Don't Remind Me (Book 2)

-19-

Laurance woke up Christmas morning in my bed. We tried not to, we really did, but it felt like the two of us were making up for lost time or something.  When we went upstairs to go to bed, he ended up following me to my room. His family had a tradition of doing matching pajamas, and decided to get me a pair, too. This year, they had chosen a pair of fuzzy green plaid bottoms and a green and white tee to go with it. I didn't sleep in them since I get hot easily, but I changed into them quietly in the morning as Laurence slept in a little more. I closed the door softly behind me and smelled something mouthwatering coming from down the stairs. I reached the bottom and saw Cadenza standing over the stove with a pan of bacon.

"Merry Christmas 'Denza! Can I help?"

She looked up at me and gave me a little smile. "Merry Christmas! I'm all good here since it's all just about ready, but in a few minutes you can help me wake everyone up."

"Great." I plopped down in a nearby chair. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, we have a very chill Christmas." She told me as she scraped the eggs onto a plate. "We sit together and eat breakfast before opening our stockings. We then take a little break before moving onto the wrapped presents because usually someone comes and visits for a bit. No one's joining this year, but it's typically one of our grandparents. After that, we'll just play games or watch Christmas movies for the rest of the day."

"That sounds so nice."

"Is there any traditions that your family has on Christmas that we can do to make you feel more at home?"

"Not really. I'm happy doing whatever." Seeing that she was finishing up, I stood up from my seat. "I'll be right back. I'll go wake up Laurence, now."

I tiptoed to the door and slowly pushed it open. I peeked in the room to see if he was awake yet. He wasn't. So I kept my footsteps quiet as a I creeped in. When I got to the bed, I readied myself for a second then jumped on him. "Merry Christmas!" I raised my voice in his ear. He jumped up a little bit, but quickly recovered and threw me onto the bed, tackling me in a hug. "Laurence!" I squealed.

"Merry Christmas." He nuzzled my neck and gave me a lopsided smile. 

"Merry Christmas." I gave him a soft smile back. He leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed his face away and jumped back up. "Breakfast is ready. Get ready and come downstairs."

"Fine." He stood up and stretched, his shirt riding up just enough to show a bit of his stomach.

I tore my eyes away from him and walked out the door. "Come quick."

"I know." He called after me. I didn't have to wait downstairs for him long before he got there. His dad was helping Kelly into the living room when he came down. When he did, he went and gave everyone a hug before putting his arm around me and kissing my temple. "Merry Christmas, guys!"

"Merry Christmas, Laurie!" Kelly smiled as she was set down on the couch. Hayden handed her a pate with scrambled eggs and bacon and she gave him a little wink. "Now, do you guys wanna open your stockings?"

We spent the morning opening various boxes and bags and simply spent the day together. Although I insisted that their family would get me nothing, they still gave me just as much as they got their own kids. Later, we played games while sipping wine. Except Kelly, who had apple juice. After a day full of festivities, Kelly decided to have an early night. Hayden stayed up with us for a little longer, before turning in himself. From then, I snuggled up with Laurance and watched a movie with him and Cadenza. We chose Elf and chatted as we watched it, since all of us had seen it for what felt like a hundred times. When the credits started to roll, Cadenza stood up and stretched. "Alright guys, I'm headed up."

"'Night 'Denza." I smiled and snuggled closer to Laurence as she left and went up the stairs. When she'd gone, I looked up at Laurence and saw his adorable smile. I turned my chin up and he gave me, first, a little peck, then a deeper one before pulling back. 

"I've got one more gift for you."

"Laurence! You and your family have been generous enough to me. I don't need anything else."

"Actually, it's two. And one's only kind of a gift. And technically, it's already yours." He dug in his pocket and pulled out two small boxes. He tapped the slightly bigger one. "Open this one, first."

I gave him a fake dirty look before opening it. I gasped when I saw it. "Oh!"

He took it from me and took the familiar gold necklace out of the box. "I know thi might be a little cheesy to give you, and we're early on in this new stage, but it's always been yours, Leo. So, if you're okay with it, I'd like to give it back to you."

Tears formed at the corners of my eyes as I turned to let him put it on me. The familiar weight that it applied to ny neckline was comforting to me. I touched it as I faced him again. "Thank you, Laurie." I leaned in to kiss him but he backed up sightly.

"One more." He opened the other box and looked up at me with hopeful eyes. It was a ring with a thin bad that had five little pearls encrusted in it. "Just to be clear, this isn't an engagement ring. It's just... You've always been it for me, Leo. And now that Irene is giving us a second chance, I'm even more convinced. So, this is a promise ring. I want you to know that I'm committed to this- to us. And I will do anything for us, because I love you so much. So, Leona, the love and light of my life, will you accept this promise ring?"

A promise ring. My heart pounded in my ears. This was one of the last things that I was expecting his to pull out of a box. I lightly brushed the band with my finger and let out a little breath. There was only one answer that I could have said. "Of course I'll accept this ring, Laurence." I leaned forward and put my hand on the back of his neck, pulling his relieved face in for a kiss. I smiled against his lips as we pulled away to let him put the ring on my finger. When he had, I leaned towards his ear a murmured, "Technically I have one more gift for you, too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I stood up and smirked at him. "It's upstairs."

-

We woke up the next morning to Cadenza pounding on the door.

I stretch a little before answering it. "what's going on, 'Denza?"

"It's Kelly. Her water broke. The baby's coming!"

Thanks for reading!