Ido one final check to make sure I have everything done before heading upstairs and knocking on Annalise’s door. She doesn’t respond right away, so I knock again.
“Go away,” she calls, and I chuckle to myself. Not much has changed since we were teens.
“Time to get up.”
I hear something thud against the door and shake my head. I’m not going to get anywhere yelling at her through the door, so I push it open, spotting one of her pillows on the floor, probably what she threw.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I sing-song.
Annalise opens an eye and flips me off. “I said go away.”
“I made breakfast.”
She pulls the blanket over her head and mumbles something unintelligible.
“Pancakes with chocolate and some eggs,” I say, opening and closing the bedroom door as though that would get the scent of the food from the kitchen over to her.
“I don’t care,” she says, louder this time.
I move to stand beside the bed. “Even if I said I thought we could go cut a Christmas tree down afterwards?”
She immediately flips the blankets down so they’re by her belly button. Her sleep shirt has ridden up just enough to grant me a glimpse of her skin, and it pulls tightly against her chest. She isn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples are pressing against the fabric. My mouth goes dry.
I fight the urge to lean down and flick my tongue over one of them before sucking it into my mouth, wanting to hear what moans I can pull from her.
“You’ll really go cut a tree down with me?” she asks, pulling me from my lust-induced haze.
I clear my throat. “Of course. If we’re doing Christmas here, we’re doing it right.” I take a step back and hook a thumb over my shoulder. “So, you better get out of bed and come down for breakfast before I eat it all.”
She grins at me, tossing the blankets off herself, revealing that she’s only wearing a pair of black lace panties with her shirt. I quickly turn and make my way down the stairs, shaking my head and mumbling to myself as I go.
I only just got here. I can’t be showing my hand too quickly. I need to get Annalise to stop hating me before I make it clear that I am very much attracted to her and have been for years.
In the kitchen, I plate the food, waiting for Annalise to join me. When she comes downstairs, she’s grinning from ear to ear, her face practically glowing as she takes a seat at the table and I join her. Excitement radiates off her, and it only heightens my own.
Hopefully, getting out of the cabin and doing this together will help her soften up to me. That Christmas I spent here with the Reids, Annalise was asking her dad if they could go pick a tree almost as soon as we arrived. Her disappointment when he told her they’d go another day was palpable.
If she thinks this is her last Christmas here, I’m going to make it the best one she’s ever had.
When we finish eating, she eagerly clears our plates and starts bundling up in in her jacket, scarf, toque, gloves, and boots. When she’s done, she stares at me as though telling me to get my ass in gear. I quickly get ready, and she starts bouncing on her toes.
She follows me outside, where I grab the axe I used yesterday to chop wood and a few more supplies, and we start making our way towards the back of the cabin and into the expansive forest. Annalise takes her time examining each tree. Most of them are far too big for us to even consider. I watch the way she runs her fingers over the pine needles and sticks her nose into them, inhaling their scent. She takes in everything, enjoying the pure beauty, and I take in her.
Her smile lights up her eyes, and the cold has her cheeks turning red. Snow crunches beneath our feet as we move through the trees. After fifteen minutes of walking, she stops in her tracks and her intake of breath fills the air. I know she’s found the tree. She excitedly turns to me, and I say, “You found it.”
She nods. “It’s freaking perfect, Bash.”
My heart damn near stops in my chest. She hasn’t used that nickname since that trip, and to hear it leave her lips again is a jolt to my system I very much needed. I need to get her to call me that again. I need to break down these walls of formality that she’s put up. I know she’s done it to protect herself after I hurt her, but I need to show her I never wanted to do that.
“Which one is it?” I ask, and she points to one on my right. I turn and look at it. It’s not what I necessarily would have chosen. It’s not uniform at all; one side is thinner than the other, and it almost looks like the top is slanted slightly.
She walks up beside me, her arm gently brushing against mine, and I wish we were wearing fewer clothes and that I could feel her body heat against me.
“It’s got character,” she says, excitement filling her voice.
I nod, letting her excitement rush over me before I bring the axe over to the base of the tree. While I start cutting, Annalise lays out the tarp for us to put the tree on so we can drag it back to the cabin.
I forgot how much work it is to cut down a tree, making sure you’re cutting it at the right place and the right way so it falls in the direction you want it to. I’m working up a sweat. I undo my jacket and grab the bottom of my hoodie, wiping my face, and a cool rush of air crosses my abs. My shirt clung to my hoodie as I pulled it up, and the cool air is refreshing.
