December Kisses || chaennie

Chapter 11

So, Pete's place was nicely decorated, with its walls covered in random glittery silver lights, those plastic candles sat by the windows, snowmen and Santa toys that sang in unison, freakily rubbing up against each other. It was what you'd call a proper Christmas welcome.

However, it couldn't really be described as a party. When Jennie charmed me into going to a party, I kinda assumed it would be this big thing where we'd go to a club or something as hideous. Why else would she look at me the way she knew that I couldn't say no to? Under ten people were gathered in the one bedroom apartment, slouched across the couches and the floors, drinking and watching nothing on the TV. It didn't meet my expectations.

My jacket was taken from me by Pete, who hung it up properly in a closet and ushered us inside like he actually knew who we were. When in reality, we barely said hello to each other. I was about to walk back out when Jennie pulled me toward the little kitchen area.

"When you said party," I said, pouring myself a glass of water at the sink, smirking.

"I was led to believe it was," Jennie told me, subtly glancing at Lisa who leaned over the top of the couch and grinned down at her new friend Pete. "Clearly, I misinterpreted it."

"I for one, am glad."

"Well, I know you are," she said, sliding a glass toward me.

"Okay. One tap water, coming up."

"Rosie," she said, taking the glass from me.

"Yep?"

"You're holding yourself back."

"Well, why not jump into a potential deep conversation, at a party, where everyone is less than five feet away?"

Jennie pursed her lips. "Are you afraid to tell me something?"

My eyes rolled. "Bitch, I'm afraid of telling people a lot of things. Be more specific."

She looked me up and down before tilting her head to the side. "Christmas. Have your plans changed?"

"Plans..." My face tightened as I processed her question. "Have your plans changed?"

"I asked you first."

"And I asked you second, which is just, if not more valid."

"You're impossible."

"Okay, okay." For some reason, my hands were beneath the running tap. I looked at the dripping pads of my fingers, flicked them outward, accidentally hitting Jennie in the face and brought the hand towel toward me from the countertop. "Okay."

"I'm glad you can accept that fact."

"Don't be an asshole," I muttered, putting my hands down. "Okay. Is this me being subtly disinvited from spending Christmas with you?"

Of course, listening to the words as they flew out of my face and seeing the way Jennie communicated my stupidity without even opening her mouth, made me regret the question or entertaining the conversation in the first place.

She looked at me with narrowed eyes and then, did something that I should've seen coming.

Jennie grabbed the hand towel, whipped it against my backside and fled from the kitchen, conveniently being brought into a conversation by some randomers as soon as she took a seat on the ground in front of the couch.

Finally tearing my gaze away from the woman, I looked up in time to see Lisa shaking her head at me, with a sly smirk playing on her lips. I huffed in response to the strange atmosphere and decided to sit next to her and Pete, not up to making small talk or introducing myself to the strangers in the room.

Lisa grabbed a hold of Pete's arm, as though it were mine and leaned across his body. She whispered, "Made any love declarations recently?"

My eyes widened. "Lisa, what the hell?"

Pete sat awkwardly between us, shoulders hunched over. "I feel like I should leave."

"No, it's okay, Rosie is as obvious enough that strangers even see her undying love," Lisa reassure him, knocking her shoulder against his. "So, have you?"

"I agree with Pete. I feel like I should leave."

"No, you can't."

"Why not?"

"You can't exactly take Jennie's car and leave her here, can you?"

I struggled to form a response because she was right. I shrunk down on the couch and rested my cheek against the palm of my hand and stared blankly at the television. Lisa made Pete declare it a time for turning off the lights and watching some tv and so, the room went quiet, except for the munching on popcorn and slurps of their drinks.

Lisa was apparently in a very authoritative mood, asked me to fetch her some chocolate, blackmailing me with her eyes with her information on my lovey-dovey feeling.

I broke the chocolate into little pieces, hashing my anger out on the crumbs into a bowl, rather than causing a scene and slapping her in the face.

"Rosie..."

"Jennie," I responded, politely.

"Why are you destroying perfectly good chocolate?"

"I'm giving it to Lisa."

"And what has Lisa done to you do arouse such a response?"

I glanced at her and shrugged. "By being herself."

She nodded and sighed. "You're spending Christmas at my house."

I laughed. "Okay."

I finally crunched the chocolate as far as it could go and turned around and smiled at Jennie. For some reason, she wasn't looking at me, despite the really small space in the kitchen. Instead, her eyes were trained upward, like a light of heaven had spurted from the clouds or something.

Finding her entrancement curious, I too, looked up and immediately blinked ridiculously fast.

"Mistletoe," she murmured, quietly.

"Mistletoe..." I cleared my throat. "You uh, you do like traditions."

Jennie moved her head closer to me. I stood frozen, from both fear and excitement. Somehow, I leaned in, so my forehead rested against hers. I closed my eyes. Both our breaths shook. "I do," she said in barely more than a whisper.

She gently leaned in and kissed me with her warm lips.