Christmas 2022

"Eden," Trinity calls up the stairs loudly, "we're gonna take a family picture, come downstairs."

    I sigh, pouting at my phone screen, where Jamie's face is taking over my screen, tiredly smiling back at me. The time difference was something we had yet to get used to. While it was only 3:00 here, it's nearing 11 pm there. It was hard to keep up with one another. The two of us almost always missing one another. "I should probably go," I say, frowning.

    Jamie's holding his phone so close to his face I can only see him, his blue eyes piercing even through the screen, "okay," he whispers tiredly. God, I miss him. Being over the phone just wasn't the same... I longed to be held by him and kiss him until I felt dizzy. "I got the notification saying your gift was delivered. Did you get it?"

    "It was?" I say, confused, shaking my head. Standing up, I grab my phone from where it's propped up on my desk, moving out of my room. I hadn't bothered changing out of my PJs yet. We never do on Christmas... it's our family's thing. This year, our PJs were matching plaid, with slippers that made it feel like I was walking on a cloud, "did anything come in the mail for me?" I ask my family, walking down the stairs.

    Trinity hums, thinking it over. "Don't think so."

    "That's odd," Jamie chimes in, "said it got there this morning. I paid for faster shipping."

     Rolling her eyes, Mom scoffs, "They probably brought it to the Johnsons again..." For some reason, our delivery people must have a hard time reading numbers because our packages almost always end up next door, at our nosey neighbours who love snooping through our packages before returning them.

    "I'm just gonna go check," I say to my family, who are currently setting up a tripod and camera for our annual family photo. Jamie's screen is now blank, turned from facetime into a regular call, "Where'd your face go?" I say, frowning, "I want to see you."

    Jamie laughs, a tired sound that fills my stomach with butterflies, "I don't know what happened," he mutters, and I can imagine his brows furrowing together as he tries to figure out what button to press, "trust me, I want to see your face too."

    "You two disgust me," Trinity chimes in, gagging playfully.

     Mom ruffles her hair, "you won't always find it disgusting," she's smiling fondly. She's met Jamie a few times, and when I told her and Dad we were together, she was overjoyed, claiming she knew we'd end up together eventually. "One day, you'll fall in love too."

    "Trinity isn't allowed to talk to boys," Jamie says sternly, still figuring out his phone, "I won't allow it."

    Dad laughs, "I knew I liked this boy."

     I roll my eyes, walking out the front door. It's a perfectly sunny day in LA, the air sticky and warm, with a breeze that felt warm like a blow drier. I didn't bother grabbing a coat, allowing the sun to warm my bare shoulders, covered only by spaghetti tank top straps, "on a scale from 1-10, how embarrassed will you be if the neighbours open your gift cause there's a pretty good chance they already have?"

    "You sure?" Jamie asks, his voice coming from somewhere nearby, echoing through my phone's speaker a second later. Pausing, my heart leaps as I turn on my heel. Jamie's standing behind me, phone in hand, "Merry Christmas, Trouble."

    He grunts in surprise when I jump into his arms, hands moving to my thighs to hold me up as I wrap my legs around his torso, my arms wrapping around his neck, "oh my god," I whisper, laughing excitedly. His cologne hits me as I bury my face in his neck, a familiar scent that I hadn't realized I had missed this much until now, "I-I thought you were in London? H-how are you here?"

    Before he can reply, I lean back so I can see him, hands moving to cup his face between them. He looks tired, like he's been travelling all day, but he's smiling, his dimples on full display for me. I let my one hand wander to his curls as I pull him closer to me, kissing him. His lips are chapped from travelling, and I can taste the remnants of his last cup of coffee.

    "God, you have no idea how much I've missed you," Jamie places me back on my own two feet, reaching to cup my cheek in his hand. I lean into his touch, unable to take my eyes off of him, scared that at any moment, I'll wake up from this perfect dream. "I booked my flight here a day after I got to London."

    "You did?"

     He hums, "I was going to tell you, but your mum thought it'd be better to surprise you."

    "Wait, they all-"

     Before I can finish my sentence, Trinity cuts me off, "I'd say this was my best acting performance yet," she teases. Then, turning to look at her, I find her, Mom and Dad all watching us. My parent's arms wrapped around one another, fondly.

    "Award-winning," Jamie nods, stepping back, "come here, Trin."

     My sister rushes over, attacking Jamie in a hug, arms wrapping around his waist. Jamie chuckles, kneeling slightly to hug my sister back. Looking up at me, Jamie smiles, his eyes so piercing I feel like I could melt. After he hugs my sister, he moves to my mom, who pulls him into a hug too. Then dad, who shakes his hand, pretending to be the stern protective father.

    That lasts for a second before Dad breaks... and he pulls Jamie into a hug too.

    "Please, come inside," Mom motions for him to step inside, "you must be exhausted. I'll put on a pot of coffee and heat up some food while Eden shows you to her room. Trin sweetie, can you go into my room and grab the PJs I picked up for Jamie."

    Trinity nods, running into my mom's room, which is on the main level of the house. With his hand in mine, I lead Jamie up the stairs. My room is in the corner of the house, with a large window facing the street. I hadn't bothered to change any of the decorations since high school, old photos lining the walls, hung on string lights.

    Letting go of my hand, Jamie walks further into the room, examining it with a careful eye, "oh my god, look at you," he holds up a photo of me when I was little, dressed in a soccer uniform. Mom forced me to join, and I hated every moment of it, "I didn't realize you played football."

    "It was a short-lived career," I explain, laughing as I move closer to look at the photo. I'm frowning, my arms crossed miserably. The photo beside it is one of us from the first year of filming. Jamie's in the tank, leaning up on the edge to talk to me while I dipped my feet in the water, laughing at something he said. "I've always loved this photo."

    "I didn't realize you had it," he mumbles, lifting to examine it closer. "If someone told 17-year-old Jamie he'd end up dating Eden Bliss, he would've thought they were crazy. I thought you'd never feel the same way."

    Cupping his cheek, I turn Jamie's face toward me, propping myself up on my toes to kiss him. Jamie hums as I tug his curls between my fingers, hands moving to my waist as he guides me to my bed, pressing my hips against my queen-sized bedframe. "We should probably go back down," I mumble as Jamie moves his hand under my shirt, rough hands rubbing against my curves. "Or Trinity will barge in and be scarred for life."

    Before he can say anything, my sister yells upstairs, "Trinity, Jamie, do you wanna play Mario Kart with me?"

    "Of course we do," Jamie calls back. Stepping back from me, he motions for me to lead the way down. As I'm walking down the stairs, he taps my ass playfully. "Ready to get your ass kicked, Trouble."

    "It's on, Flatters."

🖤

    Jamie and I didn't get back into my room until well after midnight, after a day full of playing video games and board games, lounging around in our matching PJs. His were a bit too small, though he never complained, simply happy to be included in our family's traditions. "Finally," he whispers, as I'm braiding my hair for bed, "I felt like I was going to suffocate." He slides the PJ bottoms off, leaving him in just his boxers.

    "If it helps, your butt looked fantastic in them," I reassure him, tying off my first braid with a hair tie. Jamie peels off his shirt next, and I can't help but let my gaze linger on his toned chest.

    How is he real?

    Moving over to me, Jamie stands behind me, eyes connecting with mine through the reflection of my vanity mirror. He's smirking, hands moving to rest on my hips as he watches me braid my hair, silent for a moment before he finally says, "I can't believe you'd objectify me like that." He mumbles, leaning down to kiss my neck.

    "I can," I tie off the second braid before turning to face him, my chest practically colliding with his. Jamie tugs on my hips, moving me closer as I reach my hands to rest on his shoulders, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

    Jamie laughs, as I press my lips against his. He'd been such an angel today, hanging out with Trinity and listening to my mom ramble about what we were like as kids. Somehow, seeing him interact with my family made me love him more, something I didn't think was possible.

    Jamie moves his hands to the elastic waistband of my PJs, cold rings tickling my sides as he pushes them down, lips trailing down my neck and chest as I step out of the warm flannel, "there," Jamie mumbles against my neck; hands cupping my ass as he picks me up off the ground. "Now we're even."

    I laugh, having to bite my lip to suppress the moan threatening to escape my lips. God, I missed this. "Quit objectifying me, Flatters," I whisper teasingly as he carries me to my bed, gently placing me down, my head resting against my pillow.

    "Quit being so goddamn beautiful, Bliss," Jamie teases back, leaning up on his arms so he's hovering over top of me. He smiles once his eyes reach mine, the kind of smile that makes me want to melt right there; no one's ever looked at me the way Jamie does, with so much love and adoration.

    "I love you," I whisper, moving my hand to cup his cheek, "so much."

     Jamie smiles, leaning down to press a kiss against my cheek, the small gesture sending butterflies throughout my entire body. "I love you, Eden Bliss." He whispers against my cheek, "so much." I roll my hips against his, tugging him closer, as Jamie sighs, "Your little sister is next door," Jamie whispers, reminding me.

    "I can be quiet," I whisper, leaning up to kiss him still.

     Jamie chuckles against my lips, "We both know that's a lie." He says, moving so he's no longer on top of me without him needing to ask. I scoot closer, resting my head against his bare chest, my leg wrapping over his. I can feel his heartbeat under my cheek, steadily keeping time with my own, "I can't wait until we've got our own place."

    He runs his hand along my back as he whispers, cold rings sliding under my tank top. "So we can have sex without having to worry about potentially scarring my little sister?" 

    Jamie laughs, his chest vibrating beneath me, "So we don't have to be apart." He corrects me, tone serious, not teasing like I had been, "You remember when I asked you to run away with me? At the beginning of the press tour?"

    I hum, "I remember wishing you meant it."

     "I did," Jamie kisses the top of my head, hugging me closer, "Eden, I've known from the minute I met you that it was only ever going to be you. I could feel it like there was some invisible string tying me to you."

    Leaning up slightly, I look him in the eye. His blue eyes are tired, weighed down heavily; it's understandable, he'd been travelling all day, up for more than 24 hours, "did you just quote Taylor Swift?" I ask him, smiling.

    Jamie playfully rolls his eyes, "that's what you chose to focus on?" He asks, tiredly laughing, "I, uh, started looking for a new place in London." He adds, moving his hand to tuck a stray piece that had fallen from my braid behind my ear. "I mean, if you're still serious about moving out there."

    "I am," I nod. I'd never been more serious about anything in my life. I didn't want to do this long-distance thing forever. I want to wake up next to Jamie every morning and cook dinner with him every night, the two of us humming around the kitchen as he cooks and I distract him. "I've got a meeting with a record label in the new year," I explain, "I sent them some of my songs, and they are interested in using them for one of their artists. I just need a steady gig, and then I can move out there."

   Jamie hums, almost sadly, "Does it ever make you sad to think someone else will be getting the fame for your words?" I'd sent him almost all of my songs since we'd been apart, and it was adorable how much Jamie loves them, often humming them to himself over facetime.

    "I'm not cut out for fame," I remind him, shaking my head. It's hard to imagine myself as the kind of girl who can sell out tours and be the center of attention. Sure, it'd be odd hearing other people sing my words, but it was a way for me to continue writing music, something I loved doing.

    "I don't think that's true," Jamie shakes his head, disagreeing. "Eden, you are the most genuine, kind, beautiful person I know. The kind of person a parent wishes they had for their little girl to look up to," he cups my cheek in his hand, forcing me to keep my eyes locked with his as he says, "I don't think anyone on this planet can sing those songs like you do."

    I lean in to kiss him once more, revelling in the way his smile feels against my lips, "thank you," I whisper, leaning my forehead against his, "just think, though," I continue, "once I get those songs sold, I can move to London, and we never have to apart again. It'll be you and me forever, J."

    Jamie hugs me, moving me so I'm lying in front of him, him spooning me from behind. "Forever," he mumbles tiredly, kissing the back of my head, "I like the sound of that."

@edenbliss posted a photo!

Liked by zoesaldana, baileybass and 1,345 others

edenbliss
got what I wanted for Christmas❤️🎄

tagged: @jamieflatters

load more comments...

user1 screaming

user2 OMG trinity's sister is dating Jamie?! That's adorable

baileybass my heart😭❤️

baileybass so so happy for you babe!

misstrinitybliss and we beat him in Mario kart too!! A Christmas miracle

user3 I wish Jamie would lay on me like this...

jackchampion wow this makes me feel really single
— user4 I volunteer as tribute

lilgibs my fav couple omg

jamieflatters is this what the kids these days call a hard launch?

Ugh idk why but this chapter was SO hard to write aha! Something about it feels off but I don't know what... either way I hope you enjoyed it!
This is very much the last good moment.., before shit hits the fan.., so I hope you enjoyed happy Eden and Jamie hehe ❤️