No Turning Back - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

"Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg," Zac sang happily as he ran around our Christmas tree with the tinsel. I couldn't help but to laugh at him as he continued to sing happily and wrap the tinsel around the tree. I would help him with that but my dad seemed to have responsibility of the top of the tree while Zac was in charge of doing in the bottom. I was sitting on the floor with my mom and Ashley taking out the different ornaments and such. As you can tell, it was the Christmas season already. I was surprised since I had sworn Thanksgiving had just been a week ago but apparently not. Time was flying by much faster than I wanted it to. A part of me wanted to blame it on being senior year and being busy but I knew that the reason for the time going so fast was Jayden. He had worked himself into my daily routines and I found myself talking to him more and more. Time always flew by when I was talking to him or spending time with him. It sucked since I always wished I could have more time with him but I was still grateful for the time that we could spend together. Plus, they did say that time did fly when you were in love. I guess that statement was true after all.
"Aw Daniel, look," my mom said as she held up a small ornament that held my baby picture in it. I scowled at it while Ashley giggled at my chubby face. I glance glared at her but she didn't seem to care. I will admit that while I was good looking now, I was a funny looking baby. Literally, I looked like a huge chubby ball of baby fat. I hated looking at my baby pictures. "Aw, here's another one of the both of you," my mom cooed as she showed us another ornament that held a picture of Ashley and I together when were about 8 and 6. We were smiling brightly, our arms wrapped around each other. "You two used to be the best of friends when you were little."
"Mom, you say that as if we're mortal enemies now," Ashley said. She was sitting beside me, unpacking the little trinkets that we made as kids. "Daniel and I are still the best of friends. Right, Danny."
"Yup," I replied, shooting her a smile. Ashley returned the smile before going back to our duties. Our mother seemed to shine with proud at our small interaction, her eyes gleaming with happiness.
"Okay, Zac, I think that's enough tinsel. We've got to leave some room for the ornaments and the big star," I heard my dad say. I looked up to see him lightly take the shiny material away from my brother. "Beth, do you have some ornaments that we can start hanging up?"
"Yea, they're all around here," she said, motioning to the glittering balls in front of me. Zac ran up to me and took a few in his small hands. "Be careful, Zachary," my mother said as her eyes began to glimmer with concern.
"I got them, mommy," he said before walking back over to my dad. My mom watched as my younger brother set the balls in my father's hands. Together, they then started to hang them up on the tree. After a couple minutes, the rest of us joined them since we had gotten done unpacking everything. This year, we decided to use baby blue, gold and silver as the color scheme of our tree so it was really pretty. We also got ourselves a pretty big tree so it took up a good chunk of space in the corner of our living room. Once my dad and I finally got the lights up on the tree as well, the tree also made up for a lamp.
"This looks so gorgeous," my mom gushed as we admired our tree once it was finally finished. "I need a picture. Kids, go stand in front of the tree. Johnny, can you grab the camera?" My dad nodded before heading off down the hall. I grabbed Zac's hand and led him up to the tree with Ashley and I. He was wearing his little sweater, jeans, and a pair of nice sneakers. Ashley was wearing a fitted off white sparkly sweater, skinny jeans, and boots. I was wearing a fitted pullover sweater, clean jeans, and a pair of sneakers. We all decided to dress presentable this morning since we knew our mother was going to ask for this picture of us. She does it every year. Ashley got between Zac and I as she fluffed her chestnut hair.
"Got it," my dad said as he came back into the room with the camera. My mom quickly took it from him and told us all to smile. We did and she snapped the picture.
"Aww, Danny, this is the last Christmas before college. This one needs to be framed," she gushed.
"Mom," I whined.
"What? Sweetie, Stanford is four and a half hours away by plane and thirty two hours by car. You are never going to be home except for the holidays. I need to frame whatever pictures I can get of you." I groaned. "Stop whining and keep smiling." I rolled my eyes but smiled at the camera for her. Once all of the pictures were finally done, Ashley and I snuck out the house and into my car. Today, we were going to go shopping for our significant others. Although Christmas was right around the corner – literally it was in the coming week – there were still a lot of good sales out at the mall. It may still be a little crazy but I was sure that Ashley and I could handle it.
"So, what are you thinking of getting Jayden," Ashley asked once we finally arrived at the mall.
"Um, I actually have no idea."
"Daniel, you have to have some kind of clue as to what you're going to get him. You two have been inseparable for the past two months." I blushed deeply. "I'm sure you know what he likes – other than you I mean."
"Well, I mean I did order him tickets for that UFC event that's coming in February but I was going to use that as more of a Valentine's Day gift. So, now I'm kind of clueless. Plus, Jayden told me that if I got him anything then he was going to push me out the window." Ashley giggled.
"I guess you two dating has not changed his annoyance towards you, huh?"
"Nope," I said with a sigh. "But, he just doesn't want anything. I've tried to coerce him into telling me something he would like me to give him but he won't budge."
"Hmm, I see you caught yourself a complicated one." I rolled my eyes.
"Did Adriano tell you what he wanted for Christmas?"
"No. He told me that he just wanted me to come over and spend some of the day with me. But technically, that still counts as something. Jayden didn't even tell you that he wanted you to come over for Christmas?"
"Well, he implied that he'd like me to spend Christmas with him but I'm not just going to show up without something for him. I mean, I got gifts for his family so I can't just not get him something."
"You got gifts for his family? Whoa, are you guys getting engaged or something?"
"No, I'm just trying to be nice is all. Jayden told me that they like me but he also told me that his family doesn't really get much during Christmas so I decided to be nice and get his sisters some dolls and a dollhouse. I got his mom and his grandmother necklaces and I got his dad some Marine Corps chain that I saw online. But they were easy. Jayden's hard because I can't get him a chain since he barely takes the one he has off and he's not much for nice clothes or anything. He's not much into jewelry either."
"Have you considered cologne?"
"Yea but I don't know if he'll like it."
"Danny, you're thinking too hard about this. Just get him a nice watch, a UFC tee shirt or something, and a bottle of cologne. Then buy mistletoe, hang it up and kiss him. That's all you need to do. Unless you want to do him too but I'm not going to discuss that with you." I raised an eyebrow down at her.
"And since when do you know so much about my boyfriend?"
"Daniel, he is my tutor, remember? Plus, he sometimes forgets I'm your sister so he slips sometimes. All he really wants is you but judging from what I'd think he'd like: I say to get him those things."
"Thanks. I think I'll go with those, actually." She smiled.
"Good."
"What are you getting Adriano for Christmas?"
"I'm getting him a new chain, an outfit from Express, and cologne." I narrowed my eyes at her. "What? All boys usually like the same things. Besides, I might add in some hair gel for him. He is Italian and uses that stuff up like it's his life support or something." I chuckled, shaking my head at her. We spent a couple of hours in the mall to gather up our gifts. While Ashley seemed to know exactly what she was buying her boyfriend, I was still a bit skeptical. Jayden didn't want me to get him anything in the first place so therefore I had to make sure I got something that he would like right off the back. After a while, I did finally settle on getting him a gold watch, a nice outfit from Express, and the 007 cologne. Ashley seemed proud of me when I was finally finished and assured me that he would like it. I could only pray that he would. I also had to pray that I could keep my mouth shut and not tell him what I got him. Later that night when we were talking on the phone, I was practically biting my lip in an attempt not to tell him.
"You're quiet," Jayden said once he was done telling me a story about some drunken girl who decided to cause a huge scene with her boyfriend while he was working earlier that day. "Are you alright," he asked.
"Yea. I'm fine," I replied quickly. "What did you do today? Besides work, I mean."
"Sleep," he said bluntly causing me to smile. "What did you do?"
"This morning, I spent some time with my family and we put up our Christmas tree. Then, I went to the mall with Ashley. I had to finish up some Christmas shopping with her."
"Sounds like a fun day," Jayden replied.
"It would have been better if I had gotten to see you," I told him as I let a grin come upon my face. Jayden chuckled at my cheesy line.
"Shut up, white boy," he told me. I heard him shift his body in the background. "I did miss you though," he admitted. I smiled widely.
"I missed you too." I lay there on the phone, talking to him for a couple hours more before I finally fell asleep. For some reason, his voice had this soothing effect that would always find a way to put me to sleep. Maybe it was his accent – more than likely it was. Anyway, time once again began to fly until Christmas day finally hit. I honestly almost forgot it was Christmas until I felt Zac jumping up and down on my bed screaming for me to get up. I groaned but complied to his wishes. I waited a bit impatiently for all of us to open our gifts before I hurried upstairs to shower and change. I then snuck out the house and drove to Jayden's house on the south side of the city. I had to carry the big bag of gifts up to his front door before I got to knock on the door. Thankfully, Jayden was the one to open it. He was still in his pajamas, his curls messy and his eyes half open.
"Merry Christmas," I told him as I leaned in to kiss him softly.
"What the hell are you doing here," he asked groggily. "It's like eleven in the morning."
"Sorry, Zac woke me up really early this morning," I said as he moved aside to let me in. His eyes followed me as I walked in, his emeralds going towards the huge bag in my hands.
"What the fuck is that," he asked.
"Presents," I told him. I dug around for his parents' and grandmother's gifts and held them out to him. "Will you give these to your mom and your dad and your grandmother for me? Where are your sisters?"
"Sure," Jayden mumbled. "They're upstairs in Cece's room." I nodded, giving him a smile before going up the steps. I walked quickly down to his little sister's room and opened the door. Immediately, both the little girls looked up from the movie they were watching and smiled widely at me.
"Danny," they yelled in unison as they ran to me. I smiled and kneeled down so that I could hug them. "Merry Christmas Danny," Adriana told me.
"Feliz Navidad," Cecilia sung. I chuckled at them.
"Merry Christmas to you both too. I have something for you guys," I told them.
"You do," Cecilia asked as her eyes widened in surprise. I nodded and began to dig out their wrapped dolls and the dollhouse. They both squealed and yelled thank you to me as they took the gifts and immediately begin to rip them open. At first sight of their gifts, they both began screaming happily before tackling me into hugs. As I hit the floor under their weight, I looked up to see Jayden standing in the doorway. He was staring at us, a small smile on his face. "Jayden, Jayden, look what Danny got us," Cecilia exclaimed.
"I see," he said simply. "Why don't you guys go play with the toys he got you guys? I need to take him away for a little while."
"Are you guys going to make out," Adriana asked bluntly. Jayden narrowed his eyes at her. She smiled innocently. "What? Your journal says that you two do it a lot and that you like it a lot. Danny, he said that-"
"Stay out of my room, please," Jayden said before looking down at me. I could see slight blush on his cheeks but he was concealing it pretty well. He nodded towards the hallway. I got the message and got up off the floor. His sisters yelled more thank you's to me as I left the room and the shut the door behind me. "They all say thank you for their gifts," Jayden said simply as we walked down to his room.
"It was no problem," I said before he pushed me into his room. I turned around to see that he was staring at me with a slight frown on his face. "What," I asked innocently.
"You didn't have to do that," he said.
"I know but I wanted to. I got you some stuff as well," I said as I dug out his gifts. I held them out to him with a smile. "I hope you like them."
"I thought I told you that I didn't want anything."
"Yea, well, I kind of didn't really care." Jayden glared at me. "Please take them. You'll make me the happiest boyfriend on earth."
"But Daniel, I don't want them."
"Just take them. Please." Jayden sighed but took the gifts out of my hand. He walked past me, throwing his gifts on the bed, and reached into his closet. He pulled out a small gift bag and held it out to me. "You're an ass, you know that," I told him. "How are you going to tell me not to get you anything when you buy me something?"
"Because I like giving," Jayden said simply. "Merry Christmas," he said. I took the bag from him and looked inside to see two small boxes. The first one held an gold chain while the other one held a gold cross pendant that had small designs around it as well as some diamonds.
"Jayden," I started. "I can't take this. It looks so expensive." Jayden took the gifts from out my hands and put the pendant on the chain.
"That's too bad," he said simply. "Turn around." I sighed but did as I was told. I felt him put the chain on me, his soft fingers caressing the back of my neck lightly when he was done.
"Thank you," I told him as I turned back around. Jayden smiled and kissed me softly.
"You're welcome." He looked towards his gifts and sighed. "Do I have to open them?"
"Yes," I replied causing him to groan. He sat on his bed and began opening the presents. His eyes widened at the sight of the gold watch as well as the cologne.
"Daniel, you did not need to get me these. They look really expensive." I sat down next to him and pecked his cheek.
"Anything for you." Jayden smiled and leaned in to kiss me again. His lips were soft and gentle as they moved with mine. I could tell that he was still a bit tired but he quickly woke up as our kisses deepened. He lowered me down onto my back, settling on top of me with his hips in between my legs. My hands wandered around his torso, going up into his shirt to feel his warm skin. He groaned in pleasure when my hands met his skin, the vibration humming into my mouth. Slowly, I began to ease his shirt up off of him before actually tugging it over his head. He smirked down at me as he sat up. He moved his hands so that his fingers peaked into my shirt. I bit my lip as I felt my butterflies begin to fly south of my stomach. Jayden chuckled before tugging my shirt off of me. His green eyes scrutinized my subtly muscular torso, lust beginning to grow in them. I pulled him back down onto me, crushing our lips back together. We made out for a long while after that, both of us resisting our urges to just take off all of our clothes and just go at it until we passed out. I could feel the strong sexual tension between us and it was hard to ignore it. We were starting to get so rough with each other as we made out and I just wanted him to make me his. But I had to keep in mind that Christmas was a holy day so we had to keep ourselves in check. However, I couldn't help but to get excited at the thought that one day we would get to fulfill our wants. Behind that excitement though, I did feel a bit nervous. I'd never slept with a guy before. I didn't know what to do or how it would feel. Sure, I trusted Jayden but I didn't trust myself if I did something wrong.
"What's wrong," Jayden asked as he pulled out of our passionate kiss. I shook my head.
"Nothing. I was just...I was just thinking about...you know." Jayden smirked.
"Hmm, am I getting you turned on," he asked, lowering his voice so that his accent dominated it. I blushed deeply. He chuckled and leaned down so that he could whisper in my ear. "What about it are you thinking about," he asked. His hot breath tickled the inside of my ear and his lips brushed the sensitive skin lightly, causing a shiver to go down my spine.
"Just about how it happens and stuff," I murmured. Jayden began to peck soft kisses down my neck. I felt myself get even more excited as he began to suck lightly. My arms wrapped tighter around him, bringing him closer. "Jayden," I moaned against my will. He chuckled again, pulling his lips back up to my ear.
"You don't have to worry about that. When the time comes, I'll take care of everything. I'll take care of you, I promise," he said the last part very seductively and I felt the butterflies grow stronger. He picked his head up, his emerald eyes burning down into mine. "But don't feel pressured or anything, alright? I know you're new to this so just let me know when you're ready. I don't care whether that's a year from now or five years from now. I just want you to be comfortable." I smiled up at him.
"Thank you." He leaned down to kiss me softly.
"Anything for you."