Ales sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I think I should explain from the beginning." He paused, taking another deep breath. "My parents and her parents were friends from college, right? When both our moms got pregnant around the same time, they always hoped their kids would get together. So, fast forward twenty-five years, we were both single and our parents wanted us to date. We went out a couple of times, but I wasn't interested in her."

"She said you were together for a year," I said.

"Yeah well, this is the reason I didn't tell you even though I should have," he started. "I didn't have any feelings for her but, we would sleep together. I swear to you, Rosa, I made my intentions for her very clear and I told her several times I didn't like her."

I swallowed. "So, you were like friends with benefits?"

He pursed his lips together. "More like just benefits." Ales stood and approached me, but stayed a foot away.

"But you knew she liked you and you still continued it. You were using her."

"I made sure she knew we weren't together and that I had no feelings for her whatsoever." He cleared his throat. "I told you I wasn't like other guys and that I don't get into relationships for sex, but I guess this makes me a liar."

I dropped my hands to my sides. "I just wish you told me before."

"I'm sorry," he said lowly.

I looked towards the stairs. "Can we go to bed now? I'm tired."

"Yeah, of course, go ahead. I'll be there soon."

I turned on my heel and walked up the stairs, grabbed one of his shirts before locking myself in the bathroom. I washed my face, got dressed, and finished up before entering his room. Ales was still downstairs and I could hear him pacing around. I crawled into bed, yawning and wrapped myself in his blankets. Just as I was about to finally fall asleep, I felt his body surround me, cocooning me in his hold.

***

I woke up to the same dull pain pulsing in my stomach. For the first time ever, I opened my eyes to Ales still sleeping, curled up beside me. Our legs were tangled together, my head resting against his bare chest. I moved away quietly, hoping to not wake him up. Sunshine poured through the windows, warming up the room. I poked Ales and he stirred.

"Merry Christmas," I whispered.

He opened his eyes and a smile spread across his face. "Merry Christmas, Rosa."

I leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. Then I jumped off the bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up and Ales soon did the same. I headed down the stairs, still sleepy.

Ales touched the small of my back. "Before we eat, I have something to show you."

I looked at him curiously. "What is it?" 

He didn't reply and instead gently pushed me towards the Christmas tree at the corner of the room. "I have a little something for you." He reached under the tree for a gift bag and handed it to me. "I hope I didn't overstep any boundaries."

"You really didn't have to get me anything," I said. "Thank you." I pulled the little box out of the bag, cracking it open. Inside was a dainty diamond necklace, that shone at me. "Oh my."

"Turn it around," he said.

I lifted the diamond locket and there were numbers inscribed on it. It was a date, two days ago. "Ales..."

"I wasn't sure if it was something you wanted or even wanted to be reminded of, but if you don't like it, I can return it and give you one without the engraving-"

I threw myself in his arms. "Thank you so much," I cried. He held me tight, holding the back of my head. I pulled back, sniffing. "This means the world to me."

He kissed my head. "Let's put it on for you." He took the chain out of its box and I turned around, moving my hair to the side. He placed it around my throat before tucking my hair back.

I looked down at it, touching it gently. "It must've cost a fortune," I murmured uneasily.

"It's nothing if it's for you."

"I feel like my present for you doesn't stand a chance."

"I know I'll love it. What do you want for breakfast?"

I hummed. "Pancakes?"

"Anything for my girl." I sat at the kitchen table and watched him combine ingredients to make buttermilk pancakes. "Chocolate chips?"

I nodded. "Yes, that sounds so good." A couple of minutes later, he set a short stack of steaming hot pancakes in front of me, sliding a bottle of syrup between us. I took a bite, sinking my teeth into the fluffy, perfectly cooked cake. I moaned. "You're so good at cooking."

"Thank you, tesoro." We finished eating in a few minutes and agreed on spending the day at my place before heading to Blake's apartment for dinner.

A couple of hours later we were at my apartment. I told Ales to sit on the couch and I ran into my room and pulled his present out. My wrapping was horrible but it did the job of covering the object. I passed the large square object to him.

"What's in here?" he asked, his brows rising.

As he opened it, I explained, "Well you said you used to paint and haven't done so in a long time so I bought you a canvas and-" I pulled out a box from behind me, taking the lid off, "I got you some paint." Inside the box were dozens of shades of oil paint tubes. "It isn't much."

"It's everything. This is perfect, thank you, baby," he said, setting the canvas down. "I want to paint something."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

"What do you want to paint?"

"You."

I scrunched up my brows in confusion. "Me? Why?"

"I like painting beautiful things, though I admit I'm probably out of practice."

"My face?"

"Well, that is my favourite part of you."

I hesitated but soon a sly grin spread across my face. "Draw me like one of your french girls," I teased, laying back on the couch.

"Yes, right there. Stay there," he said, smiling brightly.

I sat down on the cushions, pouting my lips at him, striking an overdramatic pose. "Is this what you want?"

"Don't move an inch," he commanded. I sighed, relaxing in my position. He ran into my room, grabbing a pencil and sitting down in front of me, propping the canvas up on a chair. I watched as he studied me for a second longer before sketching on the canvas. 

I couldn't see what he was doing, so instead I focused on his eyes narrowing in concentration or how he bit his lip as he drew. "Are you almost done?"

He met my eyes over the top of the canvas. 'Baby, I'm trying to make a masterpiece. It'll take longer than ten minutes."

"But, I'm bored," I whined.

"Okay, then tell me a funny story."

I hummed. "Alright, I know a good one." I recounted Christmas day with Blake and Ryan before they started dating. Ales multitasked well, drawing and listening in. By the end of the story, I was laughing so hard, tears pricked at my eyes. "You can't tell them I told you."

"I promise I won't," he chuckled. When the laughter died down, I could tell he worked faster, so I decided to let him sketch in silence instead of distracting him.

"I think I'm going to take a nap," I said.

"Okay, I got a rough outline."

I nodded, leaning back and closed my eyes. I dozed off quickly with the help of breakfast sitting heavy in my stomach. I woke up later, rubbing my eyes. Ales chewed on the bottom of the pencil, assessing the canvas. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Almost an hour."

"Are you done now?"

He set the brush down. "No, but I think it's time to take a break. When should we be going over for dinner?"

I checked the time. "We have a few hours. What do you want to do?"

"Watch a movie?"

"Can we watch the Grinch? Please?"

Ales laughed. "Fine."