“You,” I say simply. “I want to talk about my feelings for you.”
She hisses softly, breath catching as I lace my fingers with hers. “I told you last night, but I also told you a lot of things. I’ve been afraid.” My voice is steady, but it’s raw, laced with every single year I kept my feelings hidden. “But I love you, Daisy. I just don’t want to lose your friendship. I’d rather have any piece of you than none at all. So, if you got carried away last night, that’s fine. I won’t be able to forget it happened,” I swallow hard, “but I won’t bring it up again. I just?—”
She closes the space and kisses me, her legs falling on each side of me as she comfortably sits on my lap.Yes, ma’am.Her hands explore my hair while mine grab her ass. Oh shit, her ass. No, we’re not doing this.
“Hold on, baby,” I whisper against her lips. Her red and swollen lips. I can’t believe I just stopped her from kissing me again.
“I need you to tell me with words, Daisy. I know you like my body, I know you liked what we did, but I need to know how you feel. I need to know what I’m getting myself into. I know I said I would take any part of you I can get,and that’s still true, but I need to know before I do. Is this a carnal thing, or is this a heart and possibly forever thing?” Great job at scaring her, Mateo.
“Forever?” Her hands are still in my hair, and I bring my hands to her back. This is it. Tell her, you idiot.
“I…think so? I’m not proposing, not yet, but I am saying that’s how I feel about you. That’s how I’ve always felt. When I think of myself being old and grumpy, I think of you by my side. Always have.”
“When did you become so chatty?” Her question is flirty and joyful, tittering between honest and deterring from the topic.
“Stop deflecting, Daisy. I’m serious.”
She drops a peck on my lips. “I’m sorry, I’m just teasing. I would like someone to pinch me right now and remind me this is actually real.”
I pull her lip between mine and bite gently. ‘Real enough?” I ask with a wicked smile, hoping she can see I’m being honest and serious, but I’m still me, and this is still us.
“So what if I tell you I’ve had a crush on you since I was, like, six? My mom actually yelled at me for talking about kissing boys at that age. I’m never going to forget when I told her it wasn’t boys I wanted to kiss. It was only you. And then, the older we got, that crush turned into more.” She pauses and blinks harshly, letting out a breath, mustering courage to continue while I’m completely in shock. “And it’s scary, so scary loving your best friend this deeply when you think he won’t ever love you back the same.”
"Daze,” I interrupt.
“So, I’m sorry if hearing you say you feel the same seems completely out of the realm of possibility.”
“Daze,” I whisper again.
“I love you so much and so deeply, Teo, that I would fake date you even feeling the way I do to get your family to leave you alone over being at this wedding. Let that sink in.”
I smile, and she chuckles. We both do. Her face falls on my shoulder. “I thought for sure I was gonna die when I saw I had to share a bed with the man of my dreams.”
“That’s what I call you.”
She sits up, hands holding my face and her eyes bouncing left and right to mine.
“What?” Her voice carries confusion and joy. Oh, she’s enjoying this, isn’t she?
“The girl of my dreams. Because every time I close my eyes, it’s only you I see.”
“Are you always this much of a lover boy?” she asks.
“I can be whatever you want me to be, Daisy girl. Just be mine, yeah?” She doesn’t answer my rhetorical question. She doesn't have to, because what she does instead lets me know everything I need to know. The way she kisses me, the way she pulls me as close as I can be, the way her chest is flushed against mine, all lets me know I don’t only have her, but she has me too.
She loves me too.
The day has flown by, at least the afternoon, and now, it’s time for the wedding. A wedding I had been dreading to attend, but I’m now actually looking forward to enjoying. Maybe my family can finally leave me and Violeta in the past and start focusing on her future with Jaime?—
and mine with Daisy.
The wedding has been in full swing: a beautiful ceremony by the beach followed by a lively reception in an outdoor event pad. The beach frames the beautiful setting, but the music drowns out the crashing waves, and the fairy lights cast a glow over the space, the night sky forgotten.
Dinner was traditional Dominican Noche Buena food—plates full of telera, pastel en hoja, moro, and pork. Daisy’s face lit up the moment she realized what we were eating. That’s the beauty of traditions—you know what’s coming, and both your head and your heart get excited for it. There are no surprises, just comfort. One spoonful, and suddenly, your body remembers joy, family, and hope on a day meant to embody all of that.
I’m sure there are details about tonight I should try to hold onto—the vows, the dresses, the decorations—but I don’t. The only thing in my mind is how perfect this Christmas Eve has been now that I’ve told Daisy how much I love her—and she’s told me the same.
So much for the last rule I’d set for myself: to keep my feelings hidden so I wouldn’t change our friendship. I’m glad I broke it. I hope it changes everything for the better. I know, no matter what, Daisy will always be my best friend—but now I can’t wait to grow old with her.
