Love Is Only an Illusion

“It’s Christmas!” Sutton repeatedly screamed as ran throughout the house. She slammed her fists on Henley’s door. “It’s Christmas, lazy losers!” Sutton jumped onto the couch Merritt was soundlessly sleeping on.

“I don’t remember falling asleep on a ship,” Merritt groaned, holding onto the back of the couch for support.

“Man overboard!” Sutton shouted, shoving the mentalist off the couch. The two grinned at one another, breaking into a fit of laughter.

“Will you two shut up?” Jack whined, throwing a pillow over his head.

Sutton and Merritt looked at one another and nodded. “Man overboard!” they yelled as Jack’s body hit the carpeted flooring. The two broke into another fit of laughter.

“Laugh all you want; this floor is comfy,” Jack smirked, throwing a pillow under his head and cuddling back into his blanket.

“Where’s my Christmas breakfast?” Henley questioned with a yawn from the kitchen. “Sutton, I thought you were going to make me that yummy French toast bake.”

Sutton giggled. “Throw it in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour, Hen.”

Henley pouted but did as she was told. “Where’s Danny anyway?”

Jack lifted his head. “He said something about a tree. I don’t know. It was like five in the morning when he left.”

Just then, a loud noise sounded outside the apartment. A grunt followed by a few curse words followed. Henley shuffled over toward the door, opening it slowly.

“Oh, thank God!” Danny huffed, tugging a thin six-foot tree behind him.

“Danny,” Sutton gasped as Danny dragged the tree over to a corner in the living room, trying hard to hide her smile, “what is this?”

“I just told you!” Jack yelled as he sat up. Merritt threw a pillow at him, scolding him for ruining a moment.

“I thought the apartment could use a bit of Christmas charm,” Danny side smiled, gesturing toward Sutton to help him with the lights. Henley quickly restacked the presents underneath the needle-covered life.

“I’m so ready for this,” Sutton bounced on her toes. Smiles tugged at everyone lips as Danny plugged in the tree’s lights, lighting the room. The team gasped, admiring the beautiful decoration.

“It’s beautiful, Danny,” Henley told him, lightly running her hand down the needles on a branch.

“Yeah, man,” Jack added, “I wasn’t expecting this when you said you were getting a tree. I was thinking more along the lines of a two-foot artificial one.”

Everyone laughed as they patted a chuckling Danny on the back on their way to change for the Christmas day ahead of them.

“Danny?” Sutton said lightly, tugging on his shirt sleeve to get his attention.

“Yeah?” Danny replied, giving her a small smile.

“Thank you,” Sutton blushed.

“You’re welcome,” Danny told her, running a warm hand down her bare arm before turning for his dresser of clothing.

Sutton stood for a minute, admiring Danny’s efforts of making this holiday feel complete for the first time in six years. She bit back her smile as she made her way to her room.

In her room, Sutton shed her Christmas pajamas for her Christmas outfit. She tugged on a pair of green skinny jeans and a grey penguin sweater. She twisted two sections of hair behind her head before slipping on her black heels. With a last look in the mirror, Sutton threw on her Christmas hat.

“Sutton, the oven is making a beeping sound!” Jack yelled from the living room.

Chuckling, Sutton made her way to the kitchen. As Sutton pulled the French toast bake from the oven, she heard heels clicking against the kitchen floor.

“What are you wearing?” Henley scolded Sutton, her hands resting firmly on her hips.

Sutton sat the casserole dish on the stove top. “Me? Have you see yourself?”

Henley was sporting a short Santa outfit with five-inch heels. The girls had worn them for a Christmas show they performed last year in Oklahoma City.

“There was no point of letting this outfit rot away,” Henley told her, a smile playing at her lips. “You should wear yours. It wouldn’t hurt for you to wear a dress again. You haven’t worn one since you and Danny went out.”

“We did not go out,” Sutton stated firmly, a blush threatening to expose her feelings for the illusionist.

“Sorry, since you and Danny did that work thing,” Henley corrected mockingly. “I’m just saying that it wouldn’t hurt to show some leg in something other than athletic shorts for the boys.”

Sutton rolled her eyes. “I prefer to be treated like a person rather than a sex object.”

“Woah!” Merritt hollered on his way to the dining room table. “Did I just hear ‘sex object’? No one told me it was going to be that kind of Christmas.”

“You’re so gross, man,” Jack said, struggling to hide a chuckle.

“I was just telling Sutton that it wouldn’t kill her to wear a dress or skirt,” Henley informed them. “She hasn’t worn one since her and Danny went out.”

“We did not go out,” Danny reminded Henley, taking a seat at the dining room table.

“Yeah, whatever!” Henley yelled at him. She huffed before continuing, “Let’s eat so I can open my presents, okay?”

~~

“Nobody open their presents yet!” Merritt exclaimed after ll the presents were passed out, extending his arms in a gesture to make everyone freeze. He cleared his throat, sitting up straight. “Sutton and Henley, I would like you to open yours’ from me first.”

“Oh, no,” Jack and Danny grumbled. The girls ignored them, smiling widely and ripping off the colored paper quickly.

“A brown box?” Sutton questioned.

Merritt raised his eyebrows and nodded quickly with a large grin. “Open them!”

The girls looked at one another and opened their boxes slowly. They peeled the tissue paper away to reveal identical lacy black bra and panty sets. Sutton hid her face in her hands out of embarrassment as Henley held hers up with confidence. “These will look great on us, Sutton, and it comes with a silk robe!”

“Yeah, fantastic,” Sutton mumbled behind her hands.

“Merritt,” Danny started, “I just want to know how you knew their sizes.”

The laughing among the group stopped and everyone looked at Merritt. “You’re sick!” they all yelled.

With laughs and smiles all around, the new family began opening their presents. Merritt received a jacket from Danny, a fedora from Jack, cologne from Henley, and a recipe book from Sutton.

“It’s everything I ever made you, and then some,” Sutton told Merritt. “There’s plenty of room to add more.”

Merritt gestured for her to come over to him so he could give her a hug. “I love it more than anything I’ve ever gotten in my life,” he whispered to her.

Henley received a make-up set from Jack, a “Do you believe in magic?” t-shirt from Danny, and a handmade sign from Sutton.

“’Magic brought us together. Love kept us here,’” Henley read, her eyes filling up with tears. She turned to her cousin, burying her head in Sutton’s shoulder. “I love you so much,” Henley cried.

“I love you more,” Sutton whispered.

Jack received a weight set from Danny, a wallet from Merritt, a blanket with playing cards on the front from Henley, and a friendship bracelet from Sutton.

“Weirdly enough, I made you one just like this,” Jack smiled at Sutton as he put the bracelet on.

“Wait, you know how to make this kind of thing?” Danny asked him.

“I watched YouTube videos to learn,” Jack admitted. Turning to Sutton, he said, “Only the best for my best friend.”

Danny received a North Carolina Tar Heels t-shirt from Jack, a step-by-step guide on how to be less arrogant from Merritt, a stuffed bunny with a magic hat and wand from Henley, and a framed drawing of a fox and her pup from Sutton.

“Wait, you like foxes?” Henley questioned. Danny nodded, admiring Sutton’s work. “Wow, you are human.”

Danny pulled Sutton into a side hug and whispered, “Thank you.”

Sutton received a very similar friendship bracelet from Jack, a “Scooby-Doo is my spirit animal” t-shirt from Danny, and a scrapbook from Henley.

“Every show, every program, every little picture,” Henley smiled, “it’s in there.”

Sutton smiled at her older cousin before the tears began to trickle slowly. “Thank you. I love it.”

~~

After making the usual Christmas phone call to her family in Texas, Sutton decided to take a walk. After long, Sutton found herself sitting on a bench in a park watching swans swim on a small pond. She smiled to herself, grateful to have the Horseman as a loving family. She watched as two swans brushed their heads against one another.

“Maybe they like each other,” a voice from behind her spoke up.

Sutton smiled. “Maybe they are just friends.”

Danny took a seat beside her on the bench. “Isn’t it funny how animals can express their feelings better than humans?”

Sutton chuckled. “Yeah, it is. I mean, dogs do it every single day. They show more love in a day than some people show in a year.”

Danny smiled. “Um, I wanted to thank you for my Christmas present.”

“No need to,” Sutton smiled.

“It’s supposed to be a reminder, isn’t it?” Danny intrigued, looking Sutton in the eye for the first time since their encounter in Paris.

“Yeah,” Sutton blushed, looking away. “Um, it’s just to remind you that-“

“My mom is always with me,” Danny finished for her.

“I always knew you were a momma’s boy growing up, Danny,” Sutton giggled.

Danny chuckled lightly. “I, um, I wanted to give you something,” he said, digging in his jacket pocket.

“Danny, you already gave me my Christmas present, which I love by the way.”

“Well, you and Scooby-Doo have a lot in common,” Danny reminded her, pulling out a skinny box. “Sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it.”

Sutton smiled. “No worries,” she whispered as Danny placed the box in her hand. Slowly, Sutton opened it, tearing up at the item inside.

“Do you like it?”

Sutton was at a loss for words, so she nodded. Taking the anklet in his hands, Danny crouched down in front of Sutton. He pushed up her pants leg and clamped the silver and rose gold jewelry around her ankle.

“Danny,” Sutton breathed as she finally found her words. “Where in the world would you have found a penguin anklet?”

“I have my ways,” he smiled as he sat down close to her.

“It’s beautiful,” Sutton admired, her new accessory shining under the lamplight.

Danny watched as Sutton’s imperfect smile never faded. He looked over her body, admiring her ability to dress like a teenager and still manage to be undeniably attractive.

“It’s snowing,” Sutton exclaimed, knocking Danny out of his thoughts. “It’s in your hair,” she laughed, pulling lightly on the snow-covered strands.

Danny chuckled, brushing the snowflakes that landed in Sutton’s hair. Their eyes met, a green field meeting a blue ocean. Danny placed his hand on Sutton’s reddening face from the winter air. Sutton leaned into his touch, the warm sensation causing her stomach to fill with butterflies. In that perfect moment, Danny leaned toward Sutton slowly, their gaze never breaking. When their lips were only centimeters apart, a snowflake fell on Sutton’s nose. The couple laughed lightly, their combined breaths warming their faces.

“Merry Christmas, Sutton.”

“Merry Christmas, Danny.”

In that moment, the two shared a perfect kiss. One filled with more passion and love than the ones in Paris. Pulling away, they smiled at one another, Sutton biting her lip lightly in an attempt to keep the feeling of Danny’s lips on hers. Danny and Sutton were sure of their feelings for one another now more than ever before.