“Kyla, book the damn flight. No hotel or rental car. She can use mine if she needs it. And yes on the other thing, but I need to think about it before I have you order something.”
Dana looked up at her and squinted.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said to Dana.
“Don’t worry aboutwhat?” Kyla asked. “The Christmas gift?”
“Book flight. Send details. Talk later,” Samara replied and hung up the phone. “She’ll have something booked for you soon.” She went to text Kyla what she’d need to book Dana a flight and said, “I don’t know your birthday.”
“What?” Dana asked and kissed her stomach.
“To book the flight, babe.”
“Oh,” Dana said and kissed her in the same spot. “Well,that’s interesting because it’s actually December thirty-first.”
Samara moved the phone out of her line of vision and looked down at Dana.
“Your birthday is New Year’s Eve?”
“Yup,” Dana said.
“You’re going to spend your birthday with me?”
“I guess so.”
“But what about–”
“My parents will call me, and we’ll celebrate on the weekend after, like we have for the past ten years or so. Lainey and Paige will be there. There will be a cake. I’ll blow out candles. I’ll open gifts then. Lainey and Paige will get me a gift card. My mom will get me something for a future house I’ll probably never own. My dad will get me a gas card or a new tool for the toolbox he bought me three years ago. It’s all very, very lame, but we don’t celebrate it on the actual day anymore because my parents decided years ago that I shouldn’t have to share my birthday with a holiday unless I wanted to, so we don’t.”
Samara lifted her shirt then and tossed it to the floor.
“I thought we were going to the hotel,” Dana said as she lifted an eyebrow and stared at her breasts.
“We will. In a minute. But we’ll just go there to grab my stuff. I’ve packed most of it already,” she said as she typed Dana’s birthday into that text message, hit send, and tossed her phone onto the bed. “Then, we’ll go to your apartment because you have some packing to do.”
“How much stuff should I pack?”
“Well, about two weeks’ worth, I’d say.” Samara pulled Dana’s shirt off. “It’s twelve days, technically.”
“You know the exact number of days?” Dana asked, unbuttoning Samara’s pants.
“Yes. I was going to be away from you.”
Dana looked up at her and tilted her head.
“Yeah, I kind of like you a little bit. Don’t get a big head about it,” Samara said. “Take off your pants.”
Dana laughed and asked, “Which one of us is the top?”
“Well, right now, it’smyturn,” Samara said, moving to straddle her. “Later, it can beyourturn.”
“I can’t take off my pants if you’re straddling me,” Dana argued, taking care of Samara’s bra and letting it fall between them.
“You’ll figure it out. I have faith in your abilities.”
“Hey,” Dana said.
“Yes?” she asked, reaching behind Dana to unclasp her bra.
