"I'm sorry Jaadi, I really am but I had to leave in a hurry. It was an unexpected flight." I apologized,
"You could've woken me up." He retorted and I sighed,
"Yes I could've and I'm sorry I didn't. Merry Christmas, I hope you have the best day Jaadi." I said in one last attempt to change the topic,
"Merry Christmas." He said then the line went silent for a moment before he spoke, "Mama says merry Christmas too." And the call disconnected.
River walked over to me from behind the counter and lifted me onto it so I was seated on the edge as he walked to the space between my legs and pressed his forehead against mine.
"What's wrong ma lumière?" He asked softly, "Talk to me."
"I feel bad for leaving Jaadi alone this Christmas, I hate that he has to be caught in the middle of this," I admitted and he caressed my cheek,
"I know, I'm sorry it has to be this way." He apologized and I paused,
"I'm not." I realized, "I regret nothing, I know mama will come around eventually. She’s warming up to us slowly." I assured him,
"Can I ask you something?" He asked leaning down and his hair brushed my forehead,
"Anything," I replied,
"Do you really think your papa would like me?" He asked looking me in the eye and I gave him a little laugh,
"Of course, he would, papa would probably even like you for the sole reason that I like you." I remarked, "You'll know him better someday, hopefully, if you plan on sticking around long enough."
"You're wearing my clothes, sitting on our counter, you convinced me to bake an entire cake, you spent €300 yesterday on a designer hello kitty blanket and you have your hand halfway up my shirt right now." River stated and I moved my hand away spitefully, "Need I say more?"
"Okay fine I get it," I laughed wrapping my arms around his neck to hold him closer before planting a kiss on his lips, "now let's get going before we're too late, it's a bit of a lengthy drive."
"We still have time." He insisted pressing his lips to my neck tortuously, "How would you like to spend it?"
"Just like this.." I whispered.
"You know that I love you right?" He whispered back into my ear,
"Of course I do." I acknowledged, and his eyes darkened with lust,
"Because I'm about to fuck you like I hate you." He declared and I swallowed hard as he kissed me hungrily and we practically ripped each other's clothes off.
"I will never get tired of this," I assured him breathlessly.
And I never did.
We drove all the way to his parent's house, the roads were almost impossible to get through because of the snow but luckily a few sweepers were clearing them. There was nothing better than Christmas in Paris, and I didn’t think there was anywhere else I'd rather have been during the holidays. All the houses were so beautifully decorated in this part of the city and we drove by a church choir singing Christmas carols and River decided to tip them €100 each to get into what he called 'the spirit of giving back'. It was nice of him,reallynice of him.
We parked the car in the driveway and made our way inside, I almost forgot how massive the place was. River's mom opened the door and greeted us joyfully with welcoming hugs, she was wearing one of those cheesy reindeer Christmas sweaters and she had this warm energy about her that I couldn't quite explain. Watching the way she cared for River; offering to tie his shoelaces even though he was 6"4, wiping away little eyelashes away from his cheek so they didn't fall into his eye, brushing his hair away from his face, correcting him when he mispronounced something and making sure he got it right, made me realise thatthisis what a mother's love is supposed to look like.
A mother's love is meant to be the purest thing, no strings attached, free and unconditional, you needn't have to earn it. Violette told me that nineteen years later she still saw River as an extension of herself, of her heart and It made me wonder if my own mother ever saw me that way. It took me long enough to realize that you're not supposed to work to earn your parent's affection, you're not supposed to sacrifice your happiness just so that they can deem you worthy, you're just supposed to do the best you can. I wanted her to get the chance to know me as a person and not just as her trophy.
We settled into the living room which was elegantly decorated with an evergreen Christmas tree in the middle with a bunch of presents underneath. I wondered who on earth they were all for as it was only the two of them in the house. I once thought that River looked more like his mom than anything but now that I'd seen his father I realized that he looked like a younger version of him. Except for the fact that River's dad had darker green eyes and was shorter than him by a few noticeable inches.
"Thank you for dragging this one home to spend Christmas with us, Armani, I've heard a lot about you." He spoke, with a heavy French accent like River, and said my name the exact way he did which made me giggle.
"All good things I hope." I prattled, "Nothing too bad."
"Not as yet." He replied with a low chuckle, "What brings you to spending Christmas at the Blackwoods?"
"I'm sorry, Blackwoods?" I asked and River turned to me sheepishly,
