Ho Ho Hopefully

I liked parties. I liked parties a lot, if I was being honest. But honesty had never been my strong suit.

Maybe it was a combination of the good vibes you were surrounded by along with all of your good friends in one place. Or maybe it was the mass amounts of alcohol at every party I had ever attended. I had reason to believe it was largely the second one, but again, only if I was being honest.

Regardless of all of that, I loved parties. And for the most part, this time of year was the best time for parties, especially with my group of friends. I guess Christmas brought out the best in us. Or the worst, depending on how you spun it.

***

I knew I had little to no time at all to get ready, but I took advantage of every second I did have. I couldn’t complain necessarily because it was Christmas Eve and I was going to the Christmas party Drop Dead was throwing. I had only been in England for a little less than a year, and I didn’t have the money to fly home for Christmas, so what better way to spend the holiday than with some of my best friends?

I quickly stripped out of my clothes from work that just consisted of jeans and a black t-shirt plus my Drop Dead hoodie before hopping in the shower. I washed quickly and was out in a flash, throwing together my outfit for the night.

A black tiered dress with a layer of silver on the very bottom, lace tights, black pumps, and a black headband with a pretty flower on it was what I decided on. I dressed as fast as possible before doing my hair and make-up.

When my look was complete, I was off and out the door, headed to the bar Oliver had rented out for the night where the “office party” would take place.

It took me a little longer to get to the bar and then finding parking was an absolute nightmare, but once that was all said and done I was climbing out of the car, wrapping my black pea coat tighter around my body and clicking my way over the sidewalk and into the bar.

Once inside, I had to let my eyes adjust for a few minutes because it was practically pitch black inside aside from the disco ball overhead and the red and green lights strung everywhere. As I was slipping my coat off, I marveled at the decorations everywhere, from the mini tree to the lights to the random Drop Dead decorations; it really was a Sykes’ party.

Just as I was handing my coat to the coat check person, I felt an arm snake around my shoulder. I looked up only to find Ian Sykes grinning at me like he won a million bucks.

Ian was Oli and Tom’s dad, and a fantastic guy. He had helped me the first day I started at Drop Dead and ever since then he had taken me under his wing as if I was his own daughter. It was nice because I missed my family so much sometimes that having a make-shift second home really helped.

“Danielle!” he exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug. “Yeh pretteh little fhing yeh are. Let’s get yeh a drink, aye?”

I just laughed. “Sounds like a plan, Ian. After the bat-shit crazy day I just had, I could probably use ten drinks.

He chuckled and steered me towards the bar, ordering me a Jack and Coke, my signature drink. When I got my drink, he proposed a toast. “To beautiful lasses, strong drinks, and great mates!”

“Cheers!” I exclaimed, clinking our glasses together before downing most of my drink.

“’ave a good time tanigh’ love,” he instructed before leaving me to mingle with the rest of the Drop Dead family.

I watched as he walked away and then turned to walk into the crowd myself. I was looking for something. Rather, I was looking for someone. I was always looking for him though, so this was no surprise.

As usual, he found me first. His hands looped over my eyes and he whispered “Guess who” in my ear before I giggled and tore his hands from my face.

“Wondered when yeh would get ‘ere,” he said as he sipped his beer.

I shrugged. “I had to get pretty!” I exclaimed, gesturing to my outfit.

The smile on his face warned me what he was going to say next, and yet I still wasn’t prepared. “Yeh always look propa gorgeous, Dan. Yeh know tha’.”

The blush that covered my cheeks would have given me away if it wasn’t for the dark lighting. And because Tom made me nervous, I started rambling. "I'm planning on getting trashed tonight. Not the typical wasted either. Oh no. Like, someone has to drag me home wasted," I grinned.

Tommy laughed, looping his arm over my shoulder. "Well let's go get some shots then, aye?"

The two of us made our way to the bar, ordering various shots and lining them up before deciding how we were going to drink them. "One after the next!" I said.

Tom shook his head. "We need a game, love. Somefhin' fun."

I nodded and looked out at the crowd. As I saw the various tattoo'd body parts, an idea popped in my head. "For every person that walks by with a tattoo, we drink a shot. If they stop and talk, whoever they talk to first has to drink two shots.”

My devilish grin matched Tom's, because I'm sure he was thinking exactly what I was. There wasn't a person in this place without at least one tattoo.

This was going to get fun.

We ended up having to sit on the bar stools after chatting with various people and clearly having one too many friends. By the time Oliver came over to us, Tom and I were gone, but we were both okay with that.

"Yeh drunk yet?" Tommy asked me, and I just laughed.

"I am, but clearly not enough."

We kept playing then. We didn't stop until I fell off my stool and Tom joined me on the ground to help me up. I giggled as I clutched him, one hand attached to his white collared shirt and the other his black tie. "Yeh alrigh' there Danielle?"

I just laughed and nodded as we both scrambled off of the floor.

"I fhink yeh're pissed enough now, love," he joked.

"I think you're right."

We finished off our last shot just for fun. When I heard the song coming on over the speakers, I squealed in delight. “Dance with me?” I asked Tommy, to which he just nodded and I dragged us both out onto the floor.

It was a slow version of Baby It’s Cold Outside, which was good because I'm not sure I could have handled any real dancing. I looped my arms around Tom’s neck and laid my head on his chest while he pulled me closer and wrapped his own arms around my waist.

We just swayed back and forth like that for awhile, which was nice. I just liked being close to Tom. I loved the way he smelled, and I loved the way the warmth from his body radiated to mine. I loved hearing his heart beat while we swayed to the music, too.

I just may or may not have loved Tom, but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. I didn’t need those kinds of thoughts clouding up my brain. Not on Christmas Eve. Not when I was this drunk.

When the song ended, Tommy pulled back and I fell with him, giggling all the while. “I’m tired, Tommy,” I complained, laying my head on his chest again.

He laughed. “Wan’ ta go ‘ome?”

I nodded sleepily. That was my biggest downfall, really. I got tired when I got wasted, and as much as I wanted to stay at the party, I also wanted to crawl into my bed at home and sleep forever.

We went to find Ian first to inform him that we were in fact heading out. “Be careful,” he warned us before saying goodbye.

I was drunker than Tom was, but that wasn’t saying much really. Neither of us was okay to drive, so Tommy hailed a taxi and we climbed in. He gave the driver his address as opposed to mine, which was fine by me. I just wanted to get to a bed, any bed.

The drive was quiet as I rested on Tom’s shoulder, my eyes fluttering shut every few minutes and snapping back open violently, a cycle that didn’t stop until Tom was helping me out of the cab and towards his building.

Once we were inside his flat, he guided me back to his room and planted me on the bed. “Let me get yeh some PJ’s,” he said quietly before digging around in his drawers for something for me to wear. He came back with an old Drop Dead t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, handing them to me from my now horizontal position on the bed.

I groaned at the thoughts of moving. “Can’t I just sleep in this?” I mumbled, bringing my knees up to my chest in a make-shift fetal position.

He laughed but shook his head. “No love, yeh can’t. I’ll ‘elp yeh get dressed if yeh wan’.”

I took him up on this offer without a second though. I stood, falling into Tom before turning to have him unzip my dress. I slipped off my tights and heels and then my dress before falling back on the bed. I was now in my bra and panties and completely shameless of the fact. I reached out to grab the shirt and slipped it on over my head after eight tries and then slipped the shorts on before crawling into Tom’s double bed.

He laughed. “I’ll sleep on the couch. G’nigh’, Dan.” He whispered, kissing the top of my head.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the fact that I had dreamt of this very scenario many times before. Regardless, I reached out and grabbed Tom’s wrist to stop him from leaving. “Stay here,” I said quietly.

“Wha’?”

“Sleep here.”

“Wiff yeh?”

I just nodded. If I had been sober, the tone of his voice would have stung me, had me recoiling and possibly sprinting out the door. But I was very much drunk, and so the shocked tone didn’t bother me.

I watched as he scratched the back of his neck for a moment, obviously debating if he should climb into bed with me or not.

But then he disappeared from my vision for a minute and then the space next to me was sinking in.

Tommy was in bed with me. Laying next to me. Again, if I hadn’t been drunk I probably would have been out that door so fast…

Just as I was freaking out in my head, his arm dropped across my waist and pulled me closer to him. I settled into this position, because, as cheesy as it sounds, I felt like I fit perfectly with him. Nothing had ever felt better or more natural.

We lay like that for awhile. Neither of us fell asleep. I was now too wired to sleep, and I could tell Tom wasn’t sleeping either.

After awhile, I turned over to face him. I smiled and he smiled back. “Hi,” I said quietly.

He laughed. “’lo yehself.”

“It’s technically Christmas now,” I told him and he nodded.

What he said next would have freaked me out under different circumstances. But this time, I welcomed it.

“Do I get a Christmas kiss?”

I smiled. “Isn’t it usually New Year’s kiss?”

He shrugged, his bright blue eyes sparkling. “Who cares?”

Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned in and kissed him. And when I pulled back, something in me was exploding. And then we were kissing again and more intensely.

“Whoa, ‘old on Dan,” he said as he pulled away. “What are we doin’?”

“Kissing, and it’s frowned upon to stop so suddenly,” I joked, but he didn’t laugh. “What’s wrong?”

“Yeh’re drunk and kissin’ me like that is frowned upon because yeh could really mess wiff someone when yeh do tha’ Danielle.”

He was mad. But why? “You aren’t seriously mad at me for kissing you, are you?”

He sighed, rolling over onto his back as he stared at the ceiling. “I’m not mad yeh’re kissin’ me Dan, I’m mad if yeh kissin’ me and don’ mean it.”

I sighed too and crawled closer. “I may still be a little drunk, but I would never kiss you just to screw with you, Tommy.”

He turned his head to look at me, his intense blue eyes staring right through me. “Yeah?”

I nodded.

And then he was kissing me again. It wasn’t as nearly as intense, but simpler and sweeter. When he pulled back, we smiled at each other. And when I turned around and he draped his arm over my waist again, he pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, “Merry Christmas, Danielle.”

And a merry Christmas it was. Because I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Ho ho hopefully, this holiday will make us believe that we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.