Taking a Bite from the Big Apple (Complete)

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"You said before I left that you had holiday traditions. Can they be expanded to fit two? Or is it private stuff?”

“Nothing’s private from you. But, um, I kinda tended towards the hyperbole with my ‘traditions’.”

“In what way?”

Toni sighed and put a kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead.

“It’s basically me sitting around in sweatpants and eating noodles?”

“Toni!” Cheryl replied, sitting up, “Baby, that’s awful.”

“It’s not that bad,” Toni responded, sheepish.

“No, no, I just meant…it’s the holidays, ya know? You shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m not,” Toni smiled, “You’re here.”

“Yea, but what if I wasn’t? I’d be sitting thinking you were doing your special stuff and you’d just be eating noodles alone? That’s not good enough; it’s not good enough for my girl.”

“I…um…”

“I’m sorry,” Cheryl sighed, “I’m sorry, I just…you deserve to be treated like a princess. ‘Cause that’s what you are, you’re my princess.”

Toni scooted down the bed slightly so they were lying face-to-face, heads on the pillow.

“Here’s the new tradition. We get up-”

“I don’t like this tradition already,” Cheryl pouted.

“Shush and let me finish. We get up and have a long, hot shower, then get into whatever we think are our most comfortable clothes, watch A Charlie Brown’s Christmas, just ‘cause I know you love my boy Snoopy, then, uh, you can make dinner, unless you actually want the noodles, but I’ll sit on the counter and annoy you with suggestions and comments like I actually know how to cook, we can eat your delicious food then,” she let her voice drop to a whisper, “Then we can come back into one of the bedrooms and make slow, sensual love to each other to make up for lost time. How does that sound?”

“Like the best Christmas ever,” Cheryl replied.

**

“Do the dance, do the dance!” Toni squealed excitedly as she sat both her and her girlfriend up on the sofa.

“No way, you’ll laugh at me!”

“I’ll laugh with you, love of my life, with you. Please?”

Cheryl stood, the fact that Toni had called her the love of her life making her giddy. They had followed the brunette’s plans to a T so far, having a long, luxurious shower together that took up the rest of their morning, before both changed into t-shirts and sweats, settling down to watch the afternoon viewing of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The redhead bit her lip shyly.

“You know I’d do anything for you. But you better not be imagining me doing this when I’m getting you naked later.”

“Oh I’ll only be imagining you doing one thing then…well, actually quite a few things, all at once, but none will be you imitating the ritual dance of my favourite cartoonised dog.”

Cheryl blushed and took a deep breath.

“Okay, rewind it back to the music, I need the music.”

Toni pressed the rewind button on the tv remote to the scene in the special where Schroeder was playing the piano and Snoopy danced, pausing it when it got to the beginning of the scene.