Always There || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 173: The Greatest Gift

"You don't have to get me anything for Christmas." Josh laughed, gently caressing my face. "That was more than enough." I shook my head, unable to contain my beaming grin, leaning into another long kiss.
"You know I'm going to get you something." I said, wrapping my arms around him, pulling him in closer. He nodded, staring back at me with dazed eyes and a permanent smile.
"You always give the best gifts, Jaime." He sighed.
"I guess it's just easy when it comes to you." I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"We should probably decorate this tree though." He giggled to himself. "Before everyone gets home, at least."

He was right. The last thing I wanted was anyone else coming home and interrupting us. This was the happiest I had been in a long time, and I wanted it to last as long as possible.

"Where is everyone, anyway?" I asked, handing Josh ornaments as he climbed back up onto the ladder, strategically placing them around the top.
"Sam and Jake just went out for a little bit." He said simply, leaving it at that.
"And.. you didn't want to go with them?" I asked. He shook his head, his smile growing.
"I was really hoping you'd want to come over. So.. that worked out." I felt my cheeks burn, smirking up at him. He peeked down at me, giving me a wink.
"You're cute." I said softly.
"So are you."

It was so easy with him; like slipping on your favorite sweater after it had spent the summer hanging in the back of the closet, just waiting to be wrapped around you again once Fall begged for it to be ripped from its hanger.

"Oh my gosh.." I sighed, picking up a small framed ornament that held an old photo of him. He was so small, his eyes so big and full of excitement.
"When was this?" I asked, holding it up to him. He took it, instantly shaking his head.
"Oh, this." He laughed. "You don't have to see this."
"You were so adorable." I said, reaching back for it. He pulled it away, hanging it up out of my reach.
"Were?" He asked, smirking back down at me. I bit down on my lip, feeling my cheeks burn.
"Are." I corrected. I could see his smile grow as he kept his eyes on the tree, taking another ornament from my hand, eventually turning back to me when I didn't let go of his, now making his way back down the ladder.

And for a moment, we just sat in this time together, surrounded by the warm lights of the tree, the glistening of the ornaments, the gentle scent of the pine needles filling the air, taking me back to every Christmas before this when things were so simple, but I dreamed of nothing but what I had right now.

He reached up, holding my face in his hand again as he gently rubbed my cheek with his thumb, his eyes getting lost in mine as I could feel myself slowly but surely melting within his grasp. The warmth of his skin, the familiar taste of his lips still lingering on mine, wanting nothing more than to taste them again, to taste them over and over..

"Are you hungry?" I asked, reaching down for this other hand, intertwining our fingers. He nodded, and followed me closely as I pulled him into the kitchen.

Josh's P.O.V

I just couldn't stop smiling. I don't know what had changed, but suddenly everything just felt.. right. Like something just clicked, and now we were us again.

But there was still a part of me that was hesitant. She was happy now, while it was just the two of us, but how would she feel once Jake brought someone else home. Was I only good enough when no one else was around? Or.. was she finally sure about me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, leaning up against the counter as she went into the fridge, looking around until she finally pulled out the butter and a carton of eggs. She stayed quiet, then going into the pantry and grabbing the flour and sugar, but seemed stumped as she kept looking.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, going over and wrapping my arms around her waist, leaning my chin on her shoulder.
"You don't have chocolate chips?" She asked. I couldn't help but smile, reaching past her and grabbing them from the top shelf.
"Are you making cookies?" I laughed. She nodded, turning around to face me.
"We are." She said, leaning into a quick kiss before maneuvering around me, placing everything down on the counter. I followed her closely, watching as she began to work, mixing everything together without even having to measure.

She was an artist in every sense of the word.

I stood back, completely mesmerized by how she moved, gliding across the floor, her tiny hands now covered in sugar and chocolate, as if she wasn't sweet enough already.

She eventually caught me staring, smirking back up at me with a timid grin. She held up one finger, dusted white in flour and motioned me over. I didn't hesitate to obey, leaning up against the counter as she stared up at me, her eyes in a daze, making my heart beat faster as they moved down to my lips. All I wanted to do was kiss her, but I didn't know if we were there yet again. As badly as I wanted to jump right back in, I still had my guard up.

Just a little.

Then she reached up, gently rubbing the sugar across my lips, her smile growing as her cheeks burned an adorable pink. I licked them clean before reaching over, sticking my finger in the bowl, flicking flour at her face. She gasped, staring back at me with wide-eyes.
"Josh!" She laughed, reaching back into the bowl, but I quickly stopped her, tightly wrapping my arms around her and pulling her away.
"Oh no you don't." I laughed. She let out a lively scream, leaning back against me and clinging on tight as I spun her around, hiding my face in her neck. And for a moment I got lost in the daydream of what life could be like for us.

If she was finally ready for that.

When I finally let her down, she turned to face me again, out of breath and still beaming from ear to ear. She reached up, wiping what was left of the sugary remnants onto my face in retaliation, but little did she know, I loved every second of it.

I wanted so many more nights of this; nights of childlike food fights, decorating trees and kissing under festive leaves, longing stares and wandering hands that fit into each other's like they've always belonged there. I wanted every playful shove, taunting word, and mocking voice that was delivered with such a smile that told me it was meant with nothing but the purest of love, perhaps even too much to where she couldn't convey it fully without disguising it as a joke. But how ever she wanted to love me, I'd take it and I'd take it happily.

I slowly reached up, caressing her face again, pulling her in closer to me. I could see her face relaxing into a familiar love struck gaze, her hands gently grabbing onto my waist, gradually making their way up my chest, no doubt feeling the rapid pounding of my heart. She lingered there for a moment before eventually wrapping her arms around my neck, her eyes moving down to my lips that were still covered in what remained of her candy-coated concoction; a delicacy that was made just for her.

And then she kissed me.

It felt like Christmas morning; the moment you wait for all year, and not because of the presents or the decorations or the music or the food.. but for that feeling you get when you wake up to the pure magic, the pure love that surrounds you.. and that was her. To me, Jaime was pure love. Whether she was mine or not. But how badly I wanted to wake up, after years of wishing, to finally find her under my tree.

She was all I ever wanted, the greatest gift I could ever recieve. And I think, this year, was finally my year.