Chapter Fifty-Two
Fifty-two
Scarlett
Winter break sneaks up faster than I want it to, and I’m still buried under a mountain of notes and flashcards, cramming for my last exam of the semester.
My hands are cramping from writing out practice essays, my coffee’s gone cold, and my brain feels like it’s melting.
The secret study room—the one tucked behind the library that barely anyone knows about except for me, Sierra, and the hockey guys—has become my second home.
I’m mid-breakdown over the next chapter when the door creaks open.
Sierra strolls in, smug as ever, with Dylan limping behind her, wearing a massive medical boot on his sprained ankle.
He takes one look at the room, pops an entire Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in his mouth, and mumbles something about a padded cell.
I glance around at the gray walls and terrible overhead lighting. He’s not wrong.
Sierra crosses her arms, eyeing the mess of papers and highlighters surrounding me. “We’ve been given strict orders to extract you from this room.”
Before I can protest, Dylan limps over, plops down on the edge of my table, and promptly closes my textbook and laptop like they belong to him.
He’s got his glasses on today, the ones he rarely wears unless he’s reading.
But for some reason, he’s been rocking them a lot more on the daily.
“Let’s go, Red. Your boyfriend’s got a surprise for you. ”
The word boyfriend still sends a thrill straight through my stomach, equal parts excitement and disbelief. I’ve never had one like Kian before. No one who looks at me the way he does, like I hung the damn moon.
I grab my sweater and let them drag me out.
We walk across campus, cutting through the crisp December air. The sidewalks are slick in places, but Dylan hobbles along, his arm slung dramatically over Sierra’s shoulders like she’s his human crutch.
“When did he even plan a surprise?” I ask, stuffing my frozen hands into my coat pockets. “I’ve been at the house basically every day. Unless Kian’s not sleeping.”
Sierra smiles. “You underestimate how sneaky these hockey players can be.”
“Figure skater, baby,” Dylan corrects.
We round the corner and the hockey house comes into view, completely decked out in what I can only describe as chaotic, questionably festive decorations.
Strings of mismatched lights flicker along the porch, half of them definitely from Halloween.
An inflatable Santa and reindeer sit on the lawn in a position I’m almost positive would get flagged by the city.
The other lawn decorations are a herd of crooked reindeer that look more like malnourished horses that stare lifelessly into the street.
“What am I looking at?” I blink.
“Holiday spirit,” Dylan deadpans, limping up the porch steps as Sierra unlocks the front door.
He leans all his weight on her, his arm slung over her shoulders.
Sierra doesn’t even flinch, adjusting her grip like it’s nothing, but I catch the twitch of her lips like she’s fighting off a smile.
He whispers something to her, and she rolls her eyes, trying to keep her poker face as they shuffle inside.
The front door swings open, and I freeze. My jaw drops.
The entire house is transformed. Fake snow dusts every surface, snowflakes hang from the ceiling on thin sparkly strings, and tiny trees and plastic elves line the entryway. I’m blinking in shock, and when I walk into the living room, I’m attacked with a tiny red and white popper.
I shriek, laughing and picking the confetti from my hair, just in time to see Kian standing there, wearing a Santa hat slightly crooked over his dark hair.
He twirls the spent party popper between his fingers. “I heard you like Christmas,” he says, his eyes dancing.
I can’t stop grinning as I walk toward him, shaking fake snow out of my hair. “You did all this?”
His arms loop around my waist, pulling me in until I’m pressed to his chest. “With the team’s help. And by help, I mean I blocked the exits and forced them to work.”
My heart feels like it’s swelling out of my ribs. His cheeks are flushed, his brown eyes softer than ever.
“Thank you,” I say quietly, tucking my hands into his jacket, feeling the warmth of him against me.
Kian brushes his nose against mine. “You didn’t think I’d let my tutor cram through exams without a distraction, did you? Besides…” He tugs me closer, voice low near my ear. “It’s our first Christmas, and I wanted to make up for all the ones we’ve missed.”
Sierra and Dylan shuffle past us, bickering about which of the decorations counts as a fire hazard, and somewhere down the hall, someone yells about the fake snow clogging the sink, but all I pay attention to is Kian.
I stand on my toes, pressing my mouth to his, smiling against his lips. “I’ll give an A plus.”
And for the first time in weeks, I let myself forget everything else and just be here. In this moment. It’s just us.