Recovery (Sequel to Been You)

Chapter 56: Decorate With Me

JUSTIN'S POV:

"You look pretty wow, yourself," she replies. "And you smell even better," she jokes.

"Ha ha, very funny," I comment, welcoming her in. As she walks past, I can't help but ogle at how the dress Ely has on skims her perfect body so tightly. Once in the living room, Ely's jaw drops at the display I've set up. Her box of decorations drop as well. "So, what did you wanna do first? The tree?" I ask gesturing to our houseplant that I've placed in the center of the room. "The halls?" I ask, gesturing to the box of tinsel, garland, and stockings that I set on the coffee table. "Or the Christmas cookies?" I ask, gesturing to the kitchen. After Ely agreed to come over to decorate, I may have gone a little crazy with the preparations. Anything to impress my girl, though.

"Oh, god. You did all this?" She asks. I can tell there was a for me meant to be at the end of the sentence, but it's never vocalized.

"Yeah, I mean... we always decorate together, and I know how much you love it, so..." I rationalize before she pulls me into a strong hug. I drown in it, pulling her tightly to me as well. This feels more amazing than anything I've felt in weeks. When she pulls away, she smiles widely, a smile I haven't seen in far too long.

"Cookies," she decides, whirling off into the kitchen. I follow her happily. She and I make an array of cookies: chocolate chip, sugar, gingerbread, shortbread, snickerdoodles, you name it. Well, I bake them, and Ely frosts them. She does a beautiful job, too. They look professional, with images of mittens, snowflakes, trees, ornaments, basically anything festive. By the time we're done, there are plates of cookies covering every possible surface in the kitchen. She and I take a plate each into the living room to snack on while we decorate. The two of us sit side by side on the couch, as we add Christmas balls onto the houseplant.

"I really missed you, Ely," I admit as we decorate.

"I missed you, too, Justin. I just..." she laments. I slide closer to her under the guise of reaching a far branch on the plant. I'm glad she doesn't finish her sentence. I fear it's something about that guy I keep seeing her with. It hurts thinking about her with someone else. She slides closer to me, attempting to reach the other side of the plant as well.

"I missed you so much," I repeat lowly, leaning into her. She leans back, making my heart race. "I'm so sorry, El. I'm so -" I'm interrupted by her lips crashing into mine. The force of the kiss pushes me back into the couch, as Ely's lips fervently attack mine. My hands grip her thighs passionately, making her moan into the kiss. My stomach drops, having forgotten how good that sound makes me feel. Ely runs her fingers through my hair, as she swings her leg over me to straddle my waist. Our tongues are intertwined and the universe is balanced. It feels as though there's nothing else in the world but us two. That is, until none other than Ryan interrupts.

"Ely?" He asks confusedly from the staircase. She immediately pulls away, leaving my mouth feeling cold and lonely. "I didn't know you guys were back together." She struggles to climb off of me, her expression can only be described as traumatized.

"We're not," she answers under her breath, scrambling for the door. Ow.

"Thanks for that, Ryan," I call, which is punctuated with the slam of the front door behind Ely. Ryan breezes down the stairs, grabs a cookie, and plops down next to me.

"So, let me get this straight. You've got your ex-girlfriend coming over, making cookies with you, decorating with you, and hooking up with you?" Ryan marvels with his mouth full. "Must be nice to be Justin Bieber." I angrily get up from the couch, stomping off. "Where're you going?"

"For a smoke," I mutter as I leave the room. I make my way to the shed in the back yard, gathering my supplies. As I roll, I notice I only have enough left for about two more smokes. I gotta remember to get more. I light up, breathe in, and feel my thoughts start to numb.