A Storm Is Brewing

Second Place Love

I knew I had to recreate Christmas decoration day for Leah; it was something she had been excited about, and my own stress had managed to ruin it—even though she insisted that I hadn't. Waking up before her, I set the tone for the day ahead downstairs. Switching on the speakers at a low volume so as not to disturb her, organising the decorations by colour, and wrapping myself in tinsel before heading upstairs to wake her.

I crept into the bedroom, seeing a one eye opened Leah struggling to contain her laughter as she studied my appearance.

"What on earth are you doing?" She chuckled.
"Christmas decoration day, part 2." I smiled.

Leah sat up in the bed, swinging her legs out the side of it before parting them slightly to allow me to slip in between them. My fingers found her hair, and her arms wrapped around my waist as I reached down to peck her lips.

"Shower?" She croaked.
"Shower." I nodded.

— — — —

Decorating the house for Christmas with Leah was heightening every emotion I had about the wedding. The excitement, the disbelief, the nerves, and the thoughts of what would come next—where we would be this time next year— I could see in Leah's eyes that she felt the same; the little looks that she stole when she thought I wouldn't notice, the way she pretended to need to hold onto me for balance when she didn't, and the smiles that we exchanged—all of those moments made me more sure than I'd ever been that this was the right decision. We were the right decision.

"The last one to the sofa has to do the outside lights!" She exclaimed, leaving me for dust.
"That was so unfair!"
"Unfair in your eyes, perfect technical play in mine. It's the blue box; there are only a few. Might be a bit tangled though." She smirked.
"You're lucky I love you." I grumbled.

Picking the box up with a sigh, I headed outside to begin the task of attaching the string of lights to the roof. Blowing into my hands for heat and cursing every knot that seemed to untangle just to tangle again, I finally made it to the end of the string, beginning to climb back down the ladder again. The cold nipped at the tip of my nose, my breath clearly visible and illuminated by the Christmas lights that now hung proudly from the roof.

And then it happened.

Snow.

It felt like a fairytale, like a sign from somewhere that my thoughts from today had been confirmed—that this was a fairytale, and I was living it.

"Leah!" I shouted.

I heard the thunder of Leah's feet hitting the floor, the sliding of her slippers on the floor as she tried to make her way outside. Realising that I probably shouldn't have shouted with such urgency when she knew I was working on the roof lights, I let out a chuckle to myself at my childishness.

"Soph, are you - snow." She whispered, her teeth glistening in the night.
"Snow." I smiled.

Leah slipped her coat over her shoulders, taking the few steps to my position and gazing up at the lights, watching as the snow fell onto the roof.

"I feel really emotional." Leah whispered.
"Why, Le?"
"I don't know—the snow, the lights, today, you, the wedding, the last few months. I just feel like I can't believe that we're here. You know?"

I didn't say anything, I knew exactly what she meant because I felt it too. That meant I knew exactly what she needed in that moment. I reached my hand to hers, interlocking our fingers and pulling her towards me. My face was buried in her chest, her chin resting on my head, and our bodies swapped the last of the heat between us.

"It's really cold." I chuckled after a few moments.
"I know, I have the blankets on the sofa for you; let's go."

We spent the rest of the evening watching movies, our bodies as close as they could possibly get underneath the heat of the three blankets that Leah had prepared while I'd been on the roof. As the credits rolled on the last movie, Leah lifted my body from her chest, turning to face me instead. She moved in slowly, connecting our lips softly and bringing her hand up to cup my cheek, pulling away after a few seconds and gazing into my eyes.