Page 60 of Unforgivable Ties

“Alright,” I muttered, easily picking up the eight-foot tree. “Let’s do this.”

It was an adventure getting the tree tied to the top of the car, back to the apartment, and finally up the elevator. By the time we finally got it standing upright in the living room, we were both exhausted. But as I watched Stephanie’s face light up as she stared at the tree, I decided it was all worth it.

“Let’s decorate it!” she exclaimed, diving for the box of ornaments and decor we had bought before getting the tree.

“Right now?” I asked.

We were covered in sweat, pine needles, and reeked of sap. The only thing I wanted to do was shower with her. And fuck her against the tile once we had cleaned off the remnants of our tree adventure. But then again, I’d take any excuse to have her under me.

But Stephanie was too busy pulling out garlands, tinsel, and strings of multi-colored lights to hear my question. In her eagerness, she knocked over one of the smaller boxes, spilling a dozen glass ornaments onto the floor.

“Careful, careful,” I said, walking over to help her with the excessive amount of decorations.

“We’ll put the lights on first!” She declared, shoving the fallen ornaments aside with no regard.

I groaned internally at the thought of entangling myself in a web of twinkling lights. A jaunty Christmas tune was already playing in her head, I was sure, as she pushed the box towards me with a gleeful twinkle in her eyes.

“Fine,” I surrendered, pulling out the twisted mass of lights from the box. Stephanie clapped her hands in delight and helped me untangle the string, her nimble fingers moving with the familiarity of years spent untangling Christmas lights.

The heat of her body close to mine was more electrifying than the Christmas lights that danced around us. It was as if her body had a magnetic pull, calling out to mine with an invisible force.

We worked together, with Stephanie leading the charge on how we should decorate the tree. Before long, her phone began to play soft Christmas carols in the background, adding to the festive ambience.

In the middle of hellish decorating, I found myself unexpectedly enjoying the task. The way Stephanie’s eyes glowed from the twinkling lights, her laughter ringing in my ears like a beautiful melody, made the otherwise tedious task bearable. I watched as she adorably struggled to hang a red ornament on the highest branch, her tongue sticking out in concentration, her brows furrowed in concentration.

“Here,” I said, walking over to her.

I picked her up by the middle and lifted her so she could easily reach the top branch. Her squeal of surprise was quickly replaced by a sound of contentment as she hung the ornament at the perfect spot. She wriggled in my arms, her legs swinging in the air. Chuckling softly, I set her back on the ground, but didn’t loosen my hold on her. Instead, I pulled her closer, our bodies aligning perfectly like pieces of a puzzle. Her warmth seeped into my skin, her scent filling my nostrils and intoxicating my senses.

“Oh,” she whispered, her cheeks coloring with surprise as she looked up at me.

“Hm?” I asked.

I leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered shut and she let out a content sigh, leaning into my touch.

“You know,” I said mischievously. “We forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Mistletoe. I was thinking there should be one in every doorway—”

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed, swatting me and trying to pull away.

But I tightened my grip around her waist, lifting her up and walking the two of us to the sofa. I gently lowered us onto the sofa, positioning ourselves so that we were facing each other. We clicked together like magnets and our bodies molded against one another.

“Time for a break,” I said, rubbing small circles into her hips.

“But we were almost done,” she pouted, jutting out her lower lip in a way that was almost comically endearing.

“With decorating. But we still have all that packaging to clean up.”

“Oh,” she said, her face falling at the thought of having to clean up the mess. “I didn’t think about that.”

“Mhm. So, I think we’ve earned a little break.”

We sat in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the feeling of being next to each other.

“What do you normally do for Christmas, Vincenzo?” Stephanie asked.

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