Winter Whim

There were three things Katie absolutely hated: the first was dirty socks being left lying on the bed, the second was finding chunks of her chocolate mysterious missing whenever she left it lying about, and the third was being kept waiting over something important. If she had her own way there would be a watch permanently glued to his wrist to stop him constantly committing the third peeve.

She kept glancing at her phone as she paced the sitting room, anxiously watching the time edge closer to the hour. He should have been back by now. It was written on the whiteboard stuck to the fridge door that he had to be back by midday today. By the time quarter to rolled around she was sat on the sofa eating the leftover pizza she'd put in the microwave for him. Okay, so maybe she ate when she was anxious but she had to leave for the airport in fifteen minutes and Dylan was nowhere to be found - she had a reason to be anxious.

By the time five to came she resolved to leave without him. She hunted the sitting room for a piece of paper and a pen and settled at the table to write it when the front door opened and Dylan wandered in, whistling to himself. He stopped short when he noticed her luggage resting against the sofa.

"Am I missing something?" he asked, confused.

She huffed. "Do you ever listen when I speak to you?"

"Only when we're having sex."

Standing from the table, she went over to the fridge and grabbed the whiteboard, thrusting it towards him. "Ring any bells?"

He scanned the writing before looking back at her. "I was kind of hoping you would end up changing your mind."

"I told you before I came out that I wouldn't be able to stay for Christmas."

He sighed and handed the whiteboard back to her. "Can we at least have goodbye sex?"

She gave him a look. "Had you been here ten minutes earlier, that would have been a yes," she replied curtly, hitting his arm. "Now you've got to wait until we're next together."

Dylan pulled a face as Katie placed the board back on the fridge and picked up her bag. "You could tell your mum you're sick and can't get on the plane?" he suggested.

Katie smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. "I wish we were spending Christmas together, but you've got your obligations here and I have mine. Next time we're together, we'll do something special. Promise."

She stood by the front door and motioned for him to grab her suitcase. He gave a huff when he felt the weight of it but nonetheless followed her out of his place, locking the door behind him.

They managed to get to the airport twenty minutes before Katie's flight was due. After making sure she had enough time, she dumped her bag with him and rushed off to the toilets before he could complain. She used the toilet and washed before she pulled her phone out from her pocket, unlocking the screen. She sent a message to her mother to say she was just about to board her flight and as she went back to her homescreen, the background picture of her and Dylan made her stop.

Being with Dylan was everything and more than she had ever dreamt; however, the distance was always the problem. They endured seeing each other every couple of months but a part of her was always worried that one day the distance would become too much for him. They weren't even spending Christmas together this year, the one holiday Dylan had always loved. She had tried to change around her work shifts and wiggle out of obligations she had made earlier in the year, but it had been of no use. She was needed at work on Christmas Eve and though she could have caught a flight on the 27th, she would have had to be back home on the 30th and she just couldn't justify the price for such little time.

She left the bathroom after spending more time than she'd realised staring at her phone and found Dylan playing with the keychain she had connected to the zip on her bag. He was reluctant to hand over her bag and she grabbed his hand before he pulled it back. "I'll phone you when I land," she murmured.

"I'm going to miss you."

She threw her arms around him and they stayed pressed together for a few moments, reluctant to part. It was the first Christmas they wouldn't be together.

They drew apart and kissed before she broke away and grabbed her suitcase, waving goodbye to him as she hurried to catch her flight.

Her flight seemed to drag and eventually she landed, trailing off the plane to meet her mother. Once her bags had appeared, they headed to her car and she drove them home. She dragged her bags up to her room as soon as they got home and she flopped on her bed, bouncing slightly from the impact. Though she did enjoy sleeping with Dylan, she was looking forward to not having to share the bed with anyone. He moved constantly and even when she would hit him to try and still his movements, he'd start again after a moment. A few times she had ended up pushing him off the bed and he hadn't even woken from the impact, but if she ever attempted to wake him up with a handjob, the moment her hand touched his skin he was awake. She just couldn't win.

As she was about to phone him, her mum shouted up to remind her that she needed to go and pick up her cousins. Groaning, she decided to send a short message to let him know that she'd landed and couldn't phone as she was just about to drive before she hauled herself up and called down to let her mum know she was just coming.

When Katie tried to phone Dylan that night she only managed to go straight through to the network, letting her know that he was probably in bed or out or even busy, so she hung up and shot him a goodnight text before going to bed herself. She woke up the following morning to see that he had attempted to ring her back while she'd been asleep, and while she was lying in bed to procrastinate starting her day, she tried to ring him again. He didn't pick up.

She thought it was strange that they kept missing each other but resolved to phone him around lunchtime, or even teatime, at a time he would be more than likely to answer his phone. So she went to work, using her breaks to do a bit more Christmas shopping for her parents, and when she checked her phone at midday she discovered that her battery was at ten percent and she really couldn't afford to drain it completely with a call. Instead, she shot him a text saying how much she missed him and went back to work.

Dylan managed to phone her that night and they spoke for five minutes before he had to get back to what he was doing. They said goodbye and then hung up. The next day she didn't manage to catch him and then Christmas Eve rolled around and all she managed to spare was a quick morning text before she was rushed off her feet. She worked up until one pm before she was her family's errand girl. Her mum wanted to do a bit of last minute Christmas shopping, her dad had some parcels he wanted her to post off last minute, her cousins realised they had forgot to get her dad something so wanted her opinion on things he'd like, and she was her mother's driver when it came to grabbing the last bits of Christmas food.

Her sister arrived early evening and she was stuck with her six month old nephew until his bedtime, trying tirelessly to keep him quiet without putting him too close to her clothing. He had a tendency to puke on her everytime she held him, and if it wasn't sick, he would come through his nappy. And he found it funny, even at that young age.

Nine pm slowly appeared and as she was sat on the sofa with a blanket covering her feet, she gripped her phone tightly in her hands. Dylan hadn't picked up his phone the last time she'd rung and she didn't want to go to bed without wishing him goodnight. It was Christmas Eve and she wasn't about to leave him just a goodnight text, that was sure.

There was a knock at the door and before she could move, her mum got up and went to answer it. Katie then unlocked her phone and stared at the bright screen. It was still kind of early, she reasoned. He could be with his friends or out at this time. She would try again in ten minutes or so. Her mum came back in, grabbed their empty mugs and went off to make some more hot chocolate. A few moments passed before there was another knock at the door.

"I'll get it," she called, chucking the blanket and phone to the other side of the sofa and slipping her feet into her slippers.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting but pulling open the front door made her speechless.

"Merry Christmas!" Dylan beamed, cheeks red and hair ruffling slightly in the wind.

Katie dashed off the doorstep and flung her arms around him tightly. "What are you doing here?" she finally managed to say, unable to believe her eyes. How was this possible? They had discussed both of their schedules and neither one had been able to change to fit in Christmas together, so seeing him just made her heart swell.

"I'm not ready to spend Christmas without you."

She couldn't help the smile that took over her face. "I can't believe you're here."

Dylan shot her a cheeky smile before taking a step back and undoing his coat, revealing that he was wearing nothing but Christmas boxers that had tinsel stuck to the waistband. Katie covered her mouth with her hand, choking on her laughter.

"Why are you naked?"

He gave a sheepish grin. "So that you can unwrap me!"

She couldn't do anything but kiss him.