Rolling my eyes, I leaned forward and took the pie, my eyes never leaving his. Chewing, I watched as he reached over and brushed some crumbs off my lips.
“You two are just too cute for words,” the elf beside Birch exclaimed, and I reluctantly took my eyes off Kendrick to glance at her. “How long have you been together?”
“Four months,” Kendrick replied smoothly, taking his own bite of the pie.
“That long?” Birch asked, eyes narrowed on me. “That must be a record for you, Bal.”
“I’m too busy to date,” I growled and Kendrick squeezed my thigh.
“But not too busy for me.” He tilted his head up, pink lips put together in a cute pout, and I realized he was expecting me to kiss him. Since I very much wanted to kiss him again, I obliged, planting a quick hard kiss on his lips.
We stayed a few more hours–much longer than I wanted to–but somehow we got suckered into several card games with my younger siblings. Then Kendrick was reading to a whole passel of the smaller ones, his voice animated as he spoke in different voices for all the characters. He expertly flipped the colorfulbook to show the kids the pictures after he read each page. It was the first time the kids were quiet since we had arrived, and even I was transfixed watching him.
“Thanks for doing this,” I told him quietly, as we walked back to the village, my parents’ house being at the very far end of the village.
He slipped his hand back in mine, and I was still surprised how easy it was to hold his hand. But we were starting to cross paths with people, and we needed to keep up the charade. “It really was no big deal. I liked meeting your family, though I will honestly never remember all their names.”
Snorting, I told him, “I don’t remember all their names and I’m related to them. I can’t even tell you how many there are now.”
“That was an alarming number of children,” Kendrick told me, as we walked by the skating rink. There were a few elves skating, as well as some penguins, and one lone polar bear. “Do all elves have that many children? Is that the norm?”
“Elves do tend to procreate at a rapid pace,” I told him, “but my parents went above and beyond.”
“I mean, hey, at least they are still…active.”
I shook my head as we approached the inn. “Please don’t remind me just how active my parents are. Gross.”
He laughed, and I realized what a truly nice laugh he had. “Well,” he shoved his hands into his pockets and I immediately missed the warmth of his fingers wrapped around mine. “This is where I get off. I guess I’ll see you on Saturday to take me home?”
I knew he was planning on going shopping tomorrow with Keegan and their mom, and he would go back to the human realm on Saturday.
“I should walk you to your room,” I held the inn door open for him. “Just, you know…”
“To make it look good,” he nodded in understanding. I followed him to the elevators, my hand covering his lower back as we waited for the doors to open. We were silent in the metal box, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
Standing outside his door, I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to kiss him once more, but would he object if no one was watching?
Leaning up on his tiptoes, he snaked an arm around my neck and pulled me down. His lips brushed mine in the barest whisper of a kiss that I felt clear down to my toes. “Good night, Bal.”
And then he slipped inside his room, the door closing firmly on me, and I stood there touching my lips, a stupid grin on my face.
Balfour
Past…
Nemesis:What’s your favorite Christmas movie?
Me:Who wants to know?
Nemesis:Just tell me.
Me:I don’t have one. I am surrounded by Christmas every day. I don’t need to watch it on TV.
Nemesis:Boring!
Me:What’s yours?
Nemesis:Die Hard, of course.
