While the tree lots would still be open, I doubt the pickings will be much. I headed to one of the Italian water ice places I knew was closed for the season. Normally, they'd sell Christmas trees, wreaths, and grave blankets during the holiday. Hopefully, they'd still have at least one decent tree.
Thirty minutes later, I had a barely 6-foot tall blue spruce that looked a little anemic tied to the roof of my truck. I'd also paid for real garland, bows, and a nice wreath and hanger for Steph's door. Next, I'd need to find someplace that still had decorations.
Sadly, the pickings would be slim since the closest Target was outside of Trenton and the closest Wal-Mart was in Hamilton Township. Technically, I was still on duty. So, I can't go too far in case I'm needed for backup in an emergency.
Knowing my choices were limited I pulled into the Dollar General and headed inside. The Christmas aisle was pretty much picked over, but I did manage to find a few boxes of strings of lights, and bonus...they were the large multi-colored bulbs. More digging resulted in a single unbroken angel for the top of the tree. A nice light-up star would have been my first choice, but since that wasn't going to happen with the choices I had here, the angel would do. Unfortunately, the only packs of ornaments left were either damaged or open and missing pieces. There were a few individual ornaments left. So, I grabbed them and headed for the register.
By the time I made it back to my vehicle, I was starting to get a little desperate. How could I give Steph a good Christmas without decorations for the tree? Maybe it was time to call in reinforcements. I doubted any of the guys would be much help. Besides, I didn't want them horning in on my plans with Steph. Was I being selfish? Absolutely. It wasn't because I expected anything to happen between us. Regardless of my feelings for Steph, my only motivation was to give her a Christmas Eve that she could look back on and smile at the memories. And damn it, I wanted those memories to be of me. Not me in a sea of other Rangeman. So, my first choice for help was Ella.
Once I explained the situation to her, she suggested the perfect solution. However, it did require me to go to the dollar store, grocery store, and liquor store to get everything I needed. I probably looked like a dork as I pushed the tiny cart up and down the aisle of Dollar Tree with Ella on Facetime, but I didn't care. Steph's happiness was more important to me than what I looked like to a bunch of strangers. Since I didn't know what I was doing, I needed Ella to guide me.
While making ornaments from scratch hadn't been my first choice, I could see where it might help with forming those happy memories I was striving for. Hopefully, Steph would be open to the idea of the experience of a make-your-own ornaments type of Christmas Eve.
Two and a half hours after I darted out of the building, I returned with my truck stuffed full of Christmas cheer and a feeling of excitement I hadn't experienced in years. Ella, being the angel she was, volunteered to assemble two plates of dinner for me to take instead of me trying to find an open pizza parlor. She also suggested an easy-to-make holiday drink she thought Steph might enjoy.
The balance of my workday was spent deflecting questions as to why I had a Christmas tree tied to the top of my vehicle and impatiently waiting for my shift to be over. When five o'clock finally came, I brought Cal up to speed on everything. Which wasn't much since it was Christmas. Then I darted downstairs to my apartment to grab a quick shower and change clothes.
I've never been one to give too much thought to my clothing choices unless I was going to a club with the guys or going out on a date. While technically, this evening with Steph was neither, the need to dress up a little compelled me. The weather forecast called for a dusting to one inch of snow overnight. I would be just enough to provide a white Christmas without wreaking too much havoc on the roads. Considering how much I have to haul into her building, sneakers or dress shoes would probably not be the best option. I went with my brown Portland Leather Highland Brown boots, a pair of dark blue jeans, and the only Christmas sweater I owned. I stopped by Louis and Ella's apartment and picked up the meals.
My excitement grew as I drove toward Steph's apartment. While she knew I was coming, she was only expecting pizza and beer. I pulled into her lot and was thankful for the close parking space.
It took me the better part of ten minutes to haul the tree, decorations, food, and drink up to the hallway right outside her door. I knocked, then picked up the two grocery bags containing the food and alcohol.
Steph was already grinning when she opened the door. Her eyes tracked to the bags and her brows lifted in question. "I thought you were bringing pizza."
"Change of plans," I said as I handed her the lighter of the two bags.
She took the bag and headed to her kitchen. "Okay. So, what are we having?"
I chuckled. "Would you believe me if I said I'm not sure?"
She looked over her shoulder at me. "How do you not know?"
"Ella made them for me," I replied. "And I'm not exactly sure what she made."
She paused. "Ella made these?"
I nodded. "I had to call and ask her about something else and when I told her about the pizza, she chastised me for not doing something better. Then she volunteered to make our plates."
Steph's smile widened. "I love Ella."
"We all do," I said as I sat the other bag on the counter. "Hang on, I have a few more things to bring in."
Steph was in the process of unpacking the bag when she paused and looked up at me. "More?"
I held up a finger and grinned. "Just wait."
She shifted and angled a hand on her hip. "Eric Ramsey, what did you do?"
Instead of answering her, I stepped back into the hall and grabbed the still-wrapped-up tree.
The moment I stepped into her foyer she gasped. "You brought me a Christmas tree?"
I peeked around the tree at her and smiled. "I know you've had a shitty day and I thought you could use some Christmas cheer."
"That's so thoughtful, but I don't have any decorations," she protested.
"That's okay. I have it covered."
She opened her mouth to protest, but no sound followed as I passed in front of her with the tree. I stopped, leaned over, and kissed her on the cheek. "Where do you want the tree?"
The edges of her mouth turned up into a wry smile. How about in front of the window?"
"Done," I replied.
By the time I'd placed the tree in its base, shed my jacket, and cut away the netting on the tree, Steph had brought in the bags of decorations.
"I can't believe you did all this," she said as she sat the last bag down. "It must have cost you a fortune."
"I'm not worried about the cost, and you shouldn't be either," I said, then pointed to the bags from the dollar store. "Besides, as it turns out, trying to find packs of ornaments on Christmas Eve day isn't as easy as you might think. Those contain everything we'll need to make our ornaments."
Excitement lit in her eyes, and she began digging through the bags. "This is going to be so much fun."
My heart warmed with her reaction. Seeing her happy was all I wanted for tonight and since it seemed that I accomplished that goal, I'd be doing whatever I could to make sure her mood stayed that way.
She looked up from the bag, froze then began to laugh. The sound warmed me even more as I stared at her waiting for her to let me in on the joke.
She pointed to my sweater as she fought to get her giggles under control. "Is that a Donkey Kong Christmas sweater?"
Now I grinned as I looked down at my clothing choice. "It sure is. Instead of Mario and Luigi, it was Snowmen trying to make their way up the ladder course, which was shaped like a tree. Instead of barrels, it was Christmas ornaments and trees as obstacles and instead of the gorilla on top, it was the abominable snowman with the star above his head. "Don't you like it?"
"I love it," she replied through fits of giggles.
"Do you have a Christmas sweater?" I asked.
Her smile widened. "Do you want to see it?"
"Absolutely."
She disappeared into her bedroom, and I moved to begin unloading the bags. A few minutes later she reappeared wearing a green and red sweater with a giant gold bow positioned just under her breasts. I took a moment to drink in the image before I realized what exactly it was. "You're a Christmas present," I said.
She nodded. "Morelli got it for me." Her smile disappeared as she looked down at the front of the sweater. "He wanted me to wear it so he could unwrap his present."
"Did you?" The question was barely past my lips when I wanted to kick myself for asking. The last thing I wanted to know was if Morelli got lucky.
She shook her head. "He gave it to me last year during our final off phase." She shrugged. "I guess he thought it would win me back or something." She poked at the bow with her finger. "I should have burned it, but I was feeling vindictive and thought maybe I should keep it and wear it for Ranger if we managed to finally get together as a couple. Since that didn't happen it's just been stuffed in the back of my closet."
"Does wearing it for me mean I get to open the present instead?" No sooner was the question out of my mouth before I was mentally kicking myself. Are you a complete moron, Ramsey?
I was just about to apologize for being an ass when she said something that had my dick paying attention.
"Maybe if you play your cards right tonight," she replied.
Afraid I just might swallow my tongue I took a moment to center myself and clear my throat before I replied with a simple. "Noted." Then I motioned to her television. I needed to change the subject before something happened that we'd both regret.
"I don't have cable," she replied.
"Netflix? Amazon Prime?"
She nodded. "Both."
"Then let's find a movie and eat dinner. Then we can work on decorating the tree.
An hour later, we'd finished our meals, and were each working our way through the Dirty Snowman drink Ella recommended and I'd made. Were both feeling happy and relaxed as we sat on the floor and crafted the ornaments for the tree.
"My sister called me right before you arrived," she said as she poured some glitter inside the glue-coated clear plastic ball.
"And?" I asked, knowing there was more to that statement.
"She wanted to tell me that Mom invited Joe over for Christmas dinner and was pissed when I bailed. Then he told her about seeing me with you today. He called me a whore, to which my mom agreed. Then Dad got pissed, kicked Joe out, and yelled at mom to stop meddling in my life. That it's her fault he doesn't ever get to see me anymore and he's tired of it."
"Wow," I took the ornament back from her, popped the lid back on it, and set it aside with the others.
"I know, right?" she said as she started on the next one. "I was shocked too. So was Val. Though she was happy that Dad finally stood up for you. She also warned me that it might be best to stay away for a few days until everything calms down."
"So, no bailing on me to go see your family tonight?" I asked, making sure to keep my tone playful. While I would never keep her from her family, I was enjoying this one-on-one time with Steph. It felt fun and special, and I didn't want it to end.
She bumped my shoulder with hers. "I would never do that to you after everything you did for me tonight. Then she handed me the last ornament. "Think we're ready to decorate?"
I pushed up from where we'd been sitting then reached down to take her hand and helped her up. It took some effort to get the lights strung correctly. Then we began hanging our homemade decorations. Dozens of little clear plastic balls now contained various colors of glitter, multi-color pompoms, and beads. Others held colored paper confetti made using a hole punch she found in her desk. In addition, I'd managed to score a few packs of unfinished wooden ornaments cut into various shapes. Steph decided it would be nice to leave them unfinished and hang them as is.
We strung wooden beads to make garland then strung popcorn to make more. The big score was something I would have never thought of had it not been for Ella. She'd had me go into the party section and find pompom garland that people would use to decorate for parties. I'd managed to score them in red and white.
Once everything was in place, we added the final touch of candy canes from the various boxes I purchased.
When we were done Steph stepped back to get the full view as I plugged in the lights.
Her face filled with joy in the glow of the multicolored lights.
"So, what do you think?" I asked as I joined her.
"It's nearly perfect," she replied.
I arched a brow. "Nearly? What's it missing?"
"It needs a topper, like a star or an angel."
"I have one," I said as I began rooting through one of the other bags and pulled out the angel.
"Let me," she said as she took it from me.
"You're too short to reach," I said.
She shrugged. "So, I'll use a chair."
I wanted to protest that her standing on a chair was a bad idea, but I didn't want to ruin the moment. So, I grabbed one of her dining table chairs, dragged it over to the tree, and held it as she stepped onto it.
Damn, if my dick didn't take notice of the way her black leggings hugged her shapely legs and ass. She was still wearing that damn sweater and combined with her bare feet and perfectly painted toenails, I was hard within seconds.
She leaned forward, to set the angel on the top of the tree. Straightened for a moment, then leaned forward again to straighten it. "Careful, Steph," I warned when I felt the chair begin to wobble.
"I got it," she replied just a second before she lost her balance.
In a bid to save both her and the tree from destruction, I reached up and grabbed her around the waist and pulled. She squealed and wiggled in my grip as I took one, then another step back as I tried to steady us both.
The next thing I knew we were toppling backward onto the couch. Somehow Steph had managed to turn in my arms and landed on top of me, so we were facing each other.
"Okay, so maybe didn't have it," she said as her lips turned up into a slight grin.
I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but the words wouldn't come. I was too enamored with how the tree lights backlit her in a way that made her hair glow. My fingers itched to thread their way through her unruly curls and make them even more out of control.
Unable to stop myself, I reached up and moved a curl from her face. For a moment we stared at each other, and then I realized she was lowering her head to me. Meeting her halfway, I lifted up and pressed my lips to hers.