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November twenty-fifth. Thanksgiving. And Mom's annual thanksgiving party.

I hadn't spoken to Mom since that day at the café nearby. I won't lie, I hold grudges. Especially with my parents after everything they've done to me. I wasn't surprised when I realized my mom didn't make any efforts to contact me either until last night when she called to invite me to her Thanksgiving party. She didn't invite me and Demi, she only invited me. But there's no way I'm going without Demi, so earlier today we went shopping right after practice, bought clothes for tonight, and then we'll head out later tonight.

The party starts at eight, we'll leave by eight-thirty, not before that. I don't want to be there for too long.

I've had quite a few free days lately, normally, I just have practice in the mornings and evenings, and games every Friday. I have a game tomorrow too.

I poked Demi's stomach while she lay beside me, scrolling through her phone.

She made a small, "Ah," and jumped, moving away from me. "What?" she laughed, putting her phone away.

"Move. I'm going to shave."

"Why? You look fine," she frowned, rubbing the back of her hand against the light scruff.

I couldn't be bothered to shave this week. "I don't like it," I mumbled. "It gets itchy."

She laughed softly, scratching my cheek before kissing it.

"Can you shave it for me?" I asked, turning to her. She nodded, grinning. I went into the bathroom and took out some shaving cream and my razor, leaving it on the counter while she tied her hair and walked in. She sat up on the counter after washing her hands. I splashed some water on my face and then turned to her, pushing her knees apart and standing between her legs.

She shook the can and pumped more than enough into her hands, giggling like a child at the foam. She rubbed her hands together and patted my cheeks before rubbing the cream on. "Pull your lips together," she said. I did so and she put some onto my upper lip. After she put the shaving cream on, she turned to wash her hands.

My hands moved from her knees up to her thighs where I drummed my fingers against her skin before squeezing her thighs while she rinsed the razor and then turned to me.

"Hold still," she mumbled, focusing. My lips twitched and I wanted to smile when her tongue poked out from the corner while she zoned in and focused on shaving for me. "Stop smiling," she scolded, stopping to rinse the razor one more time. I cleared my throat and tried to stop but couldn't. "Vince!" she whined, pulling her hand away.

"Sorry," I laughed, pulling my lips together and staring at her.

She shot me a look and then resumed. She was very careful around my jaw and by the end, she didn't give me a single cut. She was almost done and went to rinse the razor when I kissed her. She groaned against my lips and turned to look at herself in the mirror and wiped the shaving cream off her upper lip and chin. I chuckled softly, wiping her chin. She shook her head while smiling, "You're such an idiot."

"An idiot you love," I stated, moving to rinse my face once more once she finished.

"Hmm, I sure do," she said softly, leaving the razor on the counter and staring at me. I patted my face dry with a towel and put on some aftershave before turning to her. She beamed, rubbing my cheeks and then squeezing them together. I pulled her hands down and leaned forward to kiss her. Her legs tightened around my waist and she rested her arms around my neck, kissing me back.

I picked her up without breaking the kiss and walked us back to the bed, making her lay down while I hovered on top of her, kissing her neck down to her collarbone. I kissed her lips once more and then stopped, rolling off of her.

She turned to me, pouting with her brows furrowed. I acted indifferent, grabbing my phone and sitting against the headboard. "Hey," she whined, nudging my arm. I didn't even turn to look at her. "Ay!" She snatched my phone and leaned over me, putting it back on the nightstand and moving to straddle me.

I rested my hands on her hips, looking at her. "Hmm?"

She leaned forward and kissed me one more time, slowly, lazily. Like we had all the time in the world. I tightened my hold on her hips and pulled her forward, closer. She smiled against my lips and kissed me harder before moving down to kiss my jaw and then my neck. My fingers found the hem of her shirt and I began to tug it up when my phone rang.

I let out a frustrated groan and she stopped, looking at me. It was my mom.

"You should answer it," Demi suggested, "don't hold such a grudge, come on. Maybe she feels bad about the argument you guys had." She nodded encouragingly.

I answered the phone, putting it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Vince, hi sweetie, I'm just calling to confirm if you're coming tonight," she said cheerily.

"Why wouldn't I?" I rolled my eyes.

Demi shook her head softly and leaned back in, kissing my cheek. I turned to look at her when she pulled back and she raised her eyebrows at me, moving down to kiss my jaw. I rested my head back against the headboard and closed my eyes for a moment.

"Look, I don't want this to drag on, honey. I'm sorry if I upset you that day, I didn't mean to. I'm just worried about you, you know that, don't you? I only want what's best for you. I want you to be happy."

"I am happy with Demi," I huffed.

Demi stopped kissing me and looked at me. I lifted a brow at her and she smiled softly, shaking her head.

"I love her," I emphasized, holding her gaze.

She hit my cheek softly, mouthing, "Stop it."

I watched her in amusement. "I really love her," I sang.

She cringed, putting her head down on my shoulder.

I chuckled softly, my hand slipping under her shirt and rubbing up and down her back.

Mom replied hesitantly, "Okay... Are you um, are you bringing her tonight then?"

"Yeah, I am."

"All right. See you both then."

"See you. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up, placing my phone on the nightstand and laughing as she glared at me.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I love you," I teased, leaning forward and kissing her again. She laughed against my lips and kissed me back.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

"Demi," I mumbled, watching her from the bed while she finished curling her hair.

"I'm done, I'm done," she said, unplugging the iron and moving to put on her heels. She slipped them on and then turned to me, standing up. "How do I look? De—"

"Stop asking me if you look decent," I cut her off. "You look fucking beautiful."

So beautiful that I couldn't understand how the whole world wasn't in love with her. From the color of her eyes to the glow of her skin, from the waves in her hair to the curves of her body, from the dimple in her right cheek to the smile her lips pulled into.

Things changed so much these past few months. She makes me feel like a better person, she makes me want to be a better person. For her. She's a friend of my head, my heart, but she's also so much more than that. Every time I face a problem, she's the one who gathers my pieces for me. She's all my favorite things wrapped into one. Everything I love in one masterpiece in front of me. I could marry her.

I will, one day.

"I love you," I said suddenly.

"I know," she nodded with a grin. "I love you too."

We left for the party after that and when we got there, we met a few people, some new faces Demi wasn't familiar with and some she already knew. My mother was too lost in the crowd until we finally spotted her. Unfortunately, she spotted us too and came over to say hello.

I'm still upset at the things she said that day. Ever since Demi first met her as my assistant, my mom hasn't liked her, nor has she had anything good to say about her. On the other hand, my dad has loved her ever since they met. He thinks she's perfect for me as my assistant and from the times we've met at his party and Mom's last party, it seems like he's happy that we're together too. I doubt he's trying to fix things with me because some things are unfixable, but he is trying to move forward. That doesn't make me feel any better about the past though.

"Vince, hello!" Mom grinned, giving me a quick hug. "Demi... hello," she said half-heartedly and quickly turned to me again before Demi could even greet her back. "Would you come with me for a minute? There's something I need to talk to you about."

I frowned in confusion and glanced at Demi.

"She'll be fine, she's a big girl. Aren't you Demi?" Mom forced a smile, facing us.

"Uh, sure," Demi nodded. "You should go. I'll be around, you'll find me," she said to me. She nodded reassuringly.

"I'll be right back," I said, pecking her lips once before following my mother who eyed us with underlying disdain. "Lead the way, Mom."

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