My Only Wish This Year // Flee

Seven

As soon as he left I went upstairs and straight to bed. Slightly tipsy from all the alcohol I had consumed, I fell onto my bed. It was probably not a wise idea to leave the presents upstairs and get drunk, after all I was so tired and would most likely out sleep Courtney and she'd think Santa didn't come. I set the alarm on my phone rather clumsily at 4:30 so at least I'd get 4 hours to try and sleep the headache off.

It felt like seconds between my eyelids shutting, and the deafening alarm sound. I shut it off as quickly as I could so as to not wake Courtney, who, knowing her, would assume it was time to wake up. Stuffing the presents into bags quickly, I tiptoed downstairs and placed her presents under the tree and in her stocking. I poked my head around her door to check that she was still sleeping, and luckily she was. I tiptoed carefully back upstairs and got into my bed again.

The next thing I remembered was a feeling of something bouncing on the end of the bed. Rubbing my eyes slowly, I sat up and stared straight at the excited 7 year old on the end of my bed.

"What time is it?" I groaned
"7am" Courtney replied, full of energy
"Okay then, come on" I slowly pulled myself out of my bed and led the way downstairs, ready to do the traditional 'let me see if Santa came' thing.

"Okay, wait here, I'll check and see if Santa came"
She nodded enthusiastically as I gently opened the door. I waited a few moment before reappearing.
"Looks like you're in luck"
"Woooooo" she screamed, pushing straight passed me.

I sat on the couch as I watched her open her presents, obviously happy with them.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" I asked, hoping the answer would be a yes

"Welllllll... I got an IPhone X, a holiday to L.A and loads of toys so hell yeah!" She jumped up "I mean I could always get a puppy for my birthday right?"
"Sure" I laughed
"But there is one thing that I didn't get" she looked down to her feet
"Well what's that?" I asked, confused
"The secret thing I asked Santa for... He didn't make it happen" she sighed
"Well..." I looked for the right reply "Christmas isn't over yet, maybe it will happen. But please don't get too upset, Santa's a busy guy"
"Okay" she nodded sadly "well I've got your present"
"Really?" I was shocked
"It's nothing much but here"

She handed me a necklace with a heart shaped locket on it. It was silver and very pretty.

"Look inside" she smiled

I opened the locker to find a picture of me and Lee already put inside. Did she know about my crush? I just laughed it off and thanked her and said it was very sweet.

I was about to go and make breakfast when I heard a knock at the door. Unsure of who it could be this early on Christmas morning, I cautiously opened the door only to be met by my crush. The guy I was so in love with.

"Lee" I smiled "what are you doing here so early?" I asked
"I wanted to give you this, your Christmas present" he handed me a small box in silver wrapping paper and I thought I noticed him blush when our fingers touched. I put it down on the table beside me. It was now or never.

"Lee, I have a present for you too" I said quietly
"Do you?" He asked

Without any warning, and having no idea how I was supposed to do this, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion I had inside of me. To my relief, he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back. Eventually, we broke away and stepped back.

"Lee- I... I know that was weird but I'm kind of- sort of in love with you and-"

He cut me off by pressing his lips against mine again. It was the most magical feeling I had ever experienced.

"I'm in love with you too" he smiled at me
"Do you want to um... Come in I mean, it's not exactly your family but maybe for a while?" I whispered
"I'd love too. Besides, one day I'm hoping you'll be my family"

In that moment the most ridiculously red blush came all over my face as I tried to reply. I could just make out the words,

"I've dreamed of that too"

I took his hand in one hand and his present in the other and went back into the front room; Courtney was now no longer present as she had gone to get dressed. We sat on the couch and he gestured for me to open my present, so I did. Inside was a ring that looked like a tiara, and it sparkled like a diamond.

Awestruck I said, "it's- it's beautiful" I slid it onto my finger; it was a perfect fit.
"I was gonna give you some cringy speech about it being a princess ring and you being my princess but-"
I laughed softly, "you are the cutest"

We leaned in slowly and our lips met in another soft kiss. It was only a few moments later that I heard a scream from behind us that I remembered Courtney was here. I instantly pulled back and faced her,
"What?"
"SANTA DID IT SANTA DID IT I'M SO HAPPY" she grinned like a Cheshire Cat
"Did what?" I asked
"That secret thing I asked him for!"
"And what secret thing did you ask for?" I questioned
"You silly, I asked if Santa could get you two together"
"I guess he really did, on all accounts" Lee agreed
---
Lee stayed with us that whole Christmas Day and it was the best Christmas I'd ever had, even with my parents.

Later that evening, long after Courtney was asleep, we went up to my room and settled into bed. Our faces were inches apart and our foreheads were rested together when I asked him

"What did you mean earlier? That Santa did it on all accounts?" I whispered
In the same hushed tone, he replied "you know in the letters Courtney made us write"
"Mhmm"
"Well I wished I could be with you, like this, now and that I could do this whenever I wanted"
He placed a gentle kiss on my lips and I smiled
"I guess you're right, you know. I asked for my true love, which, during the run up to Christmas, I learnt was you"
"I love you so much Faye" he told me as he brushed some of my hair behind my ear
"I love you so much too Lee" I blushed ridiculously but luckily it was too dark for him to see.

Our lips met in a long, romantic kiss and it was right in that moment that I knew I had everything I ever wanted.