Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 14

When we get to our floor, I excuse myself to my place to change. My jeans are kind of damp from the snow and I really just want to get into something comfy.

I change into a pair of Old Navy thermal pajama bottoms with polar bears on them and a big college sweatshirt. My hair is a wreck from my hat, so I put it up in a messy bun. I'm beyond casual, but after shivering in the cold in front of him, my nose red and running, I think it's fine.

Shawn's left the door cracked so I let myself in. He's in his living room putting the tree in the stand. Pine needles are flying. He's cursing under his breath.

"Need a hand?" I say.

He turns and smiles at me from his spot on the floor. "I can't get it straight."

Together we get it positioned correctly and upright. It fits perfect in a corner to the right of his TV.

While he takes all the tree decorations out and arranges them on the couch, I hunt around in his hall closet and find the vacuum. I pull it out and vacuum up the needles. He then adds water to the base.

He has a maroon velvet tree skirt which he puts around the tree.

"Lights next," he explains.

We string colored lights all around the tree. Next we hang silver and gold glass balls. Then we put on the assortment of ornaments he's picked out. Lastly, he hands me a star to put at the top.

"I can't reach," I say. The tree is almost to the ceiling.

Shawn puts his hands on my waist and lifts me. I'm terrified he will not be able to hold me securely and that I will knock over some of the ornaments. No, he has a solid grip on me and gets me high enough to place the sparkling gold star.

He puts me down but keeps his hands on my waist. He then pulls me so that I am leaning against him and wraps his arms around me.

"It's beautiful," I say.

"I can't wait to see it when it is totally dark out," he says quietly into my ear. I can feel his warm breath and I shiver for the hundredth time today, but for once not from the cold.

The sun is starting to go down. Shawn makes us each a drink. Bourbon and coke. He adds an extra cherry to mine. We sit on the couch together, and I tuck my feet up next to me. He scoots a bit closer and puts his arm around my shoulders. We stay like this, just sipping our drinks, for a while.

"I like that I can sit with you in the quiet," he says softly. "I don't like it when someone feels the need to talk constantly."

I turn my face towards him. "Sometimes the quiet helps you get to know someone better."

After a while, we order Chinese take out and eat it at his dining room table right out of the containers. I like that he has no problem sharing the food. He even feeds me a bite from his chopsticks every now and then.

After dinner we get back on the couch. The lights are out so that only the tree illuminates the room.

"Do you have any Christmas music?" I ask.

"Do you like Christmas music?"

"It seems fitting. And yeah, I like it," I reply.

He pulls out his phone and finds a playlist. It starts playing softly over his speakers. Switching the phone to camera mode, he takes a pic of the tree. At the bottom of the photo you can see our legs and feet next to each other on the coffee table.

"Can you send me that?" I ask him.

"I am going to post it on my Instagram story," he says. "If that's okay."

"Really?"

"Why not?" he asks.

"I've seen the comments whenever people post anything even vaguely related to you being with a girl. If you post something, I think your fans will flip."

Shawn frowns. "You think? It's just our feet. I won't caption it or tag you. For all anyone knows, the feet are my mom's."

"Go for it," I say.

Five minutes later, my sister texts me.

Elsie: are you with my boyfriend???

Me: Ha. You wish.

Elsie: I wish you were with him?

Me: You wish he was your boyfriend.

Me: And how did you know?

Elsie: I recognize your jammie pants

Me: Like I am the only one who has them.

Elsie: and maybe mom told me you had plans with him

Shawn is openly reading this whole convo over my shoulder.

"You told your mom we were going on a date?" he asks.

"Yes. Is that okay?"

He kisses my cheek. "I told my mom, too."

Author's note: Thank you to anyone reading. Please let me know what I can do to improve. I'm working on making the chapters longer.