Skipping Christmas #5
“Hey. You look good. Damn.” Micah leans down and lightly kisses me on the lips. Things are still fresh and new, but I like it. I’d like it a lot more if something weren’t clearly bothering him.
“Come on in. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” he groans. Clearly, it’s not nothing. He steps out of his sneakers and scrubs his hand over his face. “Actually, it’s something. I want to talk to you about it, but I don’t want it to kill the mood or Christmas.”
“Are you dying? Did you cheat on me already?”
“No,” he says with a dry chuckle.
“Here, come sit down.” We move to the living room and I notice then that he has a small gift bag in his hand.
Setting it down on the coffee table, he takes a seat, dwarfing my pink couch.
I sit down beside him, sliding into his personal space, where the cushions dip under our weight.
I can feel the warmth and the stress coming off him. “What’s going on?” I try again.
He sighs then turns to face me. “I had to block Bria today.”
“Okay,” I say with a cringe. “What happened?”
“She just sent me a video from Jaeda, saying that she misses me. It was weird and it pissed me off.”
“Ugh, I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure Jaeda misses me on some level, but I’m not her dad and it’s better if she has space to forget about me. I do not want to have any relationship with her mom.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine how tricky that is,” I reply. There’s a small siren sounding in the back of my mind, and I’m praying it doesn’t get louder as this conversation goes on. “I have to be honest.”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t—I don’t want drama with Bria. I like you. I’m starting to like you a lot, but I’m not a drama girl. I like to keep things cute, light, and breezy. That’s why I don’t want to live near my mom. Her middle name is drama.”
“No, that’s why I like you. I don’t want that either. And that’s why I blocked her. I was having a good day. Got back from scooping up your gift for eight dollars and seventy-eight cents after taxes. I want to eat you and your cookies,” he says, a little smile finally peeking out.
“Micah,” I tease, pressing a scandalized hand to my cleavage. “Please. Santa can probably hear you.”
“He knows what I’m about. I want to say something, and I don’t want it to sound fucked-up.”
“Go for it.”
“The last two years have been… not good, but something shifted, like right when you admitted that you didn’t know my name.
I never wanted to step out on Bria, but that didn’t stop me from noticing you.
Noticing your smile every time I saw you.
When I ran into you the other day, it felt like there was a reason I didn’t move out right when Bria left and I should have.
I don’t need a two bedroom, but something told me to stick around.
I know it’s big talk for date two, but that’s just how I feel.
I’m moving on in all the other important ways and it was important for me to move on and meet someone like you. ”
I swallow, sudden raw emotion clogging my voice. He’s said everything I’ve been thinking. It’s new, but it’s been two years, really. For two years I’ve been wishing I could find someone kind and thoughtful like him, someone who wants to know me and take care of me in all the ways I’ll let him.
“Me or someone like me?” I ask.
“You. The cookies are really good and I want to know about the chemistry of acrylic and adhesive glue, and I still wanna see the sketchbooks you mentioned last night at dinner. I don’t want Bria to mess that up, no matter how much I miss the kid.”
“Okay,” I reply. “So we won’t.” I stand from the couch and go to grab his gift off the kitchen counter, shutting off the oven on my way back.
Those cookies will have to wait. I hand him the gift bag, then sit back down, closer this time, so my knee is pressed against his thigh.
With his strong grip, he shifts me so my legs are draped over his lap.
“It was seven dollars and thirty-eight cents after tax.”
I watch Micah’s face as he pulls a cheap stethoscope out of the bag. “I don’t think that thing is truly medical grade, but I think vets use them. You can keep it as a reminder of where you’re trying to go while you’re in school.”
His brows pull together as he nods. “Thank you.”
“Sure,” I say.
He reaches toward the table and hands me the gift he brought. “It’s nothing much.”
I take it, shocked at how heavy it is. Reaching inside, I freeze as soon as my hand brushes the cool metal. I pull out the gold-plated teddy bear bag charm and cradle it in my palm.
“Um, I think this is over the ten-dollar limit. You went back to the mall?”
Micah shrugs. “I think you’re worth it.”
I shift my weight until I’m straddling his lap.
I lean in to kiss him, slowly, sinfully, shivering as Micah wraps his hands around my waist. This is definitely not where I thought a trip to the mailboxes would lead me, but I have to thank Santa with all my heart, and all the sprinkles still waiting in my pantry, for bringing this man to me.
I may never go home for Christmas again.