I grabbed my phone and blinked at the bright light before reading who was reaching out.The group chat with the guys was buzzing with messages from Paxon, Toby, Justin, and Seth.But it didn’t take long until Bryan responded too.
Everyone was sharing their excitement and plans for today.Once everyone spent the first part of the morning with their families, they were all going to take over Seth’s house.I felt bad for his parents.I hadn’t had a chance to meet them since it was so late when I’d gotten home, but I hoped they were ready for the chaos that was about to take over the house.
There was a soft knock on my door and then Janice soft whispered, “Are you awake?”
I blew out a breath.“I’m awake,” I called out.
The door opened slowly and Janice came in.She wore a grey tank top with green holiday pajama pants patterned with tiny snowflakes.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, giving me a tired smile.
“Merry Christmas,” I responded, pushing myself into a sitting position.
She came over and I gave her room on the bed.She sat down and looked at me a bit nervously.
“What?”I asked.
“I got you something.”
My eyes widened.“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.You’re doing a lot for me.Besides, don’t think I don’t know you got me something too.Come downstairs, I even cooked us breakfast.”
“You didn’t burn pancakes again, did you?”
She playfully hit my arm.“Shut it.You know why that happened.”
“Did you get to talk to your fiancé?”
“Yes, and everything is on track.They’ll spend the morning with his parents and then there’s a plane early afternoon.They’ll be here before dinner.”
“I’m glad they’re able to make it out,” I said.
She stood up and grinned, some of the tiredness slipping away.“Me too.I’m glad I get to introduce him to you.”
I grinned.“I get to see if he’s worthy of you.”
She laughed.“Just don’t judge him too hard.I already gave him enough hell.”
I grinned as I crawled out of bed and followed her downstairs.The house felt warm, filled with the smell of pancakes, cinnamon, and fresh coffee.The Christmas tree lights twinkled, casting a soft glow throughout the bottom floor.
As we walked by the living room, I looked at the tree and froze, staring inside.There were more lights up than I remembered putting.I didn’t want a big tree, so we got a small one, only a couple feet tall.It sat on a table near the wall.What I hadn’t expected was to see piles of presents that were under the tree and the table.There was no way Janice got this many presents for me.
“Santa came last night,” Janice said.
I snorted.“That’s impossible.”Still I couldn’t move as pressure built behind my eyes and my throat tightened with strong warm emotions.
When did they have a chance to do this?How hadn’t I noticed?
Janice only smirked at me as I narrowed my eyes at her and then she turned and went into the kitchen.I had to force my feet to move, still in shock at the sneaky guys.
In the kitchen, the table was set with two plates piled with more pancakes than either of us could eat.There was a bowl of pancakes and a bowl of whipped cream.She had all my favorite pancake toppings out, ready to be devoured.
“Wow,” I said, eyeing the table.“You went all out.”
Janice was smiling big, proud of herself.“And not a single pancake was sacrificed to the pan gods this time.”
I laughed, sitting down and going right for the strawberries, ready to bury my pancakes in them.There was even a bowl of strawberry sauce.This was exactly what we needed.Comfort food.Simple.Delicious.
