Page 21 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
“No, they’re worse.” Laughing, I shook my head, looked at the baking sheet, and dumped the whole fucking tray into the garbage can. Then I snapped a quick picture of the cookies in the trash.
“What are you doing?”
“Providing proof we at least tried to bake… and asking Cassy for help.”
Will nodded.
“Here we go,” I said, hitting send. “And now… what do you think about dumping a pizza in the oven and retiring to the couch? Our work here is done.”
“Or we could go for a walk in the snow. Have you looked outside yet? It’s beautiful weather, the sun’s shining, and everything’s sparkling. A real winter wonderland.”
“Mhmm,” I said vaguely, stifling a sigh. Will was right — the weather was great. Unfortunately, that meant that there was no sign of a snowstorm. Not even a single cloud in the blue sky.
We were indeed sitting in a fairytale winter wonderland and I hated it. All my plans were ruined.
Even my weather app had turned on me. It’d been predicting a snowstorm for weeks, but as of today, there was no longer any prediction of a storm in the ‘foreseeable future.’
“I don’t really feel like going for a walk right now,” I explained. I mean, a walk in the snowcouldbe romantic if we were holding hands. If we could walk through the beautiful looking but disgustingly wet snow together, hand in hand, beaming at each other like the sun was beaming down on us.
If we were a couple, I’d have been tempted to go on that walk with him.
But we weren’t a couple — and probably never would be. Because the snowstorm I needed for my DIY Christmas miracle had been canceled.
Fuck. My. Life.
Mission:Failed
Part 2: Will
Chapter 9
Will
Snuggling up to the warm body next to me, I sighed happily. Eli might be smaller than me and he had very, very little padding, but it was surprisingly comfortable to use him as a pillow. He just fit into my arms perfectly. As if he belonged right there. In my arms. Sharing a bed in the middle of paradise.
Breathing in, I enjoyed the light scent emanating from him. There was a slight hint of cologne, very subtle, unobtrusive, and yet so incredibly special. I had no idea how he always smelled this good. Even after one of those hiking trips Jack had talked us into last summer, Eli had still smelled so incredibly good. The rest of us had reeked, but Eli? Nope.
If only I could wake up with him in my arms more often, my head resting on his shoulder while his silvery-white hair tickled my nose. It was so nice — and he’d probably freak the fuck out if he found out about my nightly cuddling attacks.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I carefully detached myself from Eli, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, and carefully moved backward until I was lying on my half of the bed again. Only then did I risk a cautious glance in his direction to check if I’d woken him up. But no. He was still fast asleep and hadn’t even moved an inch.
He looked so incredibly peaceful like this, almost like there was an ethereal aura surrounding him.
If anyone saw him right now, they’d probably think he was a model, not a teacher. Two-and-a-half years ago, that’d been my initial thought upon seeing him for the first time. I was certain his face was on the cover of glossy magazines, his slim body conquering catwalks all over the world.
But Eli wasn’t a supermodel; he was just a normal guy. An elementary school teacher who liked to meet up with friends in seedy pubs.
Unfortunately, that didn’t make him any less unattainable.
Giving Eli one last glance, I pushed my blanket off, quickly putting on the thick wool socks my mother had given me last Christmas, then slid my socked feet into my slippers before leaving the bedroom. I couldn’t risk being tempted to lie back down and cuddle with him again.
What if he woke up and realized what I was doing? He’d freak out and maybe even make fun of me.
Or he’d run out on me and insist on sharing a room with Marc rather than me. I couldn’t risk it.
No, the better — albeit much harder — option was to get up and flee the bedroom as soon as I was awake instead of letting myself get carried away and doing something stupid. This way, I could at least take a long shower and brew the coffee the way I liked it.
I smiled as I thought back to the day before yesterday. Eli had really surprised me by having my favorite roast on hand, and for one tiny, stupid moment, I’d let myself read more into the situation. That he’d bought the coffee for me. To make me happy.
