Six weeks later...
The rest of the semester went fairly well for both billie and ap. They managed to spend plenty of time together while also acing their classes. billie's art work was chosen for a local exhibit showcasing emerging artists. Her professor was the one who insisted she submit it. ap took her out to celebrate, bragging to everyone she saw that night that her girlfriend was the biggest up-and-coming artist in the tri-state area.
ap's soccer team finished the season undefeated, which cemented her place as captain for the following year, as well. And billie took the opportunity to take ap out to celebrate, getting revenge on her by telling everyone that her girlfriend was a world class athlete bound for the pros.
When the semester was finally over, both girls headed back home for winter break. billie was excited to see Octavia again. They both teased Raven relentlessly about the fact that she was bringing Luna home to her family for the holidays. billie was surprised how serious things had gotten between the two so quickly, but she was overjoyed by how happy Luna made her best friend.
ap, however, was not as excited to be going home for the holidays. She was more nervous than anything. She was excited this would be her first Christmas with billie and that they would actually be together, unlike at Thanksgiving. But she had made up her mind when she got back from Thanksgiving break that she was going to do something she had never done before. She was going to introduce her parents to the girl she was dating. Not just the girl she was dating, but her girlfriend. The girl she was in love with. And as scared as she was, she knew it was the right thing to do. She knew it wouldn't go over very well, but she refused to keep billie a secret from them, even if she knew that's what they would want.
billie had no idea about ap's plan. She didn't want to needlessly stress out her girlfriend. Besides, ap didn't know exactly how or when she was going to tell her parents and wanted to wait for the right moment. Her parents wouldn't be home from their trip until the next evening, anyway, so she had some time to prepare.
The cab the girls took from the train station was pulling up into the driveway and billie couldn't help but be reminded of when her cab pulled into her driveway when she came home for the summer and that's when she laid eyes on ap for the very first time. She had no idea who much her life would change since that moment. And because of that moment.
She gave her girlfriend's hand a squeeze and smiled at her before they got out of the car.
"So, we'll both get settled in and I'll give you a call later tonight, okay?"
ap smiled back. "Sounds good."
--
The following evening, they met up with Octavia, Raven and Luna for dinner and ended up closing down the restaurant. They all agreed to meet up again at billie's house the day after Christmas.
"I can't believe tomorrow's already Christmas Eve," billie observed as she and ap pulled up to their respective houses after they left the restaurant.
"I know. I almost can't wait to give you your gift," teased ap.
"What did you get me?"
"A lump of coal. You've been a bad girl."
"When you say that, you make it sound sexy. I know you like it when I'm bad."
"Perv."
"Yes, we've established that many times over," billie reminded her.
When they walked up between their houses, billie saw a car in ap's driveway, knowing it was her parents. She gave her a shy smile.
