6
1234 Words
"A little to the left," James said.
I leaned slightly to the side and hung the ornament on a branch. "You're an expert now?" The credits from Elf were rolling and I had just turned on the Christmas music again. James had been so engrossed in the movie, that we hadn't hung up a single ornament.
"I'm an expert on the angle your butt looks best in."
I laughed and turned around. "Help me instead of just watching me." I grabbed his hand, but instead of pulling him up he pulled me back onto the couch.
"I like watching you," he whispered against my ear and then lightly bit my earlobe.
I swallowed down the moan threatening to escape my throat. I had barely put up half the ornaments. And we had only watched one of the movies. We still had so much to do to make our apartment look festive.
He bit my earlobe again as his fingers trailed along the hem of my sweater, dipping dangerously close to my ass.
"I didn't realize how much Elf could turn someone on," I said.
He laughed. His hot breath tickled my neck.
God, he was so distracting.
"I don't think I've ever seen you happier than at this very moment," he whispered. His hands wandered up beneath the back of my sweater.
"I love Christmas. And I love you. What's there to not be happy about?"
He kissed me slow. I had the realization that this was the first time I had ever been with someone during Christmas. The first time anyone had kissed me while listening to my favorite Christmas songs. The first time I had ever been in love during the most magical time of year.
He shifted, pushing me down on the couch and positioning himself between my thighs. His kisses were more passionate now as his hands slid to my breasts. And I had the sensation that he was showing me just how much he loved me. I didn't try to repress my moan this time.
I forgot about the box of ornaments. And the cocoa going cold. Because the only thing I loved more than Christmas was James. I was engaged to this beautiful man. If this was how he wanted to enjoy the Christmas festivities, I could give him this. I could give him this over and over again until he loved Christmas as much as I did.
Christmas Eve
So far, our Christmas traditions included being third-wheeled by Rob and drinking too much hot cocoa. And then making love underneath a half decorated Christmas tree. I could get behind these new traditions. But that didn't mean the tree had to go untrimmed.
I placed the last ornament onto a branch and stepped back. The weight of the ornaments had caused the tree to appear even more lopsided. I smiled. It was perfect.
I looked at the gifts I had wrapped earlier that were now sitting under the tree. I sighed. None of them were right. My eyes landed on the chess set. It was a stupid gift because I knew he'd beat me every time we played until I got sick of losing and stopped wanting to play. I had also bought a cook book and a knife set because I wanted to start cooking together. Although I knew the first thing out of his mouth was going to be that we had Ellen for that. My retaliation was going to be that we didn't have her to cook for us on the weekends. But that would probably just insult him because he'd always make me Eggo waffles in the morning. Which I loved. God, why was I so bad at giving gifts?
I need James to believe in the magic of Christmas again. These gifts aren't going to cut it. I giggled to myself because I had gotten him knives. Stop it. I needed to focus. I grabbed my laptop and sat down on the couch. In just a moment I had the listing up on sss for The Night Before Christmas. But it was Christmas Eve. I couldn't get a copy shipped this late.
Which meant I'd need to venture out into the cold. Into the paparazzi territory. I turned off my laptop. Maybe I could get Rob to go with me. He was never annoyed by the limelight.
I walked over to the guest bedroom and knocked on the door. There was no answer. It was almost noon. How much longer could Rob sleep? I knocked again. "Rob?"
No answer.
Please don't be naked. I opened up the door and peered in. I had only woken up an hour after James left. And Rob had never been an early riser. Had he not come home last night? I walked back out into the living room and grabbed my purse. I felt like such a mom, but I clicked on his name in my phone and put it up to my ear.
He answered after a few rings. "Hey, sexy, what's up?"
Normally I'd berate him for calling me that, but I was just happy that he was alive. "Where are you? I went to your room and you weren't there. You almost made me freak out."
He laughed. "I know I'm always on your mind, but don't worry, I'm fine. Just out."
"Okay." That was a vague answer. "I need your help. I was thinking about getting James..."
"Head."
Ugh. "No." Well, maybe. "I want to get him a copy of The Night Before Christmas like your dad read to you when you were little. Do you remember what edition it was? Or who illustrated it?"
"Um. I don't know. That was forever ago."
That was helpful. "You can't remember anything about it?"
"I didn't say that. It was a pop-up book. And it was blue."
I could work with that. "Okay, thanks, Rob. I was going to go out and look for a copy, do you want to come?"
"Can't sweets, I'm busy. But I'll see you tonight for anti-Christmas."
"What's anti-Christmas?"
But there was no response. He had already hung up. Weird. I wasn't surprised though. Most of my conversations with Rob were strange.
I pulled a knit hat low on my head and tucked my red hair beneath my coat as I pulled it on. The best part about the freezing cold winter was that I could at least go a little incognito. Hopefully the paparazzi would leave me alone.
***
After going to two Barnes and Nobles and finally talking to someone helpful, I found out that whatever edition I was looking for was probably out of print. Which I probably should have realized. If James' father read it to him as a kid, it was probably published before I was even born.
I stepped into the used bookstore and smiled at the little bell that jingled above my head. The whole store was decorated for Christmas. I breathed in slowly. There was nothing better than the smell of books. Especially ones that had already been loved. And mixed with the smell of cinnamon in the air, I felt like I was in a Christmas dream of mine.
"Merry Christmas!" said a cheery older woman with long gray hair almost to her waist. She bustled over to me. "Would you like a cup of tea or coffee while you browse?"
- Writer
