hard | daniel seavey

chapter fifty-one

Waking up the next morning, there was a strong arm wrapped around me. I smiled to myself and remembered how Daniel had come home yesterday. I sunk back into the warmth of his arms and the blankets covering us, not wanting to get up just yet. Right as I was about to fall back asleep, Daniel moved around and groaned in his sleep.

"Merry Christmas, Pretty Girl." Daniel's voice was groggy from his sleep. He pulled me closer to him, nuzzling his head into my neck and kissing my shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Baby." I brought his hand up to my lips and kissed it softly. We sat there for a while, almost falling asleep, until Keri knocked on our door with a cheery voice. Breakfast and then presents!, she had yelled through the wooden door. I tried to get up, but Daniel tightened his arm around me.

"We have to get up, Dani." I said, turning onto my side to face him. He shook his head, rubbing our noses together.

"I don't wanna get up. Not just yet." Daniel rested his head in the crook of my neck. I ran my fingers through the roots of his hair. He left a trail of sweet kisses up my neck and my jawline, before placing his lips onto mine. "Okay, now we can get up."

We went downstairs, the smell of pancakes filling the air. We all sat down and ate the amazing food Keri had made.

"Don't you two look cute," Anna said. Pointing down to the matching flannel pajama pants Daniel and I were wearing. Keri insisted that we wore them because her and Jeff did it every year.

We all sat around the table and began eating the food Keri had made. She told stories of her kids from past Chritmases.

"I remember when Daniel opened his first guitar. That's when we knew he was made for this." Jeff said and smiled at his son. Daniel nodded, smiling along. The mention of him getting his first guitar made me excited for his gift later.

After breakfast we all sat around the living room and opened presents. Daniel and I got his parents things they said they needed for their house, minus a few things like a purse for his mom and a pair of shoes for his dad. They did the same for me, remembering that I was living on my own now. Daniel got miscellaneous things for his instruments and 'tour eesentials' as Keri had described them.

Around 1, the Christmas fiasco had died down and we all sat around the living room watching classic movies. Daniel had his arm wrapped around me, my legs stretched over his. His fingers ran through my hair as he bent his head down.

"We can go now if you want?" He whispered and rubbed my legs. With everything that had happened this morning, I had almost forgotten Daniel and I were doing our own gift exchange at his house.

"That's up to you." I whispered back. He smiled at me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up. We said goodbye to his family and oiled the car up before leaving to his house.

When we walked into his house, I made him close his eyes while we walked upstairs. I put my hands over his eyes and walked on my toes to make sure he wouldn't peek.

"Madison I'm going to fall," Daniel laughed as we walked up the stairs. We managed to successfully reach the top without either one of falling and I led him to his room. I stood him in front of his gift and smiled excitedly to myself.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." I said and removed my hands. Daniel slowly his eyes. His smile grew and he looked at me.

"You got me a new cello?" He walked over to it and plucked the strings, the deep sound filling the room.

"I remember you saying you wanted a new one and so I thought this would be-" I went to explain but was cut off by Daniel picking me up in his arms. He hugged me tightly and kissed around my face, ending with my lips.

"I love it, thank you so much, Baby." Daniel smiled and put me down. He held up a finger and walked over to his dresser. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to me and smiled widely.

Confused, I flipped it over to open it. 'Pack your bags, Pretty Girl' was written in Daniel's neat handwriting. I raised my eyebrow at him before opening in completely. Inside were two pieces of paper. Tickets. I pulled them out, reading them closely. My jaw dropped when I finally realized what they were.

"L-london? We're going to London?" I told Daniel I had always wanted to go Lonon the night of our first official date. But that was so long ago I wasn't sure how he even remembered it. 

"The trip is in July, right after your book comes out and my tour ends." He took my hands in his, kissing my knuckles lightly.

"Thank you, Daniel. I love it and you so much." I smiled up at him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Merry Christmas, Pretty Girl." Daniel said before leaning down and kissing my lips softly.