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There she is, Mae thought as she spotted Haley in her winter clothes, standing in front of the large decorated tree. It was the Feast of the Winter Star in Pelican Town, and she had to give Haley the secret gift that she was holding in her hands.
Her grip on the box tightened. I know she’s going to like this, but…Mae felt a little nervous, because she didn’t just want to give Haley the gift. She was also ready to take their relationship further and needed to officially ask the question.
The other villagers were mingling around the tables of food that had been set out. When Mae approached Haley, she smiled. “So, it looks like I’m giving you your secret gift,” she said.
Haley turned away from the tree, returning the smile. In her hand was a red gift bag. “I’m happy it’s you. I didn’t want to give anyone else a gift.” They were already close friends, and had been for a while now. Mae was hoping that Haley would see her as something more than her farm girl bestie.
Mae held up the box and said, “Do you want to take a peek?”
“Yes, let me see.”
Nodding, Mae lifted the lid of the box halfway. When Haley looked inside, she would let out an excited little gasp. Inside was a pink buttercream cake. It was different than the usual pink cakes, however, because a design of Haley's face was on this one. Sure, it wasn’t an exact recreation. Drawing with icing had been difficult for Mae, but it was still cute. There were also snowflake-shaped sprinkles on top.
“Whoa…it’s cute! Beautiful!” Haley said in excitement. Her blue eyes were sparkling.
“I’m happy you like it. I wanted it to be perfect.” Mae shut the cake box. “I hope you’ll like the taste.”
Haley reached into her gift bag. After rummaging around in the paper, she pulled out a bottle of wine. “This is what I got for you. It’s not as special, but –”
“It’s great,” Mae reassured. “But, I think having a drink with you would make it an even better gift. And maybe we can have a piece of cake too.” The gifts had been a good ice breaker. This was basically asking Haley to go on a date.
“We can go to my house.” Haley placed the wine back into the bag. “Emily won’t be home until the Feast is over.”
Mae’s heart started to flutter. “Sounds good to me.”
They walked past all the villagers chatting around the feast and made their way to Haley’s house. Once inside, Haley removed her coat and ear muffs, then they went to the kitchen to set the cake and wine on the table.
“I need to try a slice right now,” said Haley, as she opened and closed some drawers.
“I changed up the recipe a bit,” Mae said, watching as Haley cut a slice of the cake. “It’s like a mix of coconut and strawberry…”
Haley was now taking a forkful of the cake and slowly pushing it into her mouth. Mae couldn’t help but notice that her lips were nice. Even the way she ate cake was alluring. Better ask that question, but for now, she enjoyed watching.
A long “mmmmm” was Haley’s verdict. She licked away some of the frosting from her mouth and smiled. “That was more than delicious.”
“Haley, uh, there’s something I wanted to ask you,” Mae said. Her voice was nervous. She had to remind herself that they were friends. They’d taken pictures together, hung out on the beach, and enjoyed some ice cream. This should be easy.
Haley shoved another forkful of cake into her mouth. “Ask me then.” Again, she licked frosting from her full lips.
“I was wondering if you wanted to make things official – you know –”
“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend!” Haley said before Mae could even finish the sentence. “I mean, I already thought this was a date. We’re alone in my house…with food and wine.”
Mae smiled. Well, that was simple…
“You’re right, it is like one,” she agreed. Mae took the opportunity to grab the bottle of wine and pour them each a glass.
“You should have some cake,” said Haley. She had a flirtatious smile on her face as she put some icing on her finger.
“You’re right,” said Mae, as her face went hot. She leaned in to take Haley’s slender finger into her mouth. The strawberry/coconut taste was delicious, and so was Haley’s skin. She took a moment to suck and lick so she could savor it.
When she pulled back, she said, “That really is delicious. I did a pretty good job, huh?”
Haley giggled. “You sure did.”
“But I also want to taste…” Mae looked into Haley’s eyes and then kissed her lips. Her mouth still tasted like strawberry and coconut. The flavor suited her well, and Mae used her tongue to explore and taste more.
“That was perfect…” Haley said, placing a hand on Mae’s knee.
Mae looked at the hand on her knee, happier than ever. She lifted up the glass of wine. “Now, let’s have some of this.” Smiling at each other, they both took a drink at the same time. They enjoyed their gifts and each other for the rest of the night.