Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

Chapter 4- ❄️Magic of the mistletoe❄️

The ride home is silent while I curl up in Red's arms and he comfortably strokes my back while my tears are still falling.

The Uber driver drops us off and we walk in. Instantly I shred the heels from my aching feet and hang my coat. I beeline for the kitchen to find something to eat. I need food to fill my void.

The fridge is stocked full of Tupperware's willed with my moms yummy left overs. I settle for a ham and potato casserole, plate it and throw it into the microwave. I press the buttons and jump up onto the island counter to wait.

Red walks in and distracts me. He positions his body in between my legs as he strokes my bare thigh as the dress was riding up. My body erupted in goosebumps under his touch.

"You do look beautiful tonight, Holly," he coos, continuing his tantalizing fingers on my bare skin. "As you do every day, but you were absolutely radiant tonight." He removes a hand to cup my chin and force our eyes to meet. "The most beautiful part about you Holly, is that you don't even know it. You are truly a godsend, inside and out. The fact you don't even see how amazing you are is disheartening."

My jaw drops. I don't know what to say.

The beeping of the microwave diverts my attention to my growling stomach. It was so loud even he heard it. We both laughed out loud and I threw my head back.

Red scoops me off the counter and sets my feet steady on the tiled floor. "Even I heard that, so you should really eat something."

He's wrapped around me and I don't want him to let go. "Are you hungry? I can make you a plate too."

"I'll find something. You sit and eat Holly." He directs me and I nod with a hand salute, earning a giggle from him.

He lets go of me and I feel the cold overtake my arms where he once held the warmth. I sit and watch as he takes a Tupperware too from the fridge to repeat my actions. He watches me too with every one of his movements.

He sits down with his plate as I'm still eating the creamy cheesy potatoes with sweet ham. It's definitely hitting the growling spot and my stomach is becoming satisfied.

Red smiled at me while we ate. When we finished I couldn't help but laugh that he had sauce caught in a part of his beard under his lips.

"What are you laughing at?" He's smirking a smile suspiciously at me.

"It's just, you got... uh, let me help you," I say but then take a napkin and dab it against his scruffy chin. His eyes watch me and dart back and forth from my eyes to my hand on his face. I bite my lip and I watch now his eyes dance between my lips to my eyes again.

I stop and lean back in my chair. "Sorry, you just, uh, had some sauce in your beard."

He clears his throat and gets up to clear his plates. "Thanks." He grabs mine for me and stands at the sink to wash them. I get up to leave while he's preoccupied.

Just as I'm walking underneath the banister and I look up to the mistletoe. I didn't hear him behind me just as Red spins me around so we're both directly under the mistletoe.

My heart leaps in my chest now that I'm standing underneath the mistletoe with him. His chocolate eyes are sparkling in reverie as he's gazing into my green ones. My stomach is a mess of fluttering butterflies as he wraps one hand on my lower back and the other cups the side of my face.

"I've been wanting to do this Holly since you talked about kissing underneath the mistletoe," he smiles down at me before leaning in to brush his lips against mine.

A wave crashes over me and I melt into his soft and luscious lips. The fireworks pop off all around us as he deepens the kiss and our tongues dance around each other's. I wrap my arms instinctively around his neck and rake my fingers through his short dark locks to the base of his neck.