This Same Flower by Augusta Li

Author:Augusta Li [Li, Augusta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2014-06-11T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

YU SHOWED Patrick his love through concrete things, things he could touch, quantify, and understand. He showed Patrick through grand, romantic gestures like the one Patrick woke to on Christmas morning. As he stumbled from the bedroom scrubbing sleep from his eyes, he was met by the glow of dozens of candles, their light bright and golden against the gloom of the overcast snowy sky outside. They burned on the ledges of the windows, surrounded by fragrant sprigs of evergreen branches and ivy. A tree, between two and three feet tall, stood on the center of the coffee table, covered in white lights, shimmering ribbons, candy canes, and angelic little figurines Yu had made. Packages wrapped in silver paper sat beneath it. A fire burned low in the hearth, and two red-velvet stockings overflowing with presents and candy hung above it.

Yu was in the kitchen, standing over the stove while coffee dripped rhythmically into the pot. Patrick smelled bacon and chocolate. He stepped up behind Yu, wrapped his arms around Yu’s bare torso, and dropped a few light kisses across his shoulders.

“Merry Christmas,” Yu said. “Breakfast is almost ready. Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll bring it out to you?”

Patrick couldn’t imagine how early Yu had gotten up to get all of this ready, especially after the make-up sex of the previous night. It felt like a Christmas morning from a storybook, and no one had ever done anything like it for Patrick before. As soon as he caught himself wondering what might go wrong, Patrick pushed the doubt away. He was going to let himself be happy. He deserved it; they both did. They’d planned to spend Christmas Day alone, relaxing and enjoying each other, and that was what they’d do. Patrick peppered a few more kisses over Yu’s back before returning to the living room and nestling into the couch, wrapped in the blanket Jen had made.

After they ate a breakfast specific to Patrick’s preferences—Yu was the only person he’d ever met who didn’t like chocolate—of chocolate-chip pancakes, smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, and poached pears, they pushed their plates aside and sat on the floor to lean back against the sofa. Patrick held his full belly. He couldn’t stop smiling at Yu. “We’d better enjoy eating like this while we can—while we’re young. If we keep it up, in a few years, we’ll start getting fat.”

Yu brushed Patrick’s hair aside and kissed his neck. “I’ll still love you.”

Patrick chuckled and grinned even wider, because he knew Yu didn’t—couldn’t—say things he didn’t mean. “Will your customers love sculptures with potbellies and saddlebags?”

“I don’t care.” Yu pulled Patrick’s T-shirt aside to nibble across his collarbone. He brushed the fingertips of his other hand over Patrick’s ribs and across his chest until he could circle Patrick’s nipple. “Let’s go back to bed.”

“What about the gifts?”

“They’ll still be here. The ham is in the oven, but it needs to cook for a few hours. Let’s go work up an appetite.

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