“You little traitor,” I whisper once she’s gone.
“Me?” Natalie puts her hand over her heart. She has the audacity to blink and look at me with a doe-eyed innocence I never should have trusted.
“You said this was a vibes tree. You threw that tinsel to show me how vibey it was.” I point at the silver pile fallen to the floor.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been over here angelically and correctly decorating the tree this whole time. You sound paranoid.”
“Then who was whispering over my shoulder?”
“The devil, I suppose.” She shrugs and picks the tinsel up from the floor. “I don’t know why you listened to her. She hates Christmas.” Far too proud, she tosses the tinsel and it lands on my head. Silver dangles over my eyes and I brush it away with a huff.
“I guess it was an old habit,” I say, cracking my knuckles and stepping forward. I grab the box of tinsel.
“What are you doing?” Natalie puts her hands up, a giddy smile on her face.
“You know what they say about old habits?”
“That you should break them.” She takes a step back.
I shake my head. “I think the saying is more like they die hard.”
“Cole. Cole. Stop looking at me like that. No. Bad.”
“I need my revenge, Natalie. I can’t let you win.” Like a wolf hunting its prey, I take another step forward.
“Okay, but can the revenge just be swift and glittery? You look like you’re about to devour me.”
“I am. Would that be a bad thing?”
Her eyes widen, and a playful giggle escapes her. She darts behind the couch, using it for protection. “Hah! You can’t get me.” She taunts and sticks her tongue out. I put the box down. Heaping it on her head isn’t payback enough.
With both hands planted firmly on the couch’s back, I vault over it in a single, fluid motion.
She squeals and tries to flee, but I’m too fast. I hook an arm around her waist and throw her over my shoulder. Her legs kick wildly in the air.
I spin, searching for a place to put her down because I’m making up this plan of revenge on the fly. Honestly, when it comes to Natalie, I’m fighting the urge to hoist her over my shoulder like a caveman and bring her to her bed most of the time. So when we play like this, it’s hard not to let that instinct take over for at least a minute. Now, though, I want to kiss her, and her mouth is closer to my ass than my mouth and that was poor planning on my part.
“You absolute brute!” She laughs.
“Brute feels like an upgrade.”
“But will you live up to it?”
The palm of my hand flattens right below her ass cheek. Suddenly, the air in the room shifts.
Tension. Tugging. Need. Want.
Natalie’s laughs fade to quick, heavy breaths.
Slowly, I slide her down the length of my body. Her arms wrap around my neck. “Hi, brute,” she says.
I cup her cheek. My thumb runs over her lip. “Hi, sugarplum.” I exhale.
She looks up at me, her eyes soft, laugh lines edging them. A small smile curls her lips. Here in the glow of the Christmas lights, she looks like the Christmas present I’ve always wanted waiting for me under the tree.
“I don’t know if I’ve laughed like that in a while,” she whispers.
“Same.” A wide grin spreads across my face.
