~ Zoie's POV ~
This is the worst Christmas ever!
As it turns out, spending Christmas with Asher and her family at the same time wasn't as easy as Zoie thought it'd be. Zoie's mom planned this elaborate Christmas extravaganza with the two families together and that meant they were always surrounded by other people. If she wasn't catching up with Landon, Zoie was spending time with her parents or brothers. The same goes for Asher, he had to spend time with his mom and brother too. Sure, spending time with the family was great, but it had been days since Asher and Zoie could spend some quality time alone. She missed him even though he was always a few rooms away. She couldn't kiss him under the mistletoe or snuggle up next to him by the fireplace. She couldn't sit next to him on the couch while watching Home Alone for fear that people might notice something. It was an awkward Christmas and Zoie didn't even get any presents from him.
Such a sad excuse for a Christmas!
After five days of being back home, Zoie and Asher only had two encounters together. The first one was that Christmas morning when she was opening up gifts, and the second one was at Christmas dinner when they happened to go to the bathroom at the same time.
"Fancy running into you here," Asher said as he caught her leaving the bathroom.
Or maybe he timed it on purpose?
"Hey!" she beamed happily. "I miss you!"
Zoie stood on her tippytoes as she was about to kiss Asher, a thing she'd been dying to do ever since they got back home. But before their lips could even touch---
"Zoie!" her mother's voice was heard and the two of them pulled away instantly.
A second later, Violet appeared in the bathroom hallway. Asher quickly ducked into the bathroom to avoid any awkward conversation.
"There you are!" Zoie's mom said to her. "Go tell your grandma about that editorial piece you wrote for the school magazine, she wants to hear all about it!"
Zoie couldn't do anything as her mom whisked her back to the dining room. She caught a glimpse of Asher's eyes as he was closing the bathroom door. They could only exchange sorry smiles at each other as she walked away.
Needless to say, not being able to spend one-on-one time with Asher sucked. Zoie thought about sneaking off at night to meet up, but that was dangerous too since her dad had guards posted everywhere all around the house. And not to mention, the cameras. One wrong step and it will be the end for the both of them.
Zoie let out a long sigh as she went back into her room that night. It was 12.30 AM and Christmas day was officially over. Her grandma, mom, and aunt all had retired to bed, but her dad and the guys were still downstairs. They had all this 'manly' things they wanna talk about. You know, about the business and all that stuff.
Zoie was exhausted because she's been up since early in the morning that day. Not to mention, she had two big slices of red velvet cake and two gingerbread cookies for dessert. She was walking mindlessly up the stairs and she was about to reach her room, when suddenly, she heard noises coming from the window near her door.
* Knock * Knock *
Zoie stopped in her tracks immediately. How was there a knocking sound coming from the second-floor window? Besides, that window had no balconies or anything. It opened straight to the backyard below.
Slowly and cautiously, Zoie approached the window. The knocking sound was heard again. From the light shining outside, Zoie made out the shadow of a man.
Oh no! Is that an intruder!?
"Zoie!" a voice hissed from behind the window.
Shocked, Zoie quickly opened the window. She saw Asher hanging by the strength of his hands, pulling himself up.
"Ash?!" she gaped. "What are you doing here!?"
"Hey," he said through labored breaths as he jumped inside. "I don't really have much time, but I just wanna see you and say thank you for my gift. I really like it,"
Asher lifted his hand to show the watch on his wrist. It was a matte-black stainless-steel watch that Zoie got for him. She saw him liking a photo of that watch on his Instagram. Being the observant (not stalking, just observant) girlfriend, she ordered the watch and got it for him for Christmas.
"You're welcome," she replied. "I'm glad you like it,"
"It's also really expensive and my gift feels stupid in comparison-"
"You got me a gift?" Zoie cut him off before he could even finish.
"Of course I do," he gave her a bored stare.
"But... I didn't see anything under the tree. Or in the stocking?" she said.
"I can't put it in there. I don't wanna risk anyone seeing it. They're gonna suspect something,"
Asher pulled out a small black box from his back pocket and handed it to her.
"Here it is. Merry Christmas, Zoie,"
Zoie didn't know what to expect. She was already living with the fact that Asher might not have gotten her anything for Christmas. Anyway, she couldn't blame him. For her birthday, he got her that antique and expensive typewriter that she ended up breaking into pieces. Asher was crushed when he saw it. He tried putting it back together, but it didn't work out, so it just ended up in the trash.
Slowly, Zoie began opening the box and she wasn't sure what she was seeing at first. There were two silver necklaces inside and the pendants had a letter on them. One of them had the letter A and the other one had the letter Z. Upon closer look, Zoie realized that the pendants were made from typewriter buttons.
"Wait, is this...?"
"Yup," Asher beamed and nodded his head. "I had it made using the typewriter I got you. You can't use it anymore, but it doesn't mean it's completely useless,"
Zoie's mouth fell open. She was completely floored.
"Ash... this is..."
Zoie couldn't even finish her words. This was the most thoughtful, most beautiful gift she'd ever received.
"I know it's not some rare pearl from Greece, but..." Asher picked up the necklace with the letter Z and put it around his neck. Then he grabbed the one with the letter A and put it around her neck. "It's A and Z. It's you and me. The first and the last letters of the alphabet,"
The first and the last...
"I may be your first, Zoie, but you're gonna be my last,"
Zoie couldn't say anything. Her heart was swelling in size and doing the jumping jacks. She could only stare at him as her lips curved into a smile and her eyes turned glassy.
"Well, do you like it?" he asked, gauging her reaction nervously.
"Ash..." she croaked finally. "This the most perfect thing in the world...! I love it!"
Zoie couldn't contain her excitement. She lunged at him and put her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Asher was caught off guard at first, but he responded by putting his hands around her waist, pulling her even closer. Zoie deepened the kiss and a muffled groan escaped his lips. It was a sound she had desperately missed, and she wanted more of it. Zoie pushed her tongue into his mouth and found his tongue. Their tongues mingled and danced as Asher put a hand on the side of her face. Zoie's hand slowly reached down from his neck to his chest and now to his abs. But before she could reach the lower part of his jeans---
"Hey..." he said softly in between the kiss. "Not trying to ruin the moment or anything, but I told the guys I'll meet them for drinks in the basement in five minutes..."
"Oh," Zoie's shoulders fell in disappointment as she pulled away.
"Sorry, I don't want them to suspect anything," he said apologetically, straightening up his shirt. "Or for the guards to see us,"
Asher looked around the hallway to make sure no one was around. Luckily for them, no one was.
"You were right about us coming home," Zoie said with a long sigh and a pout. "If I knew it was gonna be this hard, I wouldn't have come home,"
"Hey, don't say that. Everyone misses you. They want you here," he cooed as he tilted her chin up to him. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out,"
Asher let out a smile and it was one of those sincere, gorgeous smiles. It wasn't an arrogant or a playful smirk, it was a smile that held so much heart. Zoie couldn't help but smile back.
"In the meantime, I hope this will do," Asher leaned his face closer until his forehead rested on top of hers. "I love you,"
Those three words caught Zoie by surprise. She didn't know how to react at first. She thought she must be dreaming, but the look on Asher's face told her otherwise. His deep hazel eyes were boring deep into her soul, speaking the words through a gaze.
This is real. This is really, real.
"...I... love you too..." she said finally.
The words left her mouth so effortlessly like they had been itching to get out. The smile on Asher's face went wider and her heart kept swelling in size, bigger than she thought was possible.
Asher delved his lips closer until he found her lips again. He gave her the sweetest, the most tender kiss she'd ever experienced. And just as she was craving for more, Asher pulled away, giving her one last wink before he disappeared back out the window.
Wow.
Zoie could only stand there and watch. Her mouth was still parted open. Her hand instinctively went to her chest. Ignoring the pearl necklace, her fingers found the typewriter pendant, and she held onto it tightly.
Best. Christmas. Ever.
*
*
*
- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -