TWO MONTHS LATER

I‘ve learned very quickly that Christmas is Ava’s favourite holiday. The past few weeks have been packed full of shopping, decorating, and prepping for the annual party the girls are hosting tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy not to see the inside of a shopping mall in my entire life.

I guessed it’s a tradition to get the group together before Christmas to open gifts and spend the night watching Christmas movies. This year it’s the girls’ turn to host—not like Ava would have given them any other choice. She has an adorable—and sometimes infuriating—need to be in charge of absolutely everything at all times.

“Babe, did you pick up the food? The guys are going to be here any minute,” she huffs.

I can’t help but laugh as Ava runs around frantically, switching on the Christmas lights that hung all around the tiny apartment. She puts her hands on her hips and lets out a deep breath.

She went a little overboard when we were shopping. There were very few decorations that she didn’t end up tossing in the cart. The sparkle in her eyes as she walked up and down the aisles made the countless hours spent shopping beyond worth it.

“It’s all in the fridge. Relax, babe. Everything will be perfect.” I get up from the couch and walk over to her as she fiddles with the candy canes hanging from the tree.

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into my chest. I kiss the top of her head and gently pull her away from the perfectly placed decorations hanging from the green branches. Her shoulders droop and her head falls back against my chest as she relaxes against me.

“You’re right. Thank you.” She shifts in my arms to give me a grateful smile. “What would I do without you?”

“Mmm, let’s not find out,” I mutter, my heart contracting when she leans up to peck my lips.

“You’re a goofball,” she laughs and presses play on the Bluetooth speaker. Christmas carols fill the room.

“Isn’t that why you love me, though?” I raise an eyebrow. She opens her mouth to respond when we are interrupted by a sharp rap on the front door.

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” she giggles. The bells hanging from the doorknob jingle as she pulls open the door. She beams at the guests waiting on the other side. “Hey!”

“Merry Christmas, beautiful.” I hear Adam say. As soon as I’m out of sight, he pounces. Really? I clench my fist and hurry over to Ava.

I pull her into my arms and kiss her cheek as the guys watch the exchange with amusement. “Isn’t she? That’s what I told her after we got ready together—and every other second of the day.”

I feel my chest push out when his face falls. He straightens up and walks past us both to sit down on the couch. Ava glares at me and shoves her elbow into my ribs. I smile innocently down at her and kiss the top of her head.

“Well, hello to you too, Oakley. Where should I put these?” Matt steps forward, holding a massive bag out in front of him.

“Are those presents?” Ava asks, her smile growing. Matt nods his head in response.

“He almost forgot them. We were halfway here when we had to turn back around,” Tyler puts in.

“Hey, way to throw me under the bus. I got them here, didn’t I?” Matt rolls his eyes and sits down beside Adam.

“Did I hear something about presents?” Morgan asks as she comes strolling out of her bedroom. Matt smirks, eyeing her up like his next meal. I wonder if that’s what I look like when I check Ava out.

“Not for you. You didn’t help get this ready at all,” Ava declares from the kitchen. She stands beside me with a plate of gingerbread cookies in her hands.

“Like you would have let me help anyways.” Morgan swipes a cookie off of the plate and moves over to sit down on Matt’s lap. Ava rolls

her eyes, sets the cookie down on the coffee table, and sits down next to Adam.

Yeah, right. I don’t think so.

I pull her onto my lap before she can argue and wrap my arm tight around her waist. Adam glares at me in response.

“You all make me feel insanely single,” Tyler groans, sitting down on the floor in front of Adam.

“C’mon man, you know if you wanted you could have had a girlfriend by now,” Matt says, taking his attention away from Morgan for the first time since joining us.

“Always the jokester, dude,” Tyler replies sarcastically. “That’s the last thing I need right now.”

“I’m not joking. From what I hear, Oakley’s sister would move mountains for you,” Matt teases, his eyebrows raised as Morgan slaps his arm.

“Shut up. Over my dead body would I let Gracie date a guy like Tyler,” I growl.

“Woah, offence taken.” Tyler places a hand over his heart, theatrically, pretending to be offended. “Plus, I don’t date crazy. Especially not underage crazy.”

The thought of my sister even thinking about one of my friends that way makes my skin crawl. No way in hell would I ever let that happen. Not in this lifetime, at least.

“It’s just a cute, harmless crush so don’t you go teasing her about it.

Any of you,” Ava threatens, pointing an accusing finger at the guys.

“I agree. I had a crush on Ava’s brother for like two years,” Morgan says with a shrug.

“You what? Why didn’t I know about this?” Matt demands, his eyes narrowed.

Ava laughs, covering for Morgan while she stumbles for an explanation. “I think all of my friends liked Ben. Don’t worry, Matt.” Ava reaches over Adam and pats Matt on the arm. “Plus, I think he’s going to propose to his girlfriend soon.”

“Damn, actually? That guy is finally growing up,” Adam says, finally deciding to join the conversation. Does he know Ben? Does he know her whole family?

“Is she nice? Do we approve?” Morgan asks from Matt’s lap. He doesn’t look as happy since the Ben comment.

“I guess. In the two years they’ve been together, I haven’t learned that much about her,” Ava shrugs and leans back against me, her arms looped around my neck. “Maybe I should make more of an effort to get to know her?”

“You have time,” I remind her reassuringly and rub her thigh.

 

 

“Open mine first!” Morgan shrieks, shoving a small gift wrapped in neon pink paper in Ava’s lap.

“Did you forget it was Christmas or something? What’s with the pink paper?” Tyler snorts.

Morgan rolls her eyes and shoves his shoulder. “For your information, Asshat, Ava used all of our festive paper.”

“Maybe if you didn’t wait until the last minute to wrap your gifts you could have used some.” Ava grabs the square box and tears the paper away excitedly. “You didn’t!” she squeals, staring down at the two pieces of paper in her lap.

Morgan smiles smugly. “We’re going to see Ariana Grande! Good luck beating that, Oakley.”

I scoff at her boast, “Watch and learn, Morgan. Watch and learn.” I pick up the small square package and offer it to Ava.

Her face flushes just like mine, and with a small, shy smile, she carefully unties the bow. She rips the snowman wrapping paper off, displaying the Pandora box underneath.

Her eyes meet mine excitedly, almost as if she’s asking for permission to open it.

“Go on,” I urge gently, trying hard to fend off my nerves. When the box is opened, I feel my heart rate pick up. Her jaw drops and I hear her gasp.

“Oakley,” she whispers, her voice barely audible over the rest of the group’s chatter. She beams at me once again, and an unexpected wave of happiness comes over me, lighting me up instantly. She picks up the

bracelet and examines the charms dangling from it. With some help from the Sales Assistant, I managed to pick out four charms I thought were perfect for her.

First, I chose a ruby heart to represent not only her birthstone but my love for her. Yeah, I know, gag. The second one I picked out was a Converse shoe because we all know she doesn’t go anywhere without those. The third is a bucket of popcorn. That was the hardest to find, but it was worth it. The fourth is a hockey skate with my birthstone in the center.

“Do you like it?” God, I hope she does.

“Are you kidding? It’s amazing. Thank you.” Ava throws herself onto my lap and clings to me. I twine my arms around her, keeping her in place. She pulls back too soon for my liking, but gives me a quick, gentle kiss.

“Wait here,” she whispers and pulls away from me. She climbs off of my lap and heads over to the tree. My eyebrows shoot up as she saunters back over with a giddy expression.

“Are you ready?” “As I’ll ever be.”

She chews her bottom lip and slowly pulls the gift from behind her back, revealing a new hockey stick. She did a great job picking it out—Matt must have helped her with the sizing, but I know the colours were all her— our team colours. The crimson accents stand out perfectly against the matte black body.

“I know you mentioned needing a new one since you’ve snapped so many this month, so I asked Matt what kind you like. Here,” she says quickly, pushing the gift toward me.

I pull her onto my lap with a wide grin and take the stick, feeling its weight and grip.

“You’re the absolute best, baby,” I murmur into her ear, playfully nibbling on her earlobe.

She giggles and whispers, “I have something else for you, but I want to give it to you in private.”

That sends my thoughts straight to the gutter. “Oh really?” I kiss her neck, letting my lips linger.

A shiver runs down her spine, but she wriggles out of my lap, laughing softly. “Not that kind of present.”

I fight back a groan. “It might become that kind if you keep moving like that.”

“Then don’t kiss me like that,” she teases, pressing closer, torturing me with her proximity.

“When are they leaving? You could just give me my present now,” I suggest, running my fingers up her thigh.

“Not soon enough. We still have to watch movies. Hands off,” she says, swatting my hand away and jumping off my lap. “Who’s ready for movies?”

“Finally,” Morgan huffs, breaking away from Matt’s kiss.

“I’m picking the first one!” Matt announces, rummaging through the Christmas movies Ava had laid out.

Well, this should be entertaining.