“An On Dublin Street Christmas”

by Samantha Young

The smell of coffee and cinnamon teased my curious eyes open and I

pushed lazily up onto my elbow, grinning at Braden. He stood over

our rumpled bed wearing a long-sleeved pajama top and matching

pants.

Boo to winter for stealing my naked Braden time.

Strands of his gorgeous, dark hair flew out in different directions

courtesy of my fingers and the rough treatment they’d given it when

Braden had gifted me my first Christmas present of the morning. A

stocking filler, he’d called it before he’d pushed my legs open and

well… filled me.

Sigh.

I eyed the mugs of cinnamon-topped coffee in his hands. “Another

present?” I asked as I took my mug from him. He placed his coffee on

the bedside table before getting back into bed with me. I snuggled

into his side as he reached back for the coffee and once he was

settled I knocked my mug against his. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” he murmured and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.

Mmm, he tasted good. He tasted Christmassy.

Braden shot me a teasing look when he pulled back. “Definitely better

than last year so far.”

Un-amused at the reminder, I flipped him the bird. He threw his head

back in laughter.

Last year we’d spent Christmas day barely saying a word to each

other, passing time in awkward conversation, swapping overly

expensive Christmas gifts, and lending support to Ellie as she

anticipated her upcoming surgery to remove tumors from her brain.

The surgery part had obviously not been my fault. The weirdness with

Braden had been. I’d broken up with him. I’d messed up hugely,

terrified of being in love with him, and terrified of losing him.

I’d given him the run-around and it hadn’t been easy on him.

Every now and then he’d mention it and my guilt transformed me into

a rampant sex goddess, bent on making it up to him.

Well, he’d already gotten sex this morning and I was getting wise to

his manipulation.

“It’s Christmas. You can’t pull that card. You get presents instead.”

Braden pouted comically. “I just want sex.”

“Tough. You’ve had sex. Now you get a sweater.”

“A sweater?”

“It’s cold outside.”

“I own plenty of sweaters.” He eyed me in disappointment. “You

seriously bought me a sweater for Christmas? And then told me

before I opened it? Why bother wrapping it?”

“Maybe it’s a special Christmas sweater.”

“Does it have a reindeer on it smoking a hash pipe?”

I snorted. “No.”

“Then it’s not a special sweater.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Maybe it’s pieced together with Velcro

so that when I feel like having my wicked way with you I can just tear

the damn thing off. That’s pretty special.”

Braden took a sip of his coffee. “You didn’t buy me a sweater, did

you?”

“No! Who do you think I am? Your Aunt May?”

“I don’t have an Aunt May.”

“I know that. I’m just saying that only Aunt May’s buy sweaters. If your

girlfriend buys you a sweater on your first freaking Christmas together

you kick that tool to the curb.”

Lips twitching, Braden’s eyes glittered as he stared into mine. “Even if

you’d bought me a sweater I wouldn’t kick you to the curb.”

I felt my stomach flip flop and wondered if I’d ever get used to his

scrumptiousness. “Really?”

“No way. Far too uncomfortable to have sex on a curb.”

“Oh, ha ha.” I rolled my eyes at him. “Funny man.”

He was still grinning as he nodded his head towards the door. “Let’s

open our presents before Ellie and Adam get here.”

I reluctantly got out of our warm bed, shrugging on a thick robe and

slippers, hugging the mug of hot coffee to my body as I followed

Braden out of our bedroom and into the sitting room.

Ellie had complained to me about our Christmas decorations. Last

year the flat had a big ass Christmas tree in it, as well as strings of

tinsel arching every door, hanging from every window, and trimming

the mantel on the fireplace. All Ellie’s doing. Braden and I were a little

more low-key. This year there was not a single rope of tinsel to be

found. Instead we’d bought a classy non-traditional white Christmas

tree that stood in the window and had our little pile of presents under

it. The window was lined with pale, twinkling fairy lights and I’d

draped more fairy lights through decorative reeds I had in a large

vase in the corner of the room.

I liked Christmas and this was Christmassy enough for us. Ellie and

Adam’s flat looked like Santa had dropped around for a party, had too

much to drink and puked up Christmas everywhere.

That was Ellie. Clutter freak.

God love her.

I sat down on the sofa and waited patiently, content, as Braden

brought out piles of presents out from under the tree and placed them

at our feet. “You go first,” I murmured, pointing to one of his smaller

gifts.

We commenced the unwrapping of presents, having bought each

other silly little things that made one another laugh, and things we’d

overheard the other saying we needed. Braden had also bought me

some very lovely and very expensive jewelry. I thought the diamond

earrings and matching necklace was my main present, but he insisted

he’d kept the most important gift for last, just as I had.

We stared at the last two gifts.

“You first,” I said again, feeling a little nervous.

Braden took off the paper and then opened the slim box, his eyes

lighting up when he saw the Rolex Submariner in steel with the

emerald green dial. He’d been ogling the damn thing online for

months but couldn’t bring himself to buy it since he didn’t need it. It

was a nice gift, one I knew he loved, but it wasn’t the whole gift.

“Turn it over,” I murmured, and my heart rate sped up as I awaited his

reaction.

Brows furrowed, Braden turned the watch over and held it up in the

light. On the back of the Rolex he found the inscription: Braden,

Yours Forever, Love Jocelyn x

It was the most sentimental gift I’d ever given him. I didn’t say I love

you a lot, and though I knew he knew that I loved him, I wanted him to

know that I had no plans to ever stop loving him.

When he looked up from the inscription his eyes were dark with heat

and emotion. “It’s beautiful, babe, thank you.”

I smiled shyly. “You’re welcome.”

“Open yours now,” he ordered gently, shoving his sleeve up so he

could put on the watch. He looked up at me from under his long

lashes, sensing my gaze was still on him. He grinned. “It’s never

coming off.”

Relieved my gift had gone over so well with him I smiled and then

picked up my last present. I unwrapped it. It was a box. It felt pretty

heavy. I opened it, my hands freezing over the contents. Nestled in

tissue paper was a photograph inside a modern, clear crystal photo

frame. The photograph was of me and Braden standing by Mons Meg

at Edinburgh Castle. We were wrapped around each other, kissing.

Ellie must have taken it when the four of us visited the castle during

the summer. I thought I’d seen all the photographs Ellie had taken

that day but clearly Braden had asked her to keep this one aside.

Only he knew what the cannon meant to me, that it was my special

place, and that made his gift that much more special.

I loved it. It wasn’t one of those cheesy, ‘hey, look how cute we are as

we pose for the camera’, pictures. It was a candid shot of an unaware

couple stealing a kiss.

I picked it up, about to tell him how great I thought it was, when I