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Last Christmas – Chap 2

It was nine o'clock in the evening on Christmas day, the day when everyone stayed up till the break of dawn just hanging out. We stood in the kitchen: I was making cocoa for the girls; he was just… there. When I turned around to find the whipped cream, he handed it to me with a smirk, as silent as the snow outside.

I put the cream down, rolling my eyes, and turned to face him, my back against the counter.

"Merry Christmas, Bobby," I said softly, smiling up at my best friend.

"Merry Christmas, Jubes," her grinned back. "Here, I got you something." From his jeans pocket, he produced a small rectangular package covered in silver wrapping paper.

"Thanks," I said, accepting the gift. I felt my cheeks heating up, though I had no idea why; I'd already given him his main gift, so it wasn't like I'd forgotten or anything.

Carefully, I unwrapped it to uncover a navy blue box. I lifted the lid on it to reveal a golden locket in the shape of a heart.

"Wow," the word escaped my lips sounding breathless. I picked it up and held it so it would catch the light of the room. "It's beautiful."

"Open it," Bobby urged, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I found the catch on the side of the heart, and opened the locket. Inside was a picture of us covered in whipped cream, looking at each other with mischievous grins. Our arms were slung over each other's shoulders, and were holding bottles of cream in the other. That was the day we'd declared prank wars, using our preferred weapon of chaos – whipped cream, naturally.

"Wow, Bobby," I laughed. A wide grin settled on my face as I looked back up at the boy. "Amazing." I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

"Me or it?" He joked as I buried my nose in his shirt.

"Both," I said.

"Here, let me put it on for you," he offered. I placed the necklace in his hand and turned slightly. I lifted my hair off the back of my neck as he strung the chain around it.

"What happened to your other necklace?" He asked. The necklace he was referring to was a small silver key that read "Heart" in flowy writing. Cheesy, yes. So cheesy that sometimes even I wondered why I wondered why I wore it, but it stayed on. Until tonight.

I didn't answer.

The light brushing of his fingers against the back of my neck made my breath catch and gave me chills.

"Beautiful," he murmured. I let my hair down and leaned against his chest. My hand found his and I pressed a small parcel of my own into his palm. It wasn't neatly wrapped, as his was, though it was just as precious.

I don't know what made me do it. Maybe it was the smell of chocolate and cookies. Maybe it was the sugar from all the candy canes I ate finally getting to me. Or maybe it was just because it was Christmas.

But for whatever reason, I kissed my best friend.

His lips were soft and the kiss short and gentle. He tasted like gingerbread.

"Merry Christmas, Jubes he whispered, pressing his lips to my own one more time.

"Merry Christmas, Bobby."

~ J. J. Bean