Be Merry

part 3

Axel groaned as he sat up, putting a hand to his head. What the hell happened last night? All he remembered was sitting alone at the bar, bemoaning his lack of company when a pretty girl came up to him and asked him to fuck. That's all.

He heard a noise and turned his head, seeing the girl(Emma, right?) sitting on the floor in front of her tree, (stupid thing, that) with her back to him. Her shoulders shook and he wondered vaguely if she was crying.

Axel moved and rustled some paper, causing Emma to turn around and see him.

"Oh, you're awake," she sighed, sounding less than excited.

"And you sound so thrilled," he noted, pulling his knees to his chest. He was still in his jeans and button up shirt, although a few buttons had been undone at the top.

Emma shrugged. "Sorry, I'm hung-over and my boyfriend isn't here, so."

"You have a boyfriend?" Axel asked, horrified. "Shit, I gotta get out, shit," he cursed again as he scrambled to his feet and tried to find his phone.

Emma laughed without humor, and Axel didn't think he'd heard a more sad sound. "Not anymore, don't worry about it. We broke up a couple days ago. You're fine."

"So I was just someone to help you get over your boyfriend?" Axel questioned, pausing in his mad haste to get out.

Emma nodded and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"No it's fine," Axel said. "It's not like this was going to be a more than one time thing, eh?"

At this, Emma cracked a faint smile. "Well, we didn't actually do anything, but..."

"We didn't fuck?"

"No," Emma said. "Sorry. I got you drunk and I got your hopes up and then I backed out, sorry. I just wasn't ready."

"Huh," Axel said. When he woke up, he swore that he had gotten at least some action last night. "We didn't kiss... or anything?"

At this, a faint blush colored Emma's cheeks. "We did... I'm not sure how much."

Axel ran another hand through his hair. "Well, I'm just gonna go then..."

Emma nodded and snuck a look at the tree. Suddenly, she sniffled and a tear ran down her cheek.

"Oh no," Axel immediately panicked. He grew up an only child; he didn't know how to deal with crying girls. "Don't cry, um, I can stay if you want."

Emma laughed through her tears. "I'm not crying because you're leaving, dumbass, I'm crying because I just got dumped."

"Oh," Axel sat on the ground next to her. "Um, I know it's none of my business, but why did he dump you?"

Emma hiccupped. "He came home, like he always does, but when I went to kiss him hello he pushed me away and said that he found someone else and to avoid staying in this relationship to keep me happy and eventually end up cheating on me, he told me he wanted to break up."

"Ouch," Axel said, thinking privately to himself that any guy that breaks up with a girl like that is a dick, and a pretty big one at that. "That's harsh."

"I know," a small smile tugged at Emma's lips. "I'm great in bed!"

"Well, I wouldn't know," Axel tried his own hand at a joke and succeeded; Emma was laughing.

Her eyes fell on the presents underneath the tree. Axel looked at them too. There were none with Emma's name on them.

"Where are your presents?" he asked.