A Tough Choice

Chapter Twelve

Eventually we broke apart and I smiled up at him. His cheeks slowly turning red.

"You can take that as a yes." I chuckled.

He grinned at me happily.

"I should give you a lift home." he said.

"No I'm fine." I told him.

"You're not waiting for a train in the dark." he insisted as he took my hand and led me to his car.

I smiled at him, I loved how sweet he was.

A few days later Christmas had finally arrived. I dressed quickly and made my way downstairs. I smiled as I heard a knock at the door. I quickly opened it and let Ethan in.

"You've come prepared." I said as I saw him holding some very full bags.

"Wouldn't be Christmas without gifts." he said as he stepped inside.

"I thought we agreed no gifts." I told him sternly.

He shrugged and quickly placed some presents under the tree.

"Hi Koda." he said as Koda rubbed against his legs.

"You've got a friend there." I smiled.

He looked up and smiled at me.

"I'm going to make Christmas dinner for you." he announced randomly.

"I don't have a turkey." I admitted.

"Good job I brought one then." he grinned as he walked into the kitchen and pulled one out of the bag.

"Oh my god it's huge!" I exclaimed when I saw it.

He shrugged.

"You sure it's not an eagle." I giggled.

He looked at me for a moment, a serious expression on his face before we both burst out laughing.

"Even if it is I'll still make it taste good." he said still laughing.

"I'll hold you to that Dr Hardy." I winked.

"Go and find something to do for an hour and I'll have everything sorted." he told me.

I sat in the lounge reading a book when I suddenly heard a crash from the kitchen. I jumped off the sofa and ran into the kitchen. I gasped as I saw a tray on the floor, vegetables everywhere. I glanced at Koda as I saw him eating the vegetables. I quickly picked him up and shut him out of the room.

I quickly bent down beside Ethan and helped him pick up the vegetables. I couldn't help but notice how flustered he looked. His usual neat hair was ruffled, and sweat was running down his brow.

"You okay?" I asked him.

He nodded slowly.

"Don't worry, we'll make do without the veg." I reassured him.

"It's not about the food, I was trying to impress you." he admitted.

I stared at him, I had no idea what to say.

I frowned as I strange smell hit my nostrils.

"What's that smell?" I said, wrinkling my nose.

He quickly opened the oven and gasped as smoke came out, steaming up his glasses. I sighed sadly as he removed the blackened turkey.

"I give up." he sighed as he sat on the floor, his back against the kitchen cupboards. I shuffled over and sat next to him.

"Sorry." he said quietly.

"It's fine, you don't need to get worked up about things." I told him.

"I can't help it." he said.

"I know." I whispered.

"This is kind of our first date, I wanted to do something nice for you." he stated.

"I appreciate that, but spending time together is enough for me." I said gently.

He smiled at me.

"C'mon, we'll find something else to eat." I said as I elbowed him gently in the ribs.
After some rummaging in the cupboard I eventually found some ready meals. Once we had eaten we sat together on the sofa. I curled up next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. He seemed nervous and uncomfortable to start with but eventually he relaxed.

"Shall we play a game?" I suggested.

"Like what?" he answered.

"Let's ask each other questions we've always wanted to know. You start." I told him.

"Okay." he said, thinking for a moment.

"Why aren't you spending Christmas with your family?" he asked eventually.

"I'm an only child." I told him.

"Really?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah." I nodded.

He stayed silent for a moment.

"What about parents?" he asked nervously.

"I never met them, I was raised in care." I said quietly.

"Wow." he breathed.

"I didn't realise." he added.

"It's fine I'm over it." I told him.

He watched me closely a concerned expression on his handsome features.

"Your turn." he smiled.

I opened my mouth to speak but stopped when I heard a knock at the door. I glanced at Ethan before quickly standing up.

"Caleb!" I gasped as I opened the door.

"Is Ethan here, I need to speak to him." he said shortly.