Burn

Christmas Eve night, everyone was back over at The Maine's studio gathered around the island in the kitchen. Joel poured us all shots in our glasses as we got ready to toast to the evening.

"Alright, alright. Here we go." Alex said, holding his shot glass above him. The group mimicked his action and I felt John put his arm around my waist and pull me to him. "This is to Viola and her assignment, to the new friends I've made over the past month, and to Callie--my beautiful girlfriend who I love."

Everyone cooed at them teasingly and he grinned, swooping down to give Callie a swift kiss on the cheek. Garrett spoke next. "To good friends, good vibes, and good shows this coming up year."

Then Pat. "To all of us. I'm glad to have you all as a part of my life." Kennedy and Jared agreed to this, nodding eagerly. John cleared his throat then, and everyone looked expectantly at him. "This is to awesome shows for this upcoming tour, to all of you, all of my brothers in this band, and most importantly to Viola."

I blushed at this and he continued, looking down warmly into my eyes. "Thank you for just being you."

"To Forever Halloween!" Kennedy yelled, clinking glasses with everyone and downing his shot. I clinked my shot glass also and John turned to me. "To us." he murmured, before clinking ours together and downing his shot. I smiled before followed his actions and downing my own, wincing as it burned on the way down.

"Come on, let's take a picture you guys!" Rose exclaimed. I put my shot glass down, motioning for her to give me the camera. "I'll take it, since I'm photographer on duty."

John frowned at me slightly before he posed for the camera. When the flash went off, he came over to me and murmured, "You should have been in the picture."

"I know. Smile." I grinned as I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of us. It turned out cute, John grinning into the camera showing both rows of his pretty white teeth and me making a kissy face.

John grabbed a beer from the refrigerator before returning to me and draping his arm across my shoulders. He led me into the living room where the rest of our friends lounged, talking and laughing loudly.

"Isn't it like tradition to watch Christmas movies on Christmas Eve?" Pat exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "How come you guys don't want to watch The Grinch with me?"

"Oh come on, Pat. Live a little." Rose said, grabbing the remote from him. She turned the channel to a music station that was playing an upbeat version of 'Rocking Around the Christmas Tree' and grabbed Pat's hand, lifting him off the couch. They sashayed around the living room, laughing as the rest of the room joined in.

"Hey, get your hands off my woman!" Garrett yelled, swooping in and pulling Rose to his body and away from Pat. John chuckled beside me, taking another swing of his beer. I leaned against him, breathing in all his delicious, intoxicating scents. He pressed his lips to the side of my temple softly, leaving them there as he murmured, "I think they make a nice couple."

"Yeah, I'm warming up to them." I replied, never taking my eyes off of the two as Garrett dipped her down, bringing her back up and earning a loud giggle from Rose. It was great to see everyone together having a good time--Rose, Callie, Alex, Joel, the rest of The Maine--even Tim and Brendan were there celebrating the holiday with us.

"You look amazing tonight, darling." he murmured once more. I'd thrown on a dark green dress for the occasion, mostly because Rose insisted. Paired with a pair of black stocking and some pumps--which were tall enough to make my head almost touch John's shoulder--I felt pretty glamorous.

"Thanks, handsome." I grinned, grabbing his bottle from him and tipping it back until its contents were emptied. "Looks like you need another one of these."

He disappeared into the kitchen and I turned my attention back to our friends in the living room. Everyone was still dancing--except Tim and Brendan, who were chilling on the couch--and I accidentally caught Pat's eye as I leaned up against the door frame. He bounded over to me, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the crowd of people in the living room. "If I can't get out of this, you can't get out of this!" he exclaimed as he shimmied around me, making me laugh.

I joined in the dancing, even though I wasn't half as intoxicated as the rest of the crew, and twirled around the living room with Pat. I noticed John watching me with a smirk on his face as he stood in my spot by the door frame, coolly sipping from the bottle in his hand. I threw in a few good dance moves to my routine, making him break out into a grin occasionally as he watched.

After a couple more songs, the dancing died down in the living room and everyone lounged lazily on the couches. It was getting late and everyone was determined to be the first ones up tomorrow so that they could find their present first.

As a little house game, we'd all decided to make the opening of the presents a little more interesting by hiding each other's all over the studio. Before everyone had arrived that evening, I'd quickly hidden Callie and Rose's sweaters under some towels in the bathroom cabinet, along with Joel's new game controller in the entertainment system. Since Callie and Alex had been apartment hunting lately, I bought Alex a bottle of his favorite whiskey to celebrate move in day with, which was hidden tastefully in the kitchen cabinet with the rest of the booze.

John was the hardest, and it took me forever to think of a gift to buy him. In the end, I arrived back at the house with two gifts for him: a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers t-shirt--I'd noticed a couple in his suitcase--and a slim, silver watch with a black face. It caught my eye in the store for some reason, and I knew I couldn't leave without it.

I couldn't wait for the morning time to see how everyone reacted to my choices.



"Viola. Viola, wake up." John shook my shoulders lightly. "Wake up!"

"Ughhh, what?" I asked groggily, rolling over and rubbing my eyes. John was looming over me in all his bedhead glory, grinning from ear to ear. "Put your coat on, we're going outside. It's snowing!"

I glanced at the clock sitting on the nightstand as I sat up. 3:47. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not. Come on, it hasn't snowed since we've been down here! And the citizens of Tempe don't see snow back home--this is a rarity!"

I rolled my eyes, hopping out of bed as John grabbed my hoodie from off the dresser and tossed it to me. I shoved it down over my head, grabbing a brush off the nightstand and quickly yanking it through my tresses. "There's no time for that! I don't care what your bed-head looks like, Viola Grey!"

"Hush." I whisper-yelled, opening the door and creeping out into the hallway. We tip-toed down the stairs, passing through the living room which was full of my sleeping friends and quietly out the back door and onto the patio.

Snow fell in slow motion from the sky, each little white fleck landing and sticking to whatever surface it touched. I tipped my head back, looking up at the dark sky and around at the snow covered ground. "It's so pretty." I whispered, gathering my coat around my body tighter to shield me from the cold. John walked around on the patio, looking down at the footprints he was leaving. He gathered up a handful of snow from the table and packed it into a ball before launching it at the trees that surrounded the house. He looked over at me, grinning. "It's packable. We're definitely gonna have a snowball fight tomorrow if this stuff stays."

I returned his grin as John gathered me in his arms, pulling me to his chest and kissing the top of my head before resting his cheek on it. I buried my face into his sweater and inhaled deeply, breathing in his clean scent. We stayed like that for a few moments before he loosened his grip, allowing me to look up into his eyes. The lines of his mouth relaxed into an easy smile and his eyes searched mine for something I didn't know. I couldn't read his expression clearly, and I furrowed my brow. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I love you."

Just like that. He said it so simply, so easy. The words hung in the air between us as my brain tried to register what he'd just said. I could feel the awed expression stuck on my face but it was like my muscles wouldn't relax enough for me to close my mouth or for my eyes to return to their normal size. John reached up, grinning and stroking the side of my side and jaw as he murmured, "So much, Viola Grey."

I reached up, bringing his face down to mine and connecting our lips hungrily. Our mouths moved in sync as we battled for dominance, and I backed John up against the side of the house until his back hit the wall and he wrapped his arms around my waist tightly.

Scooping me up in one quick motion, he skillfully opened the sliding back door and crossed the threshold into the house. I suppressed a giggle with my hand as we trekked back quietly through the living room. John pressed a finger to my lips when I noticed Rose was missing from her spot on the couch, leaving her blanket and pillow behind.

He shook his head. "Not now. Don't worry about it." he whispered. He sat me down long enough for us to quickly climb up the stairs before scooping me back into his arms and reconnecting our lips. He pushed the door open and shut it with his foot before letting me down the front of his body, allowing me to feel how aroused he was through his pajama pants.

With a hungry look that set my skin ablaze, John pushed me back until my knees connected with his bed, causing me to fall backwards onto the soft comforter. He climbed on top of me, lowering his body on mine and kissing lightly down my jaw until he got to my neck. His hands gripped the sheets beside my head as he lowered his mouth to my collarbone. My hoodie stopped him from going any further so he pulled back enough to snatch my hoodie and t-shirt over my head, leaving me in just my bra and pajama pants.

John returned to his attack on my skin and I closed my eyes as his mouth traveled down, leaving a trail of hot kisses from my collarbone to chest and in between my breasts. I arched my back at the contact as a sigh escaped my mouth. Before bringing his mouth back to mine he pulled his own sweater over his head and when he came back down, the skin to skin contact made me want to groan out loud.

I just wanted all of him. Every bit of him--now that I knew he returned the feelings I'd had for the longest but couldn't bring myself to tell him. I rolled up over so that I was straddling him, and ran my hands down his chest, eliciting a grin from him. I paused, taking in the look in his eyes as I stared down at him, watching his chest rise up and down. Caution flashed across his face as he took in my expression, wondering if I was going to stop or if he had went too far again.

"I love you, too." I whispered breathlessly, watching the corners of his mouth lift up into a soft smile as he took in my word. That was the look. His love look. The look that filled me to the brim with a burning glow and took my breath away.

"I want you, Viola Grey." he murmured, taking the tip of his finger and dragging it all the way down my chest, over my stomach, and gripping his hand around my waist tightly. He repeated the process with his other finger, causing me to close my eyes and dip my head back, intoxicated.

I shifted on John's lap, feeling him between my hips and accidentally brushing against him there. He groaned, a low sound in his throat that set my face ablaze and made my lips part breathlessly. I did it once more and John closed his eyes, pushing air out between his teeth and growling, "Viola."

He flipped us over once more, regaining control and pinning me beneath him with his hips. It was no denying that I wanted him--not now, not ever. So I tried not to overthink it as John looked at me from beneath his lashes and I nodded breathlessly, allowing him permission. He swallowed nervously before hooking his thumbs into the waistband of my pants and sliding them down and over my legs.

I could have turned back, but I didn't want to. I was too caught up in the moment--in John. He was intoxicating, he knew exactly what he was doing and exactly how I would react to it. It was enticing and sensual and completely and utterly hot.

I was in so deep I was drowning in his presence, but I didn't want to resurface.

I was in love with him.