Merry Christmas, Darling/Ch 3

Early the next morning, Betty stretched and yawned, feeling quite rested and comfortable in the huge, luxurious bed. She got her bearings, seeing the lovely views of Manhattan from Daniel's bed. Daniel's bed...where SHE had slept-alone all night. So where did HE sleep? She saw that she was still wearing his Harvard tee shirt that he had given her to put on upon arriving last night before they started watching movies. She must have fallen asleep after her long flight, even with napping on the plane, she had certainly been exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

She emerged from the bathroom, and saw her host, sleeping on the sofa. Her jet-lag had no doubt messed with her internal clock last night, causing her to pass out fairly early. She looked at the microwave in the kitchen to see it was still only six thirty in the morning. Long before she knew her long-time friend usually woke. She assumed he hadn't changed that much.

But what did she really know about him now? After all, it had been a decade since she had spent any time with Daniel. Both in her own appearance and his, it was clear they had matured. He was still an extremely handsome man, of course. She also knew well of all his philanthropic work and what a "catch" he still was.

But during their time apart, she had become her own woman as well. Betty no longer felt as if she could never think of dating a man like Daniel. In fact, many times back in London, she had met several British men who were his equivalent socially and a few who were also quite well off. Her work at Dunne had set her apart and given her the confidence that came from earning her position and the social standing that accompanies that kind of accomplishment.

One thing that never seemed to change however, was her clumsiness. With or without her poor eyesight, Betty had never (and apparently never WOULD) be a particularly graceful person. She tripped in the kitchen, as she went to try and make a cup of coffee for herself.

When she tried to stand up, she heard a chuckle and looked to see a hand extended, "Walk much? I see you're still my sweet little klutz! Good to know some things never change! What are you looking for? The cups are here. Sit. I'll make us both some coffee, okay? I don't want you to hurt yourself!" He leaned down to place a sweet kiss on her cheek, then went about making coffee and handing her a cup after he had helped her to sit at his kitchen table.

They sat quietly for a moment, savoring the welcome aroma of their coffee, and smiling somewhat shyly at one another. Betty spoke up, "So, I'm really sorry I was such a wimp last night! I promise you, I normally DO manage to stay up past midnight! I was just really tired from traveling I guess!"

He nodded, "I figured as much. It's fine, Betty. After all, it's not every day that you move across an ocean! I'm just thrilled that you're finally back home! What are your plans?"

She giggled, motioning with her head outside, to what had overnight become a veritable Winter Wonderland of snow. She shrugged, "I guess you really are stuck with me now!"

He smirked, glancing down at his shirt on her petite but curvy frame, "Yeah, such a shame you don't have any clothes! What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm sure you'll think of some way to entertain me!" she teased.

"I'm sure I will. So...would you like to take a shower? We could...both take one at the same time, but…"

Her eyes widened and he stuttered somewhat embarrassed at her misunderstanding, "NO! NOT...together! I meant...I have two bathrooms, Betty! There's one down here and one on the second floor, that's all."

"OH! Right! Of course! It's fine. I don't mind waiting. I want to call my family and...oh, wait, I guess I'm not used to being in the same time zone as they are. You go ahead. I'll take my shower after you. It's kind of early for you, though, isn't it?"

He shrugged, nodding, "A little. I sometimes get up early on weekends and holidays, though. I have one homeless shelter that I like to volunteer at where the kitchen needs to open early, to get them fed breakfast. Why are you looking at me like that, Betty?"

She shook her head, finishing her coffee, then walked over to him, and took his cup out of his hands, standing in front of him. She held his face in her hands and smiled, "You really are a wonderful human being, Daniel! You do know that, don't you? I'm so proud of you! For your non-profit, for all the great work you've been doing over the years. Molly would be very proud of you, too! So would your father. You've really grown up!"

He grinned at her compliment, "Yeah, well, I guess at forty-five, I really should finally have my shit together by now, huh? You, you ALWAYS knew exactly who you were and what you wanted to do, even at twenty-two! I've always admired that about you, Betty. You've worked your ass off! And it's a very nice ass, I might add."

He got her blush as his reward for the come-on. "OH! I...um...thanks! Yours, too!"

He laughed as he hopped down from the stool and gave her a quick hug, "Okay, I guess I'm going to go ahead and take this nice ass of mine into that shower now. Feel free to join me if you want to save water! Or you could...take your own in the shower upstairs if you insist on privacy." he teased. "Help yourself to another of my tee shirts. I gotta say, you do them justice! I'm especially a fan of the no-bra look! Very high-fashion! And on you...it looks...great! Just say no!"

He wagged his eyebrows suggestively at the sight of her large breasts, braless in his shirt. She had been so comfortable last night, under the cover, she hadn't even thought about putting her bra back on while they were watching movies.

While he went to shower in his master bathroom, she went back upstairs, trying to decide if she should "go commando" in her jeans or simply borrow a pair of his boxers. It was an interesting idea. She opted for the latter. Something about wearing Daniel's clothing filled her with excitement. She felt a bit naughty, but so far, things had been much more PG than she had first anticipated and she was actually very happy about that.

For them, things had taken so long because they knew each other so well, they valued their friendship. The difference in their ages meant that she felt she had a lot to prove professionally, and being on different continents had naturally complicated and delayed things. Still, it FINALLY felt right. This felt like the natural progression to their relationship.

She still didn't feel like anything they decided to do, no matter how "quickly" at this point would be rushing things, considering their unusual and longstanding friendship and level of comfort with each other. And the fact that both of them were so close to each other's families was an added bonus. The thought of Claire as a mother-in-law at some point seemed much less terrifying than say someone like Victoria Hartley, certainly!

Betty touched the silk boxers as she smiled, rolling her eyes at the memory of having them thrown at her by so many jilted women. That person, that was no longer the same man she knew and loved. Yes, loved! There had been so many nights that she had compared other men she met, good men, but they had never measured up to his level of sweetness, of thoughtfulness, of that gentle, kind heart (along with his insanely hot ass! The ass she was now staring at freely from his bathroom.)

She had taken him at his word and decided to bring down her choice of clean clothing, another of his tee shirts and his boxers to put on after she showered. Showered together WITH him, that is. After what seemed literally like a lifetime of memories that flashed before her eyes she surprised him by pulling back the shower curtain, "Hey! Sorry! I...didn't mean to startle you, but...are you sure...it's okay for me to join you?"

His smile widened and he looked younger than his years, almost like a little boy in fact as he nodded enthusiastically, clearly enjoying the sight of her standing outside his shower, naked, holding her arms somewhat shyly over her bare breasts.

"HELL YEAH! Come on in! So glad you decided to do our part to save the environment and double up on the water use by...sharing! Plese, join me. I've been waiting for such a long time now. The water's fine."

He held out his hand and pulled her inside, giving her a very intimate, intense kiss, then held her to him for a long hug before he whispered, "I'm so glad you decided to join me."

"I couldn't resist. I was curious. And your invitation was pretty hard to resist."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. So what made you decide to come in? Was it my great ass?"

She laughed, "That helped a lot, of course. That, and the fact that...I'm completely in love with you."

"The feeling is very mutual, Betty. It took you long enough! Not that I'm complaining. I guess, for us, we needed to both do a lot of growing up. Me, in particular. I was such a jerk when we first met. And like you said, I did act like a five-year-old a lot of the time. So, basically, you had to wait for me to grow up emotionally, huh? That's what took us so long for us to get here?"

She shrugged, but kissed him passionately, then began eagerly exploring his naked body, soaping him up to his delight. "I think we both needed to grow up to get our lives to the point that we felt comfortable with one another as more than friends."

He moaned softly then whispered into her ear, nuzzling her neck, as he, too, explored his love's body, "MUCH more! Merry Christmas, darling! I love you, Betty."

"Merry Christmas, Daniel. I love you, too."