A Blind Date for the Holidays

"Don't start on that again!" I snapped, but I was having a hard time not laughing. Billie had never put up a real Christmas Tree before. Apparently, her parents were against using a real tree for the holiday. "If you call me tree-killer again, I can't promise that what I feed you will be safe!"

"You are what you are." Her sigh was way over the top. "I guess I'll just have to learn to live with the fact that you're not as perfect as I originally thought." I probably should have expected Billie to throw my own words from the other night back at me eventually.

"Sigh all you want, just make sure to make the turn wide enough not to get the tree caught in the doorway or you're going to see just how 'not perfect' I can be." We were finally entering my apartment building.

"Yes dear."

"Keep it up smart ass..." I was afraid I might have gone a little too far with my last comment, but Billie laughed so I guess she wasn't offended. I was surprised with how comfortable I was with the back and forth between us.

The only other person I felt this relaxed with was Janet and it took us years to get that close. Billie and I had only known each other a week. The fact that we'd talked every night since our blind date helped, but it was more than that.

We entered the elevator and had to stand the tree up to make it fit. Somehow, Billie ended up in the corner blocked from view. She was holding the trunk with both hands to steady the tree.

"You know, if you didn't want to be seen in public with me, all you had to do..." Billie tone was still joking, but I could tell she was half serious and I didn't want that. I reached out and moved the tree to the side so that I could look directly into her eyes.

"I am a little nervous about that," I admitted. "But that's not why I changed our plans. Having a Christmas Tree is a big deal for me. I guess I could have bought and tried to set it up myself, but I thought it was something we could share."

Billie tilted her head and looked at me. I stared right back, trying to let her see how important this was to me and what it meant to me having her help. I guess it worked because she seemed to relax into a warm smile. Unfortunately, that didn't stop her teasing.

"You know, they make fake trees that look even better than the real ones." I shook my head and moved the tree back so that it was blocking her again.

"Oh, I give up!" I snapped as the elevator opened on my floor, but her comment had me grinning. "I bet your Christmas tree is silver!" We started moving down the hallway with the tree between us.

"It's green," she corrected. "But there is snow on the ends. It looks very real." I think Billie was kidding, but I couldn't be certain.

"Sure, it does."

We brought the tree into my apartment. It took some careful maneuvering to get it through the door and into the corner of the I'd cleared for it.

"Wow," Billie said, looking around my apartment for the first time. She'd only seen it from the doorway the previous Saturday and it hadn't been decorated for the Christmas yet. "You really get into the holiday spirit, don't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I knew exactly what she was talking about. I really had overdone it this year, but I was having too much fun to admit that.

"Have a thing for snow globes, do you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I tried to keep a serious expression as I said it, but Billie gave me a look and suddenly we were both laughing. "Alright, it's sort of an addiction. I've been collecting them for years. Believe it or not, I own a lot more than you see here. I left a box at my parents."

"Om my." Billie's laughter didn't look to be slowing anytime soon.

"Stop stalling," I said, changing the subject. "This tree won't get in the stand itself."

We set the tree up with some difficulty which, in my experience, was pretty much status quo when setting up a real Christmas tree. It's not like they were made to sit in stand. I think Billie was surprised when I broke out a small hand saw I'd picked up earlier in the week. Thankfully, we only needed to trim a few branches to get it to fit. Okay, so I made Billie help shave about a quarter of an inch from the bottom too. Sue me.

She didn't understand why so I explained that I wanted to make sure the tree would absorb the water I'd fill the base with later. I'd also put in an aspirin, but I didn't tell her that, mostly because I wasn't sure it actually helped. It was something my father always insisted on doing and I wasn't willing to chance not doing it. I was putting the tree up early this year and needed to make sure it lasted.

I also enlightened Billie to the fact that with a real tree you had to give the branches time to settle before you could decorate, which of course, caused Billie to tease me some more. We were both in a great mood despite our efforts so it was all done in good fun.

"There's wine in that cabinet. Please pour me a class of the Chardonnay. I bought some scotch yesterday since that what you drank last Friday, but feel free to take whatever you want. I'm going to check on dinner. I'll give you a tour later, but feel free to look around. It's a small apartment so there's not much to see." I was rambling again, but being in the same room with Billie did that to me unless I was busy doing something like putting up the tree.

I left her in the living room and moved to the kitchen. I'd cooked the chicken all day in a crock pot, but it was still going to take a little while to finish preparing. I told Alexa to put on some Christmas music and went about getting dinner ready.

Twenty minutes later we were sitting at the kitchen table. I'd removed the snow globe and the table cloth. The former because it took up too much room. The latter because I didn't want to ruin it. My mother would not be thrilled to learn about us eating on a bare table, but so be it. It's not like she'd be happy about anything that was happening tonight. Well, except the chicken. I'd done an excellent job with it, even if I did say so myself.

"This is amazing," Billie said for the third time as she sat back from the table, her plate empty of the seconds I'd given her.

"Don't sound so surprised." Okay, maybe my tone was uncalled for, but I was much more comfortable with Billie when we were going back and forth. The banter kept my mind occupied and stopped me from rambling.

This was our second date and the third time Billie and I met in person. You would think I'd be used to her effect on me, but not so much. It didn't help that my eyes kept being drawn to her lips. I'd stopped after the first glass of wine, afraid of what might happen if I had anymore.

"Well, we talked every night this week and usually you were microwaving something for dinner."

"Who has time to cook midweek?" I retorted. "And I'll have you know that at least half of those times I was heating leftovers, not nuking a frozen meal."

"Live and learn," Billie laughed as I stood and began to clear the plates. It was safer that way. Seeing her so happy and content because of the meal I served made me feel good, but it also unsettled me.

I didn't count on Billie helping cleanup after we were done eating. Still, it was nice to have help washing, drying and putting the dishes away. We were done in no time and moved to the living room.

"You know," Billie said as she looked around at all my decorations once more. "You are missing one thing."

"What's that?" I asked, wondering where she was going with her comment.

"Mistletoe." Her answer surprised me into an embarrassed laugh.

"Like you'd need it."

"Good point." Billie stepped close before I could react and pressed her lips to mine. It took me a couple of seconds before I started to return her kiss. In part because I was surprised and in part because her lips felt so good against mine.

Oddly, my hesitation had nothing to do with the fact that she was a girl. I guess I'd finally accepted that about Billie. Well, either that or her kiss overwhelmed me.

"That was sneaky," I said when she finally pulled away, but despite my words, I was desperate for her to do it again, not that I'd tell her that.

"I wanted to make sure you knew how much I appreciated dinner." Billie paused and shook her head once before adding, "Well, that and I'd been wanting to do that for days, ever since our last kiss." The fact that I felt the same didn't help my control any. I was tempted to initiate another kiss, but that simply wasn't me.

"Tell the truth. You're just trying to get out of helping me with the rest of the Christmas Tree set up?" Billie smiled and shook her head at my sad attempt at humor.

"You caught me," she sighed, stepping further back. I didn't like that so I followed her. Of course, as soon as I realized what I was doing I kept moving right past her to the box of Christmas lights and ornaments I had taken out of the closet earlier.

"The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll be done." I put the box down on the end of the coffee table and took off the top.

"You make it sound like so much fun," Billie teased, moving closer to help with the lights.

"And just think," I added, refusing to be outdone. "You get to do this all over again tomorrow with your family."

"Don't remind me," Billie sighed, taking the first set of lights to the socket to test them. "It may rain. I'll need to check the weather report in the morning, but it doesn't look good. If it's supposed to rain then I won't even be able to ride my motorcycle."

"Just remember to wear your helmet if you do." I loved riding on Billie's motorcycle, but that didn't mean I was oblivious to the dangers involved. A simple precaution like a helmet seemed obvious, but Billie didn't seem to agree.

"Yes dear."

"Must you?" I sighed, but it only made her grin.

Thankfully, there were no issue with the lights. I let Billie finish them while I went into the kitchen. I came out to find her putting some of the generic ornaments on the tree.

"What are you doing?"

"Decorating the tree," she answered with a frown. "I was careful to pick the ornaments that I didn't think had any special meaning to you. Did I pick wrong?"

"Yes," I replied, but then I shook my head and added, "No. The ornaments you picked don't have any special meaning, but it's not time for them yet."

"I didn't see any garland in the box so I just assumed..."

"We make it ourselves in my family." I held up the carton of cranberries. "Can't you smell the popcorn being made?"

"Oh," Billie said, nonplussed. "Come to think of it, it did seem odd for you to be making popcorn so soon after we were done eating. I just didn't think anyone actually strung popcorn anymore. Well, outside of the movies."

"Popcorn and cranberries," I corrected, refusing to react to her teasing tone. "It's worth the effort. You'll see when we're done."

"Yes dear."

"One more of those and I'm not going to let you help." Billie opened her mouth and I raised an eyebrow, waiting to see how she reacted.

"This should be interesting," she finally said. She was a smart woman. There would have been no more kissing tonight if she'd pushed me. I was so the type to bite off my nose to spite my face when I got mad. Thankfully, it just didn't happen very often. "It will be a story to tell my family."

I wasn't sure I wanted her to share any stories about me with her family, but I knew that was my problem, not hers. Billie had every right to tell them what was going on. I was the one in hiding, not her.

Billie only stuck her finger with the oversized needle three or four times as we strung the popcorn and cranberries. Each time she'd curse and I'd laugh. I did stick my own finger once, but I refused to admit it to Billie. It took quite a while to make enough garland to cover the whole tree with just the two of us.

Toward the end she pulled out her phone, opened the camera app and handed it to me. "Do you mind? My family will never believe me without proof."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm being teased again for making you take part in such an old-fashioned tradition?" I asked pointedly.

"Maybe a little," Billie laughed, but then added, "Honestly, old-fashioned or not, I like it. Well, not the sticking myself with a needle part so much." She paused, glancing at the long strings of homemade garland we'd already made. They covered most of the table. Her eyes shifted back to me. "But the rest was a lot more fun than I expected. I can't wait to see how it looks on the tree. I'm glad you invited me to help you with your tree."

There were layers of meaning in what she was saying. I could feel it. It made me blush as I took the phone from Billie and snapped a few pictures for her to show her family. She continued to watch me with an intensity that reminded me of the look she gave me just before our first kiss. My body responded, remembering the feel of her lips against mine, but I did my best to ignore it.

"Thanks," Billie said when I started to hand her phone back to her. I don't know what came over me, but suddenly I pulled the phone back and dropped into her lap somewhat brazenly.

"I want a picture with both of us," I said a little breathlessly. "If you don't mind?"

"I'd like that too." Billie followed her words by reaching up, placing her hand behind my neck and pulling my lips to hers. I didn't bother to fight her. Frankly, it was exactly what I wanted her to do.

The kiss last longer than I expected, but I didn't pull away until her other hand started caressing my body. It was only resting on my hip, but it too soon for that.

"Let's get that picture," I said, pulling my mouth from hers somewhat reluctantly. I swallowed with difficulty as I held out her phone and shifted on Billie lap to get us both in the picture frame. I had my free hand around her neck so I wouldn't fall off. "Smile."

"Not a problem," Billie replied in a sexy tone just before I snapped the picture. I quickly stood afterward. Sitting on Billie's lap with her hand resting on my hip was more challenging than I expected. Apparently, my body wanted more than my brain could handle.

I handed her back her phone and sat again, but this time in my own chair. I could feel my body respond in disappointment, but I ignored it. Thankfully, things calmed down after that and we went back to stringing popcorn and cranberries.

"I think I'm going to show Samantha, Arlene and the kids those pictures as well," Billie grinned at one point. "The kids will love it and want to make their own homemade garland which will drive Samantha nuts since she hates this kind of stuff."

"Don't be mean," I interjected, but it was halfhearted because I was suddenly lost in thought. There was a part of me uncomfortable with Billie showing anyone the selfie I took of the both of us, but I couldn't very well say that now. I shook my head, wondering what had come over me to even take the picture in the first place.

It wasn't long before we were done. Billie helped me wrap our homemade garland around the tree and I quickly forgot my concerns as we laughed and joked.

"See, beautiful!" I declared once we were done. Billie didn't comment on my decree, but I could tell she liked the way it looked too. "Now we do the ornaments."

The tree decorating went quickly enough after that. The Christmas music was still playing in the kitchen and my place was small enough that it made nice background music as we put the ornaments on the tree and talked. I explained some of my ornaments, but mostly the ones I'd picked up myself or been given by as friend. I didn't get too much into the ones my family gave me.

"Janet gave me that one the first year I got my own place." Billie was holding a small Precious Moments ornament that said best friends.

"You do know you're going to have to forgive her eventually, right?"

"I don't want to talk about Janet tonight." My tone was curt, but I was having such a good time decorating the tree with Billie and I didn't want thoughts of Janet ruining it. Billie gave me a careful look before nodding. I knew she wasn't done with the topic, but she had agreed to put it off until another day. "Thanks."

"Where's your angel?" Billie asked once we were done with the ornaments. We were both sitting on the couch. She had recently refilled our drinks and we were sipping from them enjoying the sight of the tree.

"I don't have one," I replied, but then corrected myself. "Well, actually I do. Mom gave it to me, but it was a bit obnoxious. I've been putting up a star I made in sixth grade, but it's pretty much on its last leg. I need to replace it."

"Seriously? No angel? On a tree like this?" Billie seemed almost horrified by the thought, which made me laugh. "At least I know what to get you for Christmas."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know I don't have to," Billie responded, making sure to make eye contact. "But I want to." It would have been perfect if she left it at that, but she just had to add, "You can always hide it in the closet next to your mother's if you hate it."

"I don't hate my mother's angel." It was the truth too. It was a perfectly fine angel, if not quite my taste. "I know it's silly, but I guess I just wanted to make the tree mine."

"That's not silly at all," Billie said, no longer teasing me. "I guess I'll just have to figure out something else to get you for Christmas."

"You could come with me and help me pick it out." The offer slipped out without me really thinking about it.

"I'd like that," Billie said softly, and suddenly we were kissing again.

I'd made out with enough guys over the years to know what to expect, only with Billie it was different. I'd enjoyed kissing most of the boys, but Billie's lips burned with a need that matched my own. Our mouths felt like they were seared together. It took all my efforts not to totally let go of whatever control I had left. Billie's kisses...they did things to me.

I'm not sure how long we sat lip locked, but when we finally came up for air my lips were actually raw. The fire in Billie's eyes melted parts of me that I didn't even know existed. I wanted her to kiss me again despite my sore lips, but she pulled back.

"It's late," she sighed. "My parents' house isn't that far away, but they're expecting me extra early to make up for the lost night."

I picked up my cell phone from the edge of the coffee table and looked at the time, more to help calm me down than anything else. Still, my eyes grew wide when I saw how late it was. Decorating had taken a while, but we'd also been kissing for a lot longer than I thought.

"Wow, sorry."

"I could call my family and tell them to decorate without me?" Billie's tone was almost wishful, but I couldn't let her do that. Besides, I knew what she was really asking and I wasn't ready.

"This is only our second date." The statement seemed unconnected, but we both knew what I meant. Billie proved that by mumbling a response under her breath as she stood.

"If you think I'm waiting until our sixth date..."

I'd joked about the LGBTQ waiting until the sixth date before sleeping together that first night. It was ridiculous and I was embarrassed once again for saying it. Plus, the truth was that I didn't want to wait that long ether. Well, if I worked up the courage to be with her at all.

"I still owe you a dinner out."

"Next Friday," Billie said confidently. "I won't be back in town until Tuesday night and the week will be crazy after that."

"Okay," I said, trying not to dwell of the intense anticipation that welled up in me. "I'm going to miss our conversations."

"Oh no. I'll still be calling you every day. They're the highlight of my day."

"Mine too," I admitted, causing Billie to pull me into another kiss. I didn't fight her. In fact, I was so lost in the feel of it that my phone actually slipped out of my hand and ended up on the couch. I didn't notice until Billie broke away from me and stood.