Please, with a Cherry on top? | 18+

23 | Saint

Saint stared down at the metal coiled around his thumb. He couldn't stop looking at it.

It was true that great minds think alike. Cerise one-upped Saint up with two gifts. The first was a new heavyweight ring. Taking the form of a snake, he wondered why he hadn't seen anything like it before.

It was perfect.

To others, it would just look like a neat ring.

To him, she might as well have gotten him a wedding band. Once he put it on, Cerise blessed it with a kiss. And with that, the neat ring began to glint in his eyes with the same devotion a marital ring would emit anyway.

The other gift was a bit of a gag, being a set of devil horns he could attach to his motorcycle helmet. She couldn't wait for him to attach them.

"Merry Christmas! Come in, come in," the voice of Cerise's mother snapped him back into focus, "Everyone is already here."

"Sorry, we're late. We had to turn around 'cause Saint forgot the gifts," Cerise said softly, sounding like she just woke up.

And she did.

She crashed five minutes into the ride. His pretty lady was exhausted.

"Is that true, or is she throwing you under the bus, hon?" Nadia laughed, patting his arm as he stepped into the house.

"My fault completely," he admitted. He had to hold the gift bags in his other hand as he slipped off his shoes and tucked them in the dedicated spot by the door, "A bit scatterbrained. Thanks for having me."

"Oh, of course. And that's understandable, holidays can be a bit tense," Nadia said, leading them toward the living room. She took the tray Cerise was carrying and stopped next to a glowing Christmas tree, "You can put those right here. I'll take this to the kitchen."

"Hey guys, Merry Christmas!" Saint heard Cerise say as he set the bags down, and he looked up to find multiple sets of eyes on him.

"Merry Christmas," he echoed, raising his hand in greeting but sounding less jolly.

Holiday greetings filled the room as Cerise went around hugging her family members. Saint looked around for the other head of household, finding him lounging on a reclining chair.

Cerise's father stood up, the same finger as before pointing his way, "Did you get my message?"

"Yes sir," Saint nodded, making his way over to shake his hand in greeting, "It's in the trunk. Thanks for including me."

"We'll see if I regret it later," Richard said, and Saint shook his head in amusement at how serious the man was.

"Long time no see," a low voice spoke up.

"Woah."

Saint turned around to see an arm slinging over Cerise's shoulder and pulling her into a hug. Cerise returned the embrace with one arm, before quickly breaking away to look up at the man with large eyes.

This must be Michael.

The man was tall with dark skin. He wore a gold chain and watch, and Saint could make out full tattoo sleeves on the arms that finally decided to release his woman. Low-cut waves patterned his hair, and dark eyes shifted in Saint's direction as Cerise stepped back.

"I forgot your mom mentioned you'd have a friend with you."

Saint walked closer and witnessed the man's posture straightening as he came to a standstill beside Cerise. The height difference was put into a bit more perspective as he was directly in front of him. If Saint had to guess, Michael was around 6'3, closer to Richard's height.