A Christmas Kiss

Now...

I loved mornings waking up in bed and realizing I still have a few hours of sleep. Those days I welcome, especially after a heavy night of drinking.

And I drank a shit ton last night.

In fact, I couldn’t remember much. The past couple of months were interesting for me.

It was early Sunday morning. I grabbed my blanket and pulled it over my entire body as the chill from outside somehow made it to my room. Christmas was in a few days. My favourite time of the year, along with Winter. I loved the crunching sound snow makes beneath my feet when I walk the white covered path to my car, which was usually snowed under.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, hoping to get some more rest before I dragged my ass out of bed.

Someone suddenly placed their arms around my waist, and I froze, while they pulled my body towards theirs.

What the hell?

I glanced at the hands that gripped me and my eyes widened in response to their gentle touch.

“Morning.”

Words failed to release from my lips. I was still half asleep, and possibly drunk, but the voice was low so I could barely hear them.

How damn drunk was I? All I remember is---oh no. They were all at the party.

A deep breath escaped, and my eyes closed as I tried my hardest to recall the evening before. Only one image flashed in my head of someone table dancing.

Oh. Shit. I was table dancing.

After finding the courage to turn around, I took refuge on my right arm the moment I was on my side. My eyes locked in place with the person lying in my bed.

“Hey, there you. Some night, huh?”

OH. MY. GOD.

Then...

“I can’t believe you almost forgot your passport,” Anastasia said with her eyebrows arched.

“I know. I know. My head’s screwed up right now.”

We were in our transfer car on our way to the airport after spending two whole weeks in Bali.

’I hope we don’t miss it,” she sighed. “There isn’t another flight for eight hours after that.” She glanced outside the window of the black SUV.

“We’ll be fine. We have ourselves an extra couple of hours just in case.”

“I know, but the traffic alone.”

I turned my head and glanced through the tinted glass. We’d stopped moving and the cars in front of us were at a standstill.

I shifted my attention to the rear-view mirror, hoping to catch the attention of the driver “Excuse me? How much longer to get to the airport?”

“About half an hour, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” I turned to Anastasia and took a deep breath. “We’ll be fine. I hope.”

Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at the airport. As we stepped out of the car, my eyes caught sight of a family of four who ran ahead inside. The parents were practically dragging the children. “Imagine how late we’d be if we had kids?”

“Which is exactly why I don’t want them,” Anastasia replied. “They smell, they poop, fart and wee everywhere. They don’t listen to you. I couldn’t handle that.”

“So, they’re exactly like men.”

Anastasia chuckled.

The truth was, I loved kids. Absolutely adored them. They were innocent, could say the funniest things ever and were so much fun. I couldn’t wait to have some of my own if I was ever lucky enough to find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It was a possibility, right? That someone would want to spend eternity with me? I hadn’t had the best of luck with the men I’d dated.

Anastasia continued to laugh as we stepped out of the car. The driver opened up the door and pulled our luggage from the back.

“We hope you ladies enjoyed your stay here.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “We appreciate everything you all did for us.”

“You’re most welcome, ma’am.”

I reached into my unzipped bag and removed my wallet. The driver didn’t get paid enough by his employees, so I took out a couple of hundred-dollar bills and handed it over to him. “For everything.”

His eyes widened and he shook his head. “I cannot accept this.”

He tried to hand the money back over to me, but I refused. “Yes, you can.”

I smiled before my friend and I turned into the airport. We felt the cool air the moment we stepped inside.

“Oh, God. That’s so much better,” Anastasia sighed. It was been extremely hot over the past two weeks.

We dragged out luggage through to check in. “Please place your bags on the scale.”

Anastasia lifted her heavy case and placed it on the weighing machine. She did go overboard shopping a few times, so it wasn’t surprising she had to pay the extra handling fees. My best friend was a shopaholic. She knew it. I knew it. Her family knew it. If they weren’t filthy rich, she would be in so much debt right now that Bill Gates wouldn’t even be able to save her.

We grew up together. Best friends since we were young because our families were close. My parents were well off, but nothing like Anastasia’s family.

“You should have just brought a whole new suitcase,” I told her.

“Where’s the fun in that? I enjoy squeezing the crap out of my bag not knowing if everything will fit. It’s exhilarating.”

She paid the extra fee and we both left for our gate to wait for our flight. We took a seat down on the chairs which had an unobstructed view to the runway.

“How long till our flight?”

She glanced at her phone briefly. “About half an hour.”

“Fuck. We cut it pretty close.”

My attention shifted to the incredible sound of kids screaming. It was the same family I saw outside who took their seats a few rows from us. The mom looked exhausted as though the kids had taken all her energy.

“Holidays are supposed to be fun. Why would you take your kids anywhere? Look at them. The parents are fucking stressed.”

She barely whispered and my eyes were still locked on that beautiful family. Sure, the mom looked tired. Drained in fact, but the moment the kids wrapped their arms around her, a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She wrapped her arms around them both and said something that made each kid beam.

That is what I want. Tired or not. I wanted my own family.

I looked back to Anastasia. She tried to hide a grin, but I noticed it was there.

“I think it’s great,” I said.

“Of course, you would.”

The waiting area was packed and only a limited number of seats were available, so when a sweet voice almost whispered, I was surprised I could hear it.

“Is this seat taken?”

I glanced up and saw the gorgeous guy who stood next to me. My mouth failed when I tried to speak, so I was grateful that he didn’t wait for my response when he sat down. A quick glance at Anastasia before my attention shifted back to the stranger.

“Yeah.”

He tilted his head and some fine strands of his medium brown hair fell down over his forehead. “Yes, it’s taken?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I mean no. I mean yes. You can sit down.”

Phew. What the actual fuck, Beth?

“Thanks,” he said before he reached out his hand to greet me. “My name’s Ezra. People call me E.”

I smiled shyly at him before I accepted his gesture. “I’m Beth and this is my best friend Anastasia.”

“So, are you heading home?”

“Yeah, we’ve been here for a couple of weeks on holiday.”

“Yeah, I’m heading back too.”

“Do you live in New York?” Anastasia interjected.

He nodded.

I was sitting there looking like a complete fool. My eyes couldn’t pry away from him. They travelled from his hair, down to his nose. Resting at his flushed cheeks before I stopped at his lips.God, damn they look kissable. Shit. Stop it Beth. God, what the fuck is wrong with me? I need to get laid.

“Yeah, I live in New York. Originally from there,” E said before he moved his sight between my friend and I. “I’m sure I’ve seen you both before. Maybe at a party?”

“You could have. I mean you kinda look familiar too.”

I kept staring at him to the point where I was sure I made him uncomfortable. The thing was, I noticed him looking at me too. His eyes, like mine, were travelling up and down my body. Ezra took in the sight of me and I couldn’t help but blush. Finally, I cleared my throat and turned my head.

An announcement blared over the speaker.Good morning. Flight F218 to New York has been delayed due to extreme turbulence. We will advise more details as soon as they are made aware.

“Fuck!”

“Great,” Anastasia sighed. “As if the flight’s not long enough, we have to deal with this.”

“I’m sure it won’t be too long,” Ezra smiled. “Probably just a precaution.”

“Oh, wow,” Anastasia breathed.

Ezra and I broke our gaze when I turned to my friend. “What’s wrong?”

“Check him out.”

The guy she had her attention on just walked in. Definitely her type. Tattoos, muscles. Sexy I must admit and easy on the eyes. I noticed the exact moment he caught sight of Anastasia. He smiled and when I looked at her, she smiled back. With the limited seats, he ended up right next to the family of four. We couldn’t help but watch him interact with the kids.

“Maybe having kids won’t be so bad,” she whispered beneath her breath.

I chuckled and shifted my attention back to E. “I think she might be in love.”

“I know the feeling.”

My mouth slightly gaped open and I turned my head away to avoid his intense gaze. Shit. Shit. Shit.

An hour later, another announcement was made for us to board our plane. The three of us stood and Ezra smiled. “Oh, you guys are in first class too?”

I nodded and reciprocated his grin. “Yeah.”

“Great.”

Anastasia and I grabbed our handbags and were guided onto the plane before the air hostess ushered us to our seats.

“I had the window seat on the way. Now it’s your turn.”

“Bet your ass it’s my turn,” I winked.

After we placed our bags in the hold, I sat down and immediately scanned the rest of the passengers for E. When I noticed him doing the same thing, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh my God. He’s in first class too,” Anastasia whispered. The sexy guy she was already in love with took his seat right next to E. His attention shifted to Anastasia before he gave her a wink. “I think I just came.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “God, you’re filthy.”

“I need to go to the toilet. I’ll be right back.”

Anastasia stood and headed to the bathroom. Glancing out the window I was pulled from my thoughts when someone sat next to me.

“Looks like we’ll be together for the entire flight,” Ezra muttered.

“Oh, shit.”

Author's Note.

Hey, Lovelies.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my Christmas story. I do hope you enjoy it.

I would like to say a huge Thank you to Tyler Doyle who granted me permission to use his picture on the cover of my story. Please check out his Instagram if you haven't already.

Much love and appreciation,

Lizzie Lioness