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As if it were Christmas morning itself, Jenna and I jumped to our feet, cheering and hugging each other. We’d survived the hellish winter nightmare turned lovefest. Being trapped in a small space with someone who hated my guts had far exceeded my expectations, and now I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave.
“I love heat,” Jenna said, dancing around with pure and innocent joy. “I love light.”
“If I’d known this was what it would take to excite you I wouldn’t have bothered with the gift,” I said playfully.
Jenna stopped and turned to me, seemingly remembering the stethoscope as she bent to pick it up, clutching it to her chest and flinging herself into my arms. She looked adorable in her Emory sweatshirt and boy short panties, and I wanted to watch her like this all day.
“Thank you, Gabe,” she said, getting quiet and nuzzling against me. “I couldn’t have survived this without you.”
“Damn right,” I said, and she gave me a look of confusion. “Did you seeyoulight that fire with lighter fluid?”
Jenna burst out laughing in a way that reminded me of tinkling church bells and I beamed at her adoration.
“You know what we should do,” I said, looking around. “Now that the power is back on, we should cook up all the rest of the food we found. Plus…” I went to the freezer where days ago I’d found something of interest. I pulled the door open in a very flashy manner and Jenna gasped. “I found these in here days ago.”
Inside the still-frozen machine there were two full-size pizzas and a tub of unopened vanilla ice cream, along with a bottle of Baileys.
“Oh, my God,” Jenna said in a high-pitched shriek. “Those have been there the whole time?” She looked at me in half amazement, half interrogation.
I laughed at her expression, which only added to how cute she was, and nodded. “It was my backup plan. I wouldn’t have had a way to cook the pizzas, but I could have eaten the ice cream and drank the booze.”
Jenna charged me in mock anger and punched me playfully in the ribs before ripping the food and liquor from its protective case. Faster than I thought possible, she had the oven preheating and was scooping ice cream into bowls, accenting it with candy canes.
“Very festive,” I said, coming up behind her and wrapping my arms around her, painfully aware that this might be one of the last times I do so. Jenna and I hadn’t really discussed where we went from here. Maybe this would be the Christmas fling that I didn’t see coming and I’ll be telling my grandkids about it on my deathbed. Or maybe… just maybe…
Jenna began to hum a Christmas carol and grabbed her phone for back up, broadcasting it to the Bose speakers all over the cabin. She and I hummed along, laughing and kissing as we prepared our Christmas feast.
Once the smell of pizza and cinnamon peach sundaes filled the house, Jenna and I sat down at the decorated dining table and ate dinner together. It almost felt like being on a date because the dynamic of the situation had changed with the electricity. We had light, sound, and most importantly, food that wasn’t canned.
“I remember this one Christmas,” Jenna said. “Mom burnt the ham and so we ordered Chinese food to eat instead. Every year after that, we had lo mein alongside our traditional food as a sort of reminder of that wacky dinner.”
I smiled, sharing the sweetness and vulnerability of the memory, and decided to share one of my own.
“There was one Christmas where my parents couldn’t afford presents so instead, we took a road trip around the country with my dad doing odd jobs along the way to pay for gas. I remember as a kid how cool it was to see the seasons change from one half of the country to the other and then back again.” I stirred my peaches with my fork and felt a pang of melancholy. “My dad always said he wanted to take that road trip one more time before he died. Of course he never got to…”
Jenna reached for my hand almost right away and I pressed it to my forehead gratefully.
“We could take that trip together,” she said tentatively. “I mean, if you wanted to. I love traveling.”
I looked up at her, my heart so full from the idea that a tear slid down my cheek. “Do you really mean that? That would be amazing.”
Jenna nodded. “Anything to have a reason to see you again.”
So she wanted to stay in touch, too.
Merry Christmas to me.
“I want to see you again, too,” I said, leaning in and kissing her hand. “I didn’t want to be too pushy, but the thought of parting ways now…”
“Me too,” she said. “I think there could really be something here, Gabe.”
I nodded in agreement. “Dean’s not gonna like it, but I really feel something for you, Jen. I’m not ready to see you walk away.”
Jenna blushed and nodded, “Me too.”
She looked a little teary so I tugged on her hand, pulling her into my lap. She wrapped her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder while we both stared at the roaring fire that we couldn’t part with despite the electricity.
Jenna kissed my neck from where her head rested and the hairs stood up at the base of my skull. Jenna’s lips on me now conjured all kinds of sensual memories and it was hard to keep my composure.
