Baby, It's Cold Outside

"Parts of southern California are expected to receive twelve to eighteen inches of snow this weekend as the polar vortex continues to make its way down from California."

Getting up from the couch, I walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain. Decent-sized flurries were already falling steadily, adding to the few inches already on the ground. I'll admit, when I moved to California from Connecticut, I'd expected to get away from the snow. Not that I was complaining; I actually liked the snow. I was just almost certain that people in California weren't as prepared to deal with it.

I stood at the window for a few more minutes, watching as the snow steadily began to fall harder. Even after years of seeing snow fall, it still enchanted me. Although now I was sure a large part of it was nostalgia. The snow was falling pretty hard when I noticed Jimmy's car coming up the street. I grabbed one of my jackets from the coat rack in the foyer and slipped on a pair of boots before going out to meet him.

"Emily!" he shouted out the window. He coasted to a stop and put the car in park. "I got us a tree!"

"I see that!" I exclaimed. It was pretty hard to miss. I was honestly surprised Jimmy's small car had managed to get the humongous thing home. "But you know we didn't need one. We have one in the attic that my parents gave us."

"Yeah I know, but that one's fake," Jimmy said, getting out of the car. "And I thought it would be nice to have a real tree, because this is our first Christmas since we got married."

I smiled. I'd really wanted this Christmas to be special for me and Jimmy, and it looked like I would be getting my wish. "Well let's get it inside, then. The snow's really coming down and I'm freezing my ass off."

Jimmy chuckled and started to undo the straps tying the tree to the car. I knew I wouldn't be much help carrying the damn thing, so I went to the door and held it open until Jimmy had the tree inside. "I'm glad I got home when I did," Jimmy commented, setting the tree down in the corner of the living room. He glanced out the window. "It's really fucking snowing!"

"Yeah, it's really coming down," I agreed. "Good thing we don't have to be out in it."

"Right, because we're gonna decorate!" Jimmy cheered. "We have ornaments and shit, right?"

"Why the hell would my parents give us that tree and not give us anything to put on it?" I teased. Jimmy stuck out his tongue. I laughed. "They're in the attic."

"I'll go get them," Jimmy said. He went into the kitchen and I could hear him rummaging around in the drawer for a flashlight before heading up to the attic. While I waited for him to come back down, I surveyed the tree. It wasn't a bad tree; nice and fluffy and so tall the top nearly touched the ceiling. Guess Jimmy will be putting the star on top.

"This is gonna be so great," Jimmy said, carrying two containers into the living room. He had the most excited grin on his face and I couldn't help but smile as well. "We can decorate the tree and the house while we listen to Christmas music, and later we can make hot chocolate and cuddle on the couch and watch Christmas cartoons."

"You're so cute," I laughed. I went over to the containers and started pulling out everything we'd need to decorate the tree.

"Oh!" Jimmy exclaimed. "I almost forgot something!" Before I could say anything, Jimmy had disappeared, and soon I heard the front door open and close. A minute or so later, Jimmy reappeared, snow dusting his hair and a Walmart sack in his hand. He reached into the sack and pulled out a Santa hat, which he held out to me. "Here Emily, put this on."

I took the hat from Jimmy and put it on. "Are you gonna put on Christmas music?" I asked, starting to untangle a string of lights. Jimmy nodded excitedly and pulled out his phone, choosing a station on Pandora. Baby, It's Cold Outside by Dean Martin and Marilyn Maxwell started to play and I sang along as Jimmy and I started putting lights on the tree.

"I really can't stay..." I sang. "I've got to go away. This evening has been, so very nice..." It took me a second to realize that Jimmy had stopped winding the lights around the tree, and was simply staring at me as I sang. I felt my cheeks heat up a little. "Is there any reason you're staring at me?"

"Just listening to you sing," Jimmy replied. He smiled at me tenderly. "You have such a beautiful voice." I didn't say anything, just ducked my head and continued to string the lights into the tree. "Well don't stop," Jimmy said. "I know that song is your favorite."

"It's over," I told him. In the background, a different song started to play. I finished with the lights and went to the containers to pull out the garland. "Ready to do the garland?"

"Alright, sparkly shit," Jimmy said, his attention thankfully now off of my singing. "I like sparkly shit. It's the perfect physical representation of my personality."

This made me laugh. "That it is," I agreed.

The garland was nowhere near as complicated as the lights, so Jimmy and I were able to string that up in less than ten minutes, a time period during which Jimmy decided it would be a good idea for us to start drinking. So we each poured a glass of whiskey and coke - Jimmy's a bit stronger than mine - and sat down on the floor to sort out the ornaments, deciding which ones we wanted on the tree and which would go back into the attic.

We'd gotten through half a container and two glasses of whiskey and coke apiece when a familiar song started to play. "Hey Emily, it's your favorite song," Jimmy said. He leaned his head over on my shoulder, turning to place a sloppy kiss on my cheek. "Sing for me," Jimmy pleaded, his voice whisper-soft in my ear. "I wanna hear you sing."

"Jimmy, the song is a duet," I explained. Suddenly I got an idea and I smiled. "Tell you what. I'll sing if you'll sing with me."

"But I don't know the words," Jimmy said. I tossed back what was left in my glass and got to my feet, going after my phone that I'd left sitting on the mantle. "Emilyyyyyyy," Jimmy whined.

"Oh hush, you big baby," I teased. I snatched up my phone and went back to Jimmy, laughing when he practically fell over in my lap. I handed him my phone. "Here, I looked up the lyrics for you. You sing the words that aren't in parentheses."

I reached for Jimmy's phone and started the song over. "I really can't stay..." I sang. Jimmy mumbled the next line and I chuckled. "I've got to go away."

"But, baby it's cold outside," Jimmy sang. I smiled. As much as Jimmy said he enjoyed my singing, I was sure I enjoyed his more. The deep tenor tones, the raspy edge...it filled my stomach with the best kind of knots.

"This evening has been," I continued, reaching for Jimmy's hand. I threaded my fingers through his. "So very nice."

"Mmm hmm, the best," Jimmy mumbled. He gave my hand a squeeze, grinning up at me. He didn't seem to mind that for the second time, I wouldn't be finishing the song.

The two of us sat there for a few minutes longer, Jimmy starting to nod off, sated by the alcohol and my fingers running through his hair. I leaned down and kissed a soft kiss to his hairline. "We should get up and decorate some more of we wanna get finished tonight."

Jimmy grumbled but got to his feet anyway, rubbing at his blue eyes as he bent down to pick up his glass. I took his glass from him and went into the kitchen to put them both in the sink.

I heard Jimmy approaching behind me and soon felt his arms slipping around my waist, his face pressing into my neck. "Merry Christmas, Emily," he said, his voice muffled. "I looooooove you."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Jimmy," I laughed. I spun around in his arms, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "And I love you, too."