>Blame it on the Mistletoe by Ella Henderson<

An hour later, freshly showered and changed, they all met again in the hallway and went together to the restaurant area of ​​the hotel, where they sat down at a free table. The room was festively decorated with garlands of pine branches with Christmas tree balls and bows. A beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in the corner and mistletoes hung throughout the room. On the tables there were Christmas candle arrangements on elegantly embroidered tablecloths with Christmas motifs.

They hadn't had much Christmas spirit yet, but at least now it grabbed each of them.

"Is this seat still free?" a chubby woman suddenly asked as she moved to the sixth chair at their table and they looked up at her. She didn't fit in with the other guests in her orange jumpsuit. "It seems like all the seats are taken!" she added sheepishly.

"Sure, sit down," Penny invited her with a smile and she nodded gratefully before taking a seat and introducing herself with the name Karla. "You look like you're still on duty?" Penny asked her then after they too had introduced themselves to the woman to keep a conversation going as she noted the patches on her shoulders indicating that she was a Bristol Public Works employee.

"Not anymore. I was out all day today. I just came from Newtown on my snow plow and was allowed to check into this hotel here and call it a day. I'm going back tomorrow morning at 5," she explained to them with a shrug of her shoulders as the food was already served.

"Wow, they make you drive such long distances to clear the roads?" Ben interjected in wonder.

"Normally we only have a certain area to depart, but since there is a state of emergency at the moment, they have coordinated the deployment of some snow plows so that it's safe that the highways will be constantly cleared."

"Then that heavy truck out there is yours?" Ellie interjected enthusiastically, who had noticed the yellow truck with the huge snow blade in the parking lot and the woman nodded with a smile. "I'd like to drive something like that too," Ellie sighed dreamily.

"You can ride Phoenix next week if you enjoy it so much. Steele ordered a snow plow for it. Penny and I are supposed to install it next week," Sam replied with a smile and Ellie cheered enthusiastically.

"Who or what is Phoenix?" the woman asked confused between bites and during the meal Ellie told Karla what job they had and explained the vehicles to her. The woman's eyes shone with interest. When Ben jumped in and talked about the inventory of the ocean rescue center, she was blown away.

Sam and Penny acknowledged this with amusement as they focused entirely on eating. As the conversation turned more and more to their missions, it became a little too much for Sam. In the end, they still had the evening off, albeit forced, and the last thing he wanted was to just talk or hear about work. He had a much better idea when he looked up and saw couples gathering at the back to dance to the softly played Christmas music.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked Penny embarrassed, who immediately turned to him. While she had just been listening to Ellie talking about Sam filming his movie, now he had her full attention. She looked up and saw the other dancers before nodding, equally embarrassed. She knew it was probably not a good idea, especially since a quiet song was playing, but she couldn't refuse this tempting offer. Dancing with Sam, even if it had only happened twice, had always been wonderful and it was better than sitting around all evening talking about work.

She nodded with a smile and Sam took her hand in his to lead her across the room to the back. Ellie, Ben, Jodie and Karla watched them go with a smile before Ben also asked Jodie to dance and they followed the two of them.

Sam didn't release her hand when they reached the dance floor, but turned to put his arm around her waist. At the beginning they made sure that there was a decent distance between them, but this quickly melted away the more they swayed to the music.

"It seems like Ben and Jodie get along well?!" Sam said quietly after a while when he noticed the two who had just stopped under a mistletoe and were embarrassedly following this custom.

"They're a cute couple and she can laugh at his bad jokes. That's a pretty good basis," Penny replied with a smile as she followed his gaze.

"The way you can laugh at mine?" he teased, grinning.

"Your jokes aren't bad. They can be subterranean, but you always make it easy to laugh at them," she immediately teased back.

"Some people could say that this could be a good basis for us too," he now interjected harmlessly, completely entranced by the moment and her eyes, in which he was threatening to sink, but he hadn't expected that she would come out of sync and step on his foot like she did at that very moment. He immediately stopped and pulled her a little tighter to him so that she wouldn't fall or stumble and get hurt.

"Oh, sorry, Sam!"

"No problem, it didn't hurt," he replied with a reassuring smile and was about to ask her if they wanted to continue dancing when he saw something above them catch Penny's attention. He followed her gaze and spotted a mistletoe. Nervously, he found his stomach tightening before he looked back at Penny, who immediately met his gaze. Her cheeks were red and he saw the same nervousness in her eyes that he also felt. "You know what that means?" Sam asked her embarrassedly, hoping she wouldn't reject him, that she would rather want it the same way he did .

"Oh," was all Penny could think of in her nervousness, thinking about what Matty would think if he found out about that too. This confused Sam immensely.

"What's up?" he asked her in alarm and she just lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"Nothing."

"Oh." Sam was disappointed. Her reaction wasn't quite what he was hoping for and he didn't quite know what to do next. He looked away embarrassed and briefly rubbed the back of his neck. Penny didn't feel any different and as much as she knew it was probably inappropriate, she didn't want to let this opportunity slip by.

"Will it cause bad luck not to do that?" she then asked him hesitantly and their eyes met again.

"I don't know. It wouldn't be appropriate since you have a boyfriend, wouldn't it?" Sam replied embarrassed.

"Would you want it if not?" she replied to him, curiosity eating her up.

"Before it causes bad luck," Sam said with a shrug and a slight smile appeared at the corners of his lips. Even though she was embarrassed, Penny was excited to continue playing this game. Matty wasn't here and after all it was an old tradition to kiss under the mistletoe. It wasn't her fault, was it?

"Nah, we really don't need bad luck. I mean, don't we already have enough of it in Pontypandy?" she teased him again with a smile and Sam's smile became more confident again. It had been a hidden agreement, but still one and he didn't think he would waste any more time. "Doesn't it also mean that the woman won't be asked if she's standing under it?" she then remarked. Although he already came closer to her, she sensed that he was still hesitant. Her heart was pounding and she wanted this so badly.

"Right," Sam muttered, lost in thought. He was now so close to her that there was no turning back even if he had wanted to, so he overcame the last millimeters that separated their lips and kissed her. Innocent and gentle, but both of them felt like they were melting while a storm of emotions raged inside them. Both wanted nothing more than to deepen the kiss, put their arms around the other and hold each other, preferably never letting go again.

And yet they were aware of the fact that they were not alone and that Penny still had a boyfriend. Which was also the reason why they both, reluctantly but nevertheless, separated from each other after just a few seconds. Their eyes met as soon as they opened them and they saw the chaos of emotions in each other's, realizing that this hadn't just been a kiss among colleagues, among friends under the mistletoe. There was so much more.

"Penny, I..."

"Sam," she stopped him in his speech. Whatever he had to say, she wanted to be honest with him. He looked at her expectantly, expecting everything, but not what was actually coming. "Matty asked me earlier if I wanted to be his wife and I...I said yes!" she confessed to him in a choked voice, ashamed to have to tell him this at such a moment and it hurt her when she saw the hurt look in his eyes. Now she knew for sure that her best friend felt more for her than she had always thought and she was even more ashamed because she hadn't recognized it, because she had ruined everything.

She left Sam and ran away. She needed time to herself now, needed to think, and wanted to drown herself in self-pity for being so hasty. She didn't even noticed that Sam called and asked her to wait as she ran out of the hotel restaurant and fled up the stairs to her room.

"What was that? Are you such a bad kisser, Sam?" Ellie turned to her team leader. Jodie immediately elbowed her in the side for the inappropriate comment, while Sam just stood there with his shoulders slumped and looked after Penny with a look as if she had just stabbed him in the heart. In the end, that's exactly how it felt. "What? I just wanted to lighten the mood a bit," Ellie mumbled awkwardly and Sam turned around, reached for a cup of punch on the buffet table and gulped it down, trying to get the tingle off from his lips what her lips had left on it. It was over. Penny had given Matty her word and Penny always kept her promises. He had finally lost her.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Jodie then asked him and put a hand on his shoulder, while Ben and Ellie also came to him, perplexed. Sam didn't look up, but instead filled his cup with punch again. Maybe that would help him get over the initial pain tonight.

"She accepted Matty's marriage proposal," he simply mumbled and took another deep drink.

"What? When?" asked Ellie in shock and Sam just shrugged his shoulders. It no longer mattered to him.

"What rubbish," Ben cursed under his breath. Everyone in Pontypandy knew about the fire that crackled between the two team leader, and it hadn't passed him by either. He would have loved to see his two friends happy.

"What are you planning to do now, Sam?" Jodie asked him expectantly, but Sam seemed to be giving himself up even more.

"What should I do? She's made up her mind, right?"

"Because she didn't know that she could have you. God Sam! I've been looking at this with you two for years and for just as long I've been trying to get you to be honest with each other. How can you two all the time be convinced that the other didn't have enough feelings for you when everyone in town had long since understood that you two were meant for each other?!" Ellie now scolded at him and he took a step back, astonished by her anger. He looked questioningly at Ben and Jodie. Ben just shrugged with a smile but a confirming nod.

"Even I was able to see that and I haven't been here for so long," Jodie interjected and Sam sighed in resignation.

"It doesn't matter. Penny is always a woman of her word."

"It matters very much, Sam. She won't be happy with him. Not like she would be with you. Matty will always be a second choice. She only takes him because she's afraid of going to become old alone," Ellie complained angrily about his behavior. He was Fireman Sam, the hero of Pontypandy. How could he just give up? "Go up and tell her you want her! Go!"

"Ellie, she's engaged. That would be more than inappropriate!"

"It would be even more inappropriate if you waited until the wedding or when she has children with him. Do you then want to speak out and walk around with that mournful expression you just put on until then?!" she scolded at him and reached for his cup as he tried to hide his embarrassment and uncertainty behind it by taking another sip. "And don't do that! Drinking is not the solution! Get your butt up there and talk to her! Penny might hold her word, but she's also very good at admitting when she's made a mistake and apologizing for it. So there's still a way to get things moving in the right direction."

"Ellie's right. You should really be honest with Penny. At least this once. If she still chooses Matty, at least you'll know that you tried everything," Ben said to Sam and gave him an encouraging slap on the shoulder.

"You're right! I'll go and talk to her!" he then said with new determination, thanks to his friends.

"Finally!", Ellie sighed with relief and they watched Sam, who paused at the door again, suddenly nervous at the thought of what was about to happen to him. Could he really do this? He had to! But a little more courage couldn't hurt, he thought, and went back to Ellie to take his cup of punch from her and empty it in one gulp before he followed Penny.

When he got to Penny's door, he raised his hand to knock, but stood still, the racing thoughts in his head reminding him over and over again about how she would reject him and how much more unpleasant their friendship would become if she would knew his feelings for her. Would it then make her distance herself from him completely?

But what if Ellie was right and she wanted him too? She was Penny's best friend. She had to know more than the hunches that had led everyone in town to stir up rumors about them both for years. Women talked. Penny had definitely talked to Ellie.

He had to prove his friends right again. He had to try at least. So he knocked and seconds seemed to last forever until the door finally opened and he looked into Penny's eyes, red from crying.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" she asked him in a trembling voice and jumped when Sam took a step towards her and took her hands in his. His thoughts were racing and he didn't even know where to start. He wanted her more than anything in the world, but he was so sorry that he had made her cry. Nevertheless, it strengthened his resolve to try one last time to change her mind and win her over.

"Don't do it, Pen. Don't marry him!" he pleaded and she looked up at him, perplexed.

"I thought you didn't want to get involved?!" she reminded him of their conversation the night before they rescued the mother and child from the ice.

"Forget what I said! If your wish for Christmas is for someone to ask for your hand in marriage, then I will do it. I will marry you. But don't take him!" he begged her when he thought about it how much Matty's attitude had bothered him when he have had a view at their conversation via text message.

"Sam, you don't want something like that for Christmas or you don't have to do it because you feel like you have to. It happens when you're ready for it. I..." she began, embarrassed and hesitant as his words were completely baffling her. Did he really think she was just desperate for a husband? Did he just feel sorry for her and therefore offer himself?

"I'm ready! I wish it! Since I've known you, I've wanted nothing more than for you to be mine. I wish for that for Christmas, for my birthday, for Easter and every day in between, I want that!" he assured her and took another step towards her. She looked up into his blue eyes as he threatened to sink into her fawn brown eyes. All he had to do was wrap his arms around her and everything would be perfect, but was that what she wanted?

"Sam, I...am..." she began, completely overwhelmed by his confession, the truth of which she could see in his eyes. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She couldn't think clear, let alone find the right words.

"Overwhelmed? Confused? Deterred?" Sam stated hesitantly when she didn't continue. It made him nervous.

"Overwhelmed would be a good fit," she agreed and he looked away. Now he would be rebuffed, hear that she had chosen the other person and send him away. Already expecting the worst, he looked at her again in surprise as she placed a hand on his cheek. "But I'm more surprised, flattered and...happy about it," she said quietly and with a sheepish smile as she spoke and a blush rose to her cheeks.

He kissed her without any scruples or inhibitions and although she was still stunned at first, she immediately gave in and let herself fall, returning his kiss with the same passion that he showed her. Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, and the next moment he felt her other hand slide into his neck. She sighed as one of his hands ran up her back and cupped her cheek. He used this moment to deepen the kiss and she welcomed him.

The kiss under the mistletoe had been beautiful, but this couldn't be compared to anything in the world. It completely turned both of their minds upside down. No matter how many times they had both dreamed of it, it didn't came even near the reality. They felt stronger and weaker at the same time as the sparks not only flew between them, but literally exploded, setting them completely on fire.

Even though Sam was desperately trying to be a gentleman, he completely forgot as her hands slipped under his sweater and she pulled away from his lips just enough to pull it over his head. He didn't question her actions because it was exactly what he wanted. He just couldn't get enough of her, wanted to show her how much he loved her and wanted her completely for himself.

Penny carelessly threw his sweater away, but she had no choice at all when Sam followed suit and pulled her shirt over her head too. Instantly his hands were at her waist, wrapping around her, his lips covering hers again as her fingertips glided over his chest and arms. This was so much better than just looking at him on a photo in the newspaper. He was like a drug that you wanted more of as soon as you tried it.

"It was a good idea to give me the room with the double bed," she murmured smiling against his lips while at the same time struggling with the button of his pants and leading him back to the bed by the waistband of his pants, her senses in a fog. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing than the man in front of her. The one she had always wanted, but who was never within her reach. Until now.

"That wasn't my intention when I stand up for it!" he replied hoarsely as she sat down and he immediately followed her movement, pushed her back into the soft sheets to lie on top of her and hid her again in his arms, kissing her with even more passion.

"I know," she sighed contentedly as his lips trailed down her chin and his hands seemed to be everywhere, just like hers were on him. "Still, we can make the best of it," she then murmured before he completely cut her off with a passionate kiss.

She helped him undress for the second time that day, the only difference being this time that he did the same to her. This time he was anything but cold and immobile, while they both surrendered completely to the moment and each other's warmth - completely forgetting that she had become engaged to another man just a few hours ago.

To be continued...

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a nice time with your loved ones and lots of presents 😉