An Almost Christmas Story 1

Rylie was pleasantly surprised. She looked up to him, an easy smile on her lips as a simple token of gratitude. Their eyes met, but only briefly. Something caught Rylie's eyes, and she darted her gaze above his well-tousled head. Jace followed the direction of her glance, and gave a half-chuckle when he saw what it was.

"Smooth." He said, as his hazel orbs caught her blue-grey ones. Seeing the rising red in her cheeks, Jace teasingly nudged her and whispered into her ear, "You'd think they would be more creative about where they'll hang mistletoes around here."

He made a grand gesture of looking at both sideways before playfully adding, "People sure want a smooch in between the sick ward room and the busy corridor. Talk about getting that private moment right."

Rylie bit her lip to suppress a giggle, but couldn't resist a wide smile. Jace rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. He enjoyed nothing more than seeing her bright, amused eyes that he had incited. "So, is that a yes on having Christmas dinner with me?"

Rylie laughed and shook her head at his candor, her ponytail swinging back and forth. "I'd love to, but, it'll be weird. I'm with… -"

"Ryan, I know." His charm didn't waver the slightest. "I'm just saying, if he doesn't get back from his mission tomorrow, you can always spend dinner with me and my family. They're coming here."

"As friends?"

Jace motioned a sad frown with two fingers. "If you insist, milady" he said before breaking into a good-hearted laugh. "It'll be fun, Rylie; I'll make sure you'll have an un-forgettable birthday."

"Thanks, Jace" she said kindly. "I'll think about it."

"Good." His smiling face gazed onto hers.

"Well, we should get back to work."

"Yeah, but hold on a second." Rylie turned to look at him, when Jace gave her a sweet peck on the cheek. As she turned a slight pink, the boy shot her a cheeky grin. "It's just tradition."

Rylie gave a silent laugh and shooked her head at his boyish assertiveness. She waved him off, insisting that they shouldn't be taking a break longer than the five minutes allotted. As Jace watched her blonde ponytail trailing Rylie's moves, Jace couldn't help but muttered under his breath: "Take that, Ryan."