twelve long minutes:
the whistling outside in the cold winter air was so loud, Miranda thought it might wake up her boyfriend. she slid her hand down his naked chest and got out of bed, putting on her robe.
in the kitchen, she searched for coffee, praying that her daughter had made some before she'd left for school. a high schooler, she knew, shouldn't be so keen on caffeine, but the girl was a junior now and one cup a day wouldn't do too much damage. plus, she was already way taller than her mother, so the substance stunting her growth wasn't a problem.
seeing that Sanaa hadn't managed to make any, she sighed a "crap" and began fixing a pot—not in the mood to play barista for her very picky boyfriend. her eyes hit the timer. twelve long minutes. and then she'd have a hot cup between her palms. her phone buzzed on the counter and before she even looked at it, she knew exactly who it was.
Miranda picked it up with a smile on her face. "i haven't even had my morning coffee."
"sounds like a personal problem," her best friend answered. "and good morning."
"hush," she replied. "and good morning to you, too."
they talked a bit more, recapping their separate surgeries yesterday and then segueing their personal lives. "so... have you two started decorating for christmas? it's almost december."
"so i've heard." Miranda cleared her throat, prepared to offer a lie. "but, uh..."
"okay, that means no."
"you don't know us," she laughed. "and we have... started decorating... kinda."
"playing The Temptations on repeat does not count as decorating." they chuckled as the coffee machine beeped. "besides, Sanaa already told me that the christmas spirit level in the house is at a one. let me come over and bump it up to at least a five."
"we've been busy," she said earnestly. he made a noise. "don't you have a lady friend to, uh, give your christmas spirit to?"
"you're not funny. and yes."
her heart wrung as her boyfriend strolled in, gorgeous but still shirtless. Miranda rolled her eyes. she'd asked him twice before to not walk around shirtless whenever there was a possibility of Sanaa seeing him, especially since they'd just started having multiple night sleepovers. "you're an ass," she said to both of them though only one was listening.
"i know. and you're stuck with me, Miranda Bailey."
"unfortunately."