A Stranger To Him

Fifty-three, A white Christmas with a magical kiss

"So at what time Caine's going to be here? Your brothers are already on their way here and will arrive in the next half hour." My mother asks, entering the kitchen. She looked confused at the mess I made before glaring questioningly at me.

Let's just say I'm a good cook, but I make a terrible mess while cooking. I can't ever seem to be able to clean up the place while I'm cooking, and the kitchen always ends up looking like a disaster. It will just be covered with dirt and even food, and I have no clue how I manage to get the kitchen so dirty it looks like a disaster.

"Don't worry, I'll clean everything after I'm doing baking. The kitchen will be spotless again before you know it. Caine's going to be here at four for dinner and presents. I can't wait for him to see his reaction to what I bought him." I mention, continuing to stir in the bowl to get the mix for my brownies done. 

It's Christmas Eve tonight, the 24th of December. Caine is coming over for dinner tonight to meet my parents officially. The plan we made for Christmas this year was pretty simple. On Christmas Eve, Caine would eat dinner at my place to meet my parents and some other family members. My parents already saw him a couple of times at my house when he picked me up, but they haven't officially met him. On Christmas day, I would have dinner at his place to officially meet his foster parents. On the second day of Christmas, December 26th, we would hang out with our friends in the afternoon and exchange presents and stuff. 

Tonight, we're also doing presents because it's a family tradition of mine to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve before watching a Christmas movie with hot chocolate milk and snacks. It started when I was very little, around the age of five, and we kept it as a tradition. I don't know if my family got Caine anything because him joining us for dinner was kind of a last-minute decision. 

Anyway, I'm making brownies right now as a snack for the movies. I have this recipe from my grandma which is really good, and I make it almost every year. Each year, I do add something different to it so it won't get boring and be the same every year. 

"Hello? Anybody home? I come in peace for Christmas and with a lot of gifts." Someone yells, shutting the front door a second later. I can hear footsteps walking in the hall as I put my brownie in the oven. 

"In the kitchen, James. You don't have to shout so loud because we can all clearly hear you, you know. Your voice is loud enough when you speak normally." I say, grabbing a cloth to start cleaning the kitchen. I better start cleaning up the mess I've made. 

"Wow, you seriously made a mess of the kitchen, sis. Better start cleaning up before mom notices this disaster of a kitchen." James says, entering the kitchen with a disbelieving look on his face. I shrug my shoulders as I stick my tongue out at him. 

"Anyway, Oliver is late as usual. He's bringing Rosie for Christmas this year. I thought he said her family would be on a family vacation, but she didn't feel like going with them or something." He mentions, grabbing a clean glass to make himself a drink. 

"Alright, that's fun. Caine's going to be here for Christmas dinner too. I want him to officially meet our parents because we're kind of dating." I carefully say, scared for his reaction to Caine and me sort of dating. We're not officially dating, but I don't think there's another word that is closely related to what we are. 

"What do you mean kind of dating? Are you dating or not?" James says, giving me a confused face as he takes a sip from his drink. I don't answer him right away, thinking carefully about what to say to him to explain all of this. 

"Well, we're actually seeing what the future holds for us, but we're both exclusive. It doesn't make sense at all, which is why I said we're kind of dating. I've never asked him if he's looking for a serious relationship right now." I explain, realizing how confusing and weird this all is.