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Today I woke up to an empty apartment. Emma was with Luke in Vermont already and Calum's flight would be leaving in a few hours so he was most probably getting ready to leave his apartment to go to the airport to jet off to California.
Meanwhile I waltzed around my apartment in one of Calum's shirts and a robe draped over it with a bowl of cereal in my hands.
I spotted the key on the kitchen counter and the post-it note stuck to the fridge with Emma's handwriting scribbled all over it.
Luke's apartment key in on the counter. Merry Christmas, love you, Skittle xoxo
Underneath the message were words written with other penmanship.
If you drink from our Keurig don't forget to restock the pods or I swear to fucking god Merry Christmas //Luke
I rolled my eyes and retreated back into my room to make myself representable for going outside.
And now I am in Calum's apartment, leaving the gift I got him on his bed for when he comes back from his trip. I decide to stay a while—his apartment has a better view and more Christmas decorations as well as a fully stocked pantry.
I pull one of his hoodies over my head and I walk into the kitchen to make myself some hot chocolate. I sit on the counter as I wait for the Keurig to finish up and then I grab my mug and the box filled with whatever is left of the batch of cookies Calum and I made. I take a seat on the sofa and turn on the TV and I know that my day is done for.
I have no idea what time it is when I wake up on the couch in Calum's living room with him hunched down in front of me.
"Hey," I slur as I prop myself up on an elbow. "Why are you not in Cali?"
"My flight was delayed, then Mali called to tell me no flights are leaving the airport back in England because of a storm and I'm not going to Cali on my own so I decided to just head back."
"You were going to spend Christmas alone?"
"And you weren't?" he asks one eyebrow arched. "What's up with you crashing on my couch when you should be back in Connecticut?"
"I'm sorry. I was never going to Connecticut for Christmas. My mom is on a work trip in Chicago."
"What about your dad?"
"He's with his girlfriend in Florida."
"Why didn't you tell me you'd be here for Christmas?" Calum gets up and takes a seat beside me as I move to sit up. "I would've—"
"Stayed?" He doesn't say anything. "I wasn't going to take you away from your sister for Christmas."
"Why are you in my apartment? How did you get inside?"
"Luke's key," I tell him. "I came over to leave your present for when you would come back but you have all the cookies and HBO."
"I guess it'll be just us for Christmas this year then?"
"I guess so."
"I can't believe you were going to spend Christmas all alone and not tell me about it."
"I didn't want you to feel bad for me."
"Well I'm here now and I am intent on giving you a Christmas you won't forget."
"I look forward to it." Calum pulls we into his side and as I snuggle closer to him he places a kiss to the top of my head.
"What are you watching anyway?"
...
Christmas with Calum is magical. He wakes me up to what I would call a breakfast buffet which I am sure can feed at least thirty people.
Since I ate all of the Christmas cookies Calum insists we make more, and it is inevitable that we end up a flour covered mess.
Love actually plays on the television while we're cooped up on the sofa with whatever magazines I've left around the apartment during the past months. By this point we've figured that Calum is a Carrie, that his greatest trait is his humility for other people, and that if he was a Bratz he would be Chloe. I found out that if I was a breakfast food I'd be an avocado toast and that the next time I'm out I should order a blue drink.
After consuming five cups of hot cocoa each throughout the day and a fight almost breaking out when we play Monopoly, excitement becomes me when we sit down to open the gifts that we got each other.
Calum hands me a box tied closed with a ribbon and my eyes light up once I open it to reveal what's inside. "Calum, I love it."
I study the necklace, the light from the Christmas tree reflecting against the silver of the C hanging on the thin chain. "So I'll be with you wherever you go."
"It's perfect," I gush. "Can you put it on?"
"Sure." The charm feels cold against my skin as he clasps the chain at my neck. "Let's see what you got me."
Calum opens the envelope I hand him and I suddenly grow nervous. "If you want something else—"
"Scotty, shut up," he tells me as he inspects the handmade note closer. "Are you kidding me?"
"Is it all right? I couldn't think of what else to get you—"
Calum interrupts my rambling by pressing his lips to mine. "How did you get us reservations at Château? Do you know that Leonardo DiCaprio has had dinner there and he almost didn't even get a table?"
"I know," I nod. "You told me. You talk about how you'd trade your soul to eat there and well, Victoria really liked my last piece so I might have played into the fact that she's as vulnerable as a giddy school girl right now because she's fallen in love with her husband all over again. I still can't believe she really made the call."
"Scotty, I don't know what to say..."
"Then don't say anything," I tell him quietly. "Show me."
