Risky Decisions

Chapter 89: Something Safe and Sure

"when you hold me close
all the stars explode
i won't let you go
i won't let you, i won't let you go"
(William Bolton).

|◁ II ▷|

My eyes drift open, light from Valen's big window pulling me prematurely out of sleep. I blink and pat around for my phone, feeling disoriented. I find it still in my pocket, and I pull it out.

8:52.

Oh, my word. It's Christmas!

I glance over at Valen, prepared to wake him in my excitement, but I pause when I see him cuddled up next to me.

His large arms are wrapped around my waist, and his face is pressed into my neck still. I can feel his soft breaths, and I fall into contentment.

I take a quick picture of his sleeping head in my neck before texting Rachel and Amber the events of the previous evening along with a quick Christmas greeting.

Rachel responds quickly, full of excitement and joy, which only fuels my joy. She asks about coming over this morning to talk since they do Christmas Eve and not so much Christmas, but I have to tell her I'm not home.

That only leads to some very suggestive comments from Rachel I have to reread, surprised they're coming from her.

A muffled groan tickles my neck, and I try to move away. Valen's arms pull me closer, and I feel a smile against my neck. After a moment, he pulls back with a pleased smile. I allow my fingers to lightly thread through his hair, a small smile finding its way to my face.

"I like this," he mumbles, his voice gravelly.

I kiss his cheek. "I do, too. I also like Christmas. And breakfast. And getting up so I can pee."

Valen releases me from his hold, and after I use the bathroom, we walk downstairs for breakfast, his arm over my shoulder and my hand holding his. Rikkard is up, much to my surprise, and he's already going through the presents, Helen and Lionel watching from the couch with bemused expressions.

Rikkard whoops very loudly when he sees us, dropping a box beside him before hobbling at us at his current top speed. I try to protest and flee, but since Valen's arm is over my shoulder, I'm stuck. Rikkard crashes into us, and Valen barely keeps us upright.

"Is it official? Is it?" Rikkard demands.

"Yes!" Valen laughs, pushing him away. "Yeah. I asked her last night."

I very awkwardly give Helen and Lionel a hug when they hold out their arms, smiles on their faces. Valen gently pulls me away from them as Helen gushes about how Valen told them he loved me and how in awe he was when he talked about me, which blows my face up like a nuclear explosion.

I escape to the kitchen for a glass of water as the gushing calms down so I can try to cool my red face off. I call my mom and make sure she knows where I'm at, and she tells me that West already told her everything and that we'll do presents after lunch.

When I return, Rikkard and Valen seem to be sorting the presents into piles. I sit beside Valen's pile and watch as they sort the presents. To my surprise, my pile ends up being three presents. Even though Valen already gave me his gift, he's given me another one. There's two from his parents, too.

The pure elation I feel settles in as I open my gifts and we eat breakfast. My mind still can't process all the events of the past twenty-four hours, but I know the good far outweighs the bad.

And as Valen kisses me goodbye when he drops me back off at home, I ready myself to tell my family, not caring about Sam or Amber or anyone's actions and attitudes I can't control. Because right now, all that matters is Valen.

|◁ II ▷|

"Still can't believe you're leaving us on Christmas," Juliette mutters, watching as Rachel fixes my crooked eyeliner.

"Juli, he asked me to dinner as an official start to our real relationship," I say, staying still for Rachel's brush. "And after everything I've told you, nothing else has surprised you?"

"Nope," Juli responds sharply. "Bookish people tend to attract bookish lives. And I'm happy for you."

Rachel finishes fixing the crooked eyeliner, and I stand, grabbing my coat. All three of us walk downstairs, Rachel and I gushing about tonight's dinner and Juli following us and probably rolling her eyes.

West waits at the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed. "Ready to go?"

I slip my arm in his. "Of course. How do you feel about this?"

"Oh, I knew he's been in love with you since he was six or whatever," West laughs shortly. "I've kind of had time to get used to this, especially with the fake relationship. Just remember you have a family and that Valen's just a dude."

As West leans over to Mom to mention something about Christmas, I quickly lean over to Rachel and mutter, "I'm about to get a lecture about boys."

Rachel pats my arm. "You know West. He's looking out for you, y'know?"

I'm getting more glimpses beyond Rachel's shy personality, and when she continues her thought with a statement about how I should tell West I'm gonna do everything he told me not to, I can't help my laughter.

West's head whips over, but I manage to reign in my three-seconds of hysteria.

Sure enough, I got a massive talk about Valen and I's relationship, which goes way too much into private details for my comfort level. As soon as West parks at Valen's house, I'm gone.

Valen meets me at the door and makes a comment about my red cheeks, so I kiss him to make him have the same problem as me. We both walk upstairs with red cheeks, and I let him guide me to the library, a wide, satisfied smile on my lips.

"Oh, Valen," I breathe when he opens the door.

He's setup a picnic with small foods. At a glance, my eyes catches the small sandwiches, the grapes, and a few cupcakes.

"Everything's closed," Valen gestures to the picnic. "So I thought this might be nice. I would've loved to take you to a nice place. We could do that next week?"

"I'd love that," I beam up at him.

I take his hand, and we lounge on the ground. I lean into him, and we eat and talk in utter contentment, basking in each other as our first risky decision together finally dissolves into something safe and sure.

|◁ II ▷|

Word of the Day: bemused (puzzle, confuse, or bewilder (someone).)

short ending to a very long book

much love and prayers:)