He grins.

“Maybe.”

“Has she invited you over for Christmas Eve?”

“Um. No.”

“Huh.”

I shake off the feeling of self-doubt. “It’s fine. I was planning on spending the night watching a few classic movies and going to sleep early since I work the next day.” Months ago, I happily volunteered to take Aiden’s shift so he could spend the day with his and Gabriela’s families, and now I’m grateful for the distraction.

The holidays are always hard. I hate being reminded of how different my relationship is with my parents compared to other people like Aiden, and regardless of how hard I push to connect with my parents, they don’t reciprocate.

His frown deepens. “Seriously? Why don’t you come over to the Martinezes’ place with me? My parents are going to be there too since they’re flying in a few days early for the wedding.”

Usually, I spend the holidays with Aiden’s family, but since they’re spending it with the Martinezes, I feel more like a party crasher than a pseudo family member.

“Catalina and I might have gone on a couple of dates, but that feels a bit…serious.”

He swallows a laugh.

“What?” I ask with a frown.

“Hate to break it to you, but based on the way you both are acting with each other, I think things are already serious, don’t you?”

“I don’t know.” We haven’t defined what we are, and up until this point, I’ve been okay with it until Aiden opens his big mouth and asks a daunting question.

“So you haven’t thought about a long-distance relationship?”

“I didn’t say that.” My teeth grind together.

“That’s what I thought.”

“There’s no guarantee she will want one.”

“No, there isn’t, but I’m pretty sure she will be on board.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

I press my lips together to stop myself from pestering him for more information. Thankfully, Aiden shares his observation anyway when he says, “I’ve never seen her look at someone else like that, so whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”

My confidence grows from the compliment. “I want to take the next step, but I’m not sure how she will react.”

Aiden shrugs. “You’ll never know unless you try.”

“What if it’s a massive failure?”

“If there is anyone who can fix a problem like that, it’s you, Captain America.”

I salute him with my middle finger before promising to ask Catalina later tonight about Christmas.

I did not ask Catalina about Christmas because I never had a chance. She storms into the empty break room, looking like a hellion as she heads over to our table where I’m currently seated. She looks down at me with her hands on her hips and a fire burning in her eyes.

“You’re planning on spending Christmas Eve alone ?”

Thankfully, we’re all alone or else I’d be embarrassed by the idea of someone knowing about my family situation.

I drag a hand through my hair. “Not exactly.”

“That’s not what Gabriela said earlier.”

Fuck. Aiden really had to go open his big mouth and stir up some trouble because he didn’t trust me to inconvenience the Martinez family on my own. I’m both annoyed at his perseverance and touched that he cares enough about me to want me around for the holidays.

But mostly, I’m annoyed, especially as Catalina scowls at me.

“I’m used to it.”

“Well, prepared to get unused to it because you’re not hanging out in your apartment, watching sad holiday movies by yourself while eating a frozen dinner.”

I raise a brow. “One, Aiden promised to make me something, and two?—”

She slices her hand through the air, cutting me off. “No.”

“No?” I ask with a hint of amusement.

“I don’t care what Aiden promised. I can’t sit around my house, ignoring the fact that you’re all alone in yours.”

I take a deep breath. “Why not?”

Her brows scrunch together as she bears a look of concentration. “What do you mean why not?”

“Why do you care if I’m all alone?”

She looks so damn determined in that moment. “Because I like you.”

The tension in my chest loosens as I smile. “You do?”

Her eyes roll. “Yes, but keep acting all pathetic and I might change my mind.”

I grab her hand and brush my lips across her knuckles. “Is that right?”

She visibly trembles.

“How can I make sure you don’t change your mind?” I ask.

“Come over for Christmas Eve.”

I give her hand a squeeze before releasing it. “Who knew you were so demanding?”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Her voice has a huskiness to it that wasn’t present a few moments go.

“I look forward to finding out.” I stand, drop a quick kiss on the top of her head, and escape the break room before I put my self-restraint to the test and fail miserably.

On Christmas Eve, I show up to the Martinez home armed with a decently priced bottle of wine and a batch of chocolate chip cookies I panic-baked to make up for not having any presents. Aiden stole one earlier and claimed they were nearly as good as the town’s best bakery, Sweets & Treats, so that made me slightly more confident in my choice not to come empty-handed.

My idea seems to be the right choice when Catalina drags me inside with a smile on her face.

“You baked cookies?”

“Yeah.”

“Keep this up and I might have to take you with me when I leave.”

“I wish,” I answer honestly.

Her eyes twinkle as she pulls me deeper into the house. The smells coming from the kitchen make my mouth water, and I’m tempted to go in there to check on what’s for dinner, but Catalina doesn’t stop walking until we enter the living room where everyone is spread out in array of holiday-themed clothes and accessories.

“Luke.” Aiden’s dad greets me with a clap on my shoulder and a one-armed embrace.

“We’ve missed you.” His wife comes up to my side and plants a kiss on my cheek, staining it red with her lipstick.

Aiden’s two siblings push their parents aside and hug me, making me feel more wanted in a single minute than I have by my parents all year.

Catalina disappears into the kitchen, leaving me to catch up with Aiden’s family while the Martinezes and Aiden’s dad prepare the table for dinner. We’re then all shuffled into the small dining room, where mismatched chairs were added to the table to make room for all the new guests.

Catalina is quiet throughout dinner, which isn’t unusual for her, although now I understand it comes from a place of shyness rather than a lack of care. I keep my thigh pressed to Catalina’s at all times, and she seems to slowly loosen up as the conversation flows to happy subjects like Aiden and Gabriela’s upcoming wedding.

“How’s the speech coming along, Catalina?” Aiden’s mom asks.

“Good.” She looks up from her plate. “Luke has been helping me out.”

“Oh really?” Aiden’s dad glances over at me.

“Yup,” I say with a tight throat.

“They’ve been working on it for over two weeks already,” Aiden adds.

“I’m happy you found the time with your busy schedules.” His mom grins.

“I’ve heard they’ve been working on it during their breaks at work,” Gaby says with a knowing smirk.

“I had no idea you all were so invested in my schedule.” Catalina’s cheeks flush.

“Oh, it’s not your schedule we care about.” Aiden’s mom waggles her brows.

Catalina wipes her face with a groan, making me laugh.

“I hope the Martinez family considers never inviting you troublemakers back for Christmas,” I tease to get some of the attention off Catalina.

“Why? Hoping you get to keep them all to yourself next year?” Aiden’s little shit of a brother asks.

“Max!” his mom whisper-shouts.

Max shrugs before inhaling a massive bite of pork.

If I’m invited back next year, I would make sure Max isn’t on the guest list because he’s on my shit list now. That much I can promise if Catalina and I are dating by next year. It’s a big if , but one I’ll hold out hope for, so long as we survive a long-distance relationship.

Well, so long as I can get Catalina to agree to one first.