Suddenly I felt like a kid again, lying awake with him, talking about anything and everything, counting down the seconds until the sun slowly peeked above the horizon, bringing Christmas morning. Except this time it was less about what would be under the tree, and more about having finally gotten my Christmas wish.

To wake up to him.

His quiet laughter made my heart beat faster as my lips gently grazed across his shoulder, lightly kissing his neck. He moved his hand onto my leg, leaning further into me as I reached up, wrapping one arm around his neck, pulling him into a tender kiss.

"Jaime.." He sighed between kisses. "Jaime, Jaime, Jaime.."

"Josh.." I quietly giggled. His smile grew, his eyes trying their hardest to stay open.

"Oh, don't tell me you're tired." I joked, gently caressing his face. He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

"I can stay awake for you." He whispered. I leaned in, kissing him again.

"Good."

Our gentle touches grew heavier as I moved back into his lap, tightly intertwining my fingers in his hair, kissing him harder, wanting him that much more again.

"Jaime, it took me this long just to learn those moves, I won't have anything new for you." I couldn't help but laugh, pulling him back into another long series of kisses.

"That's okay, I love those moves." I sighed, pushing him back down onto the bed, positioning myself over him. He stared up at me, his eyes in a lovestruck daze, now unable to hold himself back as he grabbed my waist, positioning me into place.

"Jaime, it's Christmas." He laughed. I bit down on my lip, trying my best to contain my grin as I peeked over at the clock. 12:04 AM. It was.

"Merry Christmas." I said, leaning into another passionate kiss. He held my face in his hands, kissing me back with a perpetual grin.

"Merry Christmas." He sighed. "I love you."

"And I love you."

"Forever?" He asked. My heart jumped. I nodded.

"Forever."

The idea of forever with him..

how beautiful of a life that would be.

"But since it is Christmas.." I laughed, leaning back into another long kiss. He smirked back up at me, running his fingers through my hair.

"What do you want?" He sighed, trying to contain his smile, but it was no use. I bit down on my lip, shooting him a look.

"Again?" He playfully groaned, hiding his face in my pillow. "Jaime, I can't-"

"You don't have to. I just want to.. show you how much I love you." I whispered into his ear, gently kissing down his neck. He let out a deep sigh, tangling his fingers in my hair as I kissed his chest, slowly moving down his stomach, his grip on me getting tighter, letting out sharp breaths as I got lower and lower and lower..

"Okay." He finally sighed, before I disappeared under the covers.

I was woken up by the blinding sunlight glaring through my curtains, now suddenly becoming aware of Josh's arms tightly wrapped around me. For a few minutes, I didn't move, not wanting to disturb him while I had this moment of complete peace.

Nothing would ever compare to waking up to him, feeling so safe in his arms.

But I didn't have to wait long before I felt him start to shift, nuzzling his face further into my neck, letting out a tired groan. He was awake.

"Good morning." I whispered. His lips gently grazed against my skin, slowly turning into sweet, subtle kisses until I finally turned over to face him. His eyes, still closed but his lips in a permanent grin.

"Good morning." He finally muttered, peeking one eye open at me.

"Merry Christmas." I said, pushing the hair out of is face. His smile grew.

"Merry Christmas."

"Do you think Santa left me anything under the tree?" He asked, closing his eyes again before cuddling closer as his fingers lightly grazed up and down my spin.

"I think we'll have to go downstairs and see." I laughed, leaning in, kissing his forehead.

"Okay, just.. five more minutes." He groaned. I couldn't help but smile, unable to remember a time when I was this happy.

I don't think anything could ever compare.

Not yet, anyway.

But then I heard my mom's bedroom door open, her footsteps slowly making their way down the hall and one by one, heading down the stairs. I loved how even still, she always had to be the first one downstairs on Christmas morning, wanting to be on the couch with coffee in hand so she could see my reaction to a living room full of presents.

As the years went on, the gifts became fewer and farther in-between, but that's not what mattered to me. And as I got older, the things I really wanted couldn't be wrapped up and placed under neath anyway. But now here I was, lying next to the one thing I had always prayed for. So now, I was the happiest girl in the world before I even went downstairs.

"She's awake." I said, gently shaking him. "That means we're allowed downstairs." He peeked one eye open again, giggling to himself.

"Oh, we weren't allowed?" He asked. I shook my head, sitting back up.

"Nope. We're not allowed downstairs until she's down there already." He sighed, finally pushing himself up, stretching his arms above his head, letting out a loud moan.

"Alright, alright, I'm ready." He said, rubbing his eyes before pushing the covers off of him, swinging his legs around to hang from the side of the bed.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to get dressed first." I giggled, propping my head up onto my hand as I admired him, getting up and going over to my dresser, digging through my drawers before pulling out a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. My heart jumped.

One of my dad's old t-shirts.

When he turned around, he noticed my staring.

"Is.. is this okay?" He asked. I nodded, holding my stare on him.

"Yeah." I said softly. "It's okay."

"What do you want?" He asked, turning back to my dresser. "I'll help you get dressed."

"Whatever you grab is okay." I said, sitting up to face him.

He dug through my drawers, grabbing me a clean pair of underwear, sliding them up my legs before helping me into a pair of sweats, motioning for me to lift my arms, and then pulling the t-shirt over my head.

It was one of his.

I could tell he chose it on purpose.

He then grabbed my hand, helping me up from my bed before crouching down, motioning towards his back.

"Get on." He said, smirking up at me. I didn't hesitate to hop on, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding on tight as he lead me down the hallway and carefully down the stairs.

And when we got to the bottom, just like every year, I saw my mom sitting on the couch, flashing me an elated grin, clutching her coffee, her demeanor not once changing when she noticed that Josh was here too.

It was like she expected him to be here.

Like she already knew.

"Merry Christmas!" Josh called out, carrying me into the living room, gently placing me onto the ground. And when I turned toward the tree, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were more gifts that I had ever seen in my entire life, completely filling all of the space surrounding the tree, even trickling over onto the side, so much so that whoever had placed them had to move some of the furniture to make everything fit.

Looking over at her, she playfully avoided my eyes, taking a big sip of her coffee. This was way too much. Especially considering our situation, and now with me going to school..

But I didn't say anything.

I could tell she was proud of herself.

And I'd never take that away from her.

"Looks like someone was very good this year!" She said happily, motioning for me to sit down. I peeked up at Josh who nodded, joining me on the floor as he looked around with a satisfied grin.

But then out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look up at her, to which she gave him a quick nod, mouthing to him..

"Thank you."