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"I thought we got past the whole cardboard trees and cupcakes thing in third grade," Chloe complained. "I'm surprised she hasn't had us cutting out snowflakes for the windows yet."
"Maybe that's next week," Lana replied without a trace of sarcasm.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "No, next week is when we watch that horribly pedestrian Crap-mas movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas's voice dubbed--and really badly, I might add--by a forty-year-old who quite obviously chain-smokes three packs of Gauloises a day. At least Mr. Cole shows the original Grinch."
"It's French class. Madame Lamoreaux has to do that."
"Yeah, just like she has to hold the 'bring unpronounceable malodorous cheese and flat Perrier for insert-random-holiday-here party'." Chloe pushed her bangs out of her eyes and reached across the counter for the recipe, brushing Lana's arm in the process. She gave Lana a quick "I'm sorry"-grin and held up the printed sheet. "So how do you want to do this? Do you want to split it up?"
"Chloe, have you ever baked before?"
"Unfortunately, the only thing Sullivans can do successfully in a kitchen is set it on fire."
"Is that why we have Hamburger Helper and spaghetti all the time?"
"That would be it." Chloe smiled and opened the nearest cupboard door to reveal a half-dozen boxes of Hamburger and Tuna Helper. "Ta-da!"
Lana tried to hide her giggling behind her hand. "So, you're saying that you're no help, then."
"Score one for the lady in pink." Chloe handed Lana the recipe sheet they had printed off the Internet. "What's this 'Drambuie'? Some kind of coffee?"
"I think it's liquor," Lana mused. "I have no idea what kind, though. Maybe rum?"
"We can just use coffee though, right? I mean, Madame said it's a mocha cake."
"That should be fine," answered Lana. "I hope."
Chloe glared at her. "Don't say that. This is going to be perfect. You work in a coffee shop. You can handle it."
"And you're just here to look pretty?"
"Damn right." Chloe tried to look smug, but collapsed into giggles. "I'll help. Just don't trust me to do anything right."
"How about following directions? Can you do that?"
"I think I can handle that."
"Okay, so why don't you measure out all the ingredients and I'll start gathering the pans and bowls." Lana knelt down and opened a cupboard. Stainless steel pots, a wok, and a waffle iron crashed to the floor. She shook her head.
"Lana, this is so not going to work. Why don't we just hop over to Choice-Mart and buy one of these?"
"We can make this work." Lana smiled encouragingly.
"It'll be a Christmas miracle," Chloe grumbled, measuring out the cocoa.
"It wouldn't be the first one," Lana replied, placing a mixer and a large wooden spoon on the counter.
"What do you mean?" Chloe leaned over the sink and poured a teaspoon of vanilla.
Lana started sifting the flour into a large bowl. "When I was six, Nell put me to bed on Christmas Eve and told me to ask Santa one last time for what I wanted. After she left, I asked Santa to bring my mom and dad back." She reached for the cup of cocoa, never taking her eyes off the bowl. "That night, I had this amazing dream. It was so real--I had no idea it wasn't really happening. My parents came and took me to the park to go sledding and look at all the Christmas lights, and then we all went home and had hot chocolate and cookies and read The Night Before Christmas and hung up out stockings." She looked up at Chloe then, and tears glistened in her eyes. "That was my Christmas miracle."
"That's pretty cool," Chloe replied. She had no idea whatsoever what she was supposed to say to that. She looked down at the recipe sheet. "What's next?"
"We have to mix all the wet ingredients together," Lana sniffled. She pulled over a smaller bowl and started cracking eggs into it.
Chloe suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Lana, why don't we get out of here?"
"We can't just leave all this stuff."
"Sure we can! Let's go take a drive and forget about all this 'merde de francais'. We'll make some cocoa, go look at the lights, listen to that awful Hanson Christmas CD you like so much..."
"It's not awful! I like it!"
"That doesn't mean it's not awful," Chloe pointed out, but she was smiling.
"That sounds like fun, Chloe," Lana replied softly. "I'll go get my coat-and my CD."
"I'll put the cocoa on," Chloe answered. "Grab some of my CDs too, okay?"
"Maybe," Lana teased. She disappeared up the stairs.
****
"Listen to that! It sounds like a six-year-old girl in a church Christmas pageant!"
"It does not!" Lana looked genuinely offended. "They're talented! They actually play their own instruments and everything."
"The instruments, yes. The talent? Not so much."
"Oh, come on. I don't make fun of your music."
"That's because Ani and Melissa aren't castrati."
"Hey! You can't be a castrato and have a child."
"You mean they've reproduced? Oh, good God!"
Lana smacked Chloe's arm. Chloe screeched. "Hey! I'm driving here!"
"You know, not every song is like this." Lana leaned forward and switched from "Silent Night Medley" to "Everybody Knows The Claus." "See? They sound like boys and they wrote it themselves for their little sisters."
"All right, all right. I'll consider a detente."
"That's all I ask." Lana laughed. "This really is fun, Chloe."
"Yeah, it is," Chloe agreed. "But you know what would be more fun?"
"What?"
"Going back to the house and spiking this cocoa."
"Chloe!" Lana looked appalled.
"What? You've never--"
"No! Of course not!"
"Then you don't know what you're missing." Chloe turned into the development. "I have just the thing for you." She pulled into the driveway and motioned Lana to follow her into the cellar. She opened an ancient avocado-green refrigerator and handed Lana a slender bottle.
"Wine coolers?"
"No, these are much better than wine coolers," said Chloe, grabbing a Bacardi Silver for herself. She also pulled out a bottle of Stoli Vanil. "Come on."
"Wait, I want my CD. Lord only knows what'll happen to it if it stays in your car."
"What, you mean it might turn into actual music?" Chloe ducked just in time to avoid the mitten that Lana threw at her head.
The girls clambered upstairs and threw themselves down on Chloe's bed. "Oh, do you want a bottle opener? I'll have to go down to the kitchen." Chloe easily twisted the top off her own bottle and tossed it in the general direction of the trashcan.
"No, that's all right," Lana replied warily, trying to pull the bottlecap off. "Ouch!"
"What happened?"
"Nothing," Lana answered quickly, putting her thumb in her mouth to get rid of the small bead of blood that had welled up. She handed the bottle to Chloe. "Here, you get it."
Chloe uncapped Lana's drink and handed it back to her. "Cheers," she snarked, taking a long swig of hers.
Lana sipped cautiously at her own drink. It wasn't bad, actually. It barely tasted like alcohol.
"The guys at the Planet called this 'bitch beer," said Chloe. "They just couldn't handle the fact that the girls had better taste."
Lana giggled. "You must have had a great time."
Chloe shrugged. "It was okay. It's a lot of work."
"I bet."
"But the Metropolis nightlife has it all over this cow town," Chloe added.
Lana frowned. "Whatever you say."
Chloe took another drink. "Here, give me your cocoa."
"Why?"
"Because this stuff--" She held up the bottle of vodka, "--is incredible in it."
"How often do you do this?"
"I'm not an alcoholic, Lana, if that's what you're getting at. I don't drink alone."
"I didn't mean--"
"I know you didn't," Chloe sighed. "I just thought that...well...you could use a little loosening up. A little fun. Come on, Lana, be a teenager for once. Rebel against the system. Don't let the bastards grind you down."
Lana cracked up. "What?"
"It's from 'The Handmaid's Tale," Chloe replied. "You should read it. It's by Margaret Atwood."
"Well, if you liked it I'm sure I will," Lana told her. She took another sip of her drink. It really *was* good. She took a long swig.
Chloe grinned. "All right!" She downed the rest of hers. "Now, where's that CD of yours?"
"Are you serious?"
"Sure! Maybe I misjudged those fine young lads." She took a sip of her Stoli-spiked cocoa and accepted the CD from Lana. "Now, what song is it that you like so much?"
"Track four."
Chloe set her CD player to track four. A short piano lick opened the song, and Chloe had to admit that it was rather pretty. "Did they write this too?"
"Yeah," Lana answered. "Told you they were talented."
"Maybe," Chloe grumbled. She turned to Lana and smiled. "It's not *so* bad."
Lana laughed. "I know how hard that was for you."
"You have no idea." Chloe sat back on the bed.
"When I first moved in here, I thought this is how it would be all the time. You know, all warm and cozy and homey. Everything my house always wasn't. This seemed like a home, not just a house."
Chloe snorted. "Where did you get that from?"
"Well, I thought that was what it's like when you live with someone you really love."
Well, damn. That was unexpected. And surprisingly romantic.
"I never really thought of it that way," Chloe admitted. The room was starting to seem awfully warm. It might have been the alcohol, but that wasn't Chloe's primary thought.
"I guess that's a little unrealistic," Lana replied, laying back into a nest of pillows.
"No, it's not that," Chloe assured her. "It just surprised me to hear it said out loud like that. I guess I always knew it, but I never managed to put it into words." She was babbling, and she knew it. She tended to be a very loquacious drunk, and she was only just getting tipsy. This would surely prove interesting.
"You know, I'm going to feel really dumb if I'm the only intoxicated one here." Chloe thrust Lana's half-empty Bacardi into her hand. "Finish."
Lana quickly did as she was told. Chloe grabbed the bottle and poured a shot of vodka into it. "Finish this, too." Chloe took her shot straight from the bottle.
Lana sniffed the Stoli. It smelled like vanilla nail polish remover. She looked warily to Chloe. "This smells kind of gross."
"It's great. Just try it," urged Chloe.
Lana took a deep breath and tried to gulp it down. She choked and coughed but managed not to spit any out. "Oh my God!"
"It's an acquired taste," explained Chloe. "Just like coffee."
"No, it's like drinking nail polish!" screeched Lana. "How do you *do* that? It's awful!"
"You'll get onto it," Chloe promised. "You'll like what it does. You're into secrets and lies--well, drunk people have no secrets."
"What kind of secrets do you have, Chloe?" asked Lana, suddenly interested. This was...well, it wasn't going the way Lana had envisioned this day initially.
"Well, there's really only one that you would be interested in."
Lana blushed. She suddenly had an idea what that secret was. "And what is it?"
Chloe leaned in to whisper in Lana's ear, and the warm breath sent shivers down Lana's spine. "That I think you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and I've had a crush on you since freshman year."
"When were you going to tell me?" Lana whispered back breathlessly.
"When I thought you would appreciate it," Chloe answered cagily, pulling away. Lana wanted to grab her and pull her right back where she belonged.
"And why do I appreciate it now?"
"Because..." Chloe leaned in and laid a feather-light kiss on Lana's cheek. "I know you feel the same way."
Lana had never though about it before, but Chloe...damn it, Chloe was exactly right. Maybe she wouldn't feel the same without the alcohol and the closeness, but it was a chance she was willing to take. It just seemed so wrong to let it go by.
Chloe continued to kiss Lana, moving down her neck to her collarbone. She began to unbutton Lana's pink cardigan and slipped the strap of her white tank top off her shoulder. She ran her hand down Lana's back and seemed surprised that Lana wasn't wearing a bra. She cocked an eyebrow at Lana, but then grinned smugly and licked a trail from Lana's collarbone straight down to her nipple. Lana gasped. This was so different from being with Whitney or Clark. It was so much hotter, more intense somehow.
Chloe flicked the delicate bud with her tongue, then gently bit down. The electric jolt shot straight to the pit of Lana's stomach. She reached for Chloe's chest, wanting somehow to return the sentiment but not really knowing what to do. She ungracefully slid her hand down Chloe's lacy shirt and inside the satiny bra. Chloe's skin was warm and felt like the inside of a rose petal, smooth and velvety.
Chloe hesitated for a second. "Yeah, like that," she urged softly as she started to pull Lana's top off. Lana worried the hardening nipple between her fingers. She slipped her hand out of Chloe's bra and slid it down along Chloe's silk-soft stomach to the waistband of her jeans.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Why Lana, what makes you think I'm that kind of girl?" she joked, grinning. She reached down and unbuttoned her pants herself, sliding one hand down inside her panties. She took Lana's other hand in her own. "Have you ever done this before?"
"No," Lana breathed, transfixed. She was staring at the hand inside Chloe's waistband, watching it slide up and down.
Chloe guided Lana's hand under the elastic of her panties. Lana could feel the electric heat under Chloe's wiry curls. Just then Chloe pulled Lana's hand away, and Lana wanted to cry. What had she done wrong?
"I have a better idea," Chloe told her, reaching into the nightstand drawer. She pulled out a long purple tube that Lana guessed was a vibrator. She had heard it some nights through the wall, but assumed it was an electric toothbrush.
Chloe handed the vibrator to Lana, flicking it on with a practiced ease. Intrigued, Lana slid it down inside Chloe's pants. "No, wait."
Chloe began to slip out of her jeans and panties. Lana couldn't take her eyes of off Chloe's milky-white skin. She wanted to memorize every detail, lest this just turn out to be a wonderful, incredible dream. Chloe then grabbed the remote for the CD player and switched on another CD.
"Striptease for me, baby..."
Chloe grinned slightly lasciviously at Lana. "Do it," she demanded.
Lana blushed. She shrugged off her pink sweater. "Come on, get into it," encouraged Chloe.
Lana tried to slide gracefully out of her jeans the way Chloe had, but she just couldn't. She gave up and just pushed her jeans and panties off. She wished she hadn't thrown out the red lace boy-shorts she had found in her closet after the Nicodemus flower incident two years ago.
"Now," Chloe breathed. Lana grasped the buzzing vibrator and thrust it delicately into Chloe's wet, waiting pussy. Chloe gasped. "Oh, God, just like that." Lana moved it up and down and listened intently to Chloe's husky moans, feeling herself getting wet just hearing it. Her free hand drifted back up to Chloe's dusky-pink nipple. Chloe arched her back off the bed and for a second Lana worried that she might fall, but she didn't. Her hips bucked as Lana kept up the rhythm, timing it to the insistent music.
"I want you now, I want you now..."
"Yes, yes, God yes!" Chloe collapsed down to the bed, spent. Her juice dripped down over Lana's hand and the vibrator. Lana lay down beside her and kissed her deeply.
"That was incredible, Lana," Chloe whispered in her ear, sending a tingle straight to Lana's clit. "Now, I'm going to make you feel even better."
Chloe gently took the vibrator out of Lana's hand and started skimming it gently over Lana's breasts. Lana wanted to cry out but she couldn't even breathe. It was like nothing she'd ever dared to feel before. She *had* to get herself one of these.
Chloe kept moving the vibrator down until she reached Lana's pussy. Lana gasped as the buzz touched her clit for the first time. She felt as though it would shake her right in half. Chloe knew just how to manipulate the humming toy so that Lana couldn't even catch her breath between the white-hot jolts of pleasure.
Chloe was beaming. "How's that? Is it good for you?"
Lana couldn't speak. She couldn't imagine ever speaking again--ever doing anything but this again, really. When orgasm crashed over her she indeed felt like she would burst, pi–ata-style, and leave little bits of herself all over Chloe's slightly cluttered bedroom. She lay panting, trying to remember why they hadn't done this a long time ago.
"Chloe," she gasped once she'd recovered a fraction of her composure, "Why couldn't we have done this a long time ago?"
"I wanted to be sure you were ready," Chloe answered simply. "Now, don't we have a buche de noel to make?"--The End--