My apology for the long delay. I really don't want to keep dragging this story - this is supposed to be a Christmas story, but I just didn't have enough time to solely work on this. But here is the penultimate chapter, so please enjoy :)

This chapter picks up right after the last chapter, so you may want to review that part before proceeding just to refresh your memory. I do want to warn you that this chapter contains non explicit mature scene.

Note: This fic is purely AU (Alternate Universe), which means that the story is completely different from the original Candy Candy story. But there are some elements from the manga that I've included into the story - you'll know which ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Candy Candy manga and all the characters in it, but the talented Kyoko Mizuki does. This fic is a product of my own twisted imagination and inspired by Mizuki's masterpiece. If any of the plots, specific scenes, or dialogues appears to be similar to that from another fic or story, it is purely unintentional and coincidental. 'Great minds think alike', after all.

The characterization in the fic is based on the Manga and not the Anime.

All I Want For Christmas - Part IV

I couldn't believe that this was really happening. I had been dreaming for this moment for the longest time, and now it finally came true.

This was one of those moments that if I had the power, I would want to forever freeze in my memory. Would this happen to Cinderella if she had stayed with her prince? However, the one standing in front of me right now was not a prince but Albert, and I was obviously no Cinderella.

With unwavering gaze, Albert raised his hands, bringing them to frame my face gently. "I have always been in love with you, Candy," he whispered as he leaned his head closer.

My mouth parted open spontaneously at his candid declaration, but before I could even produce a coherent response, his lips had caressed mine again. By the second gentle stroke of his warm lips, my eyes closed completely as I melted against him, fumbling to grasp onto him, my arms chaining around his neck.

Our lips melded with each other in uninterrupted series of heated kisses. Then, for a moment, I felt weightless as I couldn't feel the floor beneath my feet anymore before I soon realized that he had lifted me into his arms and carried me up the stairs.

A short while later, I sensed that he began to pull away, diminishing the intensity of our kisses. Gingerly, he lowered me down onto my feet and pressed one quick kiss before detaching his lips completely from mine.

When the bottom of my feet touched the soft material of the rug, my eyes snapped open at once as I found myself standing in the middle of a large room that was partially illuminated by the chandelier hanging above. I swiftly clung onto him in reflex, tightening my arms around him almost in a desperate manner. "Please don't ever let me go, Albert," I cried.

His lips curved into a tender reassuring smile. "I won't." He gently disentangled my arms from around him. "I promise, I won't."

"You see… I don't care about the gown or the party or anything else. Because what I want is - all I really want is… " I inhaled deeply, mustering all my courage to continue. "All I really want is you," I confessed in a voice that gradually became weaker and softer, but it sounded very loud and clear in my ears, echoing inside the quiet room. I suddenly felt self-conscious and lowered my head so I could avoid his eyes.

Did I actually just tell him that I want him?

My head jerked up as I felt his hands held mine in his as he guided them and placed them against his chest. "Then, what are you waiting for?" He let out a faint smile that caused my heart to hammer fiercely within its confinement in my chest while his eyes gazed at me with an intensity that made me weak in the knees. "You can open your present now if you want to," he finished in a raspy murmur, his voice lathered with desire.

At that moment, the reality of what we were about to partake finally sank in me. And once again, just as he had done before, he had let me make the choice, giving me full control to decide where should we go from here.

Do I really want to stop now?

Before I could even answer that question, my fingers had begun fiddling with the button of his shirt.

It seemed my heart had made the decision for me.

First button. Second button. Third… I held my breath, attempting hard to focus on my task, struggling to steady my shaking hands, as inch by inch of his bare skin was being exposed.

Suddenly, he halted my movement altogether by clamping his hands around my wrists, our eyes staring intensely at each other. He brought my hands to his mouth and gently pressed small kisses onto my palms before he released my hands. The next thing I knew, he had scooped me into his arms and padded toward the huge four-poster bed.

He eased me onto the mattress slowly and put both hands on either side of my head, propping himself to hover over me as he leaned down. "God, Candy! You are so beautiful…" he murmured while his fingers delicately grazed along the side of my face.

A sigh of contentment escaped from my throat, and I felt heat pervade my whole being.

I reached for the strands of blond hair that partially veiled his eyes and brushed them to the side. Without warning, he grabbed my hand in his and lowered it to the mattress as we exchanged another intense stare. Then, when I noticed his head begin to descend toward me, my eyes fluttered to close. A second later, our lips met again in one sweet innocent kiss, which quickly flared into a round of kisses that bit by bit numbed my mind and sent me into a state of pure bliss.

In an unhurried pace, we removed the barriers between us, peeling one article of clothing at a time down to our skin, as we took our time rediscovering each other at an entirely different level of intimacy. Our hands boldly ventured to places that I couldn't even let myself imagine before.

Despite the palpable desire that saturated the air around us, he handled me with utmost gentleness, ensuring my comfort. His hands and his mouth joined to bring pleasure in a way that I couldn't even begin to describe in words, claiming every inch of my body.

But soon, I was consumed in burning desire for him. I couldn't take this slow torture anymore. I wound my arms around him and pulled him down toward me, flushing his body against mine. My lips communicated my need to him. He responded at once and fulfilled my tacit wish.

Tongue against tongue. Skin against skin. In the stillness of the night, we moved frantically guided by our yearning for each other. Hands roaming. Tongues lashing. All were done in desperation with one thing in mind, letting waves of pleasure bring us closer and closer to the edge.

Then, I felt a twinge of pain when he slipped gently inside of me but it was transient. And I forgot all about it as soon as a gradual build up in pleasure prevailed over the pain.

Moaning. Groaning. Sounds of passion erupting from our throats filled the once quiet night as our bodies started to move in harmony, sliding and rubbing against each other. Slowly, our pace intensified. Faster. Faster. And faster. We were so close to reach the zenith of our excitement. At last, heavenly cries reverberated within the confined of the dark room as we succumbed in ecstasy, writhing in pleasure. Panting. Huffing. We fell limp under the mercy of passion. Smiling. Murmuring. We rolled away and let exhaustion claim over us in a deep slumber.

*********ccccccc*********

When I woke up surrounded by darkness in a room that was definitely not mine, I knew that something had changed.

The first few seconds, everything was a blur to me. Slowly, as the fog disappeared from my head, the pieces started to come together. Moment by moment was being played in slow motion. Tongue against tongue. Skin against skin… Hands roaming… Tongues lashing… Moaning… Groaning…

A light snoring persuaded me to glance to my side and shattered the images that were playing in my head. As soon as I laid my eyes on the sight of Albert sleeping so soundly, the realization of what had transpired between us hit me at full force. In that split second, a jumble of emotions ran through me.

Holding the thin bed sheet tightly against my bare skin, I hoisted myself into a sitting position without making any noises. There was a contented feeling intertwined within the tangled web of emotions that rushed through me.

I turned my head to his side, and my gaze instantly fell on his exquisitely sculpted face. Even in his sleep, he still appeared unbelievably attractive.

A smile formed on my lips as I leaned my body to the side, propping on an elbow, and extended my other hand toward his face. But within an inch from his face, I stopped it, letting it hang in the air. My fingers curled into a weak fist. A sharp gasp emerged from my mouth as I was suddenly overtaken by panic.

What have I done?

I retracted my hand swiftly and placed it over my mouth to subdue the heaving that had gradually increased in intensity, preventing the noise from waking him up. My shoulder raised and fell in frantic movements.

Suddenly, he shifted in his sleep and moved to lie on his side, facing me. I stopped breathing for a second. Then, as one of his hands gently landed on my hip, I closed my eyes, biting my lower lip, hoping that I hadn't woken him up.

When there was no more movement, I opened my eyes and confirmed that he was still sleeping soundly. Very carefully, I lifted his hand, freeing myself in the process, gently putting his hand down to his side on the bed. I slid to the edge of the bed and stood up slowly, my eyes scanning the dark room. I bent down and reached blindly for my clothes that were strewn on the floor. Once I gathered all the pieces, I clutched them to my chest and stumbled in the dark, trying to find my way to the adjoining bathroom. A short moment later, I found the door and went in, locking myself in there.

Inside the dark bathroom, I immediately searched for the switch to turn on the light. As soon as my hand touched something that resembled a switch, I flicked at it, and the room was flooded with light, causing me to squint my eyes at the brightness. Once my eyes had adjusted to the bright light, I surveyed my surroundings and noted how spacious and luxurious the bathroom was. And it even came with separate his-and-hers vanity areas that were located on the opposite sides of the room.

Without my consent, my feet began to step toward the pristine marble counter to my left that was seemingly untouched, free of clutter, like it had never been used, as opposed to the counter on the other side of the wall, which had a variety of items lying on top of its surface.

Right at that moment, I was struck by the hard cold fact that at one point in his life, Albert had married another woman. He had been someone else's husband and was a father to a young girl. And if that woman were still alive, I wouldn't even be a part of his life. I convulsed at the appalling thought that I could be another woman's replacement, and pain suddenly shot through my whole body.

"How stupid can you be, Candy?" I berated myself as I felt tears sting behind my eyelids before it began to conceal my eyes with glassy layer of liquid, partially blurring my vision.

How could I let this escalate out of control? How could we? What was going to happen now?

In the beginning, I had been so sure that I wanted to be more than friends with Albert. But I had never expected that we would ram right through the boundary of friendship by making love. Now that it had happened, I didn't know how to feel about it.

Unlike in the past, this time I had given away something more precious than just a kiss, something that I had never given to anyone before.

Contrary to what most people believed, Terry and I had never consummated our relationship – we had been very close several times, but we had not crossed that line – for some reason I just couldn't go through with that and had stopped it right at the last minute, which had led to awkward tension between us.

However, with Albert, I hadn't even thought twice about 'going all the way.' And I hadn't considered stopping despite the two opportunities he had granted.

With that last thought, images from our torrid encounter deluged my mind while the mild scent of his cologne that had lingered on my hair invaded my senses. My body reacted instantly as I felt my breasts swell and harden with arousal, my skin flushed with heat. I could almost feel his hands traveling all over my body, his nimble fingers delicately caressing the sensitive parts.

But one unbidden, innocent thought abruptly banished my sensual recollection.

Oh no! Lizzie is going to be back this morning.

The last thing I wanted was for her to find me rolling naked with her dad on the bed. That would not be good. I must leave right away.

I donned on my clothes quickly. Trying to make as little noise as possible, I rummaged through the drawers and found a worn out marker. I took a deep breath and started scribbling a brief note on a scrap of paper with the marker I found. My hand started to agitate as I grew more anxious; my handwriting wobbled into an illegible mess.

Slowly, I let go of the marker I was holding and let it roll out of my grasp into the marble countertop. I unlocked the door and exited the bathroom as quietly as possible.

Back inside the dark bedroom, I padded soundlessly on the hardwood floor and headed for the door. I threw one last longing glance toward the bed and the oblivious sleeping form on it, resisting the urge to climb back on the bed and slide under the warm and comfy blanket. The temptation to return to his side was so great, but I managed to remain steadfast to my resolve. I whirled around to face the door, pulling it open slightly, and slipped out of the room. Without looking back, I hastened my pace and made my way out of the house in the middle of the night.

*********ccccccc*********

Leaving Albert's place, I didn't want to go home to my cold and lonely apartment when I could have been somewhere else more inviting. So I had gone to Laura's house instead. When I arrived there, Laura, in her sleeping robe, just let me in without questioning me, and in return, I embraced her tightly, seeking for solace. Then, I told her everything.

"Why did you run away from him, Candy? Haven't you learned enough from your first mistake? You ran away from him once in the past – and you should know by now that you could not accomplish anything good by running," Laura blurted out after she had kept her mouth shut for the whole entire time I had confided in her.

"What are you talking about? I'm not running away, and I didn't run away from him in the past either." I tried to argue with her, denying her assertion. Albert had accused me of the same thing, which was utterly false. "What I-"

Releasing an ironic chuckle, she interjected, "No - Candy. You did run away from him. I understand that you probably didn't want to get hurt by his rejection, but it might be better for you to find out the truth then. Now, you did the same exact thing again."

At her words, I threw her an irritated glare, but she paid no heed to me and continued talking, "Remember, Candy, history repeats itself – I'm sure you don't want to end up in another state of depression. You should go back to him and talk things out. Don't be a coward." I gave her a pointed look when she stressed the word 'coward', but she just disregarded that and leaned back against the sofa, her expectant eyes on me.

"You're taking this thing way out of context, Laura," I began, releasing a slight mordant chuckle. My gaze drifted from hers. "Albert and I - what we did – it was driven by pure lust, just lust nothing more. We got caught up in the heat of the moment – that's all. We don't have anything to talk about." I returned my focus to her, straining a smile, while I struggled to keep the tears at bay.

She stared at me like I had suddenly grown two heads, her blue eyes flashing with a sardonic glint. "Really Candy? You really think so. Then look me in the eye and tell me that you feel nothing, nada, zilch, zero for the man."

I snapped in a retort, "That's not fair! You know that's not true! I have always felt something for Albert – I just told you that. But I don't know if I…"

She scoffed. "You are madly in love with the man, and there is no but." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked me sternly in the eye, as I could only lower my head, unable to contradict her.

Turning my head to the side, I muttered in a morose voice, "He was married, and if his wife were still alive. He and I wouldn't even..."

She groaned in frustration. "Candy – his wife is gone forever. She's not an issue anymore and will never become one. And he clearly has feelings for you now – there's even the possibility that he might have loved you for a long time."

Right at that instant, I recalled the words he had tenderly whispered to me just before he had taken me to his room. It was his love confession.

Laura continued talking in a lower voice, "From the way you've described him to me and from what I've known of him, I don't think he is the type of man who would go for a casual night romp. What are you so afraid of, Candy?"

I turned my head slowly back to face her and let out a sad smile. "What if… Let's say we decided to take a chance to start a relationship, and what if it didn't work out? Where would that leave us? I don't want to lose his friendship," I told her frankly, my voice quivering with raw emotion.

Unfolding her arms, she sighed wearily, and her mouth twisted in a sneer. "Candy. Candy. Candy. Do you know for a fact that it wouldn't work out?" Her questioning eyes challenged me to answer. I didn't know what to say and could only remain quiet.

"You don't know what will happen in the future – no one knows," she stated. "You have no right to say that it will not work when you haven't even tried. And now, you want to run – do you think he would appreciate that from you?" Pausing briefly, she heaved another loud sigh. "What the two of you desperately need is to have a long heart to heart talk that is clearly overdue. You both are adults and should be able to decide what you want to do next together. Candy – he is not Terry. Okay?" she finished in an exasperated tone.

Intending to express my thoughts, objecting to the notion that I was fleeing, I opened my mouth to respond to her. But gesturing with her finger and simultaneously shaking her head, she cut in, "Ah ah ah. Don't even go there, sweetie. Why don't you stop being so stubborn and just go to him. Or do you want me to literally drop you off on his lap? I would, you know." Despite the teasing manner she had used to deliver her message, I knew Laura was being very serious and I couldn't help but let out a weak smile at her last words, visualizing the scene in my head.

I sighed out loud in resignation. "Give me some time to think about it, okay?" I finally relented, knowing that I wouldn't hear the end of it if I had said otherwise.

"Whatever you say, Candy," she said. "I warn you though that you should think quickly, or you might just miss your chance for good this time."

"Yeah… I know," I uttered softly.

Her lips stretched into a compassionate smile. "I know how brilliant you are, Dr. White," she commented good-naturedly. "You breezed through medical school despite of your mishap with depression and passed the medical board exams with flying colors. And the senior staff all agree that you are one of the brightest new physicians in the hospital." Her expression changed dramatically as she shook her head in mock pity. "But I have to say that you are just awful in the romance department, and I have no choice but to give you an F for that."

"Gee! Thank you very much, Dr. Green," I replied in a sarcastic manner. "I'll make sure I will study more diligently to get an A next time."

A few seconds later, we simultaneously burst into laughter. It was nice to be able to laugh after an emotionally draining conversation, and Laura knew I really needed that.

Thank you, Laura. You are the best.

*********ccccccc*********

"There you are, Candy. I thought I had lost you," I heard Annie's grumbling voice behind me while I was too busy observing four small, furry creatures moving about inside the clear plastic cage to even face my friend.

"Look Annie – they are so cute!" I excitedly told her instead of apologizing for wandering away from her. "I wish I could touch them. They look so soft." My gaze fell on one of the tiny rodents as it scurried toward the plastic wheel and jumped on it. I let out a couple of giggles when the cute hamster began to run, spinning the wheel.

"What are you looking at?" asked Annie. She moved to stand next to me. "You think that those dirty rats are cute?" Her voice rose, laced with a hint of aversion.

My head whirled toward her, and I gave her a disapproving frown and corrected her, "They are not rats, Annie! I'm pretty sure those are hamsters."

She rolled her eyes at me in a mocking gesture. "Rats, mice, hamsters – they are all the same to me!" Without allowing me to respond, she quickly said, "Come on, Candy – we better leave now or your aunt will ground you for life."

I wore the sweetest smile I could muster, my eyes staring pleadingly at her. "Annie – please give me a few more minutes. Just a few minutes, that's all. Please pretty, please…"

Emitting a resigned huff, she conceded, "Fine..." She turned her head over her shoulder to the other side, pointing her index finger to a spot at which I only threw a cursory glance before bringing my focus back to the adorable hamsters.

"I'll wait for you there," she told me and then added in a warning tone, "I'm not kidding, Candy - I will leave in five minutes. Do you hear me?" I heard her voice holler next to me.

Without looking at her, I nodded absently. "Yeah Annie - Oh look at that one! He is so cute!"

"Hi there!" An unfamiliar voice greeted me, prompting me to direct my attention to my side, causing me to gaze right into a pair of eyes, which were in the prettiest shade of blue I had ever seen in my life. I could only stand transfixed as the owner of the pretty eyes stood to his full height from his bending position, his blond hair glistening under the bright light. Now I could see that he was a tall, handsome teenage boy.

The blond boy let out a few chuckles, jostling me out of my brief reverie.

"I'm sorry… Did I do something bad?" I asked in a timid voice.

He shook his head, a small kind smile curving his lips. "No, you didn't do anything wrong."

Sighing in relief, I remarked and clasped my hands against my chest, "Thank goodness. I thought I did."

Another fit of chuckles emerged from his mouth. "I see that you really like looking at those hamsters," he commented. "Would you like to touch one of them?"

My mouth dropped open in amazement while he kept grinning at me. "Can I? Really?" I asked in a quiet voice, unsure if I had heard him correctly.

With a nod, he answered, "Sure you can." Then, his eyes drifted to the hamsters inside the cage as his expression turned thoughtful. "Wait here," he told me before disappearing from my sight, leaving me baffled. I had thought that he would take one of the hamsters out of the cage, but he hadn't done that.

However, my confusion was soon forgotten when I saw him approach me, cradling a golden brown hamster in the palms of his hands.

"Here is Miko. He is a Syrian hamster or simply known as a golden hamster," he explained, extending his hands to me to bring the hamster closer within my reach. "We have to keep him separated from the other hamsters since he doesn't get along well with the other hamsters."

I let the tip of my index finger gingerly graze along the coat on the hamster's back. "Awww… he is so cute and so soft," I squealed excitedly.

"Would you like to hold him in your hands?"

My eyes enlarged in disbelief. "I can?"

"As long as you promise to handle Miko gently."

"I promise," I stated in earnest and raised my right hand in a pledging gesture, earning a few chuckles from him, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement. I blushed in embarrassment and swiftly dropped my hand.

"Put your hands close together into a cup," he instructed.

I quickly did just as he had said, and he deposited the hamster onto my palms very carefully, the hamster's tiny fingers tickling my skin as it moved on my palms.

The hamster tipped its head upward, its pink nose twitching in a sniffing movement while I giggled, watching it. "Hi Miko," I called in a near whisper.

"I'll let you play with Miko for a bit – I need to help a customer."

I whipped my head up at his words. "Wait – what's your name?" I asked, stopping him in his track.

Swiftly, he turned to face me. "Are you asking my name?" he questioned back, his blue eyes regarding me curiously.

One corner of my mouth tilted up into an unsure smile. "Umm… yeah. Is that wrong to do that?"

Stepping closer toward me, he laughed and shook his head slightly. "No – there's nothing wrong with that." He was silent for a moment, and as a friendly smile surfaced on his face, he uttered, "You can call me Albert."

"Then you can call me Candy, Albert," I told him at once, grinning broadly at him.

He stared at me for a short period of time before asking, "Is Candy your name?"

I couldn't stop from contorting my face in a sarcastic look. "Of course, it is. Duh! Why would I give out someone else's name to you?"

The sound of his deep laughter filled my ears, and he said, "Sorry for doubting you - nice meeting you, Candy." He ceased his laughing and continued, "But I really have to go back inside now. And you probably should return to your parents – I'm sure they will be looking for you."

That was when I realized that Annie was waiting for me, and she must be very upset at me right now.

"Errr… my parents – they are dead," I merely told him deliberately excluding any other details while passing Miko back to him. Ignoring his surprised look, I kept on talking, "But you're right. I need to go home. Thanks for letting me play with Miko, Albert. I'll come by again tomorrow. Bye!" With a cheery smile and a hand wave, I twirled around and launched myself into a small run, searching for Annie.

"Candy!" Annie's shrill angry scream reached my ears, and I immediately turned to face her but instead of Annie's face I was staring at… Terry?!

What was going on? Where was Annie?

Smiling smugly, Terry stretched both of his arms to the side. Then, out of nowhere, two figures strolled toward him. As the figures approached closer and closer, I could see them more clearly. In his right arm was Susanna, smiling seductively at him. And, in his left arm was another woman, but I couldn't really make out her face.

Was this some kind of practical joke? Suddenly, I felt extremely sick. I needed to get out of here.

I swiftly turned around and was ready to sprint away from that place.

"Hello, Candy," Terry greeted me with his smooth voice, and I could sense him moving closer behind me.

"Would you like to join us?"

I jerked my body forward and attempted to run, but for some reason I couldn't even lift up a foot. I looked down. Only then, I just realized that it was hopeless to even try anything. I was chained to the floor. Feeling defeated, I let gravity pull my body down onto the cold, hard surface as I heard appalling laugher. I didn't dare to glance behind my back. I didn't think I could stomach whatever scene was waiting for me there.

Fear choked at me, obstructing my breathing passage as I gasped for air.

What would he do to me?

I had never felt frightened, angered, and disgusted all at the same time like right now.

"Please someone" I whimpered weakly while desperately trying to loosen the chain around my ankles. I shut my eyes tightly and yelled the only name that suddenly floated in my mind, "ALBERT!"

My eyes flew open, and I found myself lying on my back, my heavy panting echoing loudly against my ears.

Shortly, the familiar sight of my room came to focus as I became aware of my surroundings.

Relief washed over me in an instant.

It had only been a dream – a dream that had turned into a nightmare at the end.

The dream had started nice with one of the most memorable moments in my life – the first time I had met Albert. The scene of our first meeting was being replayed in vivid details, and I had acted it out just like it had unraveled in the past. But then, Terry had appeared out of the blue, ruining the pleasant imagery.

Was the dream trying to tell me something?

While attempting to decipher the message behind my weird dream, I slowly propped myself to sit on the mattress and leaned my back against the headboard. As I moved my gaze to the nightstand next to my bed, the small hand phone came to my line of vision right away. My hand automatically reached for the hand phone that I had switched off a few hours ago, when I had arrived in my apartment.

Heaving a long nervous sigh, I flipped on the phone, and a moment later, the screen came to life. The time displayed there was nine forty five. There was no new message nor missed call.

At once, disappointment came crashing down on me, my heart squeezing with pain.

Earlier, after nearly two hours of accompanying me, Laura had left me by myself and gone back to her room. My eyes had grown heavy, and I had felt very tired. But my mind just wouldn't let me fall asleep. So after an hour of tossing and turning on the bed, I had knocked on Laura's door and with a rueful smile requested her to drop me off at the apartment. Instead of lecturing me for rudely disturbing her sleep for the second time that day, she had given me a sympathetic smile and hugged me in a comforting gesture.

During the car ride to my place from Laura's house, I had kept checking my phone to see if I had missed any calls or if I had new messages –but there had been nothing, other than one text message from my colleague Patty who had agreed to switch rotation schedules with me so that I didn't have to be on-call at the maternity ward tonight.

I had been rather disappointed at that time to find out that Albert hadn't tried to contact me, but I had quickly scolded myself not to jump to conclusion. It was still very early in the morning, and he might have not woken up yet.

However, by this time, I knew for sure that he should've been up already. Lizzie would be home soon, and she would want to wish her dad a merry Christmas.

Yet, Albert hadn't even bothered to leave me a message.

It seemed that Laura was completely off with her hypothesis this time. And because of our conversation, I had let hope to take roots within me, which made the feelings ten times more painful.

I had spent one magical night with Albert, but was it too much to ask if I were to wish for more than that?

Abruptly, I pulled myself forward and sat upright on the bed.

Today was Christmas, the day that was supposed to be filled with joy and laughter. I shouldn't spend it by moping all day. There must be things I could do to keep myself occupied.

*********ccccccc*********

White fog of hot steam filled the room as I stepped out of the shower, clean and refreshed. I walked to the counter and grabbed a towel to dry my hair. I just hoped that my hair would behave today.

As I rubbed the towel against my damp hair, my gaze inadvertently veered to the mirror.

Taking a sharp intake of breath, I subconsciously released my hold on the towel, causing it to drop to the floor. But I hadn't even noticed that since something else had attracted my full attention.

There were red marks all over my skin: on the neck right above my pulse point, on my shoulder, on my throat, on the area just above my breasts, and if I removed my towel, I was sure I would find more in the lower region.

How come I hadn't noticed these before? God! If I could see them now, Laura must have at least seen the one on my neck. Why hadn't she said anything?

Suddenly, I felt my cheeks burn while my heart pounded ferociously inside my chest as the reality of what had taken place last night struck me.

It had really happened. Albert and I had made love. It had been amazing and magical, even surpassing my wildest imagination. But now what?

I shook my head vehemently, releasing a grunt. I had resolved not to think about that anymore, and that what was I should do. With determined steps, I exited the bathroom and strode to my wardrobe directly.

But the abrupt ringing of melody coming from my phone caused me to pause my movement. I pivoted on my foot and scurried to grasp my phone from the bedside table. My eyes scanned the display, and I was once again smothered by disappointment. It was an unfamiliar number, not Albert's for sure.

"Hello?" I spoke tentatively into the phone.

"Candy!" The voice shrieked in an ear-splitting fashion that forced me to move the phone a distance away from me. "Merry Christmas, Candy!"

I recognized the voice right away; it was Lizzie's. I placed the phone against my ear. "Merry Christmas to you too, Lizzie. Are you back from visiting your grandma?" I asked.

"Um… sort of," she replied in an indifferent manner. Then, excitedly, she said, "Say Candy – my cousin Anthony is here. He is visiting from London for the holiday. We're going to go to the Central Park and then later we'll go ice-skating at the Rockefeller Center. Do you want to come with us?"

"Now?"

"Yes. Now," Lizzie eagerly affirmed.

I had a feeling that her dad would be coming with us, and I wasn't sure I was ready to face him. "I don't know, Lizzie- I'm… uh I have a lot of things to do today," I told her.

Instead of responding to me, I heard her reiterate my words to someone else. "Candy said that she has a lot of things to do." After that, I could hear talking voices, but I couldn't discern the words due to the background noise.

"Okay, I'll tell her that." I heard her talking and giggling at the same time before she directed her focus to me and spoke in a casual tone, "Candy - daddy said if you don't come down in ten minutes, he will go up there and get you himself."

My heart skipped a beat. "Wait – What! Umm… Ugh... Tell your daddy-"

Instead of Lizzie's high pitch, girly voice, a deep rich masculine voice interposed, "Hello, Candy. What do you want to tell me?"

I almost lost the grip on my phone upon hearing his voice that sent tingles all over my body.

"Albert!" I yelped while trying hard to shake off the image of him moaning against my ears.

He laughed. "You don't need to be shy, Candy. I don't mind-"

"No need-I'll be there as soon as possible. I promise." I switched off the phone as quickly as I could while my ears could still catch the sound of his laughter before it was cut short.

I stood motionless still holding the phone in my hand, my heart beating out of control.

It appeared that I didn't have to worry about moping on Christmas day anymore.

To Be Continued

I just want to restate that this story is like a condensed version of Ninety Days with less drama and angst but more adult situations. I contemplated about bumping up the rating, but later decided to leave it as it is. You can read my short story "Fireworks" if you want to experience more heat ;)

Please keep in mind that in this story, Candy is not in her late teen anymore; she is a 26-year old woman and is capable of making her own decision. Also, the story takes place in a much less conservative era compared to the manga, and thus, it makes sense if it is more mature in theme compared to my other Candy Candy stories. Nevertheless, I do hope that you still find this fiction piece as entertaining as my other stories.

I didn't expect that I would really enjoy writing this short story. In reality, this can easily turn into a very long novel, but I didn't want to go into that route. In the future, I might write a prequel, delving deeper into Candy's past, but for now I will just leave you with some bits and pieces, like the dream scene I included in this chapter.

Lastly, I had modified chapter I quite a bit, so you may want to re read that.

Thank you again for following the story. I would love to hear what you think, and if you're shy, please feel free to message me in private. Thank you again for taking the time to read this. -forever-