Page 8 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
Phase 3:Spend a nice, relaxing day with Will before the snowstorm descends on us that night
Chapter 4
Eli
Condoms, lube, massage oil, candles, matches and a lighter, underwear, and champagne.
Satisfied that I’d gotten everything, I ticked off the last item on myverypersonal packing list, quickly placed the pack of disposable champagne flutes in my bag, and then cushioned everything with towels to make sure nothing broke during our trip.
I’d even bought champagne — yes, the real stuff. I really hoped it was worth its money because damn, that stuff was expensive. I’d shuddered when I saw the price tag in the store. I wasn’t stingy, but I was just an elementary school teacher, and my salary definitely didn’t allow me to splurge on such decadence willy-nilly. I highly doubted I’d ever had a glass of real champagne in my whole life. It’d always seemed excessive to spend that much money on a single bottle of alcohol, especially if I did the math to figure out just how many books I could buy instead, and… yeah, the books always won.
But special situations called for special measures. I wanted my time with Will to be perfect. Unforgettable. I could splurge this one time.
I’d already packed my ‘real’ suitcase — the one that held all my clothes and stuff — and placed my ‘special cargo’ bag next to it in my hallway. There was also a big box with Christmas decorations and a bag with the Christmas presents for my friends.
Looking at the ginormous pile of stuff, I couldn’t help but shake my head. All these authors who claimed you ‘hardly needed any luggage’ to spend a few days in a remote cabin definitely had no personal experience.
I heard my phone buzzing on the kitchen table and abruptly snapped out of my thoughts, hurrying down the hallway into the kitchen and almost falling over the doorstep in the process. Unlocking my phone, my heart was beating in my throat.
Maybe it was Will letting me know he was on his way?
My heart did a somersault inside my chest as I looked at the display, but then I just sighed in disappointment.
It wasn’t Will; it was just Cassy.
I mean, Will had no reason to text me. I already knew he’d arrive in an hour, but maybe I’d been hoping he’d arrive a little early. Maybe I hadn’t slept all that much last night and maybe that’d resulted in me brewing a pot of strong coffee far too early this morning, and maybe — just maybe — I’d already finished said pot of coffee. And maybe that was the reason why I was alittlewound up.
Have you looked at the weather forecast?Cassy asked in her message. Her question was accompanied by two emojis: one with hearts in his eyes, the other one a simple thumbs-up.
Of course, I texted back with a huge smile on my face. I might’ve been obsessively checking the weather forecast multiple times a day for a week now.Everything’s going according to plan. They predicted light snowfall for today, but for tonight, they’re saying there’ll be heavy snowfall and strong winds. I can’t believe my plan is working!
The snowstorm was the one aspect of my plan that was completely outside of my control. I couldn’t control the weather. I was pretty sure no one could. And as far as I knew, there was no culture that did snow dances. Rain dances were a thing, but rain in sub-zero temperatures wasn’t desirable at all. I wanted to get snowed-in, not have black ice make us spin out and land in a ditch. That wouldn’t fit my plan for a cozy, snowed-in love story at all.
All that’s left to do is for you to snatch him up! Just don’t forget the cookies. I want cookies when I arrive. Oh, and no fucking in the kitchen!!!!
Yes, Mom,I answered, followed by an eye-rolling emoji that matched my expression perfectly.
And if we happened to fuck in the kitchen, I wouldn’t tell her. Besides, it wasn’t like I’d bake cookies on the same surface without cleaning it first. Also… I’d probably be freezing my ass off, which wasn’t romantic at all.
If I finally managed to get closer to Will after two and a half years, I really wanted it to be in a bed or on a rug in front of the fireplace or on a couch…. I wasn’t picky; I just wanted all the important parts to be warm.
Aaaand now I needed to think about something else. Adjusting my erection in my jeans, I shook my head.
If Will and I ended up taking things slow instead and didn’t have any sex at all this week, that’d be fine, too.
I wanted Will, the person, not his body. I mean, I wanted his body, too — have you seen him? — but to me, this wasn’t about fucking. If I only wanted a hot guy to get off with, I could’ve just gone to a club or picked someone up on Grindr.That’d have been far easier, less complicated, and less frustrating.
But I didn’t just want a hot guy to get my rocks off with. I wanted someone to share my life with.
Someone who was genuine and kind. Someone who loved books and frequently had to push his glasses back up his nose because they kept slipping down. Someone who wore knitted sweater vests and corduroy pants and still managed to look cute. Someone who tutored his students in his spare time, for free if they agreed to just try to put in the effort. I wanted someone whose eyes lit up whenever he talked about Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde.
While I was still thinking about all the things I loved about Will, I started the coffee machine again— this time with Will’s favorite roast of beans.
It probably wasn’t my smartest idea to start making more coffee now. If there was one thing I didn’t need right now, it was something that’d make me even more hyper and jittery. Feeding my already-nervous self more coffee really was a bad idea. I should probably prepare two thermoses — coffee for Will and chamomile tea for me. Was drinking chamomile on coffee okay? Or was it like mixing alcohol and energy drinks, a combination doctors vehemently advised against?
It'd be better for me to sit next to Will and basically vibrate from a caffeine overdose than collapse because I’d mixed the wrong things, so…. I should just stick to coffee, right?
After the coffee was finally done and I’d prepared the travel mugs for our drive, the doorbell rang.
