Alone in the office, Irene got to work quickly, scouring the desk for a card reader and any sort of paper she could use in the printer. After finally finding the reader and scoring a great set of 5x7 matte photo paper that was in a bottom drawer, Irene took the SD card from her pajama pocket and got down to business.

   Irene decided that if Wendy could surprise her, then she could surprise Wendy as well. The SD card was the one she had used when they’d taken the photos out in the cold.

   The photos loaded quickly, and because there were only five to choose from, Irene quickly picked the one she wanted and decided to print it on the photo paper she’d been lucky enough to find.

   When the picture popped out, Irene was pleased. In the background of the photo was the beautiful cabin that they were staying in and in the foreground were her and Wendy smiling, arms linked, happy to be together.

   “Now if I can only find the right frame,” thought Irene. She cleaned up what little she’d messed up and headed to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

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   It was Wendy’s turn to wake up first this morning. With sunlight pouring through the blinds, Wendy lifted herself up and looked to her left to see a beautiful Irene still fast asleep.

   In no hurry to get up, Wendy lay back down and got comfortable again, placing her arm around Irene and softly massaging the latter’s back. She could do nothing else but stare at Irene, and she truthfully could have stared all day. Eventually her wish was broken, and Irene was awakened by Wendy’s soft touch.

   Irene blinked, yawned, and finally opened her eyes fully to see Wendy staring right back, “Good morning,” she said, “You weren’t staring were you?”

   “Yes, how could I not stare at you? You’re beautiful!” Wendy replied.

   “Thanks for staring then,” Irene chuckled, “come closer, I want to cuddle with you.”

   “Okay.”

   “I’m sorry we have to leave today,” Irene said as she snuggled closer to Wendy.

   “Me too, baby, but we still have one more night at my parent’s house, that’ll be fun,” said Wendy.

   “About that,” Irene paused, “How are we supposed to act around your parents? I’ve been thinking about that.”

   “Well…I kind of already told them,” Wendy whispered.

   “Already told them?” Irene sat up quickly and stared into space.

   “You’re cute when you’re worried. Calm down, come here and let me kiss you,” Irene moved back and let Wendy peck her lips, “I already told them I was going to   confess to you, that’s all. I can now introduce you as my girlfriend, they were surprisingly very understanding when I told them everything,” said Wendy.

   “What exactly did you say to them?” Irene asked.

   “That I knew I was in love with you, that I knew what I wanted, that I would do my best at my job, but be willing to risk everything just to have you,” answered Wendy.

   “Really?” said Irene.

   “Really!” said Wendy.

   “What did they say back?” Irene said,

   “Okay…but bring her back here for a toast to the new couple,” Wendy said in English.

   “A-a-a toast?”

   “You know,” she replied in Korean once more, “When you lift your drinks and give a cheer that something happy happened.”

   “Oh….got it,” said Irene, “Your parents seem really cool, I hope mine are like that when I tell them,” Irene said thoughtfully.

   “I’ll be right by your side, no matter what they say,” Wendy replied.

   “Thanks.”

   "Always."

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   After the pair spent the rest of the morning in bed, they packed, cleaned, and then got ready.

   As Wendy finished putting on her jacket, Irene came up behind and gave her a hug, “Almost finished?” Irene asked.

   “Yes, almost done, before we go, can I borrow your lip gloss? I really like how it looks, besides I don’t have any, remember?” said Wendy.

   Irene pulled the lip gloss from her coat pocket and made a show of putting it on first.

   “You mean this lip gloss? Is that really the only reason you want to use it?” asked Irene.

   “Yes, the color is really pretty…” Irene leaned in and pecked Wendy’s lips, “….and the taste, it tasted so good last night and right now that I don’t think I can resist putting it on.”

   “Then I’ll be glad to lend it to you,” Irene said, about to hand it over.

   “Come here,” Wendy said, as she pulled Irene towards her again.

   This time Wendy kissed Irene, making sure to get as much as the gloss from Irene’s lips to hers.

   Wendy pulled away from Irene and smiled, “On second thought, I won’t be needing that gloss anymore.”

   “You got me,” Irene said as she unscrewed the gloss and put more on, “but we’ll be sharing it this way from now on.

   Wendy laughed, “Oh that’s fine with me.”

   “I’m glad we can joke like this,” said Irene.

   “Me too,” she leaned in once more and gave Irene a kiss, “Let’s get going we’ve got a little while to drive.”

   “Thanks again for bringing me here, I loved it, and I love you,” said Irene.

   “I love you too, we’ll be back soon,” said Wendy