Love Under The Mistletoe

EIDEN'S MANSION ∆PEARL∆ "Call me crazy, but I'm going to do something incredibly stupid tonight." I screamed internally, being excited about what I'm going to do tonight. I'm right outside my dad's best friend's penthouse, and my heart beat increased drastically as I pressed the doorbell. I haven't seen him in so long, and now I am going to have to spend the entire Christmas with him, which makes what I'm about to do even more insane. I've literally waited eight years for this moment. Eight years since the day Eiden Giordani saved my life and changed my perspective about love forever. My longtime crush on him started when I was just eighteen years old, during a Christmas season like this. That particular one, all our family spent the vacation together, and since Eiden was close to my family, he was also included in the vacation. The venue was a peaceful cabin in the woods beside a pool of water that had turned to ice. I had an avid love for skating, so I took my skates to practice on the ice. I didn't realize it was such a bad idea until the ice cracked and I sank into the freezing water underneath. I was able to let out a scream before I swallowed water, and panic wouldn't let me think, so I was splashing around and sinking in the process. He was my saviour. He pulled me out of the water and onto the surface, performed CPR on me, and carried me back to the cabin, I felt safe while being cuddled in his arms. "I've got you, little one," his deep voice repeated warmly. "You're safe, I promise." His name was Eiden Giordani. It was then I became fully aware of him, before all these, I'd only known him to be my father's best friend.....a distant, mysterious figure who seldom showed up at holidays, and when we did interact, he shook my hand like I was some kind of business client. But right now, as he pulled me out from the lake and wrapped his sweater around my freezing body, the moment I lost my first kiss to him, though it's just a life saving process, still it was my first time interaction with a man in such a way, and before I even realised, he became my everything. Till now, I can still remember how safe and warm I felt as I was wrapped in the masculine scent of his cologne… his mouth on my lips as he performed CPR to resuscitate me…..his huge hands rubbing me as he struggled to bring warmth back to my body. On getting to the cabin, my parents rushed me to the hospital, but it was nothing too severe. All the time I spent in the hospital, I became acutely aware of his presence, because he was always there, making sure that I was okay. I loved that he made me his responsibility. In fact, I started loving a lot of things about him from that day. That memory stuck with me for the next eight years and haunted all the relationships I was in. I quit dating because no other guy could make my heart race like he could, and eventually, I had to bury myself in my career to keep me busy, hoping that it was just a teenage obsession that would eventually fade. But it wasn't, and now, I was standing on his front porch, elated that I got this opportunity to spend Christmas with him. Finally, the door was opened, and I suck in a breath as his imposing form filled the hallway. He hasn't changed much, apart from the white that's now trickling into his black hair and stubble. The lines by the sides of his eyes make him more refined and handsome. He's not in the usual suits I'm used to seeing him wear. He's wearing an exercise top, and his sweat makes it stick to the outline of his abs, and I swallow hard. It's freezing cold, but I'm suddenly in heat. When his dark eyes meet mine, I nearly choke. "Pearl," he smiled warmly. "You came earlier than I expected." "Hi," I smiled back politely holding back my desires. "Thanks for letting me stay here." He stepped back and gestured inside. "Come right in, you're welcome." When I walk past him, I smell the same cologne from eight years ago, and my insides tickle. He never changed it. His penthouse deeply impressed me, he really went over the top with the decorations, and the view from the huge glass windows is amazing. He let me admire it for a bit, then he steps closer and takes my bag. Our hands brush together, and a delicious shiver runs down my spine. "Let me help you with this." He hefts the bag on his shoulder like it's weightless and walks deeper into the penthouse. I follow him. "Your father called earlier," he says over his shoulder. "He wanted to make sure that you arrived safely." His words make me remember that my parents were relocating to Singapore for a two-year banking project, and they needed someone to watch over me, especially with the recent events that happened at work. I was full-on stalked by a co-worker, I'd reported the incident, and he got fired, but that made him even angrier, and the stalking increased so badly that I had to tell my parents, and me staying with him was the solution. "Thank you for letting me stay with you," I say. "I know that you are a very busy man." "Your father is my closest friend. I'd do anything for him." He stopped at a door at the end of the hall. "This is your room." "Where's yours?" I asked as I stepped into the room which he told as mine. "The other end of the penthouse." I sighed internally in disappointment, "He had to be so far from me?" "I'll be at home during the vacation, but you won't be seeing me much. It's just us because the housekeeper is on vacation," he continued without noticing the disappointment in my face. "I'll let you settle in, if you need anything, ring me up." I nodded slowly, thinking of what to say to break the ice between us, as he's too rigid and controlled around me. He finally left, and I unpacked, took a shower, and stared at myself in the mirror. I'm no longer naive or eighteen years old, I didn’t understand those feelings back then. I only knew I felt safe, I'm now twenty-four…..old enough to understand what I want and brave enough to go after it. Before I came here, I spoke very well with the housekeeper, so I knew all of his schedules and habits, including the one where he went to the kitchen to get a glass of milk around 9 p.m. so he could sleep. And that time was when I would finally face him. I pulled out the silk pajamas which I bought specifically for this trip. The shorts are very short, and the top is so transparent it leaves little to the imagination. When it was 9 p.m., I wandered out of my room intentionally toward the living area, and that's when I see him. He's not aware of me yet because his back is to me, he's standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, with a glass of whiskey in his hand, while he stared at the snow-covered city. My heart raced as I admired every part of him. I took a deep breath, as I took a step forward, he heard the noise and turned around immediately. His eyes landed on me, and I knew it when he gasped. For a few moments, he's looking at my shorts and my sexy top, this is exactly what I wanted. There are so many conflicting emotions on his face that are usually carefully neutral. Then the glass slipped from his hand, it hit the marble floor, and we're both stunned, while my mind started to run wild. The glass lay shattered between us, just like the rules we were pretending still existed.