Kinsley: Snowball Fight

We didn't ski on Christmas.  We considered it, but we were both feeling a little lazy (and I was awfully sore).  Instead, we played outside in the snow, complete with snow angels, a snowball fight and a snowman.

I started the snowball fight by shoving a handful of snow down the back of Damien's coat.  I'd never heard him yelp like a girl before, but he certainly did it then.  By the time he recovered enough to grab some snow, I'd taken off, and his snowball whizzed past my elbow.  "You'll have to do better than that!" I called, turning just in time to dodge a snowball headed directly towards my head.

He ran after me as I scooped up a handful of snow and sent it flying back towards him.  It hit him in the leg, which is a worthless place for a snowball to land but better than he'd done yet.  I turned and ran again, skidding around the corner of the house.  I ran awkwardly, because have you ever tried to run in two feet of snow?  It doesn't work very well.

I was bending down to make a snowball around the corner of the house when Damien suddenly grabbed me from behind and flipped me upside down so I was dangling with my face just inches from the snow.  "Give me one good reason I shouldn't give you a face full of snow," he threatened, laughing.

I was laughing too hard to give him any reason at all, much less a good one.  "Nothing?" he asked, dipping me a little lower.  "That pretty face of yours is about to get awfully cold."

"Is 'because I'm pretty' a good reason?" I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"Hmmm," he pretended to consider, lowing me a little then pulling me back up a bit.  "No.  But I'll give you another chance."

"I can't think when I'm upside down above 2 feet of snow!" I protested.

"That sounds like your problem, not mine," Damien teased.

"Well," I said, "If you put me down, I'll make it worth your while."

"How?" he asked.

"Oh, I think you can probably figure that out."

Apparently, it was tempting enough, because he let me down without dunking my head in the snow.  I scooped up a handful of snow and chucked it at him before taking off.  He caught up to me within seconds and tackled me into the deep snow, and we wrestled in the snow until I admitted defeat.


"I feel like a kid," I said, laughing as we came inside and stomped the snow off our boots.

"So do I," Damien agreed.  "I haven't played in the snow in ages.  It was fun."  He grabbed me by the waist and kissed the tip of my cold nose.  "Your nose is pink."

"Your whole face is," I replied, grinning at him.  He laughed and drew me closer, lowering his lips to mine.  His lips, somehow, were warm against mine, and I sighed into our kiss and leaned into him.  We were both still covered in snow and wearing far too much clothing for inside, but it didn't matter.  "I love you," I said as we pulled away from each other to pull off our outerwear.  "I know I keep saying it, but this has been the best Christmas.  Thank you for spending it here with me."

"Look at you and your feelings," he teased me gently as he pulled his gloves off.  "I love you too, and I agree.  This has been really great.  I thought I might miss seeing the kids open their gifts but it's been kind of nice to just relax and not have to listen to squealing and shrieking."

"I can squeal and shriek if you want to," I said, grinning.  "You know, just to really give you that true Christmas experience."

He grinned mischievously and wiggled his eyebrows at me.  "I'll give you a Christmas experience that will make you squeal and shriek," he threatened.

I threw my glove at him, and he caught it easily.  "You're a perv," I said, shaking my head.

"You don't seem to mind," he countered, tossing the glove back to me.

"That's because I don't," I answered, rolling my eyes.  I tugged off my coat and hung it up, then wandered towards the kitchen.  Damien followed me in, then opened a cabinet and pulled out a container of hot chocolate.  "This weekend keeps getting better and better!" I exclaimed, grabbing it from him.

We made hot chocolate and started working on dinner.  I'd wanted ham, but apparently Damien isn't a fan (this is probably the only thing he won't eat), so we settled on roasting a chicken instead.  I got the chicken prepped and in the oven, then we took our hot chocolate into the living room.

We spent the rest of the day being lazy, making dinner together, and then having sex.  Again.  Though I definitely had no complaints.

We skied again all day Saturday, then did a few quick runs on Sunday morning before we left.   At my suggestion, Damien had called his mom on Saturday to see if she wanted company for Sunday dinner, which she was thrilled about.  I kind of just wanted to go home and relax in my tub with a glass of wine, but I figured the least I could do was have dinner with Damien's family after he spent the whole holiday weekend with me.  I could tell he was happy that I suggested it, so I was glad to do it.

Claire greeted us excitedly at the door.  "Come in," she said happily.  "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Claire," I replied, hugging her.  "Thanks for letting me steal your son for the weekend."

"Oh sweetheart, we missed you both, but you can steal him any time you'd like."  She glanced at him, then in an exaggerated whisper said, "I think he likes you better than us and I think it's wonderful."

"Mom," Damien said, rolling his eyes.  I laughed and Claire winked at me.

We had planned a family "Christmas" with them for the next weekend, but it hadn't stopped Claire from making a huge ham dinner with all the trimmings.  "And I made a pork chop for you," she said to Damien.  He grinned.  I was just excited to get my ham.

"I don't get why you like pork chops but not ham," I said, shaking my head.

He gave me a weird look.  "They don't taste the same at all.  They don't even look the same!  It's not like the difference between white meat chicken and dark meat.  Or a ribeye and a New York strip."

I shrugged and was about to respond when the door opened again.  "No!" came a tiny (but loud) voice.  "Uncle Damien's truck is out there.  Uncle Damien???"

"We're here, Amelia," Damien called back.

"Kinsley?" Amelia shrieked, flying around the corner and skidding to a stop in the kitchen.  She composed herself enough to walk over and fling her arms around my legs.

"Hi Amelia!" I greeted her, bending down to actually hug her.

She pulled back and looked at me with her wide eyes.  "Kinsley?  Did Santa come see you at the house in Crested Butte?  He knows where it is. He's come to see us there before."

I laughed.  "He sure did.  Did he come see you?"

She nodded, eyes still wide.  "Did he ever!" she declared, which made me laugh.  Then, just as quickly as she'd flown into the kitchen, she scrambled back out, yelling for her mom.  Luke gave her a dirty look as she scooted past him, then shook his head and rolled his eyes in a very well-practiced big brother way.

Dinner was--of course--wonderful, and we left fairly early because we were both tired.  Damien dropped me off at home and helped me bring my stuff in before he headed home for the night.  

I slept so well Sunday night that I was not even close to prepared for my alarm on Monday morning.  I almost always woke up just a little before my alarm went off, but I was sound asleep still this time.  It took me a few minutes to convince myself to get out of bed.  Once I was up, though, I was fine.

Work seemed to go pretty fast, and afterwards I met Liv and Lauren for drinks and dinner.  Kendra was supposed to come too, but she wasn't feeling well and bailed.  We got an update on Alex first, and Lauren reported that he was doing pretty well, though he was feeling a bit cooped up and was frustrated with that.

I told them about my awesome Christmas with Damien.  "It was seriously so good," I said excitedly.  "I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a holiday.  This was so much better than any holiday I ever spent with my parents."

"Were your parents upset you were gone?" Liv asked.

I snorted.  "I wasn't invited to either of their Christmases, so probably not."

"So when are you guys getting married?" Lauren asked nonchalantly.

"Sometime after we're engaged, I would imagine," I replied sarcastically.

She raised an eyebrow.  "Have you even talked about it?"

I shook my head.  "No."

Now she frowned a little.  "Don't you think that's weird?"

"No...should I?" I asked, starting to get a little irritated.

"It's been, what?  Almost a year and a half, right?  He's not getting any younger."

"Lauren!" Liv said.

"What?" she asked.  Liv just gave her a dirty look.

"Neither of us are, obviously," I replied.  "But we're both happy with the way things are.  He's probably waiting for me to bring it up, and I'm just not there yet.  But I can see myself marrying him at some point."

"Kinsley?  Getting married?  I don't believe that," came a familiar, sarcastic male voice.

My breath caught for a second as my brain processed who the voice belonged to.  I looked up, straight into Cole's eyes.

Lauren: Adults

Spending the night with Alex is nice.  I can't believe how much I missed sleeping next to him.  I don't even know who I am anymore.  We're half asleep and still curled together (well, I'm curled.  He's flat on his back which is pretty much the only way he can sleep, which sounds like the worst torture to me) when his mom barges into his room.  "Oh," she says, seeming confused.  "I forgot you were here, Lauren."  However, she makes no move to leave.  In fact, she smiles brightly at us both.  "Merry Christmas!"

"Mom, seriously," Alex groans.  "We'll be down in a little while."  As an afterthought, he adds, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," I echo, trying to sound more cheerful than Alex.  It's a stretch, because I'm still sleepy and it's early and she totally barged in on us.

She purses her lips and then says, "Okay, well I've got some muffins cooking for a light breakfast, since we'll be doing brunch in a little while.  Lauren, you're welcome to eat before you go."  Then she leaves.

"How nice of her," I mutter, burying my face in the side of Alex's chest.

He strokes my shoulder and cranes his head down to kiss the top of mine.  "I slept so well last night," he tells me.  "I missed sleeping with you.  I really miss having sex with you, but even thinking about it makes me hurt, so..."

"Well, you just let me know when you're feeling up to it," I say quickly.  "I'm ready whenever you are."

He chuckles, then says, "Laughing doesn't hurt quite as much, so that's a good sign.  At this rate, I might be able to have sex in about a month."

I look up at him in horror and he grins.  "I don't think I've ever gone a month without sex," I groan.  "I mean, since I starting having it, anyway."

"It'll be more than that," he points out, "because it's already been a week."

"You're so lucky I love you," I whine, burying my face in the pillow.

"Merry Christmas to me," Alex teases me.  "My girlfriend is mad because I'm injured and can't have sex with her."

"Merry Christmas to you," I retort.  "Your girlfriend loves having sex with you so much that she's disappointed when she can't."

"I...have nothing," he admits.  "Because that is pretty awesome."

"I hear there are men everywhere who wish their wives and girlfriends wanted to have sex with them as much as I want to have sex with you."

"There are also men everywhere who wish their wives and girlfriends didn't want to have so much sex," he replies, smirking.

I raise an eyebrow and look at him skeptically.  "Oh, are you one of them?"

"Not at all," he says quickly.  "I'm just enjoying the debate."

"You're the worst," I mutter.

"Yet you still want to have sex with me," he points out.  I snort and flip the blankets back, starting to sit up.  "No, stay a little longer," Alex implores.  "I'll be nice."

I laugh.  "It's not like I was being nice either," I point out, snuggling back into the bed.  His bed is so comfortable.

We stay in bed for about 15 more minutes before we finally (reluctantly) get up.  "Will you come back tonight?" he asks.  "My parents' flight leaves at 4 so they'll be out of here by 2, I'm sure."

"I think I can manage that," I reply.

I change out of my pajamas and into the clothes I was wearing yesterday.  I'm just going home to shower anyway.  I stay long enough to enjoy one of Alex's mom's blueberry muffins, which are actually really good, then I wish everyone a merry Christmas (this time with a little more cheer) and head home.

I see that the delicious deli by my house is open so I stop in to pick up soup and a sandwich for lunch.  Not much of a Christmas dinner, but I'm fine with it.  I stick my food in the fridge for later, shower, and start looking for more jobs to apply to.  I find two more--one that would be a pretty sweet job and one that doesn't sound great but I'm qualified and it would be better than being unemployed.

When I'm finished, I eat my lunch and put away the gifts I hauled home from Amanda's house.  Then I recline on the couch and watch some trashy TV until Alex texts me that he's ready for me to come back over.  It seems strange to have spent so much time with him lately, but I don't hate it.  I gather a few things and throw them in a bag and then head to Alex's house.  On the way, I stop to pick up pizza, surprised anything is still open.

I knock on Alex's door then let myself in.  "No, no.  Don't get up," I tease Alex, who looks awfully comfortable on the couch.

"You're in fine form today," he replies, shaking his head.  I grin as I lean down to kiss him.  "Hi," he says, when we separate.

"Hi," I say back.  "I brought pizza.  Merry Christmas."  My phone slips out of my pocket and lands on the couch next to Alex.  I glance at it and leave it, because I'll be on the couch soon.   "Are you hungry now or should I put it in the fridge?"

"I'm starving, actually," he replies.  "My mom's brunch was...healthy."

"How awful," I joke.  I wander into the kitchen with the pizza and put slices on plates for us.  I'd eaten pretty early and was hungry too.

When I come back into the living room with the plates of pizza, Alex is giving me a weird look.  "What?" I ask.

"What's this?" Alex asks, holding up my phone.

"What's what?" I reply.  "I forgot my binoculars at home."

The look on Alex's face says he doesn't appreciate my sarcasm.  I set the plates down and take the phone.  I click the button and see a text from Logan.  The text says, "Here's the link for that networking group's site.  Good luck job searching, let me know if I can do anything else."

I frown and sigh.  "I quit my job," I say quietly.

"You what?" Alex asks, and I'm honestly not sure if he's just surprised or if he actually didn't hear me.

"I quit my job," I say, too loudly this time.  I look up at glare at him defiantly, challenging him to question my decision.  "Merry fucking Christmas."

"Laur," he says softly.  "What happened?"

His tone is enough to make me relax my defensive guard that came up right away.  "Sean's a misogynistic, chauvinistic motherfucker," I spit.

"Aren't misogynistic and chauvinistic pretty much the same thing?" Alex asks, looking genuinely confused.

I shake my head and roll my eyes.  "No, they're not," I say.  "They're similar, but misogyny is...oh, never mind.  It's not fucking important."

"Maybe another time," he replies, nodding.  "What did he do?"

I tell him the entire story, and by the end, Alex is almost as angry as I am.  He looks like he wants to say something, and I wait.  Carefully, he says, "I want you to know that I support you and what you did completely.  And you might take this in a way that I don't mean it, but I can't think of a better way to ask.  Why didn't you go to HR?"

"I was too pissed off.  And he'd already talked to HR."

Alex sits up, wincing as he does.  "But who knows what he told them?  He can't just change your job, it's illegal.  It's basically forcing you to quit.  You should talk to HR."

"I'm not going back there.  I'm not working for that asshole," I say quickly, shaking my head.

"No, Laur, that's not what I mean.  You could sue them, or at least get unemployment."

"I don't want their money.  I don't want anything from them.  I just want to be done."

"I understand," he says.  "But there are other women that work there, right?  That work under him?  He's just going to set his sights on another target and do the same thing to her."

I consider this, and I know he has me.  "You're right," I admit grudgingly.  "I'll call on Monday."

He grins.  "Good."  He pauses and looks at my thoughtfully.  "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know," I reply, shrugging.

"That's not true," he says, shaking his head.

I shrug again.  "It happened yesterday.  And you were in such a good mood getting out of the house that I didn't want to ruin it with my shitty news.  I was going to tell you tonight."  I pause and quietly say, "And I didn't want you to be disappointed."

"Disappointed?" he asks, surprised.  "In you?  I honestly can't think of anything you could ever do that would make me disappointed in you.  Except maybe vote for Trump."

I look back up at him and laugh.  "You don't have to worry about that," I assure him.  "It was just so impulsive, and that's not like me.  But I don't regret it."

"You shouldn't," Alex says reassuringly.  "You'll find a new job really quickly.  In the meantime, if you need any help with--"

"I have plenty of money saved," I interrupt him.  "And anyway, you're not even going to be working for a few weeks."

"I also have more than plenty saved," he replies.  "And a really good short term disability plan."

We look at each other and I crack up.  Alex grins, trying not to laugh.  "We're such fucking adults," I gasp, laughing.  "Jesus, listen to us."

"When did that happen?" he asks me, giving me a half smile.  "Do you ever miss being in college?"

"No," I answer quickly.  "I like being an adult.  I like my adult routine."

Alex snorts.  "Of course you do," he says, shaking his head.  "Though it doesn't seem terribly adult-like to be eating takeout pizza for Christmas dinner."

"And not having any Christmas gifts," I add.

"Or decorations," he agrees, looking around.

We look at each other again and grin.  "You're going to hate this, but I don't need any of that stuff."

"Oh, really?" I ask cautiously.  I have a feeling that he's about to be really sappy.

"Really," he says.  "Because all I need is you."

"Oh my god, you're disgusting," I groan, reaching for my pizza, which has sat untouched.

"Yeah?" he asks.  "The worst?"

"The worst," I confirm.  "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kinsley: Unimportant Things

We were up early on Christmas Eve to get in a full day of skiing.  We spent the morning skiing together, then split up after a quick lunch break.  Damien was a better skier than I was, so he went off to do some harder runs.  We met back up and did a few more easy runs together before we called it a day.

I dragged myself back into the house and collapsed on the couch with my snow pants and coat still on.  "You're going to get the couch all wet," Damien said, laughing.

"It won't matter, because I'm pretty fucking sure I'm going to die."  It had been more than 9 months since I'd last been skiing, and I was feeling it.  Tomorrow was going to be a problem.  I weakly kicked my foot towards Damien and said, "Help, please?"

He chuckled and waited for me to unsnap and unzip the pants, then he tugged them down my legs, revealing my leggings beneath them.  He took my hand and pulled me upright and I shrugged out of my coat, which he took and hung up next to my snow pants.  "Thanks," I mumbled, flopping back down on the couch.  Damien sat next to me, then reached down and wrapped his arms around my legs and pulled them up into his lap.  He started gently massaging my calves, working his way from my ankles to knees.  Once he finished both calves, he scooted closer to me and began massaging my aching thighs.  He worked on my poor, tired thighs until his stomach growled.

"I'm starving," he admitted, patting my knee and shifting my legs back off his lap.  "Come make dinner with me?"

"Do I have to?" I asked.  I was comfortable and not sure if my legs would carry me to the kitchen.

Damien chuckled.  "Only if you want to eat."

Groaning in protest, I sat up and took the hand that Damien offered me.  He pulled me to my feet and I followed him into the kitchen.  Once I was up and moving I was fine and I happily helped Damien make dinner.  Neither of us were amazing chefs, but we both functioned just fine in the kitchen and it was fun to cook together.  That's one of those things I would have made fun of someone for a year and a half ago, but now I love it.

After we ate, Damien suggested I take advantage of the big, jetted tub in the bathroom.  "That seems like a great idea," I agreed.  "Want to join me?"

"I'm not a big bath guy," he replied, shaking his head.  He grinned. "Plus, I don't think the bath would be very relaxing for you.  I think I'd be too distracted."

I shrugged and poured myself a glass of wine, then headed upstairs to start the bath.  I found the switch for the fireplace on the wall between the bathroom and bedroom and flipped that on as well.  I sunk into the hot water happily and spent about 20 minutes laying in the tub doing absolutely nothing.  It was wonderful.  That's all I really needed, and anyway I can't really sit still for longer than that.

When I walked into the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy gray towel, I was surprised to find Damien laying in bed under the blankets.  "Tired already, loser?" I asked, walking towards the bed.

He pushed himself up on one elbow and gave me a sexy smirk.  "Waiting for you, actually," he replied, letting his eyes wander over my towel and down my legs.

"Oh, I guess I don't need this then," I said, letting the towel drop to the floor and stepping away from it, right up to the bed.  He reached out and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me down into bed with him.  I shimmied under the blankets and straddled him, leaning down to kiss him.

"How do your legs feel?" he asked, taking a break from my mouth to trail light kisses across my jaw and onto my neck.  His hands ran up the backs of my legs, stopping to grip right below my ass.

"Mmm, fine," I replied, tilting my head to the side to give him easier access to my neck.

"Are you sure?" he asked, squeezing and kneading, then sliding his fingers to the inside of my thighs and massaging there.  "I could massage them some more."

I groaned and dropped my head onto his shoulder as his fingers moved further and further up my inner thighs.  "You're a damn tease," I moaned, nipping lightly at his collarbone in frustration.  He answered my complaint by finally moving his fingers fully between my legs, stroking me several times before sinking two fingers into me.  Fighting the urge to just hang out and enjoy myself, I reached behind my legs and wrapped one hand around him.  He paused for a second then continued while I stroked him.

I didn't waste much time before I guided him into me.  He groaned as I moved against him.  The sex was fun and playful, and we spent almost as much time laughing as moaning.  Finally, we both collapsed onto the pillows, breathless and no longer laughing.  "But seriously," I said, once I had caught my breath.  "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to walk tomorrow."

"I have that effect on women," Damien said, smirking.

"That is not what I meant!" I shrieked, laughing again.  "Not at all."

"Ouch," he replied, pretending to be hurt.  "That was unkind."

"Unkind?" I repeated, laughing hard.  "Unkind.  You seriously just said unkind.  Are you old?"

"Compared to you," he pointed out.

I snorted.  "Don't even act like you're some dirty old man.  You're not that much older than me.  I actually don't even feel like you're older at all."

"Again with the unkindness," he said.  "I think you maybe just called me immature."

"Or I called myself incredibly mature," I retorted.

"You?  Incredibly mature?  Hmmm..."

"Now who's being unkind, asshole?" I asked, but I couldn't even keep a straight face.  Between spending the holiday in this beautiful winter paradise, all the sunshine and endorphins from skiing all day, and the amazing sex we'd just had, I practically felt high.  I pushed myself up onto one elbow and looked down at him.  "Damien?" I started, suddenly feeling a little timid.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking a little concerned.

"This is already the best Christmas I've ever had," I told him.  "And it's not even actually Christmas yet.  I just really appreciate you spending it with me here, away from our families.  It really means a lot to me.  I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, reaching for me.  I scooted over to him and laid down next to him, dropping my head onto his chest and settling against him.  He wrapped his arm around me and stroked my shoulder and upper arm absently.  "I'm having a pretty great Christmas too.  I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

After the long day of skiing, it didn't take long for either of us to fall asleep.  I slept soundly, not even waking up to use the bathroom.  I slept until 8, which was pretty late for me.  When I woke up, Damien was still fast asleep next to me.  I got up and quietly pulled on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt, then headed downstairs (slowly, because holy fuck did my legs hurt).

I turned on the fireplace, plugged in the lights on the tree, and took a minute to admire the snow that was falling.  I'm 27 years old and snow on Christmas morning still feels magical to me.  I finally dragged myself away from the windows and into the kitchen to make some breakfast.  I dug through the groceries that Damien had gotten and pulled out stuff to make pancakes.  I made pancakes and eggs and sliced up some oranges.  I was getting everything on plates to take up to Damien in bed when he wandered sleepily into the kitchen.

"I thought I smelled breakfast," he said, kissing me on the cheek.  "Merry Christmas."

I pouted.  "I was going to bring breakfast to you in bed," I complained.  "Now you're up and I can't."

"I'd rather eat in front of the fire and the Christmas tree with you," he said, smiling at the face I was making.

I couldn't resist that, and I finally grinned.  "Merry Christmas.  It's even snowing!"

"It is," he agreed, taking one of the plates and leading me out to the living room.  "But Santa didn't come."  There was definitely a lack of presents under our pretty tree.

"I got you something but it's not something I wrapped," I replied, shrugging.  "Also, I was pretty naughty this year so Santa not coming is probably a good thing.  I don't want to haul coal back to Denver."

"Well, I also got you something that I didn't wrap," he said back, chuckling.  "So I guess we were on the same page."

We ate our breakfast, then each produced an envelope.  "I have to admit I'm not a very good creative gift giver," Damien said apologetically as we exchanged envelopes.

"Neither am I," I replied, shrugging.  "In fact, I totally ripped off someone else's idea for your gift, but I think you'll like it anyway."

I let Damien open his first.  As I had said, I had blatantly ripped off Lauren's recent gift to Alex, and gotten Damien Denver Broncos tickets for their January 3rd game.  I preferred gifting experiences to stuff whenever possible anyway, and this was perfect.  "This is awesome," Damien said, kissing me.  "Thank you.  But there are two tickets, does that mean you're going with me?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked, making a face.  "Look, I love you, but that's pushing it.  Take James or someone that will actually enjoy it."

He laughed.  "I could use a good manly day at the football stadium," he agreed.  I wrinkled my nose and he laughed harder.  "Open yours," he said.  I did, pulling out a gift certificate to my salon.  "Now, I'm normally kind of anti-gift certificate, but this seems a little different."

It was different.  Mostly because I had mentioned several weeks back that I'd love to treat myself to a spa day to get a manicure and pedicure, massage, and facial, but I could never justify spending that much money on myself for something like that.  Budgeting and smart spending were drilled into my head and that would be a large chunk of my discretionary spending money that didn't quite seem worth it.  This gift certificate was definitely large enough to cover all those things.  I looked up at him and grinned.  "Thank you," I said.  "I can't believe that you remembered that I said I wanted to go.  How did you know where, though?"

"You have your hair person's card in your wallet," he replied, shrugging.  "Sorry that I snooped through your wallet."

I burst out laughing.  "I'll let it slide this time," I said.

"I should probably tell you that that gift certificate has some strings attached," he informed me.  I raised an eyebrow.  "I don't want you to give in to the temptation to be practical with it.  I want you to go ahead and have your spa day and blow it all on the stuff you said wouldn't pay for yourself."

I blushed, because I had already been considering how many haircuts I could get with the certificate if I decided to go that route instead.  He laughed, knowing he caught me in the act of trying to be practical.  "I think I can handle those strings," I agreed.  "Though I could get my hair cut for a year with this.  I'll try being frivolous for once."

"I have to be honest," Damien said, pulling me against him.  "I've always been really surprised that you're not an impulse spender."

"Rude!" I said, trying to pull away to swat his arm.  He just tightened his arms around me and laughed.  "But I guess you have a point.  It's the one thing I'm not impulsive with.  We all need something to balance things out, right?"

"Something like that," Damien agreed.  I settled back against him, closing my eyes and listening to the soft whoosh of the fireplace fan kicking out the warm air into the room.  Damien's gift may not have been creative, but it was probably the most thoughtful gift I've ever been given--if only because it meant he was listening, even when I talked about unimportant things.

Lauren: Tomorrow

Happy Sunday, friends!  Keep your eyes peeled for a Kinsley post sometime during the first half of this week, and another Lauren post sometime late this week.
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The words come out before I can really think them through, but I don't regret them.

"Excuse me?" Sean sputters, and he looks genuinely flustered.  It makes me grin, which makes him look even more confused.

"I said 'I quit'," I reply, standing.  "If you don't want me to do the job I was hired for, then I'm going to find someone who does."

Sean quickly rearranges his face back to a neutral expression and says, "Well, alright then.  Good luck to you.  You have 30 minutes to collect your things."  I think he thinks he's calling my bluff, but it's not a bluff.  "As a matter of fact, here's a box for you."  He grabs an empty box from the corner of his office and hands it to me, challenging me to take it.

I do.  I take it, smile, and say, "Thank you, Sean.  I'll be gone in 15."  I don't keep much personal stuff at work.  I just have a few textbooks, some snacks, and some personal office supplies, basically.  For a fleeting second he looks shocked, but I turn on my heel and walk out of his office before I can see how long it takes for him to once again regain control of his expression.

As I'm putting my stuff in a box, I become aware of the curious looks from around the office.  Logan walks up as I'm finishing.  "Can I help?" he asks, looking more concerned than curious.

"At your own risk," I reply with a shrug.  He glances over his shoulder towards Sean's office, then picks up my half-full box.  I grab my coat and purse and start walking towards the elevator.

Once we're safely inside the elevator, Logan turns to me.  "Did you...are you.." He stops.  There's really no polite way to ask someone if they just got fired, is there?

"No," I say, shaking my head.  "I quit.  He's trying to turn me into a fucking secretary, and I've worked too damn hard for that."  I glare at the wall as I talk.  I'm not yet regretting my move, but I am starting to get a little nervous.  More than that, I'm absolutely livid that that disgusting, chauvinistic bastard finds no value in my position as I was hired.

"What are you going to do?" he asks.  I can't even believe he's in this elevator, holding my box and having this conversation.

"I have no idea," I admit.  "I updated my resume a couple weeks ago, but I haven't actually applied for anything.  Now I'm wishing I had."

"Look," he says, shifting to face me.  "I'm a member of this networking group for structural engineers that might have some ideas.  I can send you the information."

"Thanks," I reply.  The elevator door opens and we walk out into the parking ramp.  I find my car and Logan puts my box in the backseat for me.  "Thanks," I say again, looking at him.

"Good luck," he tells me, briefly touching my arm.  I nod and get into the car, and Logan walks away.
I take a second to consider what to do next.  I still don't have any regrets.  I have about 8 months worth of rent and bills saved up, plus a sizable-for-my-age 401k that I could cash out if I needed to.  I'm not worried about money.  Not even a little bit.  I've always lived below my means.  I am worried about not working.  I enjoy working.  I like being productive.  The idea of sitting at home all day applying for jobs and doing little else makes me break out into a cold sweat.

I drive home and get right to work.  I re-read my resume for the thousandth time, make a couple small changes, and then open my internet browser.  I spend the next three hours methodically reading job descriptions, writing cover letters, and submitting my application materials.

By the time I stop to eat lunch, I've only applied for 4 jobs, but it feels like it's taken so much longer than it should have.  I remind myself that it's because I'm writing cover letters specific to the positions and tailoring my resume as well when it's called for.  Then I wonder if anyone actually reads cover letters.  Am I wasting time this way?  Ultimately, I decide that I'd rather potentially waste time and look like a well put together candidate than risk getting my resume discarded over a vague, generic cover letter.

I take a break long enough to eat a sandwich and watch a DVRed episode of Real Housewives.  It refreshes me enough to apply to 3 more jobs before I quit for the day.  I now only have about two and a half hours to make the dessert I'm bringing to Amanda's house and get ready.

I manage with 15 minutes to spare and I head over to Alex's house so I can be polite and wish his parents a merry Christmas.  Alex's dad opens the door when I knock, and Alex calls, "You know you can just walk in, right?"

"I know," I reply.  I feel weird walking in with his parents there, though.  "Merry Christmas," I say to his dad, forcing a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Lauren," he says, and it's almost warm.  Almost.  I bite back a frustrated sigh.  I will never win with them, and it's driving me crazy.

"Oh, is that Lauren?" Alex's mom calls from the general direction of the kitchen.  I roll my eyes, because of course it's me.  Alex's house isn't that big, I'm quite sure she heard his dad say, "Merry Christmas, Lauren."  Also, who else would be here 10 minutes before 5 on Christmas Eve?

Sharon walks into the living room, drying her hands on a towel.  "Hello, dear," she says, smiling just as falsely as I am.

"Hi, Merry Christmas," I say.  From the couch, Alex snorts and I shoot him a dirty look.

"Mmm, yes," she replies, as though it just occurred to her that it's Christmas Eve.  "And the same to you."  Alex looks away to hide his smirk and I just continue beaming at Sharon with my fake smile.

"Ready to go?" Alex asks me, carefully standing up.  I see him wince slightly as he does it.  Tightening his abs to stand puts pressure on his broken ribs.  Actually, just about everything does.  I hope I never break my ribs.  It sounds awful.

"I am," I tell him.  "Here."  I grab his coat from the hook next to the door and hand it to him as he walks over.  He already has his shoes on and it's clear that he's in a hurry to get out of here.  He thanks me and struggles to get his coat onto his arm that's not in the sling.  I know better than to help him, but I hate watching him struggle.  Finally he gives up and glances at his dad, who holds the coat so he can get his good arm into the sleeve.  His dad drapes the other side over his shoulder.

"This is fucking ridiculous," he mutters.  "My arm isn't broken, I don't know why I can't just use it."

"Because all the--" his mom starts, in a lecturing tone.

Alex cuts her off.  "Yes, I understand why I can't use it, I'm just frustrated."  She snaps her mouth shut and presses her lips into a thin line.  I wonder briefly if she was ever a pleasant person.  Did she ever have a sense of humor?

"I'll see you guys later tonight, okay?" Alex says, looking from his dad to his mom.  "Lauren's niece is pretty little, so I'm sure we won't be there too late.  Right?"  He looks to me for confirmation and I nod.

We leave the house and get in the car.  Alex manages his seat belt one-handed, adjusting it to not lay against his broken ribs, and I slide into the driver's seat.  He sighs in relief as he settles into the seat.  "I can't even tell you how happy I am to be out of that house," he tells me.  "Come here."  I lean over and kiss him.  When I start to pull away he grabs my hand and I kiss him again.  "I've missed you," he tells me, when he lets me go.

"I've seen you every day," I tease him, grinning as I start the car.

He snorts.  "It's not the same with them hovering around."  I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, and I can see the perma-glare that's been etched onto his face for the last several days has relaxed.  He's actually smiling.  I'm relieved that getting him away from his parents has improved his mood.  "How's work been this week?  Was Sean pissed that you called in on Monday?"

I freeze, playing off my pause as checking my blind spot before I pull onto the road.  I'm nervous suddenly, not wanting to ruin Alex's better mood by giving him my news.  "No, he wasn't even there.  It was fine," I say finally, as casually as possible.  I keep my eyes on the road, hoping that he won't be able to tell that I'm basically lying to him.

He doesn't seem to notice and he starts talking about how weird his mom acted today.  "It was like I was planning to leave the country.  Heaven forbid I leave the house for a little while."  He shook his head.  "I'll be relieved when they leave tomorrow.  Is that horrible?  Being excited for your parents to leave on Christmas?"

"I don't think it's horrible, but I'm extremely biased," I reply.  I reason away my guilt at lying about work by telling myself I'm making Alex's evening out of the house more enjoyable.  I'll tell him tomorrow.  Or, maybe not.  Tomorrow is Christmas.  I'll tell him...soon.

It doesn't take long to get to Amanda's house, and my 6 year old niece Casey flings the door open as soon as I pull into the driveway.  "Hey dollface!" I call as we get out of the car.  Casey starts to step onto the front stoop, then glances over her shoulder, makes a face, and stands impatiently inside the open doorway, waiting.  I grab the cake I'd made and my bag full of gifts and start up the walk to where Casey is bouncing impatiently.

"Merry Christmas, Aunt Lauren and Alex!" she squeals when we get close enough.

"Merry Christmas to you too, sweet girl," I reply.  My hands are full so I lean down and kiss the top of her head.  "I'll give you a hug when I put everything down, okay?"  My sister loves to joke that my niece is the only person in the world that I'll willingly show affection toward.  In the days before Alex, she wasn't wrong.

Casey holds the door open for us and Amanda appears to take things out of my hands.  Casey looks at Alex curiously.  "Why are you wearing your coat like that?" she asks, clearly puzzled.

Alex smiles as I grab the back of it so he can get his arm out relatively gracefully.  "Because I broke my collarbone and my arm is in a sling.  See?"  He points to his arm once he's free of his coat.

Her eyes get wide.  "Does it hurt?" she asks.

"A little bit," he tells her.  "But it feels better now than it did a few days ago."

"What happened?" she questions, full of curiosity.

"I fell when I was skiing," he replies.

Casey nods solemnly.  "My mom said that skiing is dangerous and people who ski are crazy."

Alex laughs, then winces.  Of course, Amanda had walked back into the room just as Casey was saying that.  "Casey!" she scolds.

"What?" Casey asks, confused in her 6 year old innocence.  "That's what you said.  You said it when we were having dinner on Tuesday.  I remember!"  Amanda's cheeks turn pink and I crack up.

Alex bends down a little and grins at Casey.  "You know what?  Right now, I'm inclined to agree with your mom."  He winks at Casey and grins at Amanda.

"Does that mean you're not going to ski anymore?" Casey asks him.

Alex smirks.  "Oh no, I will definitely ski again.  Maybe even this winter still, as soon as I'm better."

Casey makes a face and looks at me.  "Where do you find these people?" she asks, throwing her hands up dramatically.  That's enough to send me over the edge, and I sit down hard on the couch, laughing.  Alex is trying unsuccessfully to not laugh, and Amanda's face turns a shade of crimson that I don't think I've even seen on Liv's face.

"I don't," I tell her.  "They find me."  Finally Amanda laughs and Casey just looks between us, having no idea why we're laughing.  I just love the things that come out of this girl's mouth.

"Well, if there was any question about her having your attitude and lack of filter, I think we just answered it," Amanda says, once we all get it together.

"Consider yourself lucky," I say.  "I'm hilarious, and so is she."

The rest of the evening goes well.  Evan, my sister's husband, gets home shortly after we arrive, and we eat way too much and open gifts.  I went a little overboard buying gifts for Casey, and Amanda gives me more than one dirty look as Casey's pile of new clothes, toys, and books grows bigger and bigger.  "I hope this is for Christmas and her birthday," Amanda hisses at me.  Casey's birthday is Dec 30th.

I smile sheepishly.  "No, I have more for her birthday," I admit.  Amanda just sighs and shakes her head.

After gifts, we turn on A Christmas Story, and Casey snuggles up to me on the couch.  I look at Alex and say, "We can leave whenever you're ready."  He's clearly enjoying his night "out" but I can tell he's exhausted.  This is by far the most activity and excitement he's had since before his accident.

"I'm fine," he answers, a little defensively.  I cock an eyebrow and he sighs.  "I'm tired, you're right.  But I'm not ready yet."

"Okay," I reply.  "Just let me know."  He finds my left hand with his right and our fingers wind together automatically.  Between his injuries and his parents, this is the most physical contact we've been able to have in nearly a week.  I'm surprised to find that I wish I could tuck myself under his arm and lean against him.  I'm also feeling seriously sex-deprived, but I'm trying to get used to it because I have a feeling it will last awhile.

We leave about 30 minutes later.  In the car, Alex says, "Will you stay tonight?"

"Your mom will have a fit.  And I don't have clothes or anything."

"We can stop at your house.  And I don't care if she has a fit.  I really want you to stay."

I have to admit that I miss spending the night with Alex.  Sex completely aside, it's hard to go from spending at least a few nights a week together to sleeping alone all the time.  Ugh, who am I?  "Okay," I agree.  "But you have to handle your mom."

"I will," he assures me.  "Speaking of handling my mom, you've done a really amazing job of being nice to them, even though they've been pretty awful to you.  Thank you."

"They haven't been awful.  They've just not been nice."

"That's way more than bad enough," he replies, shaking his head.  "They haven't been downright rude to you, but they've made it pretty clear they'd prefer for you to not be around.  That pisses me off."

"I can tell," I say, smirking.  "You haven't exactly been pleasant to them."

"They haven't earned my pleasantness," he retorts.

Alex's mom must be tired of fighting him, because she says nothing when he informs her I'm spending the night.  She gives him a withering look, but that's it.  She turns to me and politely asks if I would like to join them for Christmas brunch before they leave.  "Thank you for inviting me," I tell her sincerely, "But I'll go home in the morning and let you guys enjoy Christmas brunch with your son."  Alex gives me a weird look but his mom smiles, the first genuine smile she's worn since this whole mess started.

"Thank you," she replies.  

Alex and I go straight upstairs to get ready for bed.  He's exhausted and it's obvious.  He groans as he lays down and I let him get settled before I climb in next to him and pull up the blankets.  I'm laying on his right, which is the opposite of how we usually sleep.  It's throwing me off, and I wiggle around, trying to get comfortable before I settle next to Alex.  "Why did you say no to brunch?" Alex asks curiously.

"Consider it my Christmas gift to your parents," I reply.

"Speaking of Christmas gifts, I haven't had a chance to get you anything," Alex tells me.  "I'm sorry."

"You've been a little busy," I point out.  "And to be honest, I was going to get your gift on Sunday, and with everything that happened, I completely forgot.  So I don't have anything for you either.  Let's not even worry about it, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," he agrees.  I get settled, carefully resting my head on his chest and pressing the rest of my body against his side.  He wraps his right arm around me and sighs softly.  "I've missed this."

"I have too," I admit, snuggling a little closer.

"What?" he asks in mock surprise.  "You've missed physical contact and affection?  I don't believe you."

"Shut up," I say, laughing.  "I have.  I've also missed your sense of humor, so I'm glad to see it's back."  Getting him out of the house, even for a couple hours, was clearly necessary.  "I love you, Alex."

"Awwwww," he says, still teasing.  I roll my eyes and shake my head against his chest.  "I love you too, Laur.  Thank you for braving my parents to be here with me this week."

I nod and yawn.  In my sleepy, relaxed state, I almost blurt out that I walked out of my job today.  But I don't.  Now's not the time; I don't want to ruin this moment.  Tomorrow.  I'll tell him tomorrow.

Kinsley: Long Short Week

I had dinner with my brother on the Tuesday before Christmas.  He made it into the city to meet me this time, and I went straight from work.  He was fitting me in before his nap before his shift, so we decided on an earlier dinner.  I was (of course) late, and Kaleb was already there.

"Sorry," I apologized, sliding into the other side of the booth.  "Being late is kind of my thing."

He chuckled.  "Good to know.  It's fine, I'm glad you made it." We were both quiet for several seconds too long, then started talking at the same time.  "Sorry, go ahead," Kaleb said.

"I was just asking what your plans for Christmas are," I answered.

"I'm going to Mom's house," he said.  "I don't know what to expect."

"Oh," I replied.

He burst into laughter at my non-response.  "Oh?"

I shrugged.  "Not to needlessly color your expectations, but the last time I saw Mom she threw something at me and called me a 'stupid little tramp', so...."

"Nice," he responded, smirking.  "I'm looking forward to seeing what she can come up with for me then."  I snorted and rolled my eyes.  "What are you doing?  Christmas with the boyfriend's family?"

"His name is Damien.  And no, actually.  He and I are going up to his sister and brother-in-law's place in Crested Butte for the weekend.  Just the two of us."

"That sounds nice," he said.  "Though I'm shocked you're not going to Dad's house."  It was my turn to crack up at that.  Not in a million years.

Our dinner was great.  The more time we spent together, the easier it got.  I was still wary, and I think he could tell, but overall things were going well.  So well that he hugged me without asking this time before we parted.


I was so excited to spend Christmas with Damien.  I didn't even care if we skied.  I was just happy to be spending a holiday with someone I actually wanted to spend it with, not someone that I felt obligated to spend it with (like my family).  I couldn't remember the last time I actually enjoyed a holiday.  Pleasant holidays were a foreign concept to me.  We'd decided to each take a half day off on Wednesday the 23rd and leave that afternoon.

I got up super early on Wednesday to make sure I had enough time at work to get everything done that I needed to before taking off for the rest of the week.  I left work around 12:30 and hurried home.  I'd packed the night before, so I just took a quick shower, double checked my stuff, and then let Damien know I was ready.  Damien got to my house around 1, and we left right away.

I'm weird and I totally love long car rides, so I was prepared with snacks and a playlist.  Damien was amused by my antics, but quickly appreciated my planning when he decided he wanted a snack.  "I don't know," I teased him from the passenger seat.  "You thought my snacks were silly an hour ago."

"I never said they were silly," he replied indignantly.  "I think I said 'unnecessary.'"

"Well, I think it's 'unnecessary' that I share them with you, then," I said, smirking.

He snorted.  "You're going to let me starve to death while I'm in control of the vehicle you're riding in?  That seems like a poor life choice on your part."

I laughed.  "I don't know, this giant truck would probably hold up pretty well, even without a live driver, don't you think?  I'm not too worried."  Damien laughed and shook his head as I grabbed my bag of snacks off the floor and handed over the candy bar he'd requested.

By hour 3 in the car I realized that my plan was not foolproof, and I'd forgotten caffeine.  Much to Damien's disappointment, I dozed off for awhile.  He was enjoying my singing prior to that, I swear.  I woke up when Damien parked the truck and turned it off.  I yawned and stretched.  It was already dark even though it wasn't even dinner time.  "We're here, Sleeping Beauty," Damien said.

"Mmm, aren't you supposed to kiss me to wake me up?" I asked, yawning again.

"I'm no prince, you're out of luck," he replied, opening his door and hopping out of the truck.  I laughed to myself and unbuckled my seatbelt.  He surprised me by pulling my door open.  "But I guess I can try," he said, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulling me down out of the truck.  He kissed me hard with one arm around my waist and one hand tangled gently in my hair.  "Well?" he asked after he pulled away.

"Definitely awake," I said, nodding.  "And anyways, it doesn't have to be a prince, just a true love's kiss.  Though it's supposed to be a true love's first kiss."

"You are...so very special," he replied, laughing.  "I have no response to that."

"Not a Disney movie buff, huh?" I teased him.  He shook his head, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again.  I was pretty sure that nothing could keep me from being in an amazing mood right now.  He kissed me back and then we stood outside his truck with our foreheads pressed together for several seconds before I finally pulled away and peeked behind him at the house.
"Wow," I said, surprised.  "When you said Elize and Jason had a place here, I didn't imagine it looked like this."  The house was actually a gorgeous log cabin.  It was moderately sized and clearly well cared-for.  "It's beautiful."

"Wait until you see the inside," Damien said.  He pulled open the back door of the truck and grabbed our bags.  "Jason designed it himself."  Jason was a real estate developer, so I don't know why I was surprised by the house.

We headed inside and I admired the fireplace with the gorgeous stone surround, the high, vaulted ceilings, and the giant windows.  The furniture and decor was simple, accentuating the beautiful design of the home.  I followed Damien up the stairs and into a large master suite.  The suite has its own fireplace, but I was a little confused by its position in the wall.  It made perfect sense once Damien showed me into the bathroom and I saw that the fireplace also serves the bathroom.  It's right next to a deep corner tub that I could easily spend hours in.

"Okay, I'm going to need a house exactly like this," I told Damien, poking my head around the glass wall of the shower and seeing the multiple shower heads.  "I don't even need the whole house.  I just need this master suite."

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" Damien agreed.  We walked back into the bedroom and Damien wrapped his arms around my waist.  "I love you," he said, smiling at me.  "I'm excited to spend Christmas with you."

"Gross, stop it," I said, trying not to laugh.  He shook his head and tightened his arms around my waist.  "I'm just kidding," I amend.  "I love you too, and this is already perfect. Was your mom upset?"

"She was a little disappointed," he admitted.  "But she understood."  He leaned down to kiss me, but I yawned.  Damien laughed and said, "How about this?  I'll go out and pick up a few things from the grocery store for the weekend and you can lay down for a little while."

"I'll feel bad if you go by yourself," I protested.

"You can come if you want, but I don't mind going alone.  I'd rather you get some rest so you don't fall asleep on me as soon as we get back."  I had to admit it sounded great, because I really hated going grocery shopping.  I agreed to the plan and got settled in the comfortable king sized bed while Damien went downstairs.  I fell asleep almost immediately.

When I woke up and made my way back down to the living room of the house, I was surprised to see Damien sitting in front of the fireplace, untangling a string of Christmas lights.  I was even more surprised to see a tree in a stand in the corner of the room.  He grinned at me.  "Passed a tree stand while I was getting groceries," he explained.  "I thought the place could use a little festivity."  

"You're amazing," I said excitedly.

"I dug out some of their decorations.  Here, can you untangle this?  I picked up some dinner, and I'll go get it ready."

He stood up and handed me the string of lights, and I made him stop so I could kiss him.  "I love you the most," I said with a grin.

Damien was gone for a couple minutes, then came in with plates.  I abandoned the string of lights I was working on and sat at the small table in the corner by the tall windows to eat.  Damien set the plates down and returned to the kitchen.  When he came back out he had two steaming mugs in his hand.  He set one in front of me and said, "Hot apple cider with bourbon."

"Has anyone told you that you're absolutely perfect?" I asked him.

"I wouldn't go that far," he replied, chuckling and shaking his head.  "But I'll just be happy that you're happy."

We ate and then returned to the tree.  I turned on my Pandora Christmas music station and we drank our spiked cider and decorated the tree together.  I was showing off my sweet dance moves while we cleaned up the excess decorations when Damien wrapped an arm around my waist from behind and pulled me against him.  "You don't like my Christmas dancing?" I asked, laughing.

"Hmm, it's fine," he replied, his breath tickling my neck, "But I had something else in mind now."  He pushed my hair off my neck and started kissing along my shoulder and the back of my neck.  "Unless," he said, stopping abruptly, "You'd like to carry on dancing by yourself."

"No," I said quickly.  "No, I like your idea."

We ended up having sex pressed against one of the tall windows, which luckily wasn't visible by any other houses.  We left the rest of the Christmas decorations and our mess from dinner and went straight up to the bedroom.  It was a little chilly, but Damien turned on the fireplace and we climbed into bed.  "How are you still tired?" Damien asked, as I yawned and curled up against him.

"It was a long short week," I replied, shrugging.  It had been, since I'd had to try to cram a week's worth of work into two and a half days.

Turns out Damien shouldn't have talked, because he was asleep before I was.  I carefully extricated myself from his grasp and rolled onto my other side and got settled.  It didn't take me long, and I was soon asleep too.

Brody: Christmas Eve

Hello, friends!  I know you're all waiting patiently for more on Lauren and Alex.  I'm working on the next one but it's not ready to go today.  So here is a short mini-bonus Brody post!  I'll have the next Lauren post up tomorrow, and a Kinsley post either on Thursday or this coming weekend sometime.
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I trusted I would wake up before Liv's alarm, and I did.  I almost always did.  I shifted carefully and snuck out of bed, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt off the floor so I wouldn't have to open drawers and risk waking Liv.  Eddie (luckily) stayed quiet, padding gracefully out of the room after me.  I was surprised he even came with me, usually he stays put wherever Liv is.

It was Christmas Eve morning, and we were flying out to Wisconsin a bit later to spend the holiday with Liv's family.  We'd both been so busy lately, though, that we'd hardly had any time together.  She was busy getting ready for her transition at work, and I was busy getting things moved and starting to make some changes to the way my company was structured.  Throw my weekend away and Alex's accident on top of everything, and it had been a really wild month.  We were both exhausted, and I'm not sure Liv was even looking forward to going home today.

So that's why I'd waited until she fell asleep and reset her alarm for an hour earlier.  She already had it set earlier than it needed to be, probably so she could micromanage me and make sure I had my shit together.  Our travel styles don't mesh at all.  I'm so sick of the inside of DIA that I prefer to spend as little time there as possible, but that makes Liv crabby.  We manage, somehow.  This morning she'd be pleasantly surprised because I was actually all packed already.

Anyway, I'd set her alarm a bit earlier and hoped I'd still wake up earlier than that.  I did, of course.  Once I was downstairs, I turned on the fireplace and headed into the kitchen.  I let Eddie out and put some food in his bowl for when he came back in, then turned my attention to breakfast.

I went all out.  Omelets, french toast, sausage, fruit, and even freshly squeezed orange juice.  Why not?  I turned the Keurig on when I heard Liv stirring upstairs, and I had a cup of coffee ready when she came clomping down the stairs.  For being so small, she sure makes a lot of noise when she walks around this house.

"Did you change my alarm?" she grumbled, coming into the kitchen.  She looked ridiculously cute with her hair still messy and the sleepy, irritated look on her face.

I grinned at her, which made her narrow her eyes more.  She was definitely not a morning person.  "I sure did," I answered.  I handed her the cup of coffee I'd made and said, "Here.  Go sit.  I'm making breakfast."  She took it silently, let Eddie in, then turned towards the living room.  Eddie looked seriously torn between his breakfast and Liv, but decided to wolf down his food before trotting out to join her.

By the time I was done with breakfast, Liv had woken up a little.  She was curled up on the couch under a blanket with Eddie (yes, Eddie was under the blanket too...spoiled as hell).  "Seriously?" I asked, looking at Eddie.  He blinked up at me, then laid his head on Liv's arm, not breaking eye contact with me.  That dog's heart belonged to her.

"What?" Liv asked with mock innocence, trying to keep the smirk off her face.  I just shook my head and chuckled, setting down plates on the coffee table.  "Did you reset my alarm so you could make breakfast?"

"Yes," I replied, turning to go back into the kitchen for the rest of the food.  "I wanted to spend a little time with you before we had to go to the airport.  We've hardly gotten to see each other lately, and this weekend will be crazy."  We were flying out today and back on Sunday, and I knew it would be a busy weekend.  "Then it's back to work right away."

"It's true," she agreed.  She yawned, then said, "I'm not even mad that you made me get up early."  I laughed and sat down next to her.  "Merry Christmas," she said, smiling.

I leaned forward and kissed her.  "Merry Christmas, Liv."  We ate our breakfast and caught up on each other's lives.  I wasn't kidding when I said we'd barely seen each other.  Liv started to take the dishes out to the kitchen when we were done, but I stopped her.  "I've got it.  You just enjoy your coffee and your spoiled dog."  Eddie opened one eye and looked at me disdainfully.  "Seriously," I muttered, chuckling.  She didn't protest, and I gathered our dishes.  Then I grabbed her Christmas gift (part of it, anyway) off the counter and went back into the living room.

I sat back down and smiled as I handed her the envelope.  "What's this?" she asked curiously.

"Part of your Christmas gift," I replied.  "Open it."  She grinned and slid her finger under the flap of the envelope, loosening the glue.  She pulled out the card and opened it, taking out the travel vouchers I'd stuck inside.  "It's been so crazy lately that I thought we could use a vacation together," I said.  "I know things will be nuts for you in your new position, and you won't be able to take any time off for awhile.  And neither will I.  Things should be better for me by the end of March, so over your school's spring break, we can go wherever you want."

She looked up at me and started laughing.  "What?" I asked, confused.

"Hold on," she said.  She shifted Eddie, who grumbled in irritation.  When she stood and headed upstairs, he jumped down off the couch and bounded up the stairs after her.  I just shook my head.  Eddie liked me just fine, but when given the choice, he always chose Liv.  I was grateful for that, since it really did help me worry less about her when I was gone.  I knew he'd take good care of her.

After a minute, Liv reappeared, coming back down the stairs.  Eddie walked behind her at her pace, looking comical as he tried to keep himself from succumbing to his forward momentum and knocking them both down the stairs.  Liv grinned at me and handed me an envelope.  Then she turned to Eddie and commanded him to "go lay down" while pointing at his bed.  He cocked his head and seemed to consider this, then begrudgingly went over to his bed next to the fireplace and curled up.

"Part of your gift," she said to me, motioning to the envelope that was now in my hand.  I tugged her down into my lap and she curled up against my chest while I opened the envelope.  I flipped open the card and read what she had written, then I started laughing too.  Inside the card she had written a promise for a long weekend trip anywhere I wanted to go, once both our schedules allowed.

I set the card to the side and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her temple.  "I guess we both want the same thing for Christmas, huh?" I asked.

"I guess so," she replied, and I knew she was smiling.  She wiggled loose from my grip and shifted so she could kiss me.  After a long kiss, she said, "Well, thank you.  Now we have a couple things to look forward to."

"You're welcome, and thank you," I said in response.  I kissed her again, and we enjoyed our last 15 minutes before we had to start getting ready to leave for the airport just snuggled up on the couch together.

Going Home

The next morning my dad took us to the rehab facility to see Lynn briefly before our flight.  She didn't know we were coming back, and was excited to see us.  Brody popped in with me to say hi, then excused himself to wait in the waiting room with my dad so that Lynn and I could have some time together.  We were only able to stay for about 20 minutes, but it was a good visit.

When we got to the airport, we got through security quickly and sat at the gate for about 15 minutes before finding out our flight was delayed.  I was already sad about leaving and knowing that I wouldn't be able to see Lynn for awhile, because she certainly wouldn't be coming out to Colorado anytime soon.  The news about the flight made me positively stony.  Then, while we were sitting there, Brody got a work call.  He was on the phone for over a half hour, then looked irritated when he came back.

"What's up?" I asked him curiously.

"Gotta go back to Dallas again," he said, the frustration in his voice evident.

"Your person in Dallas is quite the troublemaker," I replied, rolling my eyes.  "Are you just going to see if you can change your ticket and fly from here?"

"I hadn't even considered that," he said, thinking about it for a second.  "But no, I don't think so.  I'll fly back with you and go out tomorrow.  That way I can take Pete with me."  I nodded.  Knowing there was an end in sight definitely helped my feelings about the last minute trips, and Brody had only taken a couple short phone calls while we were here.  He had turned his phone off completely on Christmas day, and I knew it was for my benefit.  I appreciated it so much, and made sure to tell him so.  I wanted him to know that I noticed the changes he was making and appreciated them.

I got up to walk around the terminal for a little while to fend off my threatening restlessness.  When I came back and sat down, Brody said, "You know, any time you want to go home, I can take care of it."

"Thank you," I said shortly.  I appreciated his offer, but I'd be lying if I said that part of me didn't resent that Brody had had to pay for our tickets so I could go home for Christmas.

"I mean it," he said firmly.  "Stop being so stubborn about it.  I appreciate your desire to be independent, but I don't ever want you to feel like you can't go home when you want to.  Especially with everything that's happened with Lynn."  

My cheeks colored.  "I know, thank you," I said contritely, immediately feeling guilty for my resentment.  "I really do appreciate it."

"I know you do," he said gently.  "I wasn't trying to suggest otherwise."

We finally got on our plane an hour later.  The flight was awful, with a ton of turbulence and screaming children.  I had never been so happy to see the inside of an airport when we finally got off the plane at DIA.

"I need to go home to get stuff for Dallas," Brody said as we walked to his car.  "Do you want me to drop you off at home, or do you want to come spend the night at my place?"  As he asked, his hand, which had been resting on my lower back, slid a little lower, reminding me that we had spent the last three nights together without having sex.  (He might have been gung-ho about having sex at his mom's house, but it was not happening at my parents' house!)

"If you're up for company, I'd definitely like to spend the night," I replied.

He grinned.  "I was hoping you'd say that."

We were barely in the door when he pushed my suitcase to the side and slid his hands around my waist.  "Whoa, I really need a shower first," I said.  "Traveling makes me feel so gross."

He groaned, then he smirked.  "Well then, do you want some help?" 

"That sounds....helpful!" I replied with a laugh.

"So, that's a yes, right?" he asked hopefully.  I just grinned and walked in the direction of his bathroom, losing clothes along the way.

Much to Brody's disappointment, I did insist on actually getting clean in the shower.  He did his best to distract me from my mission, and he almost prevented me from completing it.  He barely even gave me time to dry off after before he picked me up and carried me into the bedroom.  He set me down carefully on the bed and kissed my neck.  "Now, if it's alright with you, I'd like to be done waiting," he said in my ear, his voice low and husky.

I wrapped my legs around his back and pulled him close to me.  "I think I'm okay with that."  He thrust into me in one hard stroke, and then pinned my arms against the bed.  Maybe I should keep him waiting more often.  That thought, along with the rest of them, quickly left my head as we had some of the best sex we'd ever had.  Definitely need to keep him waiting more often.

Afterwards, I shivered a little as I curled up next to him.  "What happened to the blankets?" I asked sleepily.

"Cold, after that?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I've been freezing pretty much all day, I have no idea what my problem is.  And now I'm sweaty and cold.  So much for that shower."  He sat up and found a blanket and pulled it up over us.

I laid there, trying to ignore the headache that was building at my temples.  When I couldn't anymore, I sighed and wiggled out of Brody's grasp.  "Hey, do you have any Tylenol or something?  I have a headache."

"I think you're supposed to complain about the headache before we have sex.  That's what I hear women do, anyways," he said with a laugh.  He stood.  "I think I have some downstairs, I'll go grab you some."

He returned a few minutes later with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water.  I swallowed the aspirin and laid back down, and I was out within a few minutes.

Brody's phone rang loudly early the next morning.  I rolled over to look at the time, and was surprised to see it was just a few minutes before we needed to get up so he could drop me off and make it to the airport.  He grabbed it and walked out into the hall, answering on the way.  While he was talking, I worked on getting out of bed.  My head was still pounding, and by the time I worked my way up into a seated position, I was a little dizzy too.

I was still sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to get it together, when Brody came back in.  "Good news," he said, smiling.  "I don't have to go to Dallas.  I don't even have to go into the office.  If you want to go back to sleep, I'm going to go do a little work downstairs for a couple hours.  We can grab brunch later if you want."  I nodded and climbed back under the blankets.  I grabbed the aspirin bottle and swallowed two more before pulling the blankets back over me and going back to sleep.

I was woken up a few hours later by Brody climbing back into bed.  He slid up against my back and wrapped an arm around me.  I groaned and rolled onto my stomach when he kissed the back of my neck.  I felt awful.  He laid his hand against the back of my damp neck.  "You okay?" he asked.   I shook my head, and immediately regretted it.  He gently rolled me over and I shut my eyes against the daylight.  "Liv, you look awful," he said, gently loosening the strands of hair that were stuck to my forehead and smoothing them back.

"I feel awful," I confirmed.

"Go back to sleep," he said.  "I can take you home in the morning before I go to work."

"I don't want you to get sick," I protested weakly.  The thought of getting myself out of this bed and sitting in the car for 20 minutes was far from appealing, and Brody's bed was really, amazingly comfortable.

He shook his head.  "Don't be ridiculous, you're not going anywhere, unless you think you'll be more comfortable at home."

"Not really."

"Then you'll stay.  Do you need anything?"  I shook my head.  "Well, I'll bring you up a bottle of water.  I'll be downstairs in my office getting some work done.  I have my phone, you can call if you need something."

"Mine's in my purse, I think," I mumbled.  I heard him rustling around and then he set my phone down on the nightstand next to me.

"Sleep," he said, kissing me on the forehead.  No problem, I was asleep again before he even got back up with the promised bottle of water.

When I woke again, Brody was sitting on the bed next to me.  "What time is it?" I croaked.

"After 2 pm," he replied.  "Are you hungry?"  I shook my head.  "You should eat something.  Soup?  Cereal?  Grilled cheese?"  Always a sucker for grilled cheese, I told him that maybe I could manage to eat one. 

He disappeared downstairs, and returned about 15 minutes later with one perfect grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup.  "It's my mom's homemade tomato basil, it's amazing."  I tried a spoonful and quickly agreed.

"That is really good," I said, eating another spoonful.

"I have a ton in the freezer, so just let me know if you want some more," he said.  He sat with me while I ate, and when I finished, he asked if I felt like coming downstairs for awhile.  I declined.  Eating had worn me out and I was getting dizzy again just sitting up.

"Thank you," I said, as he gathered my dishes.  "I'm going to feel awful if you get sick too."

"Don't worry about me," he dismissed my concern.

I slept off and on for the rest of the day.  Brody slept in his guest room since I had no desire to be touched and he was incapable of sleeping with me without touching me.  He woke me up in the morning and asked if I wanted to go home or stay.  I decided to go home, since I had probably shared enough of my germs with him already.  I hauled myself out of bed and made it down to Brody's car, where I slept pretty much the entire drive to my house.  Brody hauled all my stuff in and after judging the contents of my fridge, informed me he'd bring me lunch.  And dinner.  I protested but he wasn't hearing it.

He dropped off lunch around noon, and arrived after work with groceries.  "You look a little better," he commented, as he made  me some dinner.  I was upright on the couch, at least, which I supposed was an improvement.  

"Thanks," I said when he handed me a plate of food.  I managed to eat about half of it.

"If there was any doubt about you being sick, it's been confirmed," he said, laughing.  "Too sick to eat."  He put the plate in the fridge and washed the dishes.  "You'll be okay if I head home?" he asked.

"Brody, I have the flu or something, I'm not dying.  Thank you for the groceries and dinner."  He kissed me on the forehead and left, and I hauled myself up to bed.

Lynn's Christmas Gift

Thanks for understanding my one less post for the week.  I feel some bonuses coming up, so I'm posting this one a little early :)  I hope everyone had a good holiday!
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I woke up early the next morning, nervous and excited about going to see Lynn.  I had talked to her several times since the accident, but I couldn't help but remember the horrible feeling of seeing her battered body in the hospital bed.  I wondered if she'd look and act more like her old self today.  Selfish as it was, I wasn't sure if I could handle seeing her broken again. 

I tried to slip out of bed carefully so I wouldn't wake Brody up, but I heard him shift as I got my first foot on the ground.  "For being so small, you sure do make a lot of noise," he said sleepily.  "Where are you going?  It's early."

"Can't sleep," I said back quietly.  He held a hand out to me, and I slid back into bed.  He pulled me close and I nestled against his chest.

"Nervous about seeing Lynn?" he asked.  I nodded, once again impressed at his ability to know what I was thinking.  He didn't say anything else, but his fingers found the back of my neck and massaged my tense muscles gently.  I yawned; my eyelids were still heavy with sleep.  I relaxed against Brody, focusing on his fingers working against my neck, and eventually drifted back into sleep.

When I woke again, I was alone in the bed.  I was baffled that Brody had managed to get up without waking me.  I looked at the clock and was surprised to see it was nearly 10, over 3 hours after I had initially woken up.  Apparently I needed the sleep.

I stumbled towards the sound of voices and found Brody and my dad sitting at the kitchen table.  "Uh oh, it's alive!" my dad said, regarding my disheveled appearance with a smirk.

"Shhhh," Brody said back, returning my dad's smirk.  "I've heard it's particularly aggressive and hostile in the mornings."  My dad cracked up and I rolled my eyes and walked to the fridge.  They quickly returned to their conversation, arguing about who they thought would be in the Superbowl.

"Where's mom?" I asked, sitting down with an orange and a glass of apple juice.

"Good morning, dear daughter.  I'm delighted to see you as well!" my dad said back with a smile.  "Your mother went for a walk.  She thought you might like to go with her, but she got tired of waiting about an hour ago and left.  You know how she is."  I nodded, carefully picking all the gross white stuff off the outside of my orange.  "What time are you going to see Lynn?"

"1 o'clock," I said back, swallowing my first section of orange.  "Hey, this orange is really good."  Brody and my dad both looked at me strangely.  I frowned.  "What?"

"Nothing, honey," my dad.  "Leftovers for lunch okay?" I nodded.

Soon it was time to get ready to go see Lynn.  I was now more excited than nervous.  I called Kathy to see if there were any limitations on what I could bring into the facility for Lynn, and she said no.  I grabbed her Christmas present and the keys to my mom's SUV, and we left around 12:30.  I stopped at our favorite little coffee shop and got two chai lattes and coffee for Brody, and we drove to the rehab facility.  Brody was coming along for moral support, but planned to wait in the waiting area.  He assured me he'd be fine there as I fussed about letting him take the car and find something else to do.  He promised he'd let me know if he changed his mind.

Finally, I couldn't put off going inside any longer.  I told the receptionist who we were, and she smiled a friendly smile at me.  "Lynn is so excited," she said warmly.  She showed Brody to a small, comfortably furnished waiting room and took me down a hallway.  I was surprised to see Lynn standing next to her bed with a walker.  Aside from a cast from foot to thigh on one leg, the walker, and a still healing scar across her forehead, she looked so much more like her pre-accident self.  She squealed when she saw me, and almost lost her balance.  She sat down quickly on the bed, wincing.

"Can I hug you without hurting you?" I asked tentatively.   She nodded and reached for me.  I hugged her carefully, and was shocked at the force with which she hugged me back.  I picked up the paper cup from where I had set it on the table and handed it to her.

"You didn't!" she exclaimed.  "Oh, I haven't had this amazing chai in ages."

"I brought you a Christmas gift too," I said, handing it to her excitedly.  She had been complaining about the shoes she was allowed to wear.  Apparently, she would be stuck in properly supportive shoes for several months after the accident while she worked on getting her badly damaged leg working properly again.  I had scoured the internet until I found shoes that fit the criteria but were still reasonably cute and Lynn's style.  I'd sent the link to Kathy, who had double checked with the doctor overseeing Lynn's rehab, who had approved them.

She tore the paper off, and opened the box.  "Are these Dr. Heidelberg approved?" she asked in amazement, turning one of the shoes this way and that.

"They are," I said with a smile.

"You know me so well," she said, grinning broadly.  "I don't love them, because there's no such thing as a supportive shoe that I love, but these are the least ugly Dr. Heidelberg approved shoes I've ever seen!"  I laughed.  "Thank you, Liv.  You are seriously the best."

We chatted for a bit and she filled me in on her rehab.  She was standing with the walker for short intervals, but she still couldn't walk, and her body was too weak from the accident to use crutches at the moment.  She was still having a hard time with her memory, but she said that they were impressed with her speech and motor function otherwise.  I was so happy to see her feeling better and in good spirits.

"Hey!" she said suddenly, looking at me.  "Did Brody come home with you?"

"Yeah, he's waiting for me," I replied.

"Wait, he's here?!" she squeaked.  I nodded.  "And you were going to keep this from me?  I demand that you bring him back here immediately!"  I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Okay, okay, give me a minute to go get him," I said.  I walked out to the waiting area.

"Done already?" Brody asked in surprise.

"No, Lynn wants to meet you.  Is that okay?"  I asked, a little nervous suddenly.

He smiled.  "Of course, I'm dying to meet her.  If she's up for it, let's go."  I led him back to Lynn's room, almost getting lost on the way.  She had laid back on the bed while we were gone, and I could tell the visit was draining her.

She sat up when we came back in though.  I introduced them, and Lynn promptly turned to me and said, "He is easily the hottest guy you've ever dated."  I blushed bright red, and so did Brody.  She laughed.  "Sorry," she said, turning to Brody.  "My social skills are even worse than Liv's."

"It's true," I agreed.  "She did that purposely to make you uncomfortable."

We settled into easy conversation and talked until Lynn looked seriously worn out.  "Lynnie, we should go so you can rest," I said softly. 

"No..." she protested weakly.

"Yes," said a firm but gentle voice from the door.  "They're right, that's quite enough excitement for one day."  We all turned, and a young nurse standing near the door greeted us cheerfully.  "She thinks she's capable of a lot more than she really is.  Most of the time, it's good because she's very motivated, but she definitely needs people to keep her in check."

"Sounds like my Lynn!" I said, chuckling.

"You must be Liv, then?" the nurse asked.  "I'm Casey.  Lynn's been talking about your visit for days."

"Have not," she argued softly, her eyes closed. 

I ignored Lynn and introduced myself to Casey.  Casey firmly repeated to Lynn that it was time to rest and offered to walk us out.  We said goodbye to Lynn, and she made me promise to call.  On the way out, I asked Casey if we could stop by for just a short visit again the next day before our flight.  She confirmed that that would be okay, and thanked us for making Lynn's day.

When we got back into the parking lot, I exhaled a breath that I felt like I had been holding all day.  Wordlessly, Brody held his hand out for the keys and got in the driver's side.  "You okay?" he asked, after adjusting the seat and mirrors.

I grinned.  "I'm great.  It was so good to see her acting so normal.  I'm just a little overwhelmed."

Later that evening, we had dinner and drinks with a bunch of my friends from the area.  Amy jumped up from her seat when we walked in and hugged me.  I introduced Brody to the people there he hadn't met when we were here after Lynn's accident.  We enjoyed our dinner while they caught me up on gossip from home and I told them about living in Colorado.  Amy mentioned coming out to visit in the summer, which I really hoped she was serious about.  We were home by midnight so we could get up and stop by to see Lynn before our flight.

Christmas

Hi readers!  Just like with Thanksgiving, because of my love of bonus posts, we're a little ahead of schedule for Christmas too.  Because of the holiday, I'll probably only be posting twice this week--this post, and the third and final post of Kinsley's current series.  I'm not entirely sure when I'm posting that one, but it will most likely be late Tuesday or early Wednesday. 
 
Also, you might have noticed I'm a little less involved in the comments lately.  I do apologize for that--I really like responding to comments as much as possible.  It's been really crazy at work and with the end of my semester.  I also just got a promotion and everything is moving really quickly so I'm a little stressed and overwhelmed with that.  I'll continue to post regularly and on schedule (except for the one less post this week), so don't worry about that, but you just might not see me around in the comments and such as much.  I'll try to respond when I can though, because I appreciate all the comments so much! 

As always, thanks for reading and commenting!  I hope that everyone has safe and happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate!  
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We flew out the next morning, and the roads and airport were packed with Christmas Eve travelers.  I was tired and in no mood to deal with the crowds, but I tried to keep my tongue in check so I didn't act ungrateful.

I rolled my eyes when the lady in front me in the security line didn't have her I.D. out to give to the TSA agent, and sighed when she approached the scanner with shoes and coat on, and her laptop still in her bag.  She made no move to get out of the way to get her act together so the people behind her that were prepared could go through, and I fidgeted impatiently while I waited.  When I got through, I saw her standing directly in the way of the end of the conveyor belt, struggling to get her shoes and coat back on.  I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists before moving out of the way of the person behind me.  When I could finally get through to the belt, I grabbed my bins and yanked them over to the side, away from everyone else to get my stuff back in order.

Brody watched me with a half smile.  "Fresh out of Christmas spirit today?" he asked as he straightened from pulling his shoe back on.

"Sorry," I said ruefully.  "I hate this part of traveling."  He grabbed my coat and my carry-on and nodded.

"Me too.  Maybe someday I'll have a corporate jet that we can take instead."  Judging by the look in his eyes, I guessed he was only half joking, if that.

"That sounds excellent.  You get to work on that," I joked, standing up.  I reached for my stuff but he shook his head.

"I've got it, let's go."  We made our way to our gate and sat.  We had about 15 minutes before boarding.  "Now, tell me about this grandma of yours," he said, once we were settled.

"I don't even know where to start," I replied.  "Maybe with the time she refused to attend my college graduation because the speaker was the liberal governor at the time?  Or the time that she refused to attend my cousin's wedding because they weren't getting married in a church?"  Brody raised his eyebrows.

"Religion is very important to her, which is great, except she's one of those small percentage of religious people that makes non-religious people dislike religion.  I just said religion a lot."  Brody laughed.  "I love her, obviously, and we are very thankful for her church because they've helped her so much, between being a great community for her, helping her with her garden, checking in on her, etc, but she takes it a bit far sometimes.  Me and my parents aren't really religious at all, so she's usually got something to say about that.  I don't mind, because I'm really glad she's so happy and involved with her church and her beliefs, but it makes my mom kind of crazy sometimes."

"So she's Chris's mom?" Brody clarified.  I nodded.  "Got it.  So, is she going to ask me about church?"

"Probably."

"And what should I say?" Brody also didn't attend church or hold to any particular beliefs.

I considered this.  "Your best bet is to be honest, I think, and I'll try to save you."

"That is...reassuring," he said, looking nervous. 

"It'll be fine, just stay away from talking politics with her at all costs," I instructed.  "And really, compared to your dad, she's like a tame old housecat."

"I hate cats," he joked.

They began boarding for our flight, and since Brody had gotten first class tickets, we got to board right away.  I settled into the roomy (by airplane standards, anyway) seat and stretched my legs out in front of me.  "I could get used to this," I said.

When the flight attendant came around offering free drinks, I was sold.  "I will never fly coach again," I declared, sipping my mimosa. Now that we were through the annoying party, my mood was much better.

Brody laughed.  "That's what happened to me," he said.  The plane started to taxi and I didn't respond.  I didn't mind flying at all, but takeoff always sort of terrified me.  Brody took my hand and rubbed his thumb across my knuckles while I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to pretend that this giant, loaded hunk of metal actually weighed about 10 pounds and would effortlessly defy the laws of gravity.

He turned to me once we were in the air.  "Okay, run the itinerary by me one more time," he said.

"Sure.  Today my mom will feed us her famous lasagna and we'll go to our traditional Christmas Eve movie and then drive around to see all the lights.  Tomorrow morning we'll open presents, then my mom will boss us all around while she cleans and dad cooks.  Grandma, my cousin, my aunt, and two uncles will come over around 4.  They'll probably be gone by 8."  I looked over at him.  He was nodding intently, but I knew he'd probably ask me at least twice more what the plan was.  "Friday I wanted to go see Lynn during the day, and then a bunch of my college friends are getting together Friday night.  My parents want to have brunch before we leave on Saturday."

"Okay.  Got it this time.  I think."  I looked at him skeptically.  "Yeah, yeah," he said, laughing.  "Can you just tell me every morning what we're doing?"

I dozed with my head against Brody's shoulder for most of the flight.  I woke up fully when they announced the final approach.  Landing didn't freak me out nearly as much as taking off did, but it was my second least favorite part of the flight.  When we were safely on the ground, I pulled out my phone and texted my dad that we had landed.  He texted back right away that he had parked the car and would meet us at baggage claim.  Totally unnecessary, but that's my dad.

We made our way off the plane and down to baggage claim.  I saw my dad right away and threw my arms around him.  "Welcome back, sweetie," he said, hugging me hard.  He turned to Brody and stuck out his hand.  "Good to see you again, and under better circumstances," he said, shaking Brody's hand.  He paused and then said, quietly.  "And thank you for making it possible for our daughter to spend Christmas with us.  We offered to pay for her ticket, but she got mad at us for it."

"I can hear you," I said loudly.

"That's great news!" Dad said.  "That means your hearing isn't going yet."  I rolled my eyes as he and Brody laughed.  They were too busy appreciating their own hilarity that no one even noticed I had my bag until I was standing there with it next to me.  I only checked a bag because I was bringing gifts and couldn't fit everything in my carry-on, so Brody didn't need to wait for anything.

"Are you guys ready?" I huffed.  This was going to be a long weekend if Brody and my dad were going to spend it enjoying jokes at my expense.  But I was glad they seemed to get along, at least.

Brody grinned at me and took my suitcase from my hand.  "Careful," he warned my dad.  "She's cranky today."  I glared at him but had to smile when he leaned down and kissed my forehead softly.

My mom (and the smell of her amazing lasagna) greeted us warmly when we got to the house.  Brody hauled our bags up to my room while I grabbed us something to drink.  The rest of the day passed smoothly.  My parents and Brody got along well and my mom's lasagna was delicious.

On Christmas morning, I woke up to Brody settling an arm around me and pulling me tighter against him.  "Merry Christmas," he said softly.

"Merry Christmas," I murmured back.  The sounds of dishes clinking and footsteps told me that my parents were already up.  We got up and went out to join them.  There were a ton of gifts under the tree, and I couldn't help by feel excited like a little kid.

We spent the next hour and a half opening gifts.  My parents had even gotten a bunch of stuff for Brody, which was awesome, especially with the last minute notice.  After presents, Brody and I made some eggs and French toast while my parents started getting things ready for dinner.  After eating breakfast and cleaning up the gifts, my parents kicked us out of the kitchen. 

We sat in the living room for awhile, but then my mom came in with the vacuum and shooed us out of there too.  We offered to help but were still kicked unceremoniously out.  We decided to just get out of the house and go for a walk.

Brody jammed his hands deep into his pockets as we walked.  "This is awful," he complained.  "It's so cold.  Why is it so cold here?"  I laughed.  It was considerably colder than what we had left behind in Colorado, but not anywhere near the coldest it was sure to get, and I told him as much.  "No wonder you left," he grumbled.

I moved closer to him, sliding my arm around his back.  "You get used to it, kind of," I said.  He looked skeptical.  Needless to say, our walk didn't last long.  We showered when we got back and I sat on the floor in my bedroom to do my hair and makeup while Brody called his parents and siblings and wished them a Merry Christmas.  Brody's mom asked to talk to me, and wished me a Merry Christmas herself, which I thought was sweet.    "She likes you better than she likes me," Brody said when he hung up.

"It's understandable," I said with a smirk.  He poked me with his toe, trying to push me over.  I had just grabbed his foot when the doorbell rang.  Brody looked at me nervously.  "You'll be fine," I assured him.  "My parents love you, they will too."

It was my Aunt Sherry, Uncle Joe, and my 20 year old cousin Celeste, and I quickly introduced them to Brody.  Brody turned on the charm and soon had Sherry and Joe cracking up and it was obvious that Celeste was deep under his spell.  "He is so hot, I hate you," she whispered to me when we walked into the kitchen to get drinks. 

I grinned at her.  "It's so good to see you too, Celeste," I quipped back.  She threw her arms around me.

"I miss you, you should let me come out and visit you this summer," she said.  I told her that we could definitely talk about it.  Celeste was my only cousin, and even though we weren't very close in age, we had been good friends since we were always the only kids at family gatherings.  The doorbell rang again while we were in the kitchen, and I knew it would be my Uncle Nick and my grandma.  I hurried back into the living room to get the door.

I pulled it open and Uncle Nick hugged me.  "What a surprise!  Your dad said you weren't going to make it!" he exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Nick!" I said.  "We weren't going to, but we managed."

"We?" he asked.  I motioned Brody over and introduced him.

"Ah, yes, you're the young man that flew up from work to be with Olivia when her friend was injured in that accident," he said.  Brody looked surprised, and I imagined my face mirrored his. 

"Small towns, word gets around," Nick said with a wink.

"Just leave an old lady standing in the foyer with her coat and purse, why don't you?" my grandma's crisp voice rang out behind us. 

"Sorry, Grandma!" I called, slipping past Nick.  I took her coat and purse and hung them in the closet before hugging her.  "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, dear.  It's so nice to see you," she replied, holding me at arm's length and examining me from head to foot.  She sniffed.  "Unfortunately, it seems that Colorado agrees with you.  Have you found a church out there?"

"It does, Grandma.  It's wonderful out there.  And no, not yet.  But I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend."

She looked past me and her gaze landed on Brody.  She eyed him appraisingly.  "Hello, son," she said evenly.  Then she turned and looked at me.  "Surely you could join him at his church," she said, in her passive aggressive way.

"Yes, Grandma, I certainly could, if he attended one.  Do you want something to drink?"  She dropped it for the time being, and accepted my offer to get her a drink.  Brody came with me.

"That wasn't so bad," he said.

"Nope, not yet!" I replied.  "And Celeste thinks you're god's gift to the world," I said with a small chuckle.

"Is she wrong?" he asked, grinning at me.  I rolled my eyes but laughed.

The rest of the evening went surprisingly well.  After a couple of well-avoided politically-themed questions, my Grandma was on her best behavior.   The rest of my family seemed to love Brody, just like everyone else who ever met him.

After everyone was gone and my parents were in bed, I turned to him.  "My family loves you," I said.  "Celeste wants to marry you, and I'm pretty sure my Aunt Sherry does too.  Joe and Nick are ready to take you fishing and hunting.  And Grandma behaved herself, which is high praise in our world."

"Your family is so normal," he said, almost wistfully.  "It was easy."  He hugged me.  "Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked.

"The best I've ever had," I replied, burrowing against his chest.  "Thanks for making it happen, and for being here with me."

"I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else," he said, kissing me.