She could barely wait for later to come as she lounged around the house, helping her mom put the final touches on dinner, greeting her family members as they arrived at the house. She kept waiting for the right time to leave, discreetly checking the clock every few minutes.
“You know it’s not going to go faster just because you keep looking at it.”
Okay, maybe not so discreetly.
Portia looked over at Morgan and grinned sheepishly. “I can’t help it.”
Morgan laughed as she set the table in the living room with placemats and cutlery. “If you’re that anxious, you should just go now. Clearly, you can’t wait to see him.”
Portia tried to frown. “I can wait. Besides, I have to leave at four fifteen so I can get there a little after five. I don’t want it to look like I’ve been waiting all day just to go.”
“But you have been waiting all day,” Morgan folded the napkins. “And, I can guarantee he is over there looking out the window as much as you are looking at the clock.”
Portia grinned. “Yeah, I know. He texted me three times to ask me if I’d left yet.”
Morgan put down the napkins, grabbed Portia’s arm and eased her towards the hallway. “Hey everyone, Portia’s leaving.”
“It’s about time,” Derek called out from the couch where he was watching the game with their cousins. Portia took off her fuzzy slipper and threw it at him with impressive aim. He dodged it and laughed. “Don’t go throwing your shoes over there, making people think we didn’t raise you right.”
When Portia finally made it there it was a quarter to five. She pulled down the visor and checked her makeup. She swiped on an extra layer of lip-gloss. There was a knock on her window. When she saw the pale face and red cheeks on the other side, she smiled and rolled down the window.
“You know you’re wasting your time with that,” Khai pointed to the lip-gloss in her hands. “I’m just gonna take it all off you anyway.”
Portia’s heart stopped completely as her stomach took a dive to her toes. Khai’s eyes were mischievous, but she knew he was absolutely serious about his last statement.
Oh my. This was going to be interesting.
With nothing but a smile on her lips, she wound up the window again and took her time placing an extra layer on her lips, which was pretty challenging given the way her hands were shaking. She then dropped the gloss into her purse and reached over to the passenger side of her car to grab the blue and white wrapped package.
When she finally unlocked the door so Khai could open it, his nose was as red as his cheeks.
“Trying to make me freeze to death out here?” he helped her out of the car, keeping her hand securely in his.
“Nope,” she walked with him towards the door. “Just helping you cool down.”
He chuckled but said nothing more until they stood in the hallway, tucking their coats into the closet just inside his door. Portia was about to follow the sound of the voices to the living room when Khai grabbed her hand.
“Wait.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“I want to give you your gift,” he reached into the open closet and pulled out a red and green wrapped package.
Her mouth stretched into a smile. “Khai. Thank you!”
He chuckled. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”
She leaned on her tiptoes and kissed him on his chilled cheek. “Doesn’t matter. It came from you. That’s enough. Here’s yours.”
He ripped into it with a fervor matching the boyish look in his eyes. When he saw what it was, he laughed out loud.
“The Hungry Man’s Cookbook: fifty easy recipes for the kitchen-challenged man.” he grinned at her. “I love it.”
“Oh, that’s not all of it,” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Open it.”
He opened the front cover and caught the thick stock piece of paper before it fell out. She didn’t know his grin could get wider, but it did as he read the details.
“This gift certificate entitles you to five complete cooking lessons with Portia Wynters.” He looked at her, slipping an arm around her waist. “Just five?”
“You sure you can handle all five?” she challenged.
His eyes grew hazy as he pulled her closer. “I think I can handle a lot of things.”
She bet he could.
But before he could demonstrate, she put her own gift between them. “My turn.”
He nodded and watched as she pulled off the wrapping, then opened the box. A gasp slipped from her as she caught sight of the beautiful amber tinted mason jar with a gold ribbon bow around the mouth. Closer inspection revealed there was something inside.
Khai settled his hands around her waist and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Go ahead, open it.”
She turned to the side slightly. Her shoulder rested against his chest as she tucked the box and wrapping back into the coat closet to free her hands. Her eyes filled with tears as she opened the top. The jar was filled with painted Popsicle sticks.
“You made me a new alternative jar?” She whispered.
He nodded. “The boys helped me paint the sticks.”
She pulled out a green one.
Go skiing with Khai.
A yellow one.
Girl talk with Milo.
A blue one
Paint a picture.
A red one
Pray with Khai.
“The green ones are high impact things you can do with other people. The yellow ones are low impact activities. The blue ones are things you can do alone and the red ones are spiritually based things. And it’s not just me in there. I talked to Milo, Derek, Morgan, your mom and they put themselves in the mix also.”
She slipped an arm around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Her tears flowed onto his sweater.
“I figured you needed some new alternatives,” his hand rubbed her back gently. “I know this is something you mostly have to do on your own, but don’t forget that you are never alone. You’ve got people to support you. You’ve got me.”
She sniffled, her head still pressed into his chest. “Why are you so good to me? Why after everything, after how hard I was on you sometimes?”
He chuckled and gently stroked her hair. “I thought you would have figured it out by now?”
She tipped her head up, turning her tear streaked face towards him.
He wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I love you, PJ.”
She smiled. “Thank God. Cause I love you too, Khai.”
When he dipped his head towards hers, touching her lips gently with his, it was like everything was suddenly right. Portia sighed as tension she didn’t even know she had melted from her. How long had she waited for another kiss from him? Every moment since the last one.
“Hey.” Her eyes were still closed as he trailed kisses across her jaw to her ear, her neck.
“Hmm?” he mumbled against her skin.
She eased him back, making him look in her eyes. “This is the place we met. Right here on your doorstep.”
His eyes sparkled. “I know. Why do you think we haven’t gotten much further?”
She giggled. “I guess this is going to be our spot from now on. Huh?”
He kissed her nose. “You bet.”
Then he caught her lips again in his. He kissed her gently at first and then eagerly, backing her into the coat closet, forcing her to grab onto him and hold tight so she didn’t fall into the pile of coats behind them. Or maybe that was just the excuse she made so she could cling to him the way she did. She climbed on his toes in her socked feet so she could get closer. And when that wasn’t close enough, she tipped off his beanie so she could run her fingers through his silky blonde hair. Hands down, this had to be the best gift exchange ever.
“Mommy! How come Uncle Khai gets to play in the closet and I can’t?”
Khai groaned against Portia’s mouth. She laughed. He pulled back from her to lean around the open closet door that had kept them partially out of view. “Because I’m grown, Squirt. When you’re my age, you can play in the closet too.”
He pulled Portia from behind the closet door before pushing it closed. “Especially if you have a pretty girl to play with.”
“Auntie PJ!”
Portia’s eyes widened. She turned to look at Khai. He shrugged, an impish grin on his face.
“They have to call you something. After all, they’re probably going to be seeing a lot of you from now on.”
Portia smiled. She liked the sound of that. In fact, she liked the sound of everything Khai was saying right now. And she liked the truth that had settled in her heart, that the life of Portia Jasmine Wynters was overflowing with love. Love of a man who had pursued her. Love of a family who was always there for her. But most importantly, the unconditional love of a God who showed her every day that she was beautiful, capable and valuable. Loved and cherished by the Creator of the universe. And that kind of truth? That was priceless.
## END ##