It Will All Work Out (Intersex gxg)

Chapter 29

"You made it!" Maddie said in relief. The weather was frigid, but I'd made the New Year's Eve trip on my bike to her apartment along the streets that were lined with snow that had turned a dingy grey from car exhaust. It was still early enough that the sun gave a little illumination, though it didn't ward off the chill.

"Yeah. I froze my butt off, but I'm here." I was sure my face was red from the cold and the exertion, but I was happy to see Maddie, and I didn't care.

She didn't hesitate to help me out of my coat and put my backpack down before she gave me a hug that helped warm me immediately. "Well, if my mom wasn't home, I'd help defrost that butt of yours." She snuck her hands down, and squeezed my ass, and then giggled. "But maybe some hot chocolate will do the trick."

I was momentarily stunned by her grabbing my cheeks, but I was pretty sure it was meant in jest. Right? Or did she have more in mind for tonight, and why did that worry me? "Hot chocolate would be great, thanks."

"Come on!" She grabbed me by the hand, and led me into the kitchen, where her mom was stirring a little pot with a glass of red wine next to her. Like Maddie, she was relatively short, and very fit. You could easily see what Maddie could grow into when she was older, and it was a great look. "Mom! Amber is here!"

"I see!" She stopped stirring for a moment then reached out her hand. "Just call me Karen, but just the name and not the attitude." She had a charming smile, and I snickered at her introduction. These days it probably sucks to be named Karen, so I could appreciate the jest.

"It's great to meet you, Karen. Thanks for letting me spend the night."

"Well, I remember when I was young. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to see someone you like, so I was happy to have you over. And I'd much rather her have you over than a boy!" Karen smiled at me before she went back to stirring the pot. "The hot chocolate is about ready if you'd like to get mugs and marshmallows out."

"I got it." Maddie opened one of the other cabinets and pulled down three mugs. There was already a bag of mini marshmallows out, and she put a handful of them into each of the mugs. "We're ready!"

"Perfect," Karen said softly as she turned with the pot in her hand, carefully pouring some of the steaming cocoa into each of the three mugs. "There you go. That should warm you right up, Amber."

"Thanks a lot, Karen." I started blowing on it gently, then took a tentative sip. It was scalding, but I could already tell it would be delicious. "This is really good."

"Don't burn yourself," she said with a smile. "I'm on call tonight, and would prefer to not see either of you if I have to go in."

"Oh yeah. Mom is a nurse, and it can be a little crazy on New Years."

"Hopefully the cold keeps people in this year. But I'll order the pizza now, just in case."

We decided on a High School Musical marathon, since it was cheesy and the first movie starts on New Year's Eve, and then chatted and giggled through most of it while enjoying the hot cocoa. The pizza arrived halfway through the first movie, when our drinks were long gone, and we all dug in with gusto. It really was a great night. I felt happy for Maddie that her mom was so supportive of her sexuality, and it seemed like she was doing great as a single mom. I didn't ask about her dad, because I was afraid that she might have lost him like I had and didn't want to spoil the night by hurting her talking about it. When she wanted to bring it up, she would, and I'd support her.

This nice interaction actually made me sit up in shock as I realized I still hadn't come out to my mom. I didn't count the day she was drunk with Shay over, since I hadn't told her I liked her anyway. That wasn't the kind of thing that was high on my list of priorities, since she was almost never sober. Shay had joked about it, but I still felt like it needed to be done. When she was better over the summer, I'd been so excited to have her back, that explaining that I liked girls wasn't something that even came up. I had no idea when I'd even have the time to talk through it at this point. But sitting there with Maddie and being open about holding hands and snuggling while we watched the movies was a good feeling.

I could get used to this!

When we were halfway through High School Musical 2, Karen's phone rang, and she let out an audible groan. "Crap! Let me see if I have to go in." She went to the other room while talking on the phone, and Maddie squeezed my hand.

"Are you okay being here alone?" she asked shyly.

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, we'll be fine, right?" I wasn't going to tell her that I was a little nervous. I had no problem sleeping in the same bed with her, or on a couch, and snuggling. But I was a little nervous that she might want more, and I wasn't ready for that yet. But sharing a few kisses? Yeah, I'd be down for that. It was New Year's Eve, so I had come over expecting a kiss at midnight at least.

Of course, she'd already grabbed my butt, and I didn't mind that too much. Maybe we could try a little bit more. But really, I didn't want to go too far or too fast, because I'd fallen for Shay quickly, and it fell apart. I wanted to nurture this and make sure we were in good shape before we went too much further.

She looked relieved and gave me a soft smile. "Good. This should be a fun night."

"This has been awesome so far. Your mom is great, and I've really liked hanging out with you every time we've got together. I know we haven't gone out much, but I think we have a good thing going."

"Me too." She leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Sorry, I couldn't wait till midnight." Her face was burning crimson, and I leaned over and kissed her cheek too. She shouldn't have to be embarrassed about that.

"I keep meaning to ask, are you out at school? Will we be able to hold hands and stuff?" I didn't want her to be a target for Nicky and her gang, but she wouldn't have any classes with them, which was good.

She gave me a little shrug. "I only know a few people, since we just moved here last summer so I mostly know people from gymnastics. The friends I have know I like girls, so they won't mind. I've seen at least five or six other same sex couples in the school, so I don't think it will be hard if we wanted to be open about it."

I gave her a happy smile, but still figured I should warn her. "I do have a few bullies, but they wouldn't be in any of your classes because they're sophomores. If they do anything, let me know though, okay?"

She looked down guiltily. "Are those the girls you had an issue with on the first day? I kinda saw all of that. It was one of the reasons I started looking for you, then going to the library to see you."

I looked at her, my mouth dropping open. "You saw that, and it made you want to look for me? Damn, you must be a little crazy!"

"Would it be cheesy to say I'm crazy for you?" She quickly blushed again, just as her mom came back into the room carrying a little duffle bag.

"Okay girls, I have to go to the hospital. You two behave. Nobody else comes over and you two have a good night." She leaned down and gave Maddie a kiss on the forehead and then waved goodbye to us before walking out the door.

"She works up at Roger Williams Hospital, she's a surgical nurse. When she gets called in, it's never good. There must be a bunch of people out there getting hurt tonight." Maddie sounded proud of her mom, and I was happy that she could. I'd carefully avoided talking about my folks, but I knew that someday I'd have to open up about them.

"Well, we're not going to get hurt tonight. We're staying right here on the couch where it's safe."

And that is what we did. We watched all the High School Musical movies, and then turned on one of the random TV shows that show the ball drop in Times Square together. We'd made more hot chocolate, and sipped it while watching the clock slowly inch towards midnight, and the start of a new year where Maddie would be the girl I was seeing. Would it be too cliché for me to ask her to be my girlfriend on Valentine's Day? It was only six weeks away, and if things were still going this well, it might be cute and romantic, right?

"One minute left! Get those lips puckered up!" Maddie said with a grin. "You'll be my first New Year's kiss!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her eagerness, but she'd be mine too. Shay and I had been just friends and hadn't seen each other the previous New Year's. "And you'll be mine." Her eyes shone happily as she geared up for the impending smooching.

We counted down from ten together, and when everyone on the television was cheering, we were in an embrace in the middle of the living room, our lips pressed tenderly against one another. It was a good New Year, and when it didn't stop, it was the perfect way to start January. This was going to be my year!