I can’t wait to celebrate tonight. Christmas may be my favorite holiday yet. And I can’t wait to spend it with my favorite people. Now I’m excited and I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep. I sigh and curl up next to Cass anyway, tossing my arm over his waist and cuddling into his back. I rest my other hand in his hair and gently rub his head. This is oddly comfortable and I’m second guessing not being able to go back to sleep.
“That’s nice,” he whispers, his voice thick with sleep.
“Shh. Go back to sleep, baby. It’s early,” I whisper.
He nods and is snoring again a few seconds later. I’m trying not to laugh. I don’t know how he does it.
While I lay here, my brain is going in thirty different directions, planning what all needs to be done before tonight. What I have to do for tomorrow. Thinking of giving Cass one or two of his gifts early because I’ve only been holding onto them for three months and keeping his gifts a secret is about to kill me.
Somewhere in the mix of all that, my brain shuts down again and next thing I know, I’m waking up to an empty bed and the smell of bacon drifting through the room. My nose woke up before I did. I stretch a long stretch and sit up to gain mybearings for a minute. Checking my phone to see what time it is, I groan. It’s noon already. I can’t believe I slept so much longer. I climb out of bed and walk to my closet and pull on a Hounds support t-shirt and a pair of dark green pajama pants that have reindeer puppies on them.
Grabbing the fuzziest pair of socks I can find, I slip them on, knowing my feet are going to freeze on this cold floor. As I brush my teeth and rinse my mouth out, my stomach begins growling in protest.
I open the bedroom door and can hear music playing from the kitchen. As I get closer, I can hear Cass singing along to aJourneysong that I don’t know off the top of my head.
“…you make me feel..” he sings and stops abruptly when he turns around and spots me standing at the foot of the stairs, watching him. He busts out laughing and smiles at me.
“Good morning.”
I giggle at him and sit down at the bar. “Good morning.”
“I fixed you some bacon and some blueberry pancakes. I was going to bring it to you in bed but…” he trails off, motioning at me sitting here.
“Thank you. It’s okay, I can eat from right here, too.”
I sit down at the bar that attaches to the island in our kitchen just as he sets a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of me. I wait patiently while he makes another plate, identical to mine but with less syrup, and sets it down at the empty space next to me. Before sitting down, he grabs two cups and sets them down then fills one with milk for me and one with orange juice for him.
I kiss him on his cheek before digging into the delicious pancakes on my plate. He smiles at me and I feel his eyes on me for a few seconds before he laughs softly and starts eating.
“What?” I ask, looking over at him.
“I just love you,” he smiles, shoveling a forkful of blueberry pancakes into his mouth.
I finish off my pancakes in record timing and leave Cass in the kitchen while I throw on some blue jeans and a long sleeve, maroon sweater. I run my flat-iron through my long black hair and put on some light makeup. When I’m satisfied with my appearance, I leave the bathroom and find Cass sitting in the living room with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
“Are you ready to go, yet?” I ask.
“Yep. Been waiting on you,” he smiles, turning the television off and getting up from the couch.
“I’m taking the bike. Are you riding or driving your car?”
“I’m driving my car. I’ve got to bring the gifts and the deviled eggs, cookies, and brownies,” I say, pointing to the stack of things on the kitchen table by the back door.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
“Besides, it’s way too cold outside. I’d be frozen by the time we got to the club house.”
Cass chuckles and wraps one arm around my waist, leading me toward the back door. He grabs the stack of things on the table and carries them to the car for me.
“Thanks, baby. I’m right behind you,” I say, kissing him before I get in my car. His bike roars to life beside me and he takes off down the driveway. I follow behind him, shivering while I wait for my car to warm up.
Chapter Two
Lilly
December in Louisiana is hit or miss with the weather. I remember as a kid wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts on Christmas Day, yet the last few years, it’s been so cold outside that it has snowed once or twice. Something we don’t often get around here.
The club house is a good thirty minutes from our house, by car. Cass usually makes it in twenty on the bike unless I’m following him. Then he slows down and waits for me when he gets too far ahead of me. I’ve tried telling him that I’ll be fine if I get there a few minutes behind him, but since I got kidnapped, he’s been a little overprotective of me. I can’t complain though. I love the attention.
