Jess’ POV
A soft tap caused me to stir awake. In my dream I thought it was Aston at my front door, coming to apologize again for forgetting about me at the party. “No…” I mumbled, “Its not him.” A louder tap woke me up completely and I sat up quickly, spotting a figure outside my car. I wasn’t sure if I should scream or be relieved but a split second later I caught their eyes with my own and my heart melted. “Ast!” I said, unlocking the door so he could slide in.
“God you’re ok,” he said, wrapping his arm around me in a tight hug, “Natalie is so worried about you! As was I!” “Sorry,” I said, “There wasn’t much I could do about this.”
“I’m just glad you’re safe.” I snuggled up against him as he kept me in his hold, my whole body shivering. It was damn cold in my car! “You’re freezing!” Aston whispered. “I know.” “We should get out of here.”
“How?” I asked, “My car won’t even start. I’m afraid it’s officially dead.”
“I’ll drive silly,” Aston said, “We’ll call for someone to tow your car tomorrow.”
“But… Christmas?”
“I’ll have you home in time, don’t worry,” he said, squeezing me tight.
I wrapped an arm around him and hugged him back. Here was the Aston I loved, the caring boy from my childhood that teased me like crazy but was there when I needed him. Wait, loved? Where had that come from? “Let’s go,” Aston whispered, pushing the car door open again. I grabbed my things and shoved them back in my bag and then slid out, making sure to pass him the bag of gifts out of the boot of my car. “Ast the roads look awful, I don’t think we can make it home in this,” I said staring down the country lane. “I know,” he sighed, “There’s a main road two miles back, we’ll go back to that and see if we can find a place to sleep tonight, is that ok?” “Yeah.” “We’ll have to suffer through traffic on the motorway tomorrow.”
“As long as we’re home for Christmas,” I replied, shivering again. Aston helped me get into his car, passing me a blanket to wrap up in and blasting the heat. “I’ve got a hot drink too,” he added, pointing towards the thermos, “At least I hope it’s hot.” “It’s really thoughtful,” I said, taking the thermos and having a sip. It was still rather warm and it went down a treat, my insides beginning to warm up. “Want a sip?” “It’s yours,” Aston said, his eyes stuck on the road. He made his way carefully back down the road and then pulled onto a bigger road, following signs to a Travelodge that wasn’t far away. “Hopefully they have a room,” he said. “I’m sure they do.” We grabbed our things and went to the front desk of the hotel, securing a room with two double beds. As soon as we put the key in the door I dug out my phone charger from my purse, plugging it in and scanning through the missed calls and texts on my phone. First I called my family, telling them I was safe and I’d hopefully be home the next morning. And then I called Natalie. “Oh god, you’re ok!” she sighed, “Aston texted that he found you but I was worried you’d both get trapped in the snow.”
“We’re at a Travelodge,” I replied. “Sexy.” “Nat…”
“It’s just very cute, you two trapped in a hotel together like this.”
“We’ve got two beds,” I muttered. “Still… Adult sleepovers are the best.”
“Well you’re the worst,” I said, “I’ll call in the morning.”
“Perfect, I want details.”
“Shut up,” I mumbled, “Thanks for looking out for me.”
“I couldn’t leave you trapped on Christmas.”
“Love you Nat,” I said, hanging up. I turned to look at Aston who was lying on one of the beds, smirking slightly. “Don’t even start,” I warned.
“What’s Nat saying?”
“What she always says.”
“Which is?” he prompted.
“That you better not get any funny ideas.” “Yeah ok,” Aston said, “You hungry? There’s a little restaurant across the car park, we can go get dinner.” “Ok,” I said with a nod of the head. We bundled up and ventured back out into the snow, pushing our way into a little corner pub. It had a roaring fire and there were a few people sat at the bar with huge glasses of beer. I turned to look at Aston and smiled gently. There weren’t any celebrities or fangirls here… Maybe I’d finally get the quiet alone time with him I’d tried to have on more than one occasion?
