Disclaimer: I only own the story specific characters I created. The originals belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
"Hey, Stranger," Charlotte was thrilled to wake up and find her boyfriend's eyes looking at her intently. "What time did you get here last night?"
"Late," he kissed her temple.
"Why are you awake then?" she rubbed lightly at his chest through his thin cotton t-shirt.
"I have a gorgeous woman in my arms. I'd be a fool for sleeping in," he smiled as she snuggled in on him.
"You'd be a fool not to," she gave him a lazy smile, "You've been working so many hours lately."
"I was able to reset my priorities," he rubbed circled into her back with his hands.
"Does that mean you don't have to go into the office today?" she asked hopefully.
Eddie found himself getting lost into her eyes. Even half awake, her eyes seemed to sparkle. "It's Christmas break," he told her, "For me too."
Charlotte got an excited look on her face. "I know just what we should do today."
"Oh really?" he lifted a curious brow, "We have the charity gala tonight."
"That's hours away," she responded.
"What do you have in mind?" he asked.
"First off, do you have any holiday traditions we need to take care of?" she asked.
"Just decorating the apartment, baking some cookies, and exchanging gifts," he shrugged.
"How would you feel about adding a few new traditions to your repertoire?" she asked.
"Sounds like fun," he curled a strand of her hair around his finger.
"Oh before I forget, Aiden knows about us," Charlotte replied, "Apparently he's actually known for awhile. He didn't say anything because he figured we had our reasons for keeping quiet."
"You and I should never become spies because we apparently suck at keeping our relationship off the radar," he chuckled.
"Or everyone in our family should become spies themselves because they were so good at figuring things out," Charlotte laughed with him. "So you're game for us having some holiday fun?"
"Absolutely," he bobbed his head, "So long as it can be just you and me for a couple of hours. We haven't had a lot of us time lately, and that's mostly my fault."
"You were busy with work," she caressed his chin, "I completely understand."
"My priorities are straight now, so you have my undivided attention all day," he assured her.
"Good," she caressed his chest lightly, her fingernails lightly scratching through his shirt, "How about another hour or so of sleep and then we get on with our day."
"Okay," he allowed himself to fall back to sleep for a while longer. Charlotte wasn't surprised considering how hard he'd been working lately. She let him sleep for a bit longer than an hour, surprising him with breakfast in bed before disappearing into her bathroom to get dressed for their mysterious outing.
"Look who finally got out of bed," Devon greeted Eddie when he emerged from Charlotte's room to grab another cup of coffee while Charlotte finished getting ready, "Thought you were going to sleep the day away, if in fact you were sleeping."
"Been working a bit too hard lately. Thought I'd spend the first day of my vacation catching up on some sleep. Charlotte didn't seem to mind," Eddie refilled his coffee mug. "How's the apartment hunting going?"
"Slim pickings," he held up the real estate listings to prove he'd actually been looking, "A buddy of mine knows a guy who has a place potentially opening to be sublet, but it's not available until February. In the mean time, I'm keeping my options open."
"And the job hunt?" Eddie asked.
"My agent has me going on a few auditions, but most productions are shutting down their casting departments over the holidays," Devon replied, "I won't be getting much in the way of work until the first of the year."
"I see," Eddie took a healthy gulp from his coffee to cover for his great need to role his eyes. He wasn't stupid enough to believe Devon was putting in a lot of effort to find himself alternate accommodations. Charlotte's home was quite the comfortable place to stay as he was well aware.
"So the Bass Charity Gala is tonight, that should be a lot of fun," Devon chimed in, "Got your monkey suit rented yet?"
"No need to rent," Eddie shook his head, "I own one. I attend enough formal occasions to have found the need to actually purchase a tux."
"Charlotte says this gala is always the social event of the season," Devon responded, "You ready to come out formally."
"Absolutely," Eddie replied, "It seems our immediate family already knows. They're all really supportive, so there isn't anything else to worry about."
"Until Mister Bass finds out you're practically living with his daughter," Devon muttered.
"And how is he going to find out?" Eddie challenged the younger man.
"Mister Bass is a pretty resourceful dude," Devon shrugged, "I'd watch my back if I were you."
"And I'd watch my front, if I were you," Eddie countered, "Charlotte's hospitality will only last so long. If she hears you've been gossiping to the right people who funneled the information to her father, I'd wager she'd toss you out into the street. That's not exactly the way I'd want to spend the holidays, if I were you."
Devon's nostrils flared as he rose from the table and made a dramatic exit just as Brice was entering. Brice had to quickly sidestep Charlotte's ex to avoid ramming into him.
"He's not gone yet?" Brice grumbled as he helped himself to a morning cup of coffee.
"Apparently not," Eddie sighed heavily.
"I'm surprised Dad hasn't just paid him off to get him to go away," Brice plopped himself down in a chair and helped himself to a few pastries on the table.
"That's probably plan b," Eddie replied.
"Charlotte's too nice sometimes," Brice said between bites of his breakfast. "I would have let Devon stay one night and then insisted he find another place to stay…You know he's going to try to find a way to force you out, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Eddie bobbed his head. He knew he should be more concerned about Charlotte's ex, but the more he got to know Devon, the less threatened he felt by him, especially considering Charlotte's almost complete indifference towards him.
"You ready for the gala?" Brice asked.
"As ready as I can be," Eddie replied.
"Stay on Uncle Nate's good side," Brice suggested, "He's almost as protective of Charlotte as Dad is."
"That's a good tip," Eddie chuckled, "You got any other tips?"
"Nah, Nate's the only one I'd really worry about if I was you," Brice shook his head.
"And Serena's date?" Eddie asked.
"Mom made her promise not to bring the guy from Thanksgiving," Brice chuckled, "Sounds like I dodged a bullet on meeting that train wreck."
"Gave Charlotte the willies," Eddie stated.
"Serena will probably show up with Nate tonight," Brice sighed.
"There you are," Charlotte found Eddie in the dining room conversing with her brother, "You need to get ready. We're heading out soon."
Eddie gave her an appreciative glance, both to take in her beauty and to determine what he should wear. She was dressed casually in a comfy sweater, a pair of denim leggings and brown suede booties.
"Where are you off to?" Brice asked.
"It's a secret for the moment," Charlotte gave Eddie a shove in the direction of her bedroom, "Get dressed."
Eddie disappeared into the master bedroom to get dressed. He was amassing quite a collection of clothes at Charlotte's home, so he had plenty to pick from. He suddenly realized he already had his own section in her closet and a host of drawer at his disposal. He wondered if they should talk about their living situation in the near future.
Emerging from Charlotte's bedroom a bit later, he could hear Charlotte's tense voice in the dining room. He was surprised by the tone of her voice as she'd been in such a good mood when went to get dressed.
He entered to find Charlotte and her brother staring each other down. "Everything okay?" Eddie asked.
"Fine," Charlotte masked her frustration, "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, are you?" he looked to her with concern.
"Let's go," Charlotte bobbed her head and pulled him towards the coat closet, sending one final scowl in her brother's direction.
"Are you sure everything is okay?" Eddie caressed her cheek as he watched her don her warmest winter coat, adding a printed scarf and matching beanie to complete her look.
"Just a few terse words between siblings," she gave him her best attempt at a smile, "Let's not let it ruin our day."
"I'm game if you are," he pressed his lips softly to hers.
Emerging from the taxi in front of Bloomingdales, Eddie was quite confused when Charlotte didn't pull him into the store.
"When we were little, Mom and Dad would bundle us up in our warmest winter wear. We'd go to Macy's to have an audience with Santa, privately before the store opened and the mammoth line of kids could form. Then we'd spend the next couple of hours walking from store to store to take in the marvelous window displays," Charlotte linked her arm into his and guided him to the first window display she could find. "Mom and I would just oh and ah at the sights. Brice would be moaning about how bored and cold he was. Aiden would be laughing at Brice, his hand linked with mine. Dad would coax us along especially when Mom and I lingered too long at one particular window. After it all, we'd find some new place to have a good cup of hot chocolate…Are you up for some walking?"
"With you, absolutely," he smiled and so they went from window to window. The conversation shifted easily from one topic to the next as the pair traded stories about their childhood Christmas memories. Laughter made a regular occurrence between the pair.
Eddie glanced at his watch as they entered a café he'd recommended for their hot chocolate.
"We have plenty of time," Charlotte assured him. "We have four hours before the car picks us up for the gala, and Mom has a team of people coming to do our hair and makeup."
"Just checking," he smiled and held her chair for her.
"I had so much fun," Charlotte told him as she removed her scarf and beanie.
"You certainly looked like it," Eddie brought her hand to his lips. Her hands were a bit chilled. He took a few moments to take each one and rub it between his hands to warm them up.
"Do you have an holiday memories that include me?" Charlotte asked after the waitress came to take their beverage orders. Along with two hot chocolates, they ordered a few chocolate chip cookies to tide them over until the meal at the party.
"A few," he bobbed his head.
"Come on, you can't just say a few and end it at that," she batted her lashes.
"Okay, the first one," he instantly caved, "Your first Christmas, you were probably four months old. Your dad just went totally overboard with buying gifts for you and turned your parent's home into Santa's village. You were kind of fussy that day, more so than you'd been pretty much every time I'd seen you before then. If anyone besides your dad tried to hold you, you'd squirm and carry on until you were passed back to him. Your grandmother, Eleanor, was on the receiving end of a couple of blood curling screams. It kept pretty much everyone at bay, but then I got the bright idea that I could hold you. No one thought I'd have any better luck. I mean, I was just this six year old kid. What good was I going to be?"
"Did I settle down in your arms?" Charlotte asked hopefully.
"Nope," he laughed, "You just kicked and wailed and carried on until your father came to your rescue."
"You're making that up!" she exclaimed.
"I'm not," Eddie chuckled.
The waitress came with their beverages and cookies
"Good grief, pick a different one," she broke off a piece of one of the cookies and popped it into her mouth.
"Okay, you were eight, I think," he stated after a moment of thought. "It was the snowiest Christmas I could ever remember. Justin and I had been cooped up in the apartment for three days. We couldn't get to our family celebration in Boston. Everyone was super bummed. Mom couldn't even get to the store, so we weren't going to even have a special meal. We were just going to watch movies all day and eat frozen pizza, when there was this knock at the door. Your father had sent a vehicle for us, so we could at least celebrate with good food and good company."
"How do I fit in?" Charlotte asked.
"Apparently Justin and I weren't the only ones who had been going stir crazy because when we arrived, you and your brothers were practically bouncing off walls and kept asking your father every five minutes to go to Central Park to build a snowman. After lunch, your father finally caved, so all us kids bundled up, and your dad, Uncle Nate, and my dad took us across the street to Central Park. We built snowmen, had snowball fights, and just wore off so much energy. One the way home, your boots were soaked through and you were cold to the bone, so I offered to five you a piggy back ride," he recalled.
"Oh my god, I totally remember that now," Charlotte's eyes lit up in excitement, "That was such a fun afternoon."
"Who would have thought fifteen years later, you and I would be dating," he sent her a wink.
"Certainly not me," Charlotte smiled, "I had the biggest crush on you. Was it obvious?"
"A bit," he teased.
Charlotte's hands went to her face to hide her blush.
"I didn't mind," he reached for one of her hands. "I can't say I had a crush on you too, but I certainly was quite fond of you. I didn't mind having you tag along during vacations we had together when Justin and I set out to see the sights beyond the four star hotel."
"Remember the one time we ended up in that really rough neighborhood, and some guy tried to steal Justin's wallet," Charlotte recalled.
"Picked the wrong guy to tangle with," Eddie bobbed his head, "Justin was already training with the ROTC and dropped that guy with a single punch."
"You made me swear never to tell my father," Charlotte added, "And I never did."
"I know," he chuckled, "Justin and I would be six feet under by now if he found out."
"I never felt like I was in danger," Charlotte confessed, "I knew you and Justin would protect me. In fact, if I remember right, you did step in between me and that goon."
"Reflex," he chuckled.
"Uh huh," she gave his hand a squeeze.
"What were you and Brice arguing about earlier?" Eddie asked.
"Ugh, Devon," Charlotte frowned, "Brice says I should ask him to leave."
"I'm not even going to touch that argument," Eddie replied.
"Do you think I'm letting Devon play me?" Charlotte asked.
"I believe he genuinely doesn't have any place else to go, but I also think that if he's allowed to get comfortable he's not going to move on," Eddie chose his words carefully.
"I feel bad for him," Charlotte admitted, "His family is gone, and it's the holidays. No one should be alone at Christmas."
"Just make sure you're clear with Devon about how long he can expect your hospitality to last," Eddie suggested.
"I will," she assured him.
After their cookies and hot chocolate, Eddie hailed them a cab and they rode back to Charlotte's penthouse. She was immediately whisked up to her parent's place to get ready for the party. Since Eddie's tuxedo was at his parents' place, he left with the promise he would return before the car arrived to bring them to the gala.
TBC…
Who's ready for the gala?