Merry Christmas, John

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit,” Becca yells, slamming her hands down on the steering wheel before trying to turn the key again. The engine turns over once before dying again.

“Fuck!”

She grabs her purse, getting out of the car and shoving the door closed as hard as she can. She glances around at the houses, figuring if she asks nice enough, maybe someone will let her use their phone to call for a tow truck. Running a hand through her hair, she sighs, walking up the walkway of the closest house, climbing the stairs before knocking on the door.

When the door opens, she doesn’t expect to see who she sees. “John?”

The tall man standing before her narrows his eyes, as if trying to remember where he knows her from. His eyes open wide, as if everything has clicked. “Becca!”

Becca and John had met at a small bar in her hometown in Southern California; he was there on tour and she was waitressing to save enough money to pay for college tuition. He’d offered to buy her a drink and had been seriously disappointed to learn she was only eighteen.

“Fuck, hi, John.”

“Bec, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Come in, it’s cold out,” he murmurs, standing back and allowing her to squeeze past him into his home.

“My, um… My car broke down outside of your house. The blue Honda.”

John walks to the window and looks at it. “Do you know what’s wrong with it?”

“Well, no. That’s why I’m here. I mean, I didn’t know this was your house. I just…Can you help me?”

“Rebecca, it’s, like, nine at night. You can stay here. I’ll take a look at it in the morning.”

“Wait, John, are you serious?”

“Yeah, why the hell not. You need a place to stay and I have a pull out couch. Plus, it’s Christmas, for Christ’s sake.”

Rebecca grins. “Thank you so, so much, John.”

John shrugs. “No problem. Do you want a pair of sweats or something?”

Becca nods. “Sure, thank you.”

He nods, turning and walking up the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

Becca sighs, making her way into the living room, looking around at the pictures John has on his walls. Some of his band mates, some of his friends. Most are of his family, though. A blond woman being kissed on the cheek by an older man who looks very much like John. Two boys, one of whom who looked to be the same age as Becca, with their arms around John’s shoulders. She turns around when she hears John come back down the stairs. “These your brothers?”

John grins, handing her the pants. “Yeah. Shane and Ross. Fucking punks.”

Becca smiles, grabbing the sweats from him. “Bathroom?”

“Uh, down the hall, last door on the right,” John says, pointing. “Light’s outside the door.”

Becca nods, thanking him and walking down to the bathroom to change. Once she’s done, she comes back out, tying her hair into a ponytail.

“I honestly can’t thank you enough, John. I know this probably isn’t how you thought your Christmas Eve would be spent.”

“No, not really. I thought I’d be sitting on the couch drinking egg nog and watching A Christmas Story alone. Now I have someone to watch it with,” he says, grinning. Becca rolls her eyes.

“I’m not drinking the egg nog, though. That shit’s nasty.”

“What, come on, you don’t like egg nog?”

The two stand there laughing for a minute before John clears his throat. “So, how have you been?”

“Um, good, I guess. I’m in Tempe for school, you know.”

“Yeah? Cool. Good for you, Bec,” John says, smiling at her.

Becca shrugs. “Thanks. So, um, what about you? What have you been up to?”

“Oh, yeah, you know. Tour and such. We just started writing a new album, taking a break for the holidays. All that stuff,” he says, running a hand through his hair and sighing.

“Cool,” she murmurs, smiling. “So, um, what did you say about watching A Christmas Story?”

John grins, nodding towards the living room. “If I show you where everything is, will you make popcorn and hot chocolate while I get the movie started?”

“Of course. Lead the way,” she says, following him down the hall when he starts to walk towards the kitchen.

“The popcorn and the hot chocolate mix are in the cupboard next to the fridge, mugs in the dish drainer. Thank you, Bec! I’ll go get the movie started,” John says, smiling and kissing her forehead before rushing into the living room.

Becca is quite taken aback. She stands there, staring after him for a moment before shaking her head and getting everything started.

Once she’s finished, she joins John in the living room, mugs in one hand and popcorn bag in the other.

“Here, let me take something!”
John grabs the mugs from her, setting them on his coffee table. “You can have a seat on the couch. Do you want me to grab blankets or anything?”

Becca nods. “Sure, thank you.”

John smiles at her, shrugging. “No problem.” He takes the stairs two at a time and returns less than a minute later with a quilt and two throw pillows.

“Here, make yourself comfortable,” John says, grabbing the remote and settling down next to her on the couch. He hands her one pillow, shoving another behind his head and pulling the blanket up so it was covering the both of them.

After about five minutes into the movie, John turns his head to look at her. “Becca?”

“Mm,” Becca says, facing him.

“Why were you all alone on Christmas Eve?”

Becca blushes. “Oh, um,” she murmurs, chewing on her bottom lip. “I just didn’t have anywhere to go. I was just going to spend it in the dorms. I was out getting shit to make cookies when my car broke down. But I could ask you the same thing, John.”

He clears his throat. “I just really didn’t want to go all out for Christmas this year. I know it will disappoint my family and I know my mom’s going to be really upset, but I really just wanted to be able to do what I wanted for Christmas.”

“Like what, sit on the couch watching A Christmas Story while you drink a shit ton of egg nog?”

John grins, “Exactly. Fuck. Spot on.”

Becca smiles back at him and sighs. “You know, I fucking hated myself for not getting your number when I met you last year.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure. I thought you were really hot and a nice guy and I really wanted to hit myself when you left.”

John laughs, rubbing his jaw. “Wait, you’re being serious.”

Becca rolls her eyes. “John.”

He nods. “Alright, alright. To be completely and totally honest, I thought you were pretty fucking hot, too. But I had so much shit on my mind, man; I meant to ask for your number, too, but I was just really fucking messed up.”

“Well, do you want to talk about it? I mean, I know it’s been a while, but I just…I’m here if you’d like to talk.”

John smiles, his eyes twinkling. “Becca, if I tell you something, will you not freak out?”

“Depends on what it is, I guess?”

“Fuck, I just really want to fucking kiss you.”

Before Becca can protest, John’s grabbed her by the back of the neck and pressed his lips to hers. She sighs, smiling against his mouth, cupping his cheek and kissing him back.

“Merry Christmas, John,” she whispers, breathing heavily.

“Merry Christmas indeed.”