Warning: long chapter.
Frankie's point of view:
"Wake up! Auntie Frankie, wake up!"
A strangled groan growls from the pit of my throat as I squirm deeper into the thick, striped comforter. Her tiny little hands tug to strip it from me, grunting as she uses all her strength to pull it back. With strands of hair shielding my eyes, I squint at the beaming little smile that greeted me with sheer excitement. I yawn, stretching my arms out as Vivian bouncing on the spot.
"Santa came! He came!" She yelps in glee, eyes shining and cheeks pinching. "Come on! Quick, quick!"
I let her haul me from the bed, laughing as she barely lets me have a minute to slip on the fluffy slippers by the door. Growing up, Flo and I anxiously sat on the stairs for our parents to gather themselves after we bundle into their room and bounce on top of their bed - usually it involved being dragged down and tickled until we couldn't see, so it wasn't a surprise when I found my family sitting at the bottom.
"Wait, where's Jason?"
Dad chuckles and nods his head towards the closed living room door. "Wait and see."
Bouncing by his side, Vivian almost knocks him over as she rushes past him and lets out a squeal of excitement. She launches onto her knees, hands hovering over the wrapped presents that surround the tree but she doesn't dare to touch yet. She stares up at Flo and Paul who laugh and crawl to the floor beside her, fishing through the gifts and glancing at name tags to present her with her first gift.
"Where's Jason?" I asked dad again. He nods to the kitchen, his eyes still focused on his precious granddaughter who gasps as she pulls out a veterinary barbie from the wrapping. I wander through to the kitchen, following the glorious smell like a sniffer dog. "Jason?"
"Morning." He says. Back turned to me, I can't see until he turn with plate in hand and a mountain of fluffy pancakes that almost made the drool seep from my mouth. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas - what's all this?"
"I thought I would make breakfast." He shrugs. "My Christmas gift, I suppose."
He sets the plate in the middle of the table before following me through to the living room. The floor was already getting covered in ripped paper, camouflaging the carpet and pooling around Vivian's small body. She tears through her presents with ease, taking only a few seconds to thank the person who was on the gift tag before ripping into the next.
After all the gifts were opened - Vivian scooting up and down the living room on her new scooter, Flo still speechless over her vacation to London and dad inspecting his new tool kit - Jason and I returned the empty plates to the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher as his phone rings. Frowning unintentionally, I force myself to pucker a smile as he excuses himself.
Another business call.
"Have you gave Jason his gift yet?" Flo asks, appearing at my side with tickets still clutched in hand.
I shake my head, "I was planning to after this - but he seems a bit caught up again. God, how is it so hard just to forget about work for one day? I know it's his business, I get that, but he seen the way his mother is when his dad is solely focused on work - why would he want to be like that?"
She smiles sympathetically, "Maybe he has a good reason."
Doubtful.
Jason returns shoving his phone back into his pocket as Flo pats my shoulder. Muttering something inheritable between each other before he approaches me with his dimples showing.
I narrow my eyes, "Why are you smiling like the cat from Alice in Wonderland?"
He snorts a laugh, "You'll see." Taking a few steps backwards, my feet follow him curiously to the living room. "Hey Frank, I think there's someone out front."
Dad was just as bewildered as me but nevertheless rises to his feet. Jason holds me by the shoulders, gliding his thumb over the exposed skin on my neck as he pushes me out behind my dad.
"Holy good fu-"
"Dad!"
He couldn't finish his sentence and he was at risk of lockjaw as it swung open. Stumbling beside him, my mouth also fell open just as wide at the remarkable and surprising view of the brand new and perfectly polished 2019 Harley-Davidson. The one he wanted.
"How? Who?" Dad's spits out in shock. His heavy steps trudge through the snow and he cautiously reaches the handles with a feather touch. Flo giggles with Paul as I turn towards Jason with wide eyes.
He winks and I stumble, "Did you do this?"
"I have connections." He shrugs with a shy smile.
Dad hurries to hide his new baby in the garage and away from the harsh winter weather, leaving the rest of us to scurry inside to warm up our icy hands. Vivian returns to her toys whilst Flo and Paul escape to the kitchen to get a start on dinner.
"Why?" I ask Jason as he looks on at Vivian with a faint smile. I sit on the arm of the couch beside him. "That bike costs a fortune, and how did you manage to get it so quick? I only told you about it yesterday."
"I told you, I have connections." He jokes. "The price doesn't matter."
"It does when it's for my dad." I tell him. "Why?"
He shrugs. "I saw how much you wanted to get him it - I knew you couldn't be willing to take on extra shifts just because you liked work. There had to be a reason. Think of it as my Christmas present to you, to him." He holds up a finger. "There's also something else - Vivian, can you get that gift there sitting n the tree branch for me?"
Vivian bounces to her feet, fishing the slim square box from inside the tree and passing it to Jason. In gold paper, he twiddles with it nervously before handing it out to me. "No! No, Jason - you have gave me enough already! No."
"Just open it, Miss Fields." He rasps with a deep chuckle. I gulp and nod, slowly unwrapping the paper and revealing the black velvet box. A teardrop diamond on a thin silver chain rested perfectly atop of the cushion, the light reflecting from the stone and creating a beautiful rainbow sparkle.
"It's beautiful." I whisper breathlessly. "It's so beautiful, but I didn't need this - I didn't need anything."
"No, but I needed it." His barely audible voice replies. He clears his throat, "It's only something small."
"It doesn't need to be any bigger." I reply. I snap the box shut, sending him a smile and holding up a finger before I dart upstairs to the guest room I had slept in. Rummaging through my overnight bag, I find the gift and race quickly back downstairs, returning to my space. "Here - Merry Christmas."
He eyes the navy blue wrapping in my hand. "Frankie, I didn't want anything."
Poking my tongue out mockingly, he chuckles beneath his breath and begins to carefully peel back the careful wrapping. I bite my lower lip anxiously, squeezing my fingers together tightly in anticipation. He lifts the lid on the brown leather box and gazes down at his new gift - silently.
I clear my throat. "I know it's not really much, I didn't exactly know what to buy a person that has everything but well; I noticed you always wore that broken watch, and I'm not exactly sure why you haven't got a new one - not that it was any of my business either way, but I thought that maybe if I got you one that you could swap them. Unless you don't want too then I can always take it back -"
"It's perfect, Frankie." He interrupts in a gentle and slightly awed tone. He removes the round face from the package, rubbing his thumb across the black leather strap and copper detail. "My grandfather always told me that you never buy yourself a watch because if you did, you were giving yourself a time limit on life. He said a person who gifts you a watch means that your time together means something to them."
His softened eyes find mine and a hole was burnt through to my soul.
He clears his throat, turning back to my gift. "He was a very superstitious man."
Also a very wise man, clearly.
After Christmas lunch that Flo and I cooked, dad was desperate to go back to his bike but persuaded himself to stay indoors with us and it wasn't long before the rest of the company to join.
"Hannah, Tommy - this is Jason. Jason, my best friend and her boyfriend." I introduce them. "So how come you finally came home?"
"This one wanted to come." Hannah replies, nudging Tommy with her elbow. "It's going to be fun showing him around for the next few weeks. We're staying until after New Years!"
"Do you guys do much on New Years Eve?" Jason asks curiously.
"We haven't celebrated New Year together since college." I reply. "I'm not one to exactly party either."
"You never have been." Hannah jokes. "We should all do something! We can go to Times Square - Tommy's never been and has never seen the ball drop aside from on tv, I think it'll be fun. What do you say?"
Jason looks down at me and I shrug. "I'm up for it, are you?"
He smiles. "Count me in."
Since being young, arguments over board games were natural whether it be over the money in monopoly or words in scrabble, so it was no surprised when voices began to rise over a game of charades.
"Three words - first word, the; second word, strongest, strong, big, muscles-"
I giggle at Paul's dramatic performance to express the movie he was trying to reenact. Jason's body wracked with laughter, shaking mine with our close proximity, as he takes a swig from the beer bottle in hand.
"The Greatest Showman, Jesus I thought you would have gotten that one, Frankie!" Paul puffs, flailing his arms in the arm in defeat. He chucks himself beside Flo whose laughter tears stain her cheeks.
"Okay Tommy, you're next." Hannah's mother, Jessica, excitedly announces. Her eyes held a sparkle as Tommy nervously climbs to his feet. He holds up 4 fingers listening to the chorus ring out before he reaches to his pocket and lowers himself on one knee.
Holy mother of God.
"There's not a day that goes by without me wishing you were my wife, and i want that wish to come true. Please, Hannah Elizabeth Roberts, will you marry me?"
A emotional sob strangled her vocal cords but she nods again and again, not taking a second to launch towards her now fiance and almost football tackled him into the open fire.
The happy couple were overwhelmed by congratulations and Tommy had finally regained the colour in his cheeks and his shaking had subsided. I grip Hannah tightly into a hug, listening to her squeal a sob in my ear.
"Did you know about this?" She cries, wiping beneath her eyes.
"No!" I laugh. "Even if I did, I wouldn't have told you - you deserve this, Hannah."
"You know what this means?" She says, her red cheeks pinching as her lips stretch wide. "Wedding planning! We have so much to do - where do we even start?"
"Calm down." I remind her as her eyes widen. "We have plenty of time, there's no need to rush. You should start with a guest list though, to know how many people are invited before getting a venue just in case you book somewhere that's too small."
"Well that's easy, immediate family and friends only." She states. "Jason will come, won't he?"
I stare in shock. "You want Jason to come?"
"Of course." She says, gently sighing a moment after. "Frank, I've never seen you so happy. I know you keeping telling me that you and he are nothing but friends, work-colleagues or whatever other bullshit you want to spin but I'm not buying it. If you were all those things and there wasn't any feelings you wouldn't be sitting so close, you wouldn't be smiling at him constantly, you wouldn't be blushing every time he speaks to you and you certainly wouldn't be staring at him like he's the last cupcake in the store. You like him, it's obvious and it's nothing to be ashamed off."
"No, but he is my boss."
She rolls her eyes. "Listen to yourself - do you think he cares? Frankie, the man gave you a necklace with a bigger price tag than people can fathom. He bought your dad a motorcycle just because he knew how much it meant to you. He is spending the holidays with you, he's sharing his home with you - fuck it Frankie, the man is practically in love with you!"
I hush her furiously with narrowed eyes. "Will you stop! You're acting insane - listen, I love you like your blood but you can't just say stuff like that."
"And I love you but you need to open your eyes." She huffs sternly, she takes her eyes of me and refocuses on Jason. He was beside the Christmas tree, hands in pockets and speaking deeply to dad, undoubtedly about his new bike. Feeling beady eyes upon him, he turns away from a second and finds me. My cheeks flame with his soft smile and Hannah's taunting laughter made me growl. "And you say there's nothing there."
| | |
During mom's chemo days, she found comfort sitting on the rocking chair on our front porch. She read a book, wrote letters or simply just sat and listened to the crickets late at night. I often sat with her until my eyes could no longer stay open and dad had to carry me up the creaky staircase to my pokey little bedroom Flo and I shared for years. Sitting here, in the spot that she loved, brought me a blanket of warmth - like she was here.
"Hey." His soft sounding voice greets as he appears behind the screen door. He shivers in the cold air but leans his lower-half of his body against the railing. "Hannah said you might be out here."
I smile weakly. "Yeah - sorry, I usually escape out here when I'm home." I push back and forth on my heels. "Thank you for doing what you did today for my dad. I haven't seen him that happy in years."
"It was nothing." He shrugs. "I don't think I've been this happy in years either. I've actually felt like a part of something today; so thank you."
"I aim to please."
He chuckles. "That you do, Miss Fields." He voice drowns out slightly and he clears his throat. "I just wanted to come and see if you were okay, you seemed a bit quiet."
"I'm fine." I reassure him. When I made my escape outside, Hannah's words drove me to it. How could she so openly say that Jason was in love with me? How could she say something so ludicrous?
My feelings towards Jason was smartly hidden. In a locked, weather-proof box way way deep down in my chest surrounded by padding and put inside another bomb proof box never to be fished out and exposed. But I knew these feelings. I knew I had them, but nobody else could. Especially Jason.
"We should go inside." I speak, clearing my throat. My constricting chest made me aware that the thoughts I was having was getting to a danger point and where boarder line of spilling. Something that couldn't happen. I pick myself up from the chair, avoiding Jason's confused gaze and rush to open the porch door.
He stopped me.
His hand holds my wrist, halting me completely like I was cemented in concrete. The warmth creeps behind me as he encloses into my personal space, slowly tugging me ninety degrees to face him. My lowered gaze slowly lifts from his chest to the neatly stubble jaw to the hypnotising and twinkling eyes.
"Stop running." He mutters. So deeply, so darkly. I feel his fingers leave my wrist, travelling the length of my arm and creating a trail of warm destruction until he touches my jaw. I can't tear my eyes away from his even though he looks everywhere else bar mine. Skimming every feature from forehead to chin, he drinks in my pale complexion before meeting my eyes. "You're so beautiful, Frankie."
My heart felt like it would com-bust, lathering us both in blood and guts. I forgot how to breathe, I forgot how to speak, I forgot how to function completely. But I couldn't forget what he just said. He thought I was beautiful even when I stood in front of him with bunny rabbit slippers and oily makeup. I lower my head in embarrassment, tugging the sleeves of my cardigan over my hands before the uncontrollable thumping of my rapid beating heart speeds even more.
Was this healthy?
He grabs my chin between index finger and thumb, easing my head back upwards to look at him. His eyebrows were slightly knitted together, but his eyes remained shining. They flickered from eyes to lips, back and forth, back and forth.
"Jason."
He hushes me gently, his fingers dancing with a strand of my hair and twisting it back behind my ear. "Look up, Frankie."
Confused by his words, I followed his instructions.
Mistletoe.
Hooked above the screen door, with a red bow tying them together hung two pieces of mistletoe. My chest heaves in desperation and my rigid body seizes in shock. This couldn't be happening. It can't. I can feel the bolts from the boxes starting to loosen as the excited feelings begin to bounce in attempt to break free.
I panic, "Jason -"
He shakes his head, running his calloused thumb beneath my lower lip. "Let me end this perfect day with something even better - please."
I don't speak. I don't move. I don't think I even breathed.
His movements were slow and suddenly, everything didn't matter. The icy air that began to drop droplets of snow, didn't matter. The laughter and chatter that was behind the door began to drown out.
It was just us.
The tingles washes over me as he leans forward, still flicking her eyes between my eyes and gaping mouth. Our noses touches sending another record of bolts flashing down my spine. Please don't let anybody interrupt us this time.
With a hand cupping my jaw and thumb sweeping gently across my cheek, my eyes instinctively flutters closed and the thumping echoes through my ears. Like a teasing, tickling feather his lips ever-so-gently brushes against mine.
Just then - the box exploded.
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FINALLY! It's only took twenty-five chapters lol, sorry not sorryyyyyy.
Anyway, I have been thinking long and hard about this story and well, I've decided that this story will be coming to a end in the next 10-15 chapters BUT I am willing to do a sequel if you guys would like that?
I already have plans for the sequel involving tons of drama, so please if you would read the sequel then please let me know in the comments.
Also a big shout out to the two lovely readers; user84714104 & jimin-ssi3 for the sweet messages!
Please comment and vote xoxo