Page 69 of Made to Be

CHAPTER 12:

Icing tastes just as sweet,

even when eaten off the cake.

“SATAN, I’M AFRAID TO open it,” I grumbled as I stared at the package now resting on the kitchen table.

“I’m here for moral support,” Cam reassured me as he patted my back comfortingly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Knowing Alice, it’s probably a couple’s dildo or something.”

“Would she really give a sex toy as a gift?” Cam asked curiously.

“I don’t know, probably.” I groaned. “If she knew magic, I would think she’d put a curse on it.”

“Want me to open it up for you?” he offered, grabbing the scissors to slice through the tape.

I released a breath. “No, I can do this,” I said with grim determination.

Cam chuckled as he handed me the scissors, and I proceeded to slice through the tape. I cautiously lifted open the flaps of the box, half expecting it to explode, but my tensed posture relaxed as I noticed a small, wrapped parcel nestled within. When I lifted it out, ithad the dense weight and somewhat floppy feel of a book, so I peeled the Halloween-themed wrapping paper off to reveal... Yep, a book.

A somewhat familiar book.

I released an incredulous huff, lips quirking upward.

“I can’t believe she remembered...” I trialed off as I stared at the cover with its two half-naked men in a rather sensual embrace. The title read,“69 Shades of Us”in overly elegant scrawling cursive.

I barked out a genuine laugh, “Wow, I can’t believe she remembered this!”

Alice and I liked to read the same types of books. Gay erotica, in particular. And I recalled briefly mentioning this one to her after me and Cam’s late-night adventure to the convenience store.

When I flipped open the cover, a small white envelope fell out. I handed the book to Cam so he could check it out, figuring he’d be interested too, and picked up the note. As usual, there was no card; we didn’t do cards. They just ended up in the trash. We tended to write holiday notes on anything we had at hand. This year Alice had written on the actual envelope.Lazy,I thought as I rolled my eyes with a fond smile and read the note in her neat handwriting.

Victor, Happy birthday you old man! What are you, 30 already?

“I’m twenty-nine, asshole,” I grumbled, but continued reading.

I’ll keep this short. Here’s the smutty porno book you mentioned to me. I took the liberties of reading it first and boy, *insert whistle here* is it a doozy. You’re totally ‘gonna LOVE it. Make sure to have some lotion and tissues handy. Or Cam. Maybe you two can read it together you kinky bastards. Love you bunches. Have safe sex. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Or do. Makes life far more interesting. Say hi to your hubby for me!

-XXX Ali Cat

P.S. – Open this for the actual gift. Have a great time!

I was slightly stunned. Her letters tended to lean toward chaotic, but I loved them all the same. What had she meant by...

When I opened the envelope, three pieces of paper fell out. No, not paper. Tickets. Well, two were tickets. When I flipped them over, I was even more stunned.

“Unholy shit,” I whispered, nearly dropping the tickets.

Cam peeked over my shoulder. “Cresthill Music Festival. Featuring... What? No way. Bull Witchery? How did she manage to get tickets?”

He sounded just as bewildered as I felt. They were my favorite band, Cam’s too I had recently found out. But I had given up hopes of ever seeing them live because the tickets to their shows always sold out insanely fast. I had thought I would get lucky to snagsome when I found out they would be headlining at a local music festival. But apparently even being over Thanksgiving didn’t mean people would be less inclined to attend. Especially considering it was Halloween themed despite being held in late November.

“I have no idea,” I told him, still in awe. “Last I knew, they sold out during the presale.”

I turned my attention to the third piece of paper which was... a hotel reservation. Unholy shit, this could knock two date ideas off my master list!

“Damn, Ali Cat,” I chuckled. “Really pulled all the stops this year. She found me you, now these tickets... I really owe her an amazing Christmas present.”