Page 13
Story: The Christmas Bet
He smiles. “Hello, Allison.” His low voice sends a shiver down my spine. My lips tingle like they remember his against them again.
“Conner. Hi.” My mouth runs dry, and I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “Um, please come in.” I step away from the door and let him walk inside my apartment.
“Here, these are of course for you.” He hands me the roses. His hand brushes against mine, my skin tingling from the contact.
“T-Thank you. Please, make yourself comfortable. Let me just put these in water.”
Conner nods and walks towards the living area. I turn on my heel and head into the kitchen. I lay the flowers down on the counter and then proceed to grip the edge of the counter and try to steady my heart.
Why does this feel so weird? There has never been a man that has made me feel so damn nervous around him. Yet here I am, awkward as fuck, like I’m some sixteen-year-old getting ready to go out on a date with the hot quarterback.Get a fucking grip, Allie.
Closing my eyes momentarily, I shake myself out of it. Once I regain my composure, I reach up into the cabinet and pull out a red vase, then fill it with water to place the roses in. Leaning in, I take a moment to literally stop and smell the roses. With the vase in my hands, I head out to the living area and see that Conner has found himself over by my ornaments.
I place the roses on my coffee table and turn back towards him. “Sorry for the mess. I was going to put my tree and decorations up tonight, but that was before we had plans.”
“So, I’m keeping you from putting the tree up?” Conner furrows his brows and frowns.
“No, that’s—”
“Well, we need to rectify that.” He walks over to the box with my tree and starts to unpack it.
“Wait, what are you doing?” I stare at him, my mouth falling open.
“We’re decorating your tree and apartment. What does it look like?” He chuckles.
“Don’t we have reservations?” I step closer to him.
“Yes, with takeout and a tree to decorate. Look, I don’t really care what we do as long as I get to spend time with you. If you really want to, we can go out and eat. Or we can order in and get festive.” He waggles his eyebrows.
I giggle and place a hand on my cheek. It’s hot to the touch, and I know I’m blushing. “Okay, I guess let’s put up the tree then. What do you want to order?”
“Don’t worry, I got it.” Conner pulls out his phone and spends a couple of minutes tapping away before putting it in his back pocket. “Pizza’s on the way.”
“Wait, I didn’t tell you what I’d like.” I frown.
“Trust me, you’ll like what I ordered.” His lips turn up into a beautiful smile, and he winks at me. Wow, this man really is cocky. Conner pulls out the three individual pieces of the tree and begins to assemble them. “Pre-lit?”
“Yep. Makes it easy to put up and put away. Also, I’m horrible at untangling the big knot of lights. You put them away all nice and neat, but somehow when you’re not looking, they transform into the world’s biggest ball of shiny tangles. So, two years ago, after drinking a bottle of wine and crying myself to sleep on the floor while I tried my hardest to detangle the lights, I went out and got that one.” I smile up at him.
He lets out a hearty laugh and places the last piece on the top. “Got it. No stringing lights for you. We’ll keep it simple.” He bends down and plugs it in to the outlet. The tree lights up with sparkling white lights strewn on each branch. Immediately, I feel the excitement in my bones; this is the best time of year. I notice him standing there idly for a moment before turning to look at me.
“What’s wrong?” I look over at him.
“We’re missing something. Ah! I know!” He pulls out his phone and within seconds,It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Yearby Andy Williams is playing. My face breaks out into a wide grin.
Conner grabs my hand and pulls me into him. On contact, my body comes alive against his. The air around us practically crackles. My breathing quickens, and my heart begins to race in my chest. He begins to pull me around the room, dancing with me. My face hurts from the giggling and smiling, and my heart feels like it’s grown two sizes bigger.
Conner leans in and softly brushes his lips against my forehead. I let out a gasp as soon as he makes contact. His finger comes up to my chin, tilting my head so that my eyes meet his. Slowly, he presses his lips to mine, making me let out a soft moan. My lips tingle from softness of his.
“Allison,” he whispers against me before he devours my mouth, his tongue pushing past my lips to dance with mine.
My arms wrap around his neck, pulling him in closer to me, my fingers grazing against his skin. Without warning, a loud knock at the door startles us, and I jump back out of his grasp.
“I’ve never hated pizza more than I do now,” he growls as he shakes his head and heads to the door. I stay planted where I am only because my legs are like Jell-O and I’m pretty sure I’d fall flat on my face.
Conner comes back with the box and throws it onto the coffee table, pausing for a moment. There’s a fire in his eyes. They’ve darkened, and I can see a deep intensity in them. Without warning, he stalks towards me, and I swear I hear what sounds like a snarl right before his lips come down on mine.
My hands grab his shirt and fist it as I try to keep myself from falling. His arms wrap around me as he picks me up and carries me straight to my bed.
“Conner. Hi.” My mouth runs dry, and I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “Um, please come in.” I step away from the door and let him walk inside my apartment.
“Here, these are of course for you.” He hands me the roses. His hand brushes against mine, my skin tingling from the contact.
“T-Thank you. Please, make yourself comfortable. Let me just put these in water.”
Conner nods and walks towards the living area. I turn on my heel and head into the kitchen. I lay the flowers down on the counter and then proceed to grip the edge of the counter and try to steady my heart.
Why does this feel so weird? There has never been a man that has made me feel so damn nervous around him. Yet here I am, awkward as fuck, like I’m some sixteen-year-old getting ready to go out on a date with the hot quarterback.Get a fucking grip, Allie.
Closing my eyes momentarily, I shake myself out of it. Once I regain my composure, I reach up into the cabinet and pull out a red vase, then fill it with water to place the roses in. Leaning in, I take a moment to literally stop and smell the roses. With the vase in my hands, I head out to the living area and see that Conner has found himself over by my ornaments.
I place the roses on my coffee table and turn back towards him. “Sorry for the mess. I was going to put my tree and decorations up tonight, but that was before we had plans.”
“So, I’m keeping you from putting the tree up?” Conner furrows his brows and frowns.
“No, that’s—”
“Well, we need to rectify that.” He walks over to the box with my tree and starts to unpack it.
“Wait, what are you doing?” I stare at him, my mouth falling open.
“We’re decorating your tree and apartment. What does it look like?” He chuckles.
“Don’t we have reservations?” I step closer to him.
“Yes, with takeout and a tree to decorate. Look, I don’t really care what we do as long as I get to spend time with you. If you really want to, we can go out and eat. Or we can order in and get festive.” He waggles his eyebrows.
I giggle and place a hand on my cheek. It’s hot to the touch, and I know I’m blushing. “Okay, I guess let’s put up the tree then. What do you want to order?”
“Don’t worry, I got it.” Conner pulls out his phone and spends a couple of minutes tapping away before putting it in his back pocket. “Pizza’s on the way.”
“Wait, I didn’t tell you what I’d like.” I frown.
“Trust me, you’ll like what I ordered.” His lips turn up into a beautiful smile, and he winks at me. Wow, this man really is cocky. Conner pulls out the three individual pieces of the tree and begins to assemble them. “Pre-lit?”
“Yep. Makes it easy to put up and put away. Also, I’m horrible at untangling the big knot of lights. You put them away all nice and neat, but somehow when you’re not looking, they transform into the world’s biggest ball of shiny tangles. So, two years ago, after drinking a bottle of wine and crying myself to sleep on the floor while I tried my hardest to detangle the lights, I went out and got that one.” I smile up at him.
He lets out a hearty laugh and places the last piece on the top. “Got it. No stringing lights for you. We’ll keep it simple.” He bends down and plugs it in to the outlet. The tree lights up with sparkling white lights strewn on each branch. Immediately, I feel the excitement in my bones; this is the best time of year. I notice him standing there idly for a moment before turning to look at me.
“What’s wrong?” I look over at him.
“We’re missing something. Ah! I know!” He pulls out his phone and within seconds,It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Yearby Andy Williams is playing. My face breaks out into a wide grin.
Conner grabs my hand and pulls me into him. On contact, my body comes alive against his. The air around us practically crackles. My breathing quickens, and my heart begins to race in my chest. He begins to pull me around the room, dancing with me. My face hurts from the giggling and smiling, and my heart feels like it’s grown two sizes bigger.
Conner leans in and softly brushes his lips against my forehead. I let out a gasp as soon as he makes contact. His finger comes up to my chin, tilting my head so that my eyes meet his. Slowly, he presses his lips to mine, making me let out a soft moan. My lips tingle from softness of his.
“Allison,” he whispers against me before he devours my mouth, his tongue pushing past my lips to dance with mine.
My arms wrap around his neck, pulling him in closer to me, my fingers grazing against his skin. Without warning, a loud knock at the door startles us, and I jump back out of his grasp.
“I’ve never hated pizza more than I do now,” he growls as he shakes his head and heads to the door. I stay planted where I am only because my legs are like Jell-O and I’m pretty sure I’d fall flat on my face.
Conner comes back with the box and throws it onto the coffee table, pausing for a moment. There’s a fire in his eyes. They’ve darkened, and I can see a deep intensity in them. Without warning, he stalks towards me, and I swear I hear what sounds like a snarl right before his lips come down on mine.
My hands grab his shirt and fist it as I try to keep myself from falling. His arms wrap around me as he picks me up and carries me straight to my bed.