Songs for this chapter:
• It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas - Michael Bublé
Chapter Twenty-Four:
Lexi's POV
"Are you sure that you don't want any help cleaning up dinner, Mom?" I ask, setting another plate down next to the sink where my parents are rinsing dishes and then loading them into the dishwasher.
Uncle Michael is busy packing the leftover food up into containers to put in the fridge, and Leo and Elena seem to be helping to clear off the dining room table as well. When I look to my right, I find that Charlie, Bryce, Mateo, Adriana. and Addison are all seated in the living room, all having a conversation about who-knows-what.
"We're doing quite all right, Lexi. Go spend some time with your boyfriend," my mom responds, quietly enough that my dad can't hear.
I grin at her, smiling and nodding. "Thank you, Mom," I reply before heading out of the kitchen and into the living room.
Adriana and Addison are sitting on the floor, their backs leaning against the couch behind them. Charlie is sitting on the sofa, Mateo and Bryce each seated on a chair across from them.
Deciding to take a seat next to my brother, I attempt to walk past where Mateo and Bryce are sitting, but I don't get past Bryce before he reaches out and wraps his long fingers around one of my wrists.
I don't get a chance to spin around to ask what he's doing before he tugs me into his lap.
"Bryce! We can't sit like this in front of everyone," I hiss, but all I receive in response is a smile so wide that I can see his dimples.
"Don't be so overdramatic. Nobody is going to care," Bryce insists, wrapping his arms around my waist as he tugs me close so that my back is pressed to his chest.
As strongly as I believe that he's wrong, every single part of me wants to sit with him, right here. I suppose that the chair is fairly large and I also doubt that anyone would dare to say something, and so I relax in Bryce's hold.
He presses a gentle kiss to my neck, and though it causes me to shudder, I choose not to react considering that we have an audience.
Dinner went generally well after Bryce and I's encounter in the bathroom. Once we returned to the table, everyone was clearly wondering where we had been, but no one dared to ask any questions. By some miracle, Adriana and Addison were able to keep their mouthes shut about what they saw, and so that awkward conversation didn't have to occur either.
Bryce kisses me again, on my cheek this time, before he turns to Mateo to ask, "So, you're staying at my dad's until you fly back to Toronto?"
Mateo turns to us and takes a moment to consider this question. Although Bryce's tone wasn't snarky, I can't tell if he was trying to bother Mateo or just start up a genuine conversation.
After the chat that Bryce and I had in the bathroom, I doubt that he would try and start up a fight right now which is why when Mateo turns to me. I give him a reassuring smile.
Mateo smiles back, look past me at Bryce to respond, "Yeah. I don't really have a choice. I guess it's either that or staying with my dad and brothers who want me dead. Sorry for the inconvenience."
To my surprise, Bryce chuckles.
And then he shocks me even more by responding, "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."
Mateo seems to be equally as startled by Bryce's words as his eyebrows literally fly up. He stares blankly at Bryce for a few moments before muttering, "Thank you, I guess."
Bryce smiles, apparently oblivious to the way that Mateo had answered hesitantly. My boyfriend soon shifts to bury his face unto the crook of my neck, and it gives me another opportunity to look to Mateo.
He raises his eyebrows at me in question, and all I'm able to do is mouth the words, 'I don't know.'
Bryce's POV
I have no fucking clue why Blossom is surprised by my ability to be nice to Mateo, considering this is what she's wanted all along.
What a confusing woman.
I also don't understand why she's so damn hesitant to touch me even the slightest bit in front of her family. I know that she doesn't talk about anything involving sex with them, but I really do hope that she realises that everyone in this house right now is pretty well aware that her and I regularly have sex.
I mean, it's pretty fucking obvious. I know that I look at her like a goddamn animal watching its prey fairly often, but she's just too damn beautiful to not want to be alone, naked, and in bed with her all the time.
Kathleen suddenly walks into the living room, using a dishcloth to dry off her hands. She scans the room, her gaze falling on Blossom and I for a moment which elicits a small smile from her. "Does anyone want any tea?"
Before any of us get a chance to answer, Michael calls out from the kitchen, "Do not give my girls caffeine! God knows that they don't need any more energy than they already have!"
Adriana and Addison merely chuckle at this, and Kathleen rolls her eyes before turning to Blossom and I.
"I'll have a cup, please," Blossom answers. Her brother declines the offer but Mateo requests a cup as well, and so when Kathleen turns back to me, I smile and say, "Yes, please."
She nods at me before heading back into the kitchen. Blossom watches her closely, and she seems to be thinking for a moment before she stands up from her seat in my lap and says, "I'm going to go help her. I'll be right back."
I contemplate stopping her, but I don't see the need to halt her from being nice, and so I instead say, "All right, baby. Do you want me to come too?"
She, once again, seems surprised by my general niceness, and it takes her a second to reply by saying, "That's okay, Bryce. Thank you, though."
I smile at her and she grins back, bending down to press a kiss to my cheek before she follows in her mom's footsteps, exiting the living room as well.
Mateo and Charlie begin to talk across the room about something school-related, but I'm really not interested in their conversation and so I watch Blossom as she moves around the kitchen, pulling mugs down from one of the cupboards and lining them up on the island. She looks sort of adorable for some odd reason as she drops a teabag into each cup, and as she grabs a small container presumably holding sugar, she hurries back into the living room to ask Mateo how he takes his tea before darting back into the kitchen again.
A few minutes pass before she returns, carrying a mug in each hand. My dad and Elena have sat down on the loveseat by now, and she sets down the mugs in front of them before heading back into the kitchen.
She returns with two more mugs, one for Mateo and one for me. She disappears one final time before returning with one cup of tea for herself. She sets it down on the small table beside us before she takes a seat in my lap, scooting back so that her back is flush to my chest once more.
"You're a waitress now, Miss Brooks?" I ask her teasingly, and she crinkles her nose before sticking her tongue out at me.
"I'm just trying to be helpful," she defends, crossing her arms against her chest, and I see a flicker of hurt in her eyes.
Dammit.
"Hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's cute, baby, it really is. I love that you always like to help people out when you can," I assure her.
My words easily lift all of the sadness from her face and she smiles at me before softly saying, "Oh, I see. I love you, Bryce."
"I love you too, sweetheart," I respond, watching as her eyes twinkle at my words.
Her parents and uncle now enter the room. Charlie grumbles as Johnathon kicks him off of the couch, and I watch with a smirk as he's forced to take a seat on the floor beside Adriana and Addison, who immediately pull him into conversation.
Michael takes a seat on the couch beside Kathleen and Johnathon, and he soon asks Blossom a question about Juilliard. She's extremely eager to answer, and I watch her face somehow light up even more as she begins to converse with him about her school.
I don't pay much attention to the actual words that are leaving her mouth right now as I'm too entranced as I watch her while she speaks.
She giggles ever so often, and she has a smile on her face the entire conversation. I love watching her when she's able to act so carefree like she is now, and it makes my heart ache for a moment as I recall how stressed she was about school not much more than a week ago.
When I wrap my arms around her waist, her small hands fall to cover mine. She links our fingers together as best as she can and there's something so fucking sweet about the action that I can't stop myself from kissing her cheek as she's midway through a sentence.
She blushes, and Michael seems to notice our exchange as he smiles before turning to speak to Mateo. They introduce themselves to one another briefly before Michael asks Mateo a few questions about himself, which Mateo, being the annoying asshat that he is, answers coolly and formally.
Glancing back to Blossom, I find her deep in thought as she stares at the Christmas tree across the room from us.
Although Kathleen, Johnathon, and Charlie seemed to have not done much decorating for the holidays this year, they at least have a Christmas tree put up. The tree is completely decorated with lights and a vast assortment of ornaments, some of which are obviously homemade from when Blossom and Charlie were kids.
I doubt my dad decorated our house whatsoever. We've never really been huge on celebrating the holidays, but I figure that that'll change drastically for me considering that my girl seems to be such a fan of Christmas.
I'm imagining that she must feel upset right now to think about her family doing festive shit like decorating a Christmas tree without her for the first time, and this seems to be confirmed by the way she sniffles before stealing a glance towards her brother and parents.
She immediately looks away before they could've even had the chance to catch her staring. Her gaze falls back on the Christmas tree, her eyes seemingly scanning the shiny ornaments and twinkling lights.
I'm faintly aware of the fact that she's now squeezing my hands increasingly harder, and so I carefully pull my hands out from under hers, forcing her to let go.
She suddenly seems to realise what she had been doing as she spins around in my lap to exclaim, "Oh my God! I am so sorry! Did I hurt you?"
I honestly can't stop myself from chuckling at her, and I watch as her cheeks flush red as she waits patiently for me to give her a verbal response.
I shake my head at her, promising, "No, Blossom. Of course not. I do want to know if you're okay, though."
She breaks eye contact with me, her eyelids fluttering shut. She tilts her head down as if to hide her face from me and so I then use one hand to tilt her chin back up.
Her eyes open, and she gives me a sad smile as she says, "Nothing's wrong, Bryce. I'm just being dramatic, per usual."
I frown at her blatant lie, and though I could keep up my streak of politeness by letting the matter go, I instead pry her for a true answer. "Talk to me, Blossom. You either tell me right now or we go have this conversation
elsewhere. I want an answer."
There's an accidental hint of authority to my brooding tone, and it seems to startle Blossom as her eyes widen for a moment before she quietly says, "I feel like I'm missing out on Christmas this year."
Her eyes water a little bit as she speaks, and it makes me frown even more.
I don't want to see her upset on this vacation. I want her to be the happiest girl in the whole fucking world this Christmas, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that that happens.
"What do you feel you missed out on, honey?" I ask softly, testing out that new nickname she seems to enjoy.
She sniffles, reaching to grip my forearms with her hands as she whispers, "I haven't watched a single Christmas movie this year. I also haven't seen my family until today. Not to mention that I haven't done any decorating at all, Bryce. Why couldn't we have moved in together before Christmas so that we could decorate your apartment for our first Christmas together?"
A stray tear rolls down her cheek, and she looks as though she's about to let out a sob.
I lean down to kiss away the tear before planting a gentle kiss on her soft lips. She kisses me back and it thankfully stops her from crying out, and so I pull away as an idea strikes me.
An idea that would be the perfect surprise to cheer her right up.
"Give me a moment, sweetheart," I tell her before I tug my phone out of my pocket, swiftly unlocking it.
She looks a tad bit offended that I'm on my phone rather than speaking with her, but I know that this will all be worth it as I type out a message to my dad.
Bryce:
Have you and Elena decorated the house for Christmas at all?
A second or so after I send the message, I hear my dad's phone ding with a notification from where he's seated next to Elena.
He checks the message immediately, and I watch surprise flash across his face as he sees that the message is from me.
He looks up from the phone and we make eye contact across the room before he sighs and types out a simple reply.
Dad:
No.
Why?
I grin, glancing to Blossom, who is sipping from her mug of tea as she watches the lights on the tree twinkle some more.
Bryce:
I'll tell you later.
Sticking my phone away, I smile at my dad. He rolls his eyes at me before turning back to his own girlfriend while I tap mine on the shoulder.
When she turns around in her seat to look at me, I give her a cheeky smile, excitement thrumming through me as I think about how happy tomorrow is going to make my girl.
A/N: I was at Chapters today and I saw THREE different books published by Wattpad Books... honestly, if y'all want to hit me up and publish your first full series, your girl is down ;)
Just kidding, but it's honestly so cool to see how mainstream Wattpad is becoming. After the After movie came out, and especially now that it's on American Netflix, so many more people are discovering Wattpad.
What are your guys' all-time favourite Wattpad books? I'm interested to know <3