Chapter 23

There are nights where I have a smile on my face or a frown. But I could count those times where I had a smile more than I could count those times I had a frown. Have you ever had those nights where you feel empty or just feel nothing? Just thinking about stuff in life before going to sleep. I have those nights.

But this night, I had the widest smile I’ve ever worn in my entire life.

I put on my hoodie over my tank top and wore my coat. It was snowing outside and it was super cold. My PJs were thick enough to keep me a bit warm so I didn’t bother to change it. I grabbed my gift and put it in my pocket. My parents were in the room, probably sleeping already. I took the house key and locked the front door.

The snow was falling beautifully; Christmas lights filled the whole neighbourhood. Even on a silent night, everything seemed to be so alive. This year, people put a lot more decorations on their houses and lawn. It reminded me of the movie Christmas With The Kranks. That’s what the neighborhood looked like. It was just magical.

I tucked my hands in my pockets, feeling myself smile as the thought of seeing Lucy. There were some houses that had their lights still on, people were still in the dining area, talking and drinking champagne or maybe hot chocolate, and some were opening their gifts.

The moment the park came into sight, my feet managed to walk faster like it had its own mind. I saw Lucy sitting patiently on the bench, looking like she’s pondering. I rolled a small snowball between my hands and threw it at her, taking her by surprise.

“Amber, you jerk!” She gasped, removing the snow from her face and jacket.

“Whoops!” I laughed, sitting beside her, I placed a kiss on her flushed cheeks.

Her glare suddenly softened and her cheeks turned even more red. “Was that on purpose?”

“It seemed like you were in a deep trance. Just doing a reality check on you.” Just like this morning, I had another snow fight. But this time, it was with Lucy.

She got up from the bench, taking a fistful of snow to throw at me. She swung her arm and the ball flew and landed on the ground beside me.

“That’s the best you got? Boring,”

“You wanna see my best?” She threw another, and this time she almost got me. Luckily I dodged it fast enough.

“That was it? Even more boring,”

“Amber!“

“Lucy,” I mocked.

“You’re so annoying!”

“Tell me something I don’t already know! It’s getting irritating to hear it all the time,” I made a ball, aiming at her as she stretched her hands in front of her. I let out a sigh and flashed her a grin. “Now, wanna see my best?”

“Amber! Stop- Ambe- hey! You hit my boobs!” I kept throwing snowballs. “Wait wait, wait! I might forget to give you my gift,”

I dropped the ball I was making, exhaling, and watching the misty cloud that escaped my mouth disappear. She took a sit and patted the empty space, me following her after. It almost slipped out of my mind, good thing she remembered cause I wouldn’t.

She handed me a beautiful box and it was heavy. My curiosity was killing me, without waiting for her permission, I ripped the wrapper into shreds while Lucy was chuckling at me. My mouth hung open as I saw a set of books that I’ve been dying to buy.

“Luce… Where did you get this? This set is always sold out!”

“Took me a bit to search online. Then Lena told me that her best friend’s brother’s girlfriend knows the author and we got that set from the author itself,”

What I love about feelings was that they expand. There’s no limit to what you feel. My feelings for her definitely expanded.

“Thank you, Lucy. I appreciate it with all my heart, I really love it.” I said with a grateful smile.

She returned the smile with more energy. “I’m glad you love it,”

I took her gift from my pocket and handed it to her. She tore the wrapper, not bothered by my poor wrapping skills. I was nervous whether she was going to like it or not so I started to ramble. “I was gonna buy a different shade but I thought that you won’t like it even if I thought it would look good on you- I mean, everything looks good on you, but what if you didn’t like the shade I bought so I asked Kayla for help-“

I was cut off by her leaving a quick peck on my cheek. I fumbled with my hands as she smiled sweetly at me. I tried to stop myself from poking her dimples, but I couldn’t stand it anymore. I poked her dimples while I made a ‘boop’ sound, causing her to laugh.

“Looks like you couldn’t help yourself,”

“They’re so deep,”

“Not that deep. Just as deep as your cleft chin,” She poked my chin.

“I have a butt chin,” I wiggled my finger on my chin, feeling the line.

“Yes, you do, and I like it,”

I wasn’t used to receiving compliments that much. I always feel shy when someone compliments me and I always don’t know what to say. If they say I look pretty, I’ll say merry Christmas. “Kayla said that’s your favourite shade,” I pointed at the two lipsticks I bought her.

“It is. Thank you, Amber.” She held my cold hands. “You don’t have gloves on,”

“Yeah, guess I forgot to wear them. I was excited to see you,” I admitted.

She removed her gloves and put them on my hands. Unlike awhile ago, my hands were warm. They’ve gotten warmer when Lucy held my hands, securing them on her lap. “Please next time don’t forget to wear gloves. What if you freeze to death?”

“You’ll keep me warm, right?”

“No,” She scoffed, then added, “Not my responsibility. And I’d hate to drag and bury your frozen body,”

“I will haunt you forever,” I narrowed my eyes.

She rolled her eyes, tugging my hands closer to her body. “Then I’ll have an angel guiding me,”

“Who said I’ll become an angel? I’ll roam the earth and make sure to torture you with my haunting skills till you’ve had enough and die of a heart attack,”

“Even if you’re a ghost, you’d be annoying,” A low chuckle escaped her lips.

“I think that’s what I like about myself. I may annoy people with myself, but hey, at least I’m happy with what I’m doing,”

“See. That’s one of the things that I admire about you, Amber. You’re not scared to show who you are.”

“It worries me sometimes that I might irritate people by it but that’s how I’ll find out if they accept me for me,”

A smile appeared on her face, beaming at me. It was contagious. Mine matched hers as she cupped my cheek and gave it a sweet caress. “Keep thinking that way. You have a beautiful mind,”

Another compliment that left me speechless. I gave her hands a squeeze, my gaze turned to the snowballs I made. “I just realized that you distracted me,”

She feigned an innocent look. “What do you mean?”

I made a move to continue our battle, but she was fast enough to WWE me. Using Edge’s signature move, I was thrown over the snow and Lucy got me pinned. I’m pretty sure I managed to say ‘fuck’ before my back hit the snow.

“Don’t even think about it,” She warned.

“Why did you spear me?!”

“I couldn’t use RKO since we were sitting,”

“I could have hit my head on the ground, Lucy!”

“The ground is covered by thick snow, Amber. You’ll be fine,”

“And you say I’m the annoying one,”

“We can be annoying together.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Our eyes were locked together. We were just staring at each other quietly, staying in the same position we’re in. I noticed something on her face that caught my attention. She wasn’t wearing any make up and this was the first time I’ve seen her bare face. There’s a small mole on her upper lip. It was cute. It matched her beautiful face. But what really caught my attention was the mistletoe hanging above us.

“Find something interesting?” She said, sensing what I was looking at.

“There’s a mistletoe.”

“Hmm. I wonder who put it there,”

“I wonder who,” I smiled.

She grazed her finger across my lips, staring at me intensely. “Wanna know something, Amber? I’ve always wanted to kiss you. I’ve always wanted to feel your lips,”

My breath hitched as she leaned closer. I looked down at her lips before I locked my eyes with her. “Why don’t you come closer and feel it yourself?” I whispered, eyes fluttering close as I closed the gap between us.

When me and my ex, Ian, were hanging out, I was ready to have my first kiss. I asked him if I could kiss him and he said that he’ll be the one to kiss me. The quick peck wasn’t disappointing. I thought he was just shy and thought that it was cute. But I didn’t feel anything that much. It was like just kissing a wall or any flat surface.

But when my lips touched Lucy’s, I wasn’t feeling any flat surface. I could feel the curve of her lips; how slow our lips moved like how the second hand on a clock ticked. I’ve always thought that a simple peck was enough for a kiss. But I never thought that you would crave for more.

My hands found their way to Lucy’s waist as her hands were cupping my cheeks. Her hands were warm even if she wasn’t wearing any gloves. It’s so cold out here but I wasn’t cold like I was a few minutes ago. I realized that Lucy was warm and she kept me from freezing to death. And she said she wouldn’t keep me warm.

A strand of her hair fell on my cheek and it tickled, making me break the kiss. She pulled away and took a deep breath, her nose and lips were red.

I tucked the strand behind her ear, making me look behind her. I saw more mistletoes hanging under the trees. “Why did you put a lot of mistletoes?”

“Just wanted to make sure that I’ll get my shot,”

“Yeah?” A smile spread on my face.

“Yeah.” She bit her lips to stop herself from grinning.

“Got your shot?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh yes. Also, it’s a chance for people who’ll go here so that they can kiss their crush, and their crush can’t run anywhere or can’t say no,” She joked.

“In that case, I hope you don’t say no for another kiss,”

“Definitely wouldn’t say no to that,” She muttered, feeling her smile before our lips soon meet again, snaking my arms around her to pull her closer to me.

I guess my wish came true. This birthday was memorable. And this really is the most wonderful time of the year.