If Santa had a Son

Chapter 3 - Almost Kiss

Chapter 3

Almost Kiss

It would be a lie to say my heartbeat was calm, it was anything but. Part of me was screaming to get the hell away from him, I mean I hardly knew him! But the other part wanted to kiss him so badly, and I don't know why. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he planned on kissing me, but did I want that? His face started inching closer to mine, so slowly it was as if he was giving me a chance to react. In all honesty, even if I knew how to react I wouldn't have. My whole body was frozen in place.

"Bree!" Hearing my name snapped me out if it. I pulled out of his arms so fast, I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash or something. I caught a glimpse of Kayla before I went crashing to the ice, hitting my head hard. "Are you okay?" Kayla was right next to me by then, her eyes were as wide as they could be, almost popping out of their sockets.

"Yeah." I managed to mumble, even though my head was killing me. Anthony helped me to my feet and grabbed my waist again, making sure I didn't fall. I still hadn't seen his face, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. Had we really almost kissed, or was I just losing it? "How can you do this Kayla?" My little sister was skating perfectly by herself, no problems whatsoever. Life was so not fair.

"B...B...Bree" Kayla stuttered, holding a hand up with a finger to Anthony. Her whole body was shaking and I swear her eyes had gotten ten times bigger, "It's-"

"I'm Anthony," He said, cutting her off before I heard why she had to say, "What's your name?"

"K..Kayla." She stuttered, looking sheepish. That was weird, Kayla was anything but sheepish.

"Nice to meet you, Kayla." Anthony smiled at her, causing her to giggle.

"Kayla, go ice skate and have a good time," I said, pushing her head slightly. She groaned but nodded, skating to a group of people her age. "Can you help me off the rink? I think I'm done."

"Sure." He said, taking tiny steps forward till we were on the edge. I sighed in relief as I stepped off the ice, finally able to keep feet under my body. "I'm going to skate a little more, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, go have fun." I gave him a smile before going to sit on a bench, ripping my skates off as fast as I could. Small blisters had already formed at the tip of each toe and on each heal. Stupid rental skates.

"I saw that." My head snapped up and, startled by the sudden voice, a small yelp left my lips. Mackenzie sat next to me, a small smirk played across her face.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"You totally almost kissed him!" Her face, I swear, was glowing. She looked like she was about to explode."I can't believe it!"

"Did not!" I gasped, pulling my boots onto feet. I really did not need any trouble from Mackenzie right now.

"Did too! I saw it, don't lie to me! Besides, the blush on your face says it all!"

"Whatever Kinz," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Bree!" Oh great, more family! My mom, dad, and grandma were walking up to me, arms outstretched and ready for hugs. I groaned internally and hugged each of them in turn. It's not like I didn't want to hug them, I just wasn't in the mood. I was way too confused about my almost kiss.

"How did you get here? We took your car." My dad asked, raising an eyebrow. I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off.

"I drove her sir." Anthony said. I looked over my shoulder to see him walking towards us, regular shoes on and skates in hand.

"Did you now?" My grandma asked, elbowing me slightly. I could feel myself beginning to blush. I needed to clear this up before it got out of hand!

"Guys, this is Anthony. Anthony, this is my family, and you know Mackenzie." I said, forcing a smile. Gosh, I already knew this was going to be embarrassing.

"Anthony?" My moms face lit up in understanding. "The guy you hit with your car?"

"Yes Ma'am, that's me." Anthony smiled at me, almost as if he was saying 'haha you're never going to forget about this.' "I'm fine though, no harm done."

"I'm glad to hear it, and thanks for giving my daughter a ride, I'm sure she appreciated it." My dad said, patting Anthony on the back. Awkward....

"You're welcome, sir."

"So, Anthony." I looked at my grandma and almost screamed. I knew that look on her face... "Are you planning to ask my granddaughter out?" I swear I almost died right then and there.

"Grandma!" I shouted, throwing my head in my hands. Could it get worse?

"What Hun? He's good looking, no harm in trying!" And I spoke too soon, it could get worse. I peeked through my fingers to glance at Anthony. He looked really uncomfortable; rubbing his neck, his cheeks tinted a light red.

"Ma?" Oh, thank God for little sisters! "Can we go? My feet hurt."

"Sure Kayla, we're all done shopping." My mom said, scooping my sister from the ground. She had already switched to her regular shoes. Wow, she must really want to leave! "You guys ready?"

"What about Bree?" Mackenzie asked, looking at me. "Were already squishing into her car, I don't think we can fit another."

"I can drive her home," Anthony said, grabbing my hand. "Come on, let's go turn in our skates." I nodded and waved goodbye, noticing that everyone was staring at our entwined hands. I rolled my eyes, there was nothing going on! Was there?

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I stared at my mom, horrified. This could not be happening.

"And then she ran right into the glass door, knocking loose her tooth. Poor Bree had a bump on her head for a month!" The table erupted into laughter; everyone was laughing but me. My grandma, of course, had invited Anthony to stay for dinner. If that wasn't bad enough my mom had spent the last hour and a half telling embarrassing stories about me as a child. I sighed and rubbed my temples, trying to ease the headache that had formed.

"I'm going upstairs," I announced, standing from my seat and getting out as fast as I could. Wow, who knew that could be such a mess? I couldn't believe my mother! Why would she do that to me? I was mortified and depressed. Way to empress a guy, Bree! Have your mom tell him about your first loose tooth and how you freaked out so you ran into a door! Awesome!

Sighing I grabbed a pair of pajamas and walked to the bathroom. I stripped from my clothes and turned the water on cold, plugging the tub. Just what I needed to clear my thoughts. Cold water always helped. When the tub was full I took a deep breath of air and dunked my head underwater until I felt the bottom of the tub touch my shoulders. I shivered as the water stung my skin, ignoring the pain. When I came back up my headache wasn't as painful and I was defiantly refreshed.

I pulled my hair into a messy bun, not bothering to dry it, and slipped on my pajamas. I had picked a pink tank top that had a Christmas tree in the center and long pajama bottoms that had green, red, and pink Christmas trees covering them. Slipping on my cookie monster slippers, I shuffled back to my room, ready to sleep until morning and forget about Anthony. Besides, what were the chances I would see him again?

Of course, luck was against me because sitting in the center of my bed was Anthony. He was smiling at me as I walked in, glancing at me from head to toe. "Nice pajamas." He said. I just stood there in shock. Wow, what an i***t I am! Why couldn't I have put on clothes?!

"What are you doing here?" I finally managed to spit out. He looked slightly hurt, so I continued, "I mean, I thought you went home."

"I wanted to say good night." He said, smiling at me.

"Oh" Was all I could manage as I sat down across from him. He stared into my eyes, just looking for what felt like forever. I stated back, hoping to get to the bottom of some of his secrets. No such luck. He scooted forward till our knees were touching, holding out his hands to me. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"You've never done this?" He asked, c*****g his head. "The reflex game?"

"Oh! That!" I exclaimed, placing my hands on his. My fingertips barely brushed his skin as I waited for him to move, staring at his hands for any sign of movement. In the blink of an eye his hands hit the back of mine before I could even move. "How did you do that?!" I exclaimed, looking up at him.

"Magic." He said, wiggling his fingers mysteriously. I couldn't help but laugh at him. He was defiantly weird. We played until my dad came up saying it was late, which was the nice way of telling Anthony to get out of the house. Almost everyone was asleep by then, Mackenzie on Kayla's bed with Kayla - probably some scheme to set me and Anthony up.

"Night." I said, leaning on the door frame as he walked out the door. It was so cold I flinched back slightly.

"Good night, Bree." He said, smiling and grabbing my hand. I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing, but before I could ask he brushed his lips on the back of my knuckles, making the skin tingle. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open as he smirked at me. Before I knew it he was walking down the driveway through the snow. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore, brushing my knuckles absentmindedly.