The Snow Globe

Synopsis:

When Bethany opened an unmarked package left on her doorstep, she had no idea it would take her on a course where the lines between reality and fantasy would collide. Little did she know that the deepest secrets of her heart would come tumbling to the surface and unfold into a winter wonderland.

The Snow Globe

Prologue:

8 years earlier
(An excerpt from Grace's diary)

Dear Diary,

So, I had the best day! I spent the whole day with Bethany :) ...God, she is soooo beautiful! I can't even look at her for an extended amount of time or else I'll start to feel these crazy butterflies in my stomach and then my cheeks get hot. I hope it doesn't show on my face. I get so nervous around her, it's ridiculous! Today, I even got goose bumps on my arm when she accidentally brushed her hand up against it when going to change the radio station in my car. Oh?? And did I mention how incredibly soft her skin is??? ....I swear that girl has to bathe in clouds or something!! ...and her smell. She always smells SO good. It's intoxicating! Anyway, we just walked around a park today. Nothing special. ....well, then again, I mean, just getting to be with her makes it special. .....SHE'S special!

We stopped for a second to admire the view of the trees and take in the summer air. Although, I found myself having a hard time finding the air to breathe. She takes my breath away sometimes. And, breathing didn't get any easier when we found ourselves up against a tree engaged in a kiss that could only be described as AMAZING!!! Her lips were so soft....so perfect! But, then again, they always are. My favorite part is always that subtle hint of mint I taste on her lips from her lip gloss.

The day was just not long enough. I didn't want to let her go. The part I hate most is when we arrive back at my house and I know she'll soon get into her car and drive away....back to her place :( I wish I could just take her into the house and spend the whole night kissing her.....caressing her......cherishing her. I really wish I would have known about my sexuality before I went and got married. Maybe I would have met Bethany earlier and we could have had a life together?? ...but, that's probably wishful thinking. For one thing, if we hadn't moved here, chances are, I would never have met her. And, another thing. I don't know if that's something she'd even be interested in. I mean, we started this whole thing as a "friends with benefits" type situation. It wasn't meant to get serious. ....but it has! ...well, at least it has for me. I can't always read Bethany. I'm not sure exactly what she feels for me. I don't want to bring anything up or ask her about it for fear that it would scare her away. She'd see that I was getting too attached and she'd cut all ties with me. .....I can't lose her like that! ....that would kill me! ...NO! I'm just going to keep my true feelings for her a secret. Just go with the flow. I can't tell her what I so desperately want to. I can't tell her that......I love her.

The Snow Globe:

It was a typical morning. Bethany was making her way home from her job as a customer support representative for Capital Computers. It was her turn to work the night shift and she had just gotten off from a 10-hour shift. She was exhausted.

‘I’m so ready to get some sleep’ she thought.

She pulled her car up into the driveway. As she got out and walked towards her front door, she noticed something very odd.

“What’s this?” she said. She was referring to a brown paper-wrapped package sitting perfectly on her front porch.

It didn’t look like it came from any postal service. There were no labels or stamps on it. She looked at it baffled as she unlocked her front door. She walked in and dropped her purse and her work bag onto a nearby table.

Going back outside to further investigate the package, a panicked feeling came over Bethany.

‘Wait a second! What if it’s a bomb? ……or maybe anthrax? ….a flesh-eating virus sent by ISIS as biological warfare??!'

“Oh, Bethany! Stop being crazy! she said to herself, dismissing her thoughts that it could be some form of terrorist attack.

She figured it was probably just a present that someone had left at the wrong house. It WAS close to Christmas, after all. Nevertheless, she knew she should still be cautious.

She slowly approached it.

Reaching down, Bethany picked up the package. It wasn’t light, yet it wasn’t all that heavy either. She held it up to her ear.

‘Alright. It’s not ticking’ she discovered. ‘……do bombs even tick anymore??’

Before she had a chance to think of an answer to that, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was lying on the floor of the porch, right next to where the package had been. It appeared to be a tiny envelope, like the ones you would see attached to a flower arrangement. It was lying with the flap side facing upwards.

Tentatively, she bent down, picked it up, and flipped it over. The word BETHANY was handwritten on the front of it, in all caps and written with a very thick ink flow as though it were meant to look like bold font.

Seeing her name on the envelope, she realized her earlier assumption was wrong. This package was definitely meant for her.

Curious as to who the sender could be, she wasted no time opening up the tiny envelope.

“The heart wants what it wants” is what Bethany read on the card. She flipped it over to see if she missed something, but the other side was blank.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked herself.

Bethany looked very confused. She walked back into her house, sat the package on a table, and started to open it.

Underneath the brown paper was a white box. She opened the box and saw a spherical shape. She lifted it out of the box and gasp.

“Oh, wow!” she said.

She was holding the most beautiful snow globe she had ever seen. It had the prettiest winter scene inside of it. There was a colonial-style slate blue house. Amidst the house was a frozen pond with a wooden garden bench beside it. Tall snow-capped pine trees made up the landscape.

Bethany gave it a little shake and sparkling glitter along with tiny snowflakes encompassed the globe. They floated around in the water inside the globe until they slowly descended back to the bottom. It was truly a captivating sight.

Bethany smiled at the snow globe. She wasn’t sure who had sent it to her or why, but she was happy to have it.

Suddenly, Bethany started to feel unsteady on her feet. She realized she’d been up for hours and her body was simply fatigued. She absolutely needed to get some sleep.

Taking the snow globe with her to her bedroom, Bethany sat it on the nightstand by her bed. Crawling into the bed and getting under the covers, she gave the snow globe one last look. She smiled at it again, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

---

An hour or so later, Bethany began to stir. She could feel the daylight that was peering in through her window blinds. She slowly opened her eyes. To her surprise, the light she sensed wasn’t coming from the blinds. It was coming from the snow globe!

A bright starburst pattern of light was emanating from the snow globe, reaching every corner of Bethany’s bedroom. It took her a minute to shake off her sleepiness and become fully aware of what was happening.

“What the hell!” she blurted out loud.

The pattern of light began to rotate around the room.

It was slow at first, but then it picked up speed, moving so fast that it resembled a strobe light. Bethany thought maybe it was just some crazy feature of the snow globe.

However, that notion was quickly pushed aside when her bed began to shake. In fact, the whole room started to shake. Things were falling off the top of Bethany’s dresser. Her drawers were jarred open and some were even knocked completely out of the dresser, hitting the floor with a loud boom.

Bethany was quite frightened at this point. She thought it could be an earthquake. Getting more and more scared by the second, she pulled the covers up over her head, hiding underneath them. She shut her eyes; petrified.

A few seconds later, the room became still as the sudden quake came to an abrupt end. The room was no longer shaking. Everything had become quiet; eerily so.

Bethany, still hiding under her covers, shivered. She was uncertain about what had just happened. A cold chill suddenly brushed over her and slowly crept up her spine. It was starting to get colder and colder around her. She couldn’t fathom why. A strong, chilly breeze then flew past, making her even more afraid to see what was going on outside of her hiding place.

She inevitably had to look at some point. She knew she couldn’t hide under the covers forever. With her heart pounding in her ears, Bethany slowly peeked her head out. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Bethany was outside. Large trees covered in snow surrounded her. Tiny snowflakes were drifting down from the sky, landing in her hair. The temperature was freezing.

She quickly wrapped her covers around her arms to drive off the chill and keep warm. Bethany was dazed. There she was sitting on her bed, outside, in the middle of this wintry forest, and it was snowing.

“Okay, I’ve lost it! I have GOT to be cracking up”

She looked around in utter disbelief. ‘I’ve got to be dreaming’ she thought.

She motioned to get out of the bed, still using the covers to keep warm, taking them with her as she stood up.

Immediately, she felt the cold snow on her bare feet as they touched the ground. The coldness burned brightly into the bare soles of her feet. She hadn't been wearing any shoes.

She sat back down on the bed, taking her feet out of the snow. ‘Well, how am I supposed to go anywhere?' she thought.

Bethany contemplated on what to do next, reluctantly concluding that she was just gonna have to grin and endure it if she wanted to further investigate this conundrum that she currently found herself in.

Taking a few deep breaths, she bit the bullet and stood up again. It was still extremely cold on her feet, but it wasn’t as bad as the first time. With a renewed determination, she started walking.

Bethany walked past a few trees, looking up at them puzzled. She looked up at them so intently that she didn’t notice what was right in front of her.

Thump!

She hit the ground, falling backward right into the snow. Dazed and confused, she sat up.

“What the hell was that?” she asked herself.

Bethany got back up on her feet.

She had ran smack dab into something, but she couldn’t figure out what. She could see nothing in front of her but an endless forest of trees. She tried again to walk forward; this time more cautiously, and again she was stopped.

It seemed like there was an invisible wall there preventing her from going any further. She reached out her hand in front of her and she could feel it! It was a hard surface yet completely transparent. She walked alongside this “invisible” wall. It stretched out for many feet and then the wall started to curve.

As she rounded what appeared to be a corner, she gasped. She couldn't believe it! Right there was a big, slate blue house. It had a frozen pond out in front of it, and sitting just left of the pond was a wooden garden bench. It looked EXACTLY like the snow globe she had received.

Between the sight laid out in front of her and the discovery of this 'invisible' wall, she put two and two together.

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"I'm in the snow globe!!!"

Before she could even make sense of anything, the door to the house opened up and she could see that someone was coming out of it. It was too far away for her to know what this person looked like, but she could clearly see that it was a female and that she was walking directly towards her. As she inched closer and closer, her features become more visible. She was, a thin, petite woman with long black hair and curls for days. The minute her almond-shaped brown eyes met with Bethany's, she knew exactly who this person was. It was Grace.

Grace is the girl who got away; and she thought the same of Bethany as well. They had a brief love affair back when they lived in the same state.

It had been a sizzling taboo relationship. Grace was married at the time to a man, but she was very much attracted to women. She, unfortunately, really didn’t discover her true sexuality until after she was married and had a child.

So, Grace found herself having to sneak around, having secret relationships with women to quench her thirst for that taste. ....the taste of a woman, that is.

To Grace, there was nothing like it.....and nothing better.

At first, it was just all about the sex for her. Simply primal, no strings attached, no commitment sex. And, that's exactly how it started with Bethany. However, Bethany was different.

Yes, the sex was nice, but there was more to it with her. Grace loved just being in Bethany's company. They didn't have to be having sex. Simple things like going out to lunch, catching a movie at the theater, or just walking around the mall window shopping gave Grace so much joy. Before she knew it, she had fallen in love. She became more concerned about her relationship with Bethany than she did about her relationship with her husband. Bethany became the important one, the special one. She began waking up in the mornings with her first thoughts being of Bethany. 'Is she up yet?' 'What is she doing?' 'Where is she going today?' 'Am I gonna get to see her today?' were the questions that would flood her mind.

They had but only a year together, if even that, before Grace had to move away. Her husband had taken a job in a different state.

Bethany hadn't seen her since.

....and there she was standing in front of her right now, and all the feelings she had for Grace came rushing back. She felt like running into her arms and touching her face just to see if she was real. They both stared at each other as Bethany’s heart flipped over and over again.

"Baby, what are you doing out here without a coat on?!" Grace asked in a frantic tone.

Grace was carrying a red Sherpa throw which she placed over Bethany's shoulders and Bethany immediately felt 10 degrees warmer.

"And your shoes??" Grace asked, looking down at Bethany's bare feet. "Where are your shoes?!"

At this point, Bethany's feet were so cold that she couldn't feel them anymore.

Grace promptly ushered Bethany into the house.

---

The inside of the house was warm and the scent of gingerbread hung in the air. There was a fire going in the fireplace and the heat radiating from it felt so good to Bethany.

Grace sat her down on the sofa and quickly scurried off into another room. Bethany felt extremely disoriented.

'What IS this??' she asked herself.

'I'm inside the snow globe??......Grace is here! .....I MUST be dreaming??'

Bethany officially concluded that she was actually still asleep in her bed at her house and that this was all just some elaborate dream she was having.

Bethany could hear Grace's footsteps approaching as she walked back into the room carrying what appeared to be some type of plastic basin. Grace carried it over to Bethany and sat it down by her feet. Bethany could now see that it had water in it. Grace knelt down beside the basin.

"Here. Let me see your foot." Grace said as she held out her hands.

It took Bethany a minute to register what Grace had said because she was still shocked to see her. She lifted her right foot and placed it in Grace's hands.

"Oh my God, babe! Your foot is like ice!" Grace said. She started to massage her foot.

At first, Bethany couldn't feel a thing because her foot was so numb from the cold. Gradually, however, the numbness started to fade. She began to feel the warmth of Grace's hands and then, she could feel everything; the rubbing, the kneading, the pressure. It felt great!

Bethany realized that this was the first time she'd had any skin-to-skin contact with Grace since she moved away. Bethany had forgotten what Grace’s hands felt like, not to mention how her touches made her feel. She suddenly felt a rush of heat surge through her body. Grace wasn't just warming up her foot. She had set Bethany's whole body ablaze.

"You're lucky you didn't get frostbite!" Grace said, putting Bethany's foot into the basin of water which she now discovered was warm water. Gently, Grace picked up Bethany's left foot and started the same massage on that foot.

Bethany sat there and watched. It had been years since she had seen Grace and even though she knew this was just a dream, she wanted to enjoy every minute of it. She had wished for this so many times and here it was, her and Grace in the same room, breathing the same air. It felt like a miracle.

"I was gone for, like, 2 seconds and when I came back, I couldn't find you," Grace explained, still working on her foot. "What were you doing outside?"

Bethany sat there not knowing what to say. All she could think to say was 'Well, I went to sleep in my room and woke up inside a snow globe!!'

'She'll think I've gone crazy if I tell her that!' Bethany thought.

Bethany wasn't sure why she even cared what Grace thought given the circumstances. After all, this wasn't 'real' Grace. This was 'dream' Grace.

Nevertheless, Bethany decided to just play along and go with the dream.

"Uhh....I....uhh" She struggled to come up with an explanation quickly.

"I....uhh....I....was.....hot," she said, feeling how lame that was the minute it left her mouth.

Bethany couldn't read Grace's reaction at first. She sort of gazed at Bethany with a dumbfounded look on her face. After a brief second or so, Grace started to chuckle. It started small and slowly grew into full-out laughter. Trying to compose herself she said,

"Ok....let me get this straight. You were hot....so, your solution for that was to go outside with no coat and with no shoes or socks on?"

She started chuckling again.

"That's crazy, babe!" Grace said, through her amusement.

Bethany realized that her proposed reason for being outside wasn't much better than her real reason. Grace would have thought she was crazy either way. Bethany still knew, however, that being outside with no winter gear on because you're hot was a lot less crazy than saying you’d been magically transported inside a snow globe!!

"Well......?" Grace started. "...are you hot now??" she asked, sarcastically.

The whole thing WAS kinda funny when Bethany thought about it. It is downright ridiculous! She was happy to make Grace laugh though. It was nice to see her smile once again.

"Um..I think I'm good now" Bethany wittingly remarked.

Everything was starting to seem so real. It felt good being with Grace again, perceiving her sweet fragrance, and feeling her soft, sensual hands on her feet.

The two of them had one last chuckle about it before Grace put Bethany's other foot in the basin.

"Ok, well, keep your feet in that a little longer," Grace said, standing to her feet, "I'm gonna go put the groceries away." ....and off Grace went into another room.

Bethany couldn't fathom what made her dream all this up, but she was glad she did. If she couldn't be with Grace in real life, at least she could be with her in her dreams.

It seemed like a lot of time had passed. Grace hadn't come back in the room yet. Bethany didn't know what could be taking her so long.

'How many groceries did she buy?’

Bethany's feet finally felt back to normal, so she took them out of the water. She dried them off with a towel Grace had left next to her. Grace had even laid out a pair of fuzzy Christmas socks for her to put on. That wasn't really Bethany's style, but she thought the gesture was cute nonetheless. She decided to use this time to scope out the living room.

There was a cream-colored sofa with a matching armchair opposite it, a gold-colored marbled fireplace glowing with burning wood, and there was a TV on a shelf close to the fireplace. An artificial Christmas tree, decorated with glittering colorful lights, garland, and ornaments was standing in a corner of the room. Bethany was interestingly drawn to it. It was such a beautiful tree. She walked over to it to admire it more closely. There were presents underneath it and one of them particularly caught her eye.

To: My Amazing Grace
From: Beth

It was a present from her to Grace.

'Hmm, I wonder what I got her' Bethany humorously thought.

Curiosity was calling her to sneak a peek. The wrapping was done up so nicely, however, that there was no way of seeing what it was without completely opening it.

Then, another present caught her eye.

To: The Queen of My Heart
From: Grace

It was a gift for her from Grace. Bethany's curiosity was now even more so. She really wanted to see what Grace had gotten for her. She was just about to pick it up when a voice chimed in from behind her.

"That, ...my sweets, is for Christmas," Grace said.

Bethany turned around and beheld a stunning sight. Warmth instantly filled her belly, traveling all the way up to her chest.

"But, if you're looking for a present.....I may be able to help you out in that department!"

Standing in between rooms, and propped up against the archway in a sexy pose was Grace was wearing naughty Mrs. Claus lingerie.

It was red and velvety in texture and had white, fluffy trim around the halter-style top and around the bottom. She had a Santa hat on and long, silky red gloves.

The sight of Grace in that getup immediately made Bethany's sensitive spots tingle with desire. She was suddenly moist between her legs and throbbing torturously. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and those tingles she was feeling turned into deep burning aches.

Bethany had no words. She was utterly speechless!

".....I'll take that for a yes," Grace said, clearly noticing the bombshell look on Bethany's face. Grace's eyes were glowing in a very teasing manner as she sinfully turned around, revealing her back to Bethany.

Grace's lingerie was completely backless. From the curve of her shoulders to the dip in her spine, to the small of her back, and all the way down to the tip of her tailbone, Grace was perfection. She was simply a goddess.

The throbbing beneath Bethany's jeans began to strengthen. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted Grace in the worst way!

Grace stood there, showing off her backside for a second or so, knowing that it must be driving Bethany crazy.

When she was done with her little "striptease," she glanced over her right shoulder, right into Bethany's eyes.

"Follow me" she seductively commanded. She then strolled away and up the staircase.

Bethany took in a long, deep breath hoping it might calm her body down a bit, but it did no such thing. She was hot with desire indefinitely.

'I am loving this dream!' she thought as she obediently followed Grace up the stairs.

They entered into a bedroom. Grace turned around to face Bethany who walked over to her. Bethany could already feel herself getting nervous. It had been years since they last slept together. She worried that she'd forgotten what Grace liked. Slow? Fast?? ....somewhere in between???

It was so long ago. She couldn't remember.

'Best to start slow and see where it goes from there' she figured. Little did she know that Grace was going to take the reins on this one.

Grace planted a kiss on Bethany, but it wasn't your average kiss. It was passionate, wet, and deep. Grace sinfully touched her tongue to Bethany's, making Bethany's panties wet.

Having had her eyes closed during the kiss, Bethany didn't realize that Grace had somehow backed her up against the wall. Grace pulled away from the kiss and gazed into Bethany's eyes.

The flames in Grace's eyes could have lit up an entire state. As she gazed, Bethany was certain that Grace could see just how badly she wanted her to keep going.

Bethany reached out to grab Grace around the waist. However, Grace promptly grabbed Bethany's hands, moved them away from her waist, and pinned them up against the wall. Bethany tried, but she couldn't get her hands free. That was exactly what Grace wanted. Grace wanted absolute control.

They were still kissing when Grace switched her hands up so that one was still forcing Bethany's hands against the wall while Grace's other hand was now free. Bethany felt Grace's hand going up and under her shirt. Her hand came to Bethany's breasts and she teased them, gently squeezing one and then the other. Bethany moaned. Grace's hand descended from Bethany's breasts, slowly falling to her belly button and then wandering straight down her pants. Grace could feel the moisture that was now soaking Bethany's underwear.

"Oh, you're soooo wet!" she murmured, massaging Bethany's clit through her panties. Bethany moaned louder.

"I love it when I make you wet," Grace whispered in Bethany's ear.

Grace’s hand didn't stay in Bethany's pants for long. It was obvious that Grace just wanted to tease her a little bit.

The kiss slowed to an end and Grace slowly let go of Bethany's other hand that was still pinned against the wall. Grace then grabbed her by the waist, directed her onto the bed, and laid her body over top of Bethany's. For a second or two, Grace slowed her seductive intentions as she took a moment to look at her.

"You are… so…beautiful, baby," Grace whispered, huskily, once again looking deeply into Bethany's eyes.

Bethany smiled.

"I love you" Grace murmured, her eyes sparkling.

Bethany took a minute to relish in those words. She had never before heard Grace say she loved her. There was just this silent understanding between the both of them.

They each knew that one loved the other and vice versa, but Bethany had never heard Grace verbalize it until that very second.

Hearing Grace saying those words was like the sweetest symphony to Bethany's ears. It literally warmed her heart.

'God, I wish this was real' Bethany thought.

Bethany, gazing back into Grace's eyes, said, "I love you too"

She could tell through Grace's eyes that her heart was warmed as well.

Grace sat up and was now straddling Bethany. She pulled Bethany's shirt up and over her head and threw it harshly onto the floor. Leaning down a bit, she unsnapped Bethany's bra and threw that on the floor as well.

Bethany's breasts, now fully exposed, were full and firm. Grace stared at them as if she wanted to devour them. She leaned down again, running her tongue around each nipple, gently sucking and nibbling on them. Bethany's whole body started to feel like it was on fire, but she loved it! Grace ran her tongue down the center of Bethany's chest to her stomach, leaving soft kisses on her body along the way.

Bethany could hear the sound of her zipper as Grace unfastened her jeans and pulled them off of her. The jeans joined Bethany's shirt and bra on the floor.

Using her teeth, Grace grabbed hold of the thin elastic band at the top of Bethany's panties. She pulled them down as far as she could with her teeth before having to use her hands to take them completely off. Bethany couldn't help but to find that incredibly sexy!

Grace had officially gotten Bethany completely naked. Sitting up, she slipped off her lingerie and was now completely naked as well.

She lowered herself and started kissing Bethany's lips. Bethany loved the feel and warmth of Grace's breasts now touching her own. The skin-to-skin contact made her even wetter. Grace started to lick, nibble, and kiss down her body, but this time, she went further. She buried her head between Bethany's thighs and teased her clit with her tongue. Bethany let out her loudest moan yet. Grace continued teasing Bethany's clit, increasingly licking and sucking on it. Bethany reached down and grabbed hold of Grace's hair, pulling it with each pleasurable moment she was having. She couldn't take the teasing any longer. Still holding onto her hair, Bethany pulled Grace's head forward and deeper into her. Grace knew Bethany wanted more and she happily obliged.

She licked, nibbled, and gently blew on Bethany's clit intently, playing on the sensitivity she knew it must be experiencing. Grace could see and feel the wetness seeping out of her and that just turned Grace on even more. She pressed two fingers together, slowly slipping them inside Bethany’s moist warmth. Bethany sucked in a deep breath as she felt Grace's fingers gliding into her. Slowly, Grace slid and pumped her fingers in and out of Bethany. Every time she thrusted into her, Bethany would moan. As the speed of Grace's thrusts became faster and intense, Bethany moaned louder and louder and louder each time. Grace once again began to lick and suck her clit, taking it in and out of her mouth in the same rhythmic pattern that she is fingering Bethany with. The combination of feeling Grace's fingers inside her and feeling her hot, wet tongue pleasing her at the same time sent Bethany overboard. Her moans became screams……screams of pleasure and desire. She could feel it coming on. It was going to happen soon. Grace wanted to make her cum so badly.

She felt Bethany's body tighten up around her fingers as she continued to pleasure her. Bethany was getting so close. It took but another second and…

Bethany screamed out as she reached climax.

Grace smiled to herself, happy to know that she did her job right. She placed a few kisses on the inside of Bethany's creamy thighs before she came up to meet her face once again. She leaned down and gave Bethany the gentlest kiss. Bethany could taste herself on Grace's lips. She loved it! She loved knowing that at that very moment, Grace was hers and nobody else’s. They exchanged a few loving kisses before cuddling up in bed next to each other.

Bethany was spent, but sated. She had reached the height of ecstasy and needed a cool down. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had been dying to be with Grace again and here she was lying beside her in bed. Bethany didn't know how a dream could feel so real, but it did! It felt SO real!

Every touch, every kiss, every pleasure-induced moan.....

Bethany glanced over at Grace.

Grace's eyes were deeply entwined with Bethany's and she could feel the love that Grace had for her. It was written on every inch of Grace's body; from her toes to her thighs, to her buttock, to her waist, from her breasts to her neck, and ending through the steamy look in her eyes. It was as though Grace radiated the love she had for Bethany directly through them.

"I love you, Bethany," Grace whispered, as she gently brushed Bethany's cheek with her hand.

"I love you, Grace," she replied.

They lingered in each other's glances for a few more moments.

---

A short time later, Bethany's eyes slowly drifted awake. She was still in the bed where she and Grace had just made love …..But Grace was gone!

"I must have fallen asleep," she thought.

"But, where's Grace?"

Her gaze flickered around the room, but she didn't see Grace anywhere.

"Grace?" she called out. There was no response back. Her heart started to pound once again, but this time it was because she was afraid she'd lost Grace.....again.

She quickly got out of the bed and put her clothes back on. She made her way down the staircase, peeked into the kitchen and living room, but she still didn't spot Grace anywhere.

The house was quiet. So quiet, in fact, that you could probably hear a pin drop. But, that's not what Bethany heard.

Bethany could hear a soft, scraping sound. It would go away and then come back again. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the front room. As she walked into that room, she discovered the source of the sound.

As she peered out through the window, Bethany saw Grace skating out on the frozen pond in front of the house. She was going around and around in circles before breaking out into a full-fledged sit spin. Bethany was rather impressed as well as relieved to see her. She didn't know Grace could ice skate like that. She was so elegant in her movements. It was....beautiful!

Bethany could sit there and watch her all day long.

She found a coat hanging on a rack near the door. She also spotted some boots, which just so happened to be in her size. She also found those Christmas socks Grace had left for her earlier. They were still laying on the sofa.

Bethany put the socks, boots, and coat on and went outside to meet Grace.

It took Grace a minute, but she finally spotted Bethany standing on the outskirts of the pond. Her luscious lips slowly curved into a mesmerizing smile.

"Hey, baby!" Grace yelled across the pond.

"Hey!" Bethany yelled back with a smile.

Grace skated her way over to where Bethany was standing.

“I woke up in bed and you were gone,” Bethany said in a disappointing voice.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, sweets. You looked so content that I didn’t want to wake you,” Grace replied.

"Come on," she said, holding out her hand.

"Come on, what?" Bethany questioned.

"Skate with me" Grace excitedly replied.

Bethany immediately shook her head.

"Oh, no! I'd be awful and probably fall on my butt," she said, hoping Grace would take that as a good enough excuse.

She had no such luck!

"Babe, we skate together all the time" Grace exclaimed.

This threw Bethany a little off guard because she couldn't even imagine herself ice skating.

"We do??" she asked.

Grace must have thought she was being sarcastic because she laughed at Bethany's response, not knowing that she was serious.

"You feeling ok?" Grace asked with concern.

“....yeah,” Bethany tentatively replied. She searched her brain trying to come up with some other excuse to get her out of this.

"But Grace, I don't even have any ska.…." She broke off. She was going to say ‘skates', but when she looked down at her feet, she discovered that somehow the boots she had been wearing were now sporty, blue ice skates.

Grace looked at Bethany, puzzled.

“You are acting very strange today." Grace said, concerningly.

"…..Here. I’ll give you an incentive. If you come out on the ice with me, I’ll give you your Christmas Eve present!”

Grace slowly started skating backward toward the center of the frozen pond.

"Come on, Beth!" she playfully called.

“I know you want to know what it is," she said, tauntingly.

Grace was right. Bethany really did want to know.

She thought about it and then figured “Hey! It’s a dream! Even if I do fall down, it’s not like I’m gonna feel anything or actually hurt myself”

“Come…on, Bethany," Grace said in a sing-song way.

Bethany decided just to go for it. "Ok…what the hell!" she mumbled to herself quietly, conceding to Grace.

She nervously put one foot and then the other onto the frozen pond.

‘Is this even safe?" she thought with paranoia. "I'll probably end up falling through some thin ice and wake up from this dream with that dreaded sensation you feel; like you were actually falling."

But, she was already standing on the ice at that point.

Very focused, she pushed off the ice with her right foot. She skidded a little ways forward and then pushed off the ice with her left foot. Before she realized it, she was skating rather well. She had no problem getting to the center of the pond where Grace was standing. …..She even knew how to stop!

She stopped just shy of where Grace was.

“Alright, so you know how we agreed that our budget for our Christmas Eve gift couldn’t go over $10?” Grace said.

Grace looked to Bethany for a response of agreement. Bethany had to fake it, obviously.

"Oh yeah!" Bethany replied, hesitantly. "I remember." she said, hoping that she had sounded convincing enough.

"Ok, well…..I sort of cheated!" Grace said with a subtle laugh. “I couldn’t help it! I saw it and just had to get it for you.”

Grace reached into her pocket, pulled out a small white box, and held it out, waiting for Bethany to take it.

"...you want me to open it right now?" Bethany asked, curiously.

"Well, yeah! I think this is actually the perfect time and place for it. You'll see why when you open it." Grace said.

Bethany took the box from Grace. The only thing holding it closed was a thin, red ribbon tied up in a bow. With one pull of the tail at the end of the bow, it simply fell off. She took off the lid of this tiny white box and inside, she saw a necklace. It was a beautiful snowflake pendant.

With the angle of the sun at that very moment, the gems in it sparkled and glowed in the sunlight. It was even projecting a reflection like a prism on Bethany's face.

"It's beautiful," she said with a huge smile. “I love it!"

Grace looked pleased that she had brightened Bethany's day; literally.

“Here," Grace said holding out her hand. "I want to see it on you,”

Bethany handed the box to Grace who skated around to her backside. She slipped the necklace out of the box and unclasp it. Bethany held up her hair as Grace put the necklace over her head and placed it around her neck. She fastened it closed and skated back around to face Bethany.

Bethany glanced down at the necklace. She grasp the pendant and rubbed it between her fingers. She could feel all the intricacies of the snowflake pattern on her fingertips.

She looked back up at Grace.

“Thank you," Bethany said, unable to stop smiling.

“You are very welcome," Grace replied. "I'm glad you like it! Ya' know, I tried to find a gem that would match your beauty, but then I discovered something…" she paused, her eyes glowing with love.

"……and, what was that?" Bethany asked.

Grace leaned in really close to Bethany. They were almost touching noses. Grace brushed back a section of Bethany's hair that was covering her ear and she moved in even closer.

“That there isn't one," she whispered to her. She softly kissed Bethany's neck.

The second Grace's lips touched her neck, Bethany sighed, gently biting her bottom lip. Grace knew this was one of Bethany's hot spots. She continued kissing Bethany's neck, making her way from the side of it to the front. She softly kissed her collarbone and ended it all with a gentle kiss on Bethany's lips.

The two of them stood there for a second after the kiss broke off. It were as if one of them was waiting for the other to make the next move or to say something.

But, suddenly.....it started to snow.

Tiny, icy flakes of snow rained down on them; slowly at first, but then rapidly falling. The snowflakes stuck to Bethany's and Grace's hair and winter coats. They smiled at this winter wonderland that was forming around them. They were both gazing into the sky as the snow continued to fall.

"This is beautiful!" Bethany said with child-like excitement.

Grace took Bethany's waist and pulled her in closer to herself. "....you're beautiful." she said to Bethany, softly.

Bethany smiled so big. She felt like she was in a fairytale. All she needed was a white horse-drawn carriage to show up and whisk her and Grace away to someplace where they'd live happily ever after.

Grace started to lean in for a kiss and Bethany met her halfway. In each other's arms, they passionately kissed as snowflakes gently fell upon them. Bethany and Grace had such a love that every time they kissed, it was like they were saying 'I love you' to each other over and over again. They didn't need to say the words.

Bethany didn't want this dream to end.

They basked in the beauty of the moment for a little while until they started to notice that the snow was getting heavier.

.....too heavy!

It was coming down so fast and was so thick that soon, they could barely see each other. A sudden strong wind blew by, making the snow even thicker. It was so strong, in fact, that it pushed them apart, blowing them in different directions. Bethany could no longer see Grace anymore.

"Grace!" she called out, frantically. She waited for a response, but it never came.

"Grace!" she called out again, more loudly this time.

There was still no response.

The wind was getting stronger and Bethany was getting scared. It was so blustery that the snow was directly blowing into her face, making it hard to keep her eyes open. She closed her eyes and once again yelled for Grace.

.........and then, .....everything just stopped. The environment surrounding her was now still.

Bethany's eyes drifted open.

The wind was gone, the snow was gone, and the air was no longer cold.

Bethany was in a sleeping position. She wasn't standing on the frozen pond anymore. She found herself back in bed, covered up with blankets. She could see that she was in a bedroom. However, she was so disoriented that at first, she thought it was the bedroom inside the house; the one where she and Grace had made love. It took but a second for her to realize the truth.

"No, no, no!" she cried out. She was back in her bedroom in her own house. She realized that the dream was now over and she wasn't happy about it.

"Come on! Can't I just have a few more minutes?" she asked out loud.

She closed her eyes hoping that when she'd open them, she would be back in the snow globe. She opened and closed her eyes several times.

Each time she opened them, she found herself still lying in bed in her bedroom. She sat up, defeated; finally concluding that the dream was not going to come back and that she was back to her own reality.

The sun was now shining brightly through her window blinds. An amber glow illuminated the room. Bethany slipped out of bed and went over to the nightstand where she had placed the snow globe. The snow globe had its snowflakes and glitter whishing around inside of it as if someone had just shaken it.

"That's weird," she said, confused; knowing she hadn't shaken it.

She picked it up and brought it right to eye level. She examined it very closely as though she somehow expected to find Grace ice skating on the frozen pond. But, there was nothing. It was still exactly how she had found it when she opened the package.

Bethany was immediately sad. She had so longed to see Grace again and there she was, standing right in front of her just but a minute ago.

....but it wasn't real.

She sighed with disappointment.

She put the snow globe back on the nightstand, walked over to her window, and opened up the blinds to let some light in.

Her eyes immediately widened.

"What the...." she said, suddenly breaking off.

She had caught a glimpse of her reflection on the window. It wasn't all that clear, but she could see that something was different. She stood there analyzing her reflection, trying to figure it out.

"Oh....my....God!" she said upon a realization.

She darted over and into her bathroom, where there it was confirmed, clear as day, off the bathroom mirror. She saw that she was wearing a necklace; the same snowflake necklace Grace had given her in her dream. Bethany clasped her hands around the pendant to feel if it was really there. When she rubbed it between her fingers, it was like de ja vu. Her memory flashed right back to her opening the box. Then, it flashed to when Grace put the necklace around her neck; and lastly, to the moment she felt the pendant in her hand. There was no mistaking it. It was the same necklace.

"I must be delusional!" Bethany was beyond confused.

And, that wasn't all. She got so caught up with the mystery of the necklace to even take notice of the sensation she had been feeling under her feet. She noticed how it felt like she was walking on shag carpet. Looking down at her feet, she made another startling discovery. She was still wearing the fuzzy Christmas socks Grace had given her. She immediately grabbed onto the sink counter to steady herself. She was shaking so bad from the shock, she feared she'd pass out and needed something to hold her up.

Like a deer in headlights, Bethany stood there staring at her reflection.

Her eyes peered further up, and began to focus on something else she had just caught sight of in the mirror. She suddenly looked like she'd seen a ghost. She couldn't move. The moment she spotted it, her whole body went numb.

In her hair was a snowflake. ....a real one!

The barrier between reality and fantasy became blurred.

She lifted her hand up to touch it and it stuck to her finger. She could feel its icy chill. It lingered there on her finger for a moment before it melted away.

Bethany took another look at the necklace and then at her finger, which now had a tiny drop of water on it.

'It WAS just a dream.......right??'