Intoxication.

12.

"You excited?" Prince's head snapped up over at Sanaa, a puzzled look now in his innocent gaze. Crap. What was she talking about?  "E-Excited for what?" His voice came out slightly rushed and she giggled, placing another batch of sugar cookies in the oven. "For Christmas? You know since it's tomorrow...I can't believe it already..." Shrugging his shoulders, Prince let his vision focus back at his original task at hand but for the life of him he couldn't seem to concentrate. Setting the pen and pad down, he excused himself from the table to go into the living room.

"I know especially around this time it must be hard. If you want, perhaps we could visit your family?-"
"I don't want to see them." Prince interrupted, turning away from the window to face Sanaa. She gave a slight nod in understanding before motioning for him to come back into the kitchen. "I actually had gotten your gift a day early..." Prince's face fell. He chewed on his lips, scratching the back of his neck. "You didn't have to do that, really..." "Oh nonsense!" Sanaa waved her hand in a playful manner before continuing. "Hopefully you'll like it. I'll be right back. Watch the oven for me?" She winked before heading up the stairs, her high ponytail bouncing with each step. Sighing, Prince simply remained seated in the wooden chair, waiting patiently. He couldn't help but wonder...What did she get me?

Once Sanaa finally returned, in her hands was a rectangular gift as well as a small gift which had to have been for Paisley. Setting the rectangular gift  down in front of him at the table, she flashed a big smile. Not knowing exactly what to do then, Prince simply stared down at the gift, eyeing the unique patterns of the silver and white wrapping paper. He heard a giggle emerge from the older woman as she crossed her arms, still standing in front of him.

"You know you can open it anytime now, Skipper" Immediately he felt his cheeks redden at the foreign nickname rolling smoothly off her lips and he tore off the paper with careful delicacy, his bottom lip tucked in between his teeth. A soft gasp left his parted lips as he gazed at the object in front of him, admiring all the various sets of colors and brushes. It was a painting set.

"I remembered you saying a while back how you wanted some more paints..." Sanaa spoke as Prince remained silent. "You like it? I know you really enjoy painting so..." Her voice trailed off as she watched the teenager carefully for some type of reaction. Sniffling, he quickly wiped the tear that had trickled down his cheek with the sleeve of his blue sweater, a shy smile playing on his lips.

"I love it...Thank you so much for t-this" Prince's voice broke and he stood up, his hands still trying to stop his tears that were now coming more frequently. Before Sanaa could ask, he quickly explained. "I, growing up my family never really celebrated holidays...This is the first real gift I've ever gotten..." Now it was Sanaa's vision that was becoming slightly blurred as she looked over at him. In his hazel orbs she could see how genuinely grateful he was to receive this gift from her. He truly was an absolute sweetheart.

"Merry Christmas Prince" her voice came out in a whisper and she leaned in to hug him, completely catching him off guard at first but pretty soon she felt his body relax slightly under her touch. "Merry Christmas..." He mumbled shyly against the fabric of the white silk blouse she wore. When he pulled back from her embrace, he found himself slowly getting lost in her chestnut orbs.

Chewing on his bottom lip, his voice now came out slightly flustered. "I, I didn't get you anything. I'm so sorry, I didn't know..." "It's alright. I'm not much of a gift person anyway..." She joked quietly, her vision locked his lips that he had been nervously licking and biting at while she spoke.

Without thinking, Sanaa's lips came in contact with Prince's cheek,  barely brushing against his already flushed skin which made his body go stiff, his breath visibly getting caught in his throat. His heart wanted to explode from his chest and in a quick movement he roughly jumped away, almost tripping over his snow boot.

"I, um," he stuttered lamely, looking at anything other than her. Immediately she ran a hand through her long dark locks, frantically smoothing back her ponytail. "No it's my fault, I, I shouldn't have..." She felt the embarrassment burn her cheeks also while she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry" Prince spoke, quickly turning on his heel, briskly heading upstairs leaving Sanaa alone in her thoughts.

It was now later on in the evening and Prince had still been locked away in the guest room. How long is he gonna stay up there?  Sanaa thought. She was settled on the couch, watching a Christmas movie, a big bowl of popcorn sitting in her lap. Her daughter was spending time with a friend so other than Prince, she was pretty much alone at the house. Her ex husband had tried to call but of course she ignored it, shoving her phone back in her pocket. She definitely didn't wanna hear what he had to say. She was just about to call it an night, heading to bed early when a figure finally emerged down the stairs, the head down the entire time.

Prince remained quiet as he took a seat on the couch, making sure to leave a respectable amount of space between him and Sanaa, his vision focused on his fingers. "I, I'm sorry about earlier...For running away. It's just that I, I um didn't e-expect-" he let out a sigh, focusing on his choice of words. Meanwhile Sanaa eyed him intently, patiently waiting for him to continue. He kept stumbling over his words, the panic visible in his wide eyes and she reached out to place her hand on top of his, instantly causing him to stop fidgeting. Her eyes were tender and understanding.

"It's fine honey..." Her voice was soft and soothing to Prince's ears. Licking his lips, he found the courage to speak again. "I, I hate this. I hate that I'm like this..." Tilting her head to the side, Sanaa turned her body towards him on the couch, all of her attention focused on the teen now as he continued softly. "I, I'm too shy. Too awkward. I need to learn how to..." He swallowed his nerves, his eyes finally meeting with hers. "G-Grow a damn pair" Sanaa placed a hand over her mouth in attempt to conceal the laughter that threatened to tumble out from his blunt statement.

It wasn't long before her sweet laughter could finally be heard and she turned her head away. To her surprise she heard chuckles come from Prince, a small smile now on his lips as well. "You'll get there eventually. Just continue being the best version of you okay?" She spoke, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. He nodded, watching the way their hands were now connected. This time when she had reached over to place a soft kissing his cheek, he didn't pull away. He simply smiled shyly, a foreign sensation tingling in his stomach.