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Fluttering my eyelids, taking my first conscious breath of the day to the coldest chill I’ve ever felt... searing through my flesh and bone and nearly freezing the blood in my veins.

I’ve had rough mornings before, but this was different... pretty sure I was just itty bitty degree away from hypothermia.

But why?

“A-Adalia...?”

That’s why.

Overnight, bundled together with the icy cold of her skin, her soft slumbering breaths blowing a frigid breeze against my neck, Top that off with an even colder winter day, and a thermostat obviously, inexplicably, deregulated – and basically, I was a human popsicle left to chill in the freezer through the night.

.....

I do recall inviting her to bed – she assured me that it was only for a little while. I must have drifted off at some point because I don’t remember her leaving... and I guess that left her free to indulge in a little white, albeit, chilly lie.

Gritting my clattering teeth, and stiffening my quivering self, I slowly pulled my arm out from her embrace, rising from the bed, doing my utmost not to wake her and almost failing at that.

She lightly stirred, as if sensing my non-presence before tossing herself to the side, faintly murmuring in her sleep as she did, “Christmas... together...” and almost sounding delighted at that.

Her question from late last night came rushing back to my mind, the keen, feeling expression upon her complexion, the way her murky eyes stared up at me in the dark, like saucers, or like the moon pale and dim, her light, her luster, just almost there, just almost shining, needing just that little more glow.

Honestly...

How the hell could I ever say no?

I’m pretty sure it might also be a crime, don’t particularly wanna get arrested... or lynched for that. Speaking off – I don’t think Amanda is gonna be too happy upon discovering my Christmas plans. Or Irene for that matter...

Shit, I might actually get arrested.

Today’s off to a great start already.

With stiff, frozen fingers, I sifted through the crumpled sheets feeling for my phone, ultimately finding it tangled in a thick, clingy web of vampire hair. I thought it better than to try and pry it loose and just settled to swiping and scrolling from there.

Sun’s barely reaching through my windowsill, and somehow Amanda was already up with a message sent a good hour prior.

<>

At once, I typed, <> and without wasting another second, I steered myself right into the bathroom, making firmly sure I got the heater dialed to the max.

Seriously, where’s Ria when you need her?

Also, I guess Amanda must have misunderstood my message somehow – though I’m not really sure what part of ‘I’m up’ she misconstrued to ringing my phone anyway. Had water and shampoo flowing down my face when I heard the distinct muffled chime of my phone outside.

It rang for a good while, before it abruptly stopped – a missed call, I thought.

Then I heard an unmistakable drowsy voice, “Hello... Amanda...” and I immediately scorched my eyes with the furious wrath of aloe vera and strawberry extract.

“Oh, A-Adalia!” sputtered Amanda’s voice loudly through the speaker, her surprise ringing so prominent. “Um, well I wasn’t expecting to see you on my screen. A-Anyway, yeah, good morning to you! How are you doing?”

“You... woke... me...”

“D-Did I? My bad, sorry about that,” Amanda sounded tense. “Um, is uh – correct me if I’m wrong, but that doesn’t belong to you, right?”

“Not... wrong...” Adalia answered. “Not... mine...”

For some reason, I didn’t feel like leaving the bathroom just yet. Could be the cold, could be the warmth of the shower, or maybe I’m just curious where this goes. Could be anything, really.

“So... where’s the rightful owner of that phone?” Amanda asked.

I made some noise, ‘accidentally’ dropping a bottle of soap on the tiled flooring, its boom heard around the world and back.

“Bath... room...” said Adalia. “I think... he fell...”

Faintly, I heard Amanda give a snort. “Dummy.”

Hey...

“Anyway,” She continued. “Where are you right now? That room looks a little familiar.”

“In... his bedroom...” Adalia immediately answered. “On his... bed...”

And right then, I felt something immediately churning in my gut. A really bad feeling.

“H-His bed?” Amanda’s voice suddenly went stiff, and I frantically twisted the shower shut. “Um, okay... what are you doing on his bed? Did you just jump on or – ?”

“I... slept with him...”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Slept with...” that voice, those words, repetition like ice, like cold, sending shivers shooting down my spine as I hastily dried myself, hoping to God it doesn’t get worse. “Alright. Sure. Okay. Guess Christmas came early for you, didn’t it?”

“It’s not... Christmas yet...” Adalia said. “I am also spending... Christmas together... with him... too...”

And it just got worse.

“Oh!” Amanda said, her tone of surprise so unnerving. “Are you now?”

“Yes... He said so...”

A chuckle. “Did he now?”

Much, much worse.

I flung the door wide open, dripping, shivering, bathrobe barely tied, and instantly swiped my phone away from Adalia’s dangerous grasp.

“Hey! Amanda!” I chimed, all smiles, and happy vibes. Please be happy vibes. “How we doing today?”

Up above, like she was looming over me – that’s how her camera was angled. Pointing at her as she drove, the backseat of her car filled with props and costumes, her eyes adamantly refusing to meet mine... obviously because she was paying attention to the road right?

Right?

“You are a smart, clever, rational girl,” I said. “So I have faith with every fiber of my being that you’ll think rationally when I say – it’s not what you think.”

Amanda spared me a brief dull glance back, “If you’re referring to the whole sleeping thing – I know, I thought as much already. ”

“Oh,” I blink, hiding my relief and surprise. “Good.”

“Yeah, you’re the prudish type, we all know. Adalia’s gonna have to try a lot harder than just sneaking into your bed. I mean you won’t dare hold a girl’s hand unless she’s deliberately throwing herself at you, much less even sleep with her... scaredy-cat...”

“Hey, that’s not – ”

“Christmas,” She cut me off. “That part true? Did I really just get overlooked?”

“Uhh, I wouldn’t put it like that myself,” I muttered reluctantly, before just accepting and conceding with a sigh. “But yes, I guess...”

“Well, well,” She said dully, gazing at me with a faint smile. “Guess you really did think about it, huh?”

“Look, I – ”

“I’m kinda driving right now,” She interrupted me again. “You want to talk about it? How about somewhere where there’s no risk of me dying in traffic. I’ll meet you at the shoot... I’m pretty much dying to hear what you have to say this time.”

I shook my head. “If you’re upset, then I completely under – ”

“Upset?” To my surprise, she sounded genuinely surprised. “Why would I be upset? I’m not upset. In fact, I’m happy... very happy actually.”

Did... did I miss something? Did I say something? I don’t know what part of anything I said is supposed to make her as happy as she claims.

I stared at my phone, at her expression, so lost and confused, “Uh, if you could clue me in a bit on your thought process – I’d sincerely appreciate it. What are you happy for?”

That’s when she chuckled again, this time like a school-girl giggle, as if letting me in on some secret she isn’t supposed to share.

“Because I know, that more than a prude, you’re also a sweetheart, a big, big sweetheart,” She said, smirking at the camera. “And I know, as my sweetheart, declining me of such a memorable Christmas memory – now you’ll do pretty much anything so long as you can make it up to me.”

Her gaze felt like a leer, her words like an evil villain’s monologue unveiling his true intentions, and I just gaped at her, blinking... amazed at how seamless she could swindle my heart’s motives.

“You planned this?” I asked.

She just shrugged. “Christmas is a gamble when your boyfriend’s too popular for his own good, if I win it – great! But if I didn’t, well...” She smiled again. “You’re still going to try and make me happy anyway, aren’t you?” wider and wider. “And I just can’t wait to see how exactly you intend to do that.”

Again, I could only ogle at her self-satisfied expression. “You are seriously...”

“A smart, clever, and rational girl,” She said, finishing my sentence with her own words. “Thank you. You flatter me. Bye now!”

Then that was that. With a playful wink, she ended the call, leaving me staring at a blank screen that reflected back my still stunned expression.

Wow... just wow...

“You are... unraveling...”

Just in time, I was snapped out of my stupor to retighten the knot of my bathrobe. I threw my phone to the side, closing the loop with stiff fingers, giving my appreciation forward. “Thanks Adalia...”

She stared at me, and the way she did it, it felt like less of a stare and more of an observation, and a second later, she reported aloud her observation, “You are... going to change...”

I nodded. “Indeed I am.”

“I should... leave...”

.....

I nodded again. “Indeed you should.”

Leisurely and lightly, she shifted off the bed, rising almost unsteadily to her feet, and from there she slowly turned, directing herself towards the door – or so I thought.

Instead, every deliberate step she made, brought her closer to me. And before I knew it, we were standing inches before each other, a wooly layer of fabric the only thing separating our bodies bare.

I stayed calm, meeting her gaze, seeing a look of intent swirling around in the murky depth. “You’re gonna do something, aren’t you?”

“Yes...” She whispered at once, raising both arms in unison. “I’m going... to hug you...”

And she did just that – wrapping her hands around my body, the cold of her skin pressing against my chest. But this time I didn’t mind it, it was actually kinda soothing, honestly. The only question was why – and to that, I soon found out.

“I forgot... to thank you...” She said, her cold breath pushing through the fabric.

“Thank me?”

“For saying... yes...” her arms wrapped around me tighter, so rigid, so stiff, like a robot acting out a command... yet somehow it felt so, so genuine... as profound as the sincerest emotion. “Thank you... for saying... yes...”

I smiled. “How could I not?” my arms slowly replicated her motions. “After all, we spend Christmas with the person we really, really love, don’t we?”

“But you have more to love... than me... more people to love... than me... people who deserved it more... than me....” She whispered, and in her voice, a softness, a fondness. “But even so...” Her head tilted, and I saw her expression, I saw her smile. “Thank you... for choosing... me...”

Like I said before...

How the hell could I ever say no?