HOPE'S POV
I wake with a stretch, cringing as a few joints pop into place but overall satisfied with the after effects. I slowly slide out from under my warm covers and sway on the balls of my feet, walking over to my window and drawing the curtains back. To my surprise, the entire street is covered with at least a 2 inch thickness of snow, painting the roads, trees, grass, everything. I peer down and relief floods into my veins when I see my car isn't blocked in with snow.
I rub my arms up and down to gather some heat into them and grab a change of clothes heading to the bathroom, but interrupted by the sound of my phone dinging from my nightstand. I frown and take it off charge, unlocking it to discover a text from Josie.
JOSIE| 10:04 am
I found an available flight to Belgium for 980. Want me to send you the link to the website? You should be able to book it for the 27th and whatever you decide the day she'll return
HOPE| 10:04 am
That would be amazing, thank you
JOSIE| 10:04 am
It's coming through now
I see the link pop up and don't waste a second on clicking it. The page takes an unnecessary time to load but when it does, my heart pounds inside my chest as I skim over the offer.
Did I really want to spend almost a grand on some girl I met five days ago? The same girl whose breast I accidentally fondled, or who saved me from my ex-boyfriend, who people have a suspicion that I have a crush on.
Which I don't.
"Hope-" My dad walks into my room and startles me, my phone plops to the ground with a thud and I awkwardly turn around to face him.
"Was knocking a foreign concept in your day and age?" I grumble out a half sassed joke, disregarding the dropping of my phone and paying close attention to the object in his left hand.
He laughs cheekily and brings the object forward, I squint my eyes and notice it's a half decent wrapped present with a lopsided little bow on top. "What's this?"
"Merry Christmas, darling." He grins and hands me the box, pecking my head softly.
"We don't usually open gifts til tomorrow." I state, staring confusedly at the poorly wrapped gift. This is definitely all my dad's doing. Mom offered to give my dad lessons on how to wrap gifts neatly but he refused. I can never tell his gift wrapping apart from my cousin and he's still wearing a diaper.
"I know," he says, his eyes wide with enthusiasm. "But I couldn't wait any longer. Open it." He demands, bouncing on the pads of his feet.
The family tradition we have is to open presents on the 26th because dad's family comes over and we spend hours lounging around sipping hot cocoa. It started out as an accidental tradition because we slept through Christmas after returning home from New Orleans. It was a long day, don't judge. Every year since, we open presents the day after Christmas.
I shake my head with a growing smile, tearing open the teal paper and freezing as my fingers graze over the shiver of metal. "Dad.. this is beautiful." I hold up a necklace with a fancy M engraved into it.
"It's a family crest, cherish it." He explains in short, smiling lovingly at me as he insists on helping me put it on.
I jump into my dad's arms and he laughs, kissing the top of my head.
"Anyway, I have to give your mother a hand preparing our big meal later today." He says and steps back with a sheepish grin. "Did you manage to find that person a gift?" My mouth slacks open, realising I dropped my phone and rush to pick it up from the floor.
YOU ARE READING
Platonic My Ass - hizzie
FanfictionHope is forced into hiring a stranger who later becomes someone she refuses to admit she has developed a crush on. Hope has to keep her feelings on the down low due to the established policy that states co-workers are forbidden to date each other...
