Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
NICHOLAS: THEN
“ N icholas, where are we going?” Noelle asked, tugging on my hand to slow down.
I always forgot how wide my stride was compared to hers. She’d been trying to get me to answer for what felt like the hundredth time in a matter of minutes. It was evident early on my girl had no patience. It was her first anniversary of moving to Mistletoe Town, and I wanted to do something nice for her. I didn’t give it too much thought. I just did what came natural to me like I always did when it came to her.
It was just what best friends did for each other.
As she followed me close, I continued walking through the woods, carefully stepping in my tracks. Mother Nature chose that morning to unleash her wintery fury, practically shutting down the whole town in the process. The ground was covered in frost, blanketed by a dusting of snow, while huge, soft flakes fell from the sky. The frozen fluff crunched under our boots, and with each step, we treaded deeper into the forest. I held her hand tighter so she wouldn’t slip on the fallen branches coated with a thin layer of ice.
I checked on the surprise I’d been working on in the woods earlier that day, making sure it was still good to go.
“Come on.” I nodded toward the faint glow of lights in the distance. “We’re almost there.”
I started walking on the uneven ground again, tugging her behind me. I spent all my money from working jobs over the past couple of months. Between hockey and school, I didn’t have much time to work on side jobs throughout the town, but now that I got a truck for my sixteenth birthday, I’d be able to take on more work on the weekends. I didn’t want to rely on my parents. I never did.
They did get me my truck, and I was grateful for it nonetheless. They ended up ruining the sentiment after they reminded me that I was Nicholas Saint Clair and needed to start working for one of their businesses. I could be making more money with them than I was with my handyman work. It wasn’t about the money, though. It never was, yet they didn’t understand that. They didn’t even try to understand me.
I tried not to focus on any of that, wanting to make this day special for Noelle. We finally approached a small clearing where the snow continued to rise beneath our feet. The look on her face the second she saw that I’d turned part of the woods into a winter wonderland was the only gift I needed that Christmas.
“Nicholas, I can’t believe you did this,” she whispered, completely caught off guard.
Her eyes shifted from all the colorful lights strung around the trees to the makeshift Christmas trees surrounding us that I decorated. I themed it using her favorite gingerbread house and bright colors in the lights and decor. It was the life-size gingerbread house I built with my own two hands that really knocked her on her ass. The painting and design took me the most time, but the actual carpentry and build only took me a few days .
I watched her walk around the open space, grazing her bare fingers along the wood with a smile across her face. She twirled around as the snow fell down on us.
“I can’t believe you did this for me.”
I shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal. “I had some free time.”
“This is the sweetest and kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. Truly.”
Her eyes rimmed with happy tears when she looked deep into my gaze.
They say the smallest decisions could change your life forever. I’d always remember this moment for the rest of my life.
I told her to look up.
She did.
Right there above our heads was the blue mistletoe I hung.
“You don’t see the blue one that often.” She stated what I was thinking when I bought it.
I nodded, waiting for I don’t know what.
A signal?
A sign?
I wasn’t really sure.
When you’re sixteen, how much do you really know?
This kiss would hold me over until I could do it again every year. I didn’t intend to start this tradition between us, but I guess you could say this was where it began for us.
I kissed her under the mistletoe every year, knowing how special that was.
This would become the only tradition I ever cared for. I wish I could describe the intensity I felt with her at that moment. Only I couldn’t do it justice. I couldn’t put into words what felt so right.
I leaned in and kissed her.
Her lips parted a bit, and I opened mine too. However, it was over before it even began .
A tree branch breaking broke our trancelike state, and we pulled away from one another. Her hair was a mess of waves, she smelled like cinnamon, and it was doing all sorts of things to my head.
How the hell did she smell this good all the time?
Neither one of us said a word about what just happened. Instead, we completely blew it off. For the next hour, we ate the snacks I left in the picnic basket earlier that day in the gingerbread house. We sat on an extra-soft blanket I spent way too much time trying to find. Christmas lights were all around us, and as much as I hated to admit it, it was magical.
Like Hallmark.
Stuff you’d seen in a holiday rom-com movie.
Even with that, I didn’t give a shit.
I ate it like my cold holiday heart had grown three inches.
I watched the way her lips moved with each giggle that left her mouth.
I watched the way her body leaned into mine with each second that passed.
I watched the way I made her smile.
Laugh.
Blush.
“You’re a great guy. You know that, right?”
“Verdict’s still out on me,” I remarked.
She was glowing.
Radiant.
Bright, shining, stunning.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“How am I looking at you?”
“Like you’ve never seen a girl before.”
“Not one like you.”
She blushed again.
“You’re a relentless flirt. You know that too, right?”
I grinned. “Only with you. ”
“You always know the right things to say.”
“Well, you bring out the best in me.”
“Is that so?”
“It most certainly is.”
“You know my mom warmed me about boys like you.”
Despite Noelle’s mom passing away unexpectedly, I liked that she always talked about her. It was almost like it made her feel closer to her or something. I enjoyed hearing their stories. It was obvious she was a good mom. She kind of reminded me of my own.
“Want to see the best view in the town?” I asked, standing and then reaching down for her.
“Of course.” She grabbed my hand, and I easily lifted her.
“You afraid of heights?”
“No. Why, is it not safe?”
“For the most part.”
“Nic—”
“I’m joking. You’ll be fine, I promise.”
We hiked up the hill for the next thirty minutes until her nervousness subsided, and she saw the view ahead. You could see the entire town from up there, and it looked exactly as if it were a winter wonderland postcard in real life. I watched her take it in for the first time as if I was experiencing it that way even though it was probably one of my favorite spots.
I went there often, especially when I needed to think. It was a great place to be alone. Not many people knew about it, and I wanted to keep it that way. It felt like our town always belonged to random tourists coming in and out.
She grabbed my arm, leaning her head against my shoulder, and we stayed there for a long time in silence. No words were needed between us.
It was already written in the sky and Christmas lights.