The Quarterback, Outcast and Me ✔

Chapter Twenty-Six - Answers for Christmas

In my dream I was sitting on a bench with Caleb in the dog park, it was around sunset and I was laughing about something he had said. Our fingers were entwined and I was gazing up at him like a child might their hero. I leaned against his shoulder and he put his arm around me. I felt completely safe in his arms, nestled so close to him that I could smell his wooden and slightly musky scent. 

"Chloe, wake up." 

The voice that entered my head was not Caleb's. I frowned, leaning in closer to Caleb to absorb every word he said, but it was getting harder and harder to make them out. They were blurry. He smiled down at me, that same smile that sent shivers down my back. 

"Chloe, get your little butt out of bed."

The words didn't make any sense. Why would I be in bed when I was sitting on a bench with the man of my dreams?

"CHLOE GET UP IT'S CHRISTMAS!" 

Caleb and the dog park disappeared and my eyes flew open to look straight into Jace's face. My body jolted in surprise. 

"That is so not what I want to wake up to everyday," I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. 

"I was told to come and get you. I would have just gone ahead and opened all your presents, but Karen said 'Noo, you go get your sister'." 

I blinked a few times to absorb the words. Presents, christmas. CHRISTMAS!

"I'm up! And don't you dare even look at my presents, Quarterback." 

I tumbled out of bed, eager to get downstairs. Christmas for me was still as exciting as it was when I was a kid. I would usually be the first one up and just eagerly wait for my parents to wake up, sometimes so impatient that I would run in and wake them up at seven in the morning. I remember my dad not liking that at all. 

I threw on my furry slippers and ran into the bathroom to quickly brush my hair, which was totally sticking out everywhere by the way. I joined Jace in the hall and together we walked down the stairs. I tried not to look too eager even though all I wanted to do was to leap down the steps, two at the time, and race out into the large open living room where we had put up the massive tree. But I didn't. Instead I contained my excitement and took the stairs one step at the time. 

After Caleb had left last night, I'd gone back into the tent, trying to keep my face as calm as possible. I had some more champagne, more cake and danced with both Carrie and then my mom. 

I could have sworn that my lips kept on tingling from that last kiss as the night progressed and I was floating so high on my little cloud nine that even Stacy's best efforts at channelling her own inner Draco Malfoy was ineffective. 

Walking down the stairs with red and green tinsel covering the bannister, I felt like I was entering winter wonderland. Granted, I had helped decorate the house because christmas was not christmas unless you had used at least a ton of coloured tinsel and several boxes of figurines and decorations. 

The living room had been transformed; cotton pads covered the window tills, acting as snow, but the real treat was the humongous tree in the corner of the room, beautifully decorated from head to toe with a gorgeous angel perched on top, picked out by yours truly. 

A heap of presents were hiding under the bottom branches of the tree and my fingers were already twitching to get to them; I had always been that way about christmas. Presents were the best thing of all on this day, I mean, not even the food could compete. 

I spotted Zeus sniffing out a little round package, his little piggy tail wagging because he could probably smell the dog treats inside. He was a member of this family and deserved to get a present as well.