MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I can assure you, none of you are ready for this chapter! Comment your reactions!

     Cheryl woke with a start. She turned her head, recognizing the sound of the landline. It was Saturday morning, and after checking the time, Cheryl realized someone was calling at seven in the damn morning. Getting out of bed, she walked into the hallway and picked it up, hoping it hadn't woken her Nana up.

    "Hello?"

    "Cheryl, how's your morning?"

    Cheryl's brows furrowed as she tried to recognize the voice. "Aunt Cecilia? It's pleasant ... and yours?"

    "Glad to hear it. I was calling to tell you your Uncle Reginald and I are on our way for a visit. We have urgent matters to discuss."

    Cheryl gulped. "My mother no longer lives —"

    "No, Cheryl, we're coming to see you."

     "Me?" Cheryl asked in disbelief. "Why me?"

     Her aunt was silent. Then, "You'll know soon enough. See you in the afternoon."

    The line went dead.

* * *

    Pop Tate slid the plates of breakfast in front of Cheryl and Betty.

     "And she didn't say why?" Betty asked, starting to butter her toast.

    "That's what 'You'll know soon enough' meant, I'm guessing." Cheryl grabbed the salt shaker and lightly sprinkled some over her eggs.

    Betty bit into the toast and started pondering. "What do you think it's about?"

    "I have a guess, but I don't know for sure."

    "What's your guess?"

      Cheryl sighed. "They want me to sign over my dad's portion of the syrup company."

      "Won't that mean you'll stop getting money from it?"

    Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Like they care." Cheryl leaned forward and split the pancakes between them as well as the side order of fresh fruit. "I'll know more once they get here this afternoon."

    "I hope it's not too bad."

    "Me, too."

     "Cheryl, I'm so sorry, but David is right behind me. I shouldn't have mentioned you'd be here."

    The girls turned to see Archie reaching their booth in a panic before—

    "Hey, cherry girl. And Betty." David instantly took the seat next to Cheryl in the booth. "Morning." He was a breeze of minty breath and a fresh shower. With the way he was leaning towards her, Cheryl felt as though he really wanted her to notice.

    Cheryl blinked away the daze of his beckoning brown eyes and furrowed her brows instead. "What the — why are you here, David? This is a closed invitation, for friends only."

    David shrugged. "I get hungry, same as you."

    "And desperate, too, apparently," Cheryl muttered, looking him up and down. The shirt that was just snug enough, the clean jeans, the knee that was dangerously close to hers; none of this went unnoticed by Cheryl, and she raised a brow at him.

    David only smirked. He could now tell she had definitely noticed his effort in trying to please her. "You know me so well."

    Cheryl frowned and turned her gaze towards Betty and Archie, who were sat across from them. Betty shrugged apologetically, and Archie wasn't meeting her eye. David was oblivious to all of it, as he was reading from the menu.

     "Are the omelettes good here?" David asked.

    Cheryl was beginning to get angry. When was David going to realize he wasn't welcome? He was starting to get on her nerves; when her nerves were set off, she wanted to lash out. And when Cheryl wanted to lash out, she wanted to cause chaos.

     "The hell is David Andrews doing in my seat?"

     Everyone looked up to see Veronica crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. David cleared his throat and folded his menu.

    "Lodge. You going to drag your boy Mantle in, too?"

    Veronica scoffed. "Reggie is not my boy."

     "I'd beg to differ. Seeing as how motivated he was to do your bidding once you asked him not to go easy on me."

    "You still got the ball in the hoop, didn't you? Not my fault it was an unauthorized practice."

    David rolled his eyes and opened the menu again. "Does she have to join us?" David asked from behind the menu in Cheryl's direction.

    Cheryl scoffed. "She was invited. You weren't."

     "Oh c'mon, cherry girl."

      Cheryl gave him a false smile. "Call me that again, and I'll punch you in the throat."

     David shook his head, laughing. "I believe you."

     Cheryl's expression turned serious. "Leave, David."

     David scoffed. He looked towards the others around the table, all of whom were either avoiding his eyes or glaring him down. "Alright, fine. I'll see you around."

     He started walking away, and Cheryl was breathing heavily in her seat. She felt like lashing out. She stood up and started walking after him.

     "No, David, you will not see me around."

    David looked over his shoulder briefly, but didn't stop walking. "You following me just to say that, cherry girl?"

    Cheryl's blood only boiled more. But it was for a reason she couldn't fathom. It was a reckless desire at the pit of her stomach. She felt the feeling clawing up her throat. Just as the two were passing the hallway that led to the restrooms, Cheryl grabbed his arm and pushed him into the hallway.

    "Whoa! What are you—"

    Cheryl interrupted him by grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pinning him to the wall.

    "You listen to me, Andrews, and you listen to me good; I am not going to come running to you the way you think I will. The only reason I'd ever run after you is because you decided to mess with my friends, which I have repeatedly told you not to do. I won't be running into your arms, I'll be catching up to kill you."

     David sighed. He rest his head against the wall and rolled his eyes.

    "You're really protective of your friends."

     Cheryl nodded. "And another thing."

     David smirked. "Of course there is. Let me guess, you're going to punch me in the throat now for calling you cherry girl again."

     The feeling was beginning to bubble over. Cheryl searched his face before pulling him towards her and kissing him. She expected him to be surprised, but instead he melted right into it. He kissed her back feverishly, as if he'd been waiting for this. David dug his hands into her hair, teasing the skin at the nape of her neck a little bit. Cheryl removed her hand from his shirt and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing their bodies together. They deepened the kiss, creating more heat between them. David then let one hand coast down the side of her body to grab her hip, allowing it to dig into his.

     Just as suddenly as the kiss began, however, Cheryl pulled away quickly. They were both panting afterwards, completely buzzing from it.

    "I had to do that at least once. Just to know what you tasted like," Cheryl said, fixing herself. She took a deep breath and started to walk away.

     "Not so fast, cherry girl," David said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back towards him. "Now that we both know what that feels like, there's no way I'm giving up on you." He leaned in closer. "And there's no way you'll be able to forget about me now." David kissed her again, and when he pulled away he smirked. "Of course you'd have flavored lipstick," he scoffed. When he said that, Cheryl noticed the red stains all over his lips, and she bit her tongue quickly, letting it dawn on her just how much of a mistake that was. As if he just noticed it himself, he licked at his lower lip in order to taste it. "Deliciously sweet."

     Cheryl inhaled and opened her mouth in order to say something, but David shushed her by wiping his thumb over and around her lips, cleaning up the mess she made of her lipstick.

     "Now only I know how good you are at ruining it," David said, winking. "Like I said, I'll see you around." With that, he finally walked away. Cheryl heard the bell at the door as it opened and closed with his departure.

     Her breath hitched as she sped into the women's restroom and went straight for the sink. She turned the cold tap on and cupped some of it into her hands. Then she let it fall back into the basin, and placed her cold hands onto the nape of her neck and closed her eyes as she let it cool her body temperature. Cheryl mentally scolded herself for giving into the desire; every time she wanted to do something chaotic, she ended up regretting it. It was always backfired on her. There was no way David would leave her alone after that.

     Breathing slowly, she was suddenly remembering the way David's hands felt in place of hers. The way they caressed her skin. The way his fingers dug into her hair, tangling her red strands just slightly. Realizing this was only heating her up again, she quickly opened her eyes and removed her hands. Cheryl angrily turned the water off and stared at her reflection.

     "Shit," she said. "What the hell were you thinking?"