"Nonna!" Isabelle hops out of the car the moment I unfastened her seatbelt, rushing as quickly as her feet could carry her straight to my mother.

"Vita mia! Oh, how I've missed you!" She rejoices as Isabelle wraps her arms around her legs, "And my beautiful daughter, how are you?"

"I'm good, mom." I smile as I lean in to kiss both of her cheeks and reach up to hug my father who was never much for the emotions but was always happy to see us.

"Taehyung, you better come give me a hug!" My mother states with a frown that curls up to a smile the moment he wraps his arms around her tightly. I swear he's the son they never had.

My father and Taehyung immediately walk into the house and start discussing the most recent football game while my mother, Izzy, and I follow behind to head straight to the kitchen where my mother is finishing preparing dinner. The smells immediately take me back to my childhood as I peek into the oven to get a look at the yummy food baking away.

"Figlia mia! Stop opening that oven!" She scolds me with a bright smile, "I swear nothing has changed with you over the years."

"Is that such a bad thing?" I quirk my brow as I go to sit down at the table next to my daughter who's coloring away with some crayons and a new Christmas coloring book my parents had previously laid out for her, "Where's Aunt Gigi and my cousins?"

"Gianna is still at work but should be here soon. The boys are staying with their father tonight." She states as she walks over and hands me a glass of Sangiovese, "Tae, sweetie, would you like some wine, too?"

Strolling into the kitchen almost immediately, Taehyung nods his head as he walks up to stand next to me, "Yes, please. Thank you."

Smiling fondly at the both of us for a moment until turning around to go pour him a glass as well, my mother starts humming the Christmas carols playing on a small speaker on the counter. For a moment, it was almost like we never left. As if we never went off to college and moved to the city, minus the child next to me.

Taehyung grabbed one of the crayons and started coloring with Isabelle while my mother sat the glass of wine down in front of him. To her, Tae was just as much part of our family as I was. Pretty much adopted by my father from the moment he taught him how to play baseball in our backyard when he was nine as I was by his mother when she first taught me how to make Gimbap before we went on a school field trip together in elementary school. It was nice being accepted by both of our families the way we were.

Aunt Gigi walks through the front door squealing and running up to me to give me the biggest hug possible before absolutely attacking Isabelle's face with kisses. She looked like she hadn't aged a day past thirty and her brown hair was still as vibrant as ever as it shined under the dining room lights. I definitely can see why Taehyung used to have a crush on her.

I'll have to be sure to tease him about that at least once more before we leave.

"Aunt Gigi!" Tae exclaims as he sees her, offering her a tight hug. Looking at me from over her shoulder, I make dramatic kissy faces at them and he rolls his eyes at me before pulling away. That was just too easy to pass up.

"Handsome Taehyung, did you get taller?" Aunt Gigi questions looking him up and down as she holds his biceps, "And you've been lifting weights?"

"Geez Aunt Gigi, should we leave you two alone?" I joke as I walk over to help my mom prepare the salad.

"Oh stop it, Victoria James, you know I don't mean it that way." She scoffs before turning her attention back to Tae and whispering something to him that I couldn't make out as he bashfully smiles and nods his head in return.

Don't know what all that is about, but okay.

The oven beeps, mimicking a dinner bell as my father and everyone else takes their seat at the table. As usual, my dad sits at the head and the spots next to him are reserved for my mother and Aunt Gigi. Taehyung sits down next to Izzy as he helps prepare her for dinner by tying her hair into a low ponytail and pushing up the sleeves of her sweater. My mother and I walk up to the table carrying the dishes of food, earning a small round of applause just like nothing has changed.

Sitting down across from Taehyung, I scoop out the food for both him and Isabelle while he tucks the napkin in the collar of her shirt. Aunt Gigi nudges me, flitting her eyes between Tae and me. Honestly, I don't know what's up with all of her little secretive actions tonight.

Once everyone had their food in front of them with their drink of choice refilled, my father begins to pray as we all hold hands. Thanking the Lord for getting us home safe and sound and for being able to spend the Christmas holiday with his granddaughter, he wraps up the prayer by asking God to continue to put us where we need to be. My eyes tear up at his sweet words for some reason and I do all that I can to hold them back to not draw attention to myself as I begin to cut into my chicken, but of course, Tae notices right away.

His foot gently rubs over my leg under the table to get my attention and he swiftly furrows his brow to silently ask if I'm okay. I give him a barely noticeable nod and direct my attention back down to my food, noticing he still glances up at me every few minutes.

"Do I get a present yet?" Izzy questions out of nowhere, making me giggle as I look up at her.

"It's only December 22nd baby, three more days." I explain, "Eat your dinner."

"Well, I could give her one on Christmas Eve." My father states with a smile as he takes a sip of his wine.

"Dad!" I laugh as I widen my eyes at him. It was always so cute to me how much of a soft spot he had for my daughter. It's definitely true what they say, your parents do not treat their grandchildren with the same level of strictness that they gave you growing up.

"It's just one." My mom adds and I slump my shoulders.

"Yeah, Ria, it's just one." Taehyung smiles and I chuckle in defeat.

"Fine. One present on Christmas Eve." I sternly state looking over at Isabelle.

"Yay! Wait...when's that?" She pokes out her bottom lip in hopes she didn't just get played.

"In two more days." Taehyung explains to her for me, wiping away some sauce that got on her little button nose.

We all sit around the table much longer than necessary drinking wine and talking amongst each other. Isabelle fell asleep before her last bite of food and I had put her down in my old bedroom so the adults could finish hanging out. It was almost surreal being talked to and treated like an adult while surrounded by my childhood memories.

"How many glasses have you had, son?" My dad asks Taehyung as he sees him finish off his current glass of wine.

"This made three." He states as he hands the empty glass to my mother on her way to the kitchen sink.

"Then you definitely shouldn't drive tonight. The roads could be icy and I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened. You two are adults now and I can respect you as such. You can stay in the boy's room tonight." My father states before leaning up and clasping his hands together as he looks at the both of us with a more serious look in his eyes, "No going into each other's rooms tonight."

"Dad! It's not like we're together." I whine out of slight embarrassment. Yes, I have a whole three-year-old daughter, but just knowing my father is aware I'm sexually active is still mortifying to me.

Taehyung grins at me with amusement and some other emotion I can't decipher behind his gaze before looking back at my father, "We promise. Thank you for offering me your home."

"Any time, son. Come on, let me help you bring in the bags from the car." My father waves him over as he stands to walk towards the front door.

Getting up from my seat, I walk into the kitchen and wash the remaining dishes from the sink as if I had been conditioned my entire life to do this very thing. Aunt Gigi comes into the kitchen with me, grabbing a towel to dry off the dishes that I've finished cleaning.

"He's really good with Izzy." Aunt Gigi whispers without looking over at me.

"Yeah, he is. She loves him to death." A grin curls up at the corner of my mouth at the thought while I hand her over the clean wine glass to dry off.

"Why don't you two try to date? I know I've mentioned this to you until you're blue in the face, but it's only because I see something between the two of you that I don't think you see yet."

Taehyung and my father come in with our luggage in tow, walking straight to the back bedrooms to drop it off and Tae smiles at me when our gazes meet making what Aunt Gigi is saying that much more justified. Maybe there is more between the two of us. Maybe it's not just me that's feeling something as of late.

Handing her the last washed-off glass, I shut off the water and look at her while she continues to dry it off until it's spotless. I can't believe I'm about to say this out loud, but if there's anyone I can trust, I know it's her.

"To be honest, I've been feeling something different between us over the last few weeks. But I'm scared that he doesn't feel the same. I can't risk pushing him away, Izzy would be so heartbroken and I'd always blame myself. Not to mention, I may lose my best friend, too." I whisper, as I continuously peek to make sure no one was coming.

An elated smile spreads over her face as she sets the glass in the cabinet and turns to face me, "Victoria, listen to me, that man definitely doesn't only see a friendship with you, but I can understand your reservations. You're a mom now and your first priority is your child. All I'm saying is that if he happens to make a move, don't fight it and just let it happen. You two were honestly made for each other. You just found each other at such a young age that it started as a friendship."

Nodding my head, I take her trusted advice and plan on just letting things flow naturally. Should he make a move, I'll let it happen, but I just can't be the one to let him know I've been feeling different. To be honest, I think I have feelings for my best friend. Oh God, I'm doomed. Like my bride, Emily said, there's no way in hell I can go back now.

"I'm headed off to our room. See you in the morning." She kisses my cheek before turning to walk away.

"Good night." I call out to her before turning around and almost walking straight into Taehyung's chest with a shriek of surprise, "What the hell?"

"Sorry." He chuckles, "I was about to announce myself, but you turned around so quickly." Handing my toiletry bag to me, he nods in the direction of the main bathroom, "All of the rest of your things are in your room, but I figured you may need this."

"Trying to say my breath stinks?" I kiss my lips with a grin as I take them from him.

"Of course not," He rolls his eyes, "but it will if you don't brush before bed."

"Mmhmm." I mumble playfully as I make my way to the bathroom.

Sharing the mirror in front of his and her sinks, Taehyung and I brush our teeth together while staring at one another. His eyes were slightly glossed over, clearly feeling the effects of the wine and I noticed that he's taking much longer than necessary to finish flossing. The whole scene reminded me of the movie Bring It On and I giggle at the thought.

"What'ssofunny?" Taehyung mutters as he continues to pull the mint-flavored string in between each one of his teeth.

"Nothing." I shake my head with a grin as I throw my used floss in the trash and zip up my small leather bag.

Taehyung quickly tosses his own floss as he follows me on the way out of the bathroom, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back to him before I have the chance to exit out into the hall. My heart stops the moment I look up at him already staring down at me with slightly hooded eyes and his barely parted rose-colored lips.

"Ria..." He whispers, not letting go of my wrist.

"Yeah?" I breathily reply my chest heaving in anticipation. Anticipation of what? I'm not even sure.

"I just wanted to let you know that you mean the world to me. You and Izzy both." His tongue runs over his bottom lip as his other hand comes up to tuck some hair behind my ear, letting his fingertips graze my neck slowly.

A few moments of silence pass by as we glance between our eyes and lips and I realize how close we're standing. The air between us seems to be getting more and more intense and my heart thumps loudly in my ears as I start to smell the minty scent of his warm breath.

"You're a little drunk." A small nervous giggle escapes me as I try to ease the tension.

He lowers his hand with a bashful smile while stepping back a bit and letting go of my wrist with the other, "Yeah, a little bit. I guess this is where we say good night."

"Good night, Tae." I nibble on my bottom lip, noticing that his eyes lower to the action immediately before I force myself to turn away and walk towards my childhood bedroom.

My hand glides over the knob to my old bedroom door and I stop to look down the hallway with hopes that he might be looking at me. Posted against the door frame of the boy's room, he smirks when he sees me turn around and his long fingers raise to wave at me before walking into the room and slowly shutting the door behind him.

Out of all of the experiences we've had as of recently; the lingering touches, the butterflies, the long stares, that had to be one of the more bold encounters we've ever had. For a moment there, I really thought he was going to kiss me. It had to just be the alcohol, Tae doesn't normally act like that with me.