White Christmas

6

I sat with Mila in my arms for hours. She mumbled in her sleep, groaned, and several times asked for me. When I'd tell her I was there, she'd say something about being happy and curl up even further against me.

"Mila," I nudged the small woman next to me until she woke up.

"Iris?" Mila opened an eye and looked up at me.

"Mila," she smiled and sat up, fixing her hair so it wasn't in her face. "The fire's out Mila. Isn't it a little cold? I didn't want to wake you up but I didn't want you to freeze."

"That's sweet of you, Iris. Thank you," She said while yawning, making half of the sentence near impossible to understand. She rested her head on my shoulder and kicked a foot out of the blanket. We sat in silence for a while before she got up and left the room without saying anything. I took the opportunity to move to the couch so my back could be supported. Hours of trying to sit straight so Mila could get a good nap in was worth the back pain to me.

Mila wandered back into the room with a large shirt on and took a seat on my lap. Not that I minded though, she wasn't bothering me. I pulled out my phone and shut it off to preserve battery as Mila stayed perched on me.

"You're stressed, Iris." Mila moved my phone away and repositioned herself to be facing my direction. She offered me a smile and began rubbing my shoulders. It was something she would do to soothe me when she found me unbearably stressed out, claiming that my stress was her stress.

Mila pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she concentrated on calming me down. There wasn't a moment when she yelled in my ear, pinched me, or teased me, which was uncommon for her. She was simply, genuinely being sweet. It was almost refreshing.

"Mila, you're the stressed one, I should be taking care of you," I said softly as I came to my senses, trying to get up. Guilt flooded my system when I remembered why we were even out of town to begin with. Mila shook her head and smiled at me in response.

"You're already taking care of me!" Mila laughed and pushed some muscle that stopped my heart every time. "I think I'm seeing gray hairs from me just being here!" She chuckled and rested her head on my shoulder while she hummed.

"Hey, everything's gonna be alright. We've got each other, right?" I rubbed her back and smiled when she got closer. She was silent for a while, but when she finally spoke her voice was just above a whisper.

"We've got each other, yeah?" Mila pulled back and let her eyes settle on me. I found myself staring at her bare monolids. Normally she would wear makeup anywhere outside of the house, but with the snow-in, her skin was bare and clear and I was envious of it. For how often she wore makeup, her skin was perfect. Everything about her was perfect.

"You're staring," Mila laughed but it didn't seem in her usual playful tone. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion and she didn't say a word after, prompting me to speak.

"I suppose I was." I shrugged and looked away, trying to make the situation I had made less awkward.

"Iris?" Mila cocked her head slightly to the right and I knew she was going to be difficult, but I couldn't refuse whatever her offer was. Saying no to her was always impossible for me.

"Yes?"

"If we have each other... Why isn't that enough?" Mila looked away and sighed, her shoulders slumping at the action

"It is," I ran my fingers through Mila's hair as she squeezed her legs against my lap every few seconds.

"Why don't we just get married?" Mila looked into my eyes and I felt almost like I was stuck with three outcomes.

If I said no, Mila may never go out and find somebody, knowing her. She hated dating. She'd just exist in the background until somebody came along.

If I said yes and it went horribly wrong, it'd be completely awkward between us.

If I were to say yes and it went too well, we could get a new place with the dog Mila always wanted.

"I don't think that pretending to be in love is a good idea," I replied softly, trying not to choose. Mila had been going off about marriage for a while, but this was the most extreme thing she had said to me yet.

"Who said we have to pretend?" Mila pressed her lips against mine and moved her hands to around my neck. I found my hands on her hips within seconds as if I had been planning for this, but there was no way I could have known.

Right?

"Mimi," I gasped and pulled away the moment I understood what was going on (which was at least a good thirty seconds). Mila rested against me and began teasingly nipping at my neck while I did nothing in protest.

"I love you, Iris. It's all I can say." She moved back up to my lips and I was unable to pull away. "Baby,"

She had me around her finger. I always had been dumb for her and she knew it. She kissed me over and over until I became purely idiotic.

"We can give it a shot, Mila." I sighed rested my forehead against hers to slow her down. I knew there was no stopping Mila when she wanted something.

"Kiss me," Mila whimpered and I found my lips on hers again. This time, I didn't mind one bit.