0 7

m o m e n t

It was one week to Christmas, the tree gleaming with silver tinsel, music playing softly in the background. My parents were out at a company tea party, and having not too much of a social life myself, I had remained at home, preparing myself for the next kissing lesson.

At about five minutes past eight, there came a knock on the door. My hands felt surprisingly clammy as I turned the doorknob. Declan was standing on the porch, his cheeks red from the cold, blistering wind, a blue scarf wound snugly round his neck and his curls in their usual mess.

"Hey, El," He greeted, stepping forward and winding his arms around my waist. He pulled me into a warm hug before I could say anything, and for a while, I relaxed under his touch, sank into his embrace. But then he pulled away, and thrust a silver-coloured box into my hands. "Merry Christmas, babe."

I was rather taken aback as I closed the door behind him. "But I didn't get you a present."

His lips quirked up into a brief smile. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted to get you one. Open it."

He followed me into the living room, and once I was seated on the couch, I carefully lifted the lid off the box. Inside lay a pendant attached to a black string necklace.

Only it wasn't any pendant – the pendant was in the shape of a cherry, the crimson stud gleaming under the dim lighting. And there was a hastily-scribbled note attached to the gift, which read:

To: The best kisser in the world 

From: Her favourite protégé

I laughed at the candid note, yet something in me tugged at the sincerity of the gift. Unthinkingly, I pushed myself up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his cheek. "Thank you," I murmured, wondering what it was about the stillness of the moment that made it so lovely, like a tableau, far too picture-perfect. "How much did you spend on it, really?"

"That's not really important," He replied in a noncommittal tone as he clasped the necklace around my neck swiftly. "What matters is that you like it."

"Well, 'like' is an understatement," I informed him seriously, as I set the present down on the table and took his scarf and coat from him. "I love it."

He grinned and sat down. "Well, I aim to please. So what's our next lesson going to be about?"

"Don't you want anything to eat or drink?"

He waved me off. "No, I'm good," He replied, but then his gaze turned hopeful. "Unless you have gingerbread cookies."

Laughing, I shook my head and disappeared into the kitchen. Gingerbread cookies were a must every Christmas, and I mentally thanked my mother for whipping up three batches of cookies to last us the entire of Christmas season. Because with Declan in the house, there was no knowing how quickly he could consume them all.

Bringing out the plate of cookies, I set the plate down in front of Declan, and then sat down next to him. Naturally, he began to attack the cookies as if he hadn't seen food in days.

"Our next lesson is about capturing the perfect moment to kiss. Say you're on a date with this girl you really like. When would be the right time to kiss her?"

He barely glanced up from the plate. "Whenever I'm horny."

I shot him a very unamused look. "Perfect moments don't have to be constructed. Sometimes they can be spontaneous. Unless, of course, you're with the girl during a holiday festival, like Christmas, in which case you find a mistletoe."

Declan's head immediately snapped up, and he glanced quickly around the room for a mistletoe. True enough, there was one, just hanging over the threshold of the doorway. His eyes flickered over to me.

"I'm not going to kiss you under the mistletoe," I rolled my eyes. "That's just an example."

His lips lifted up into a wry grin. "Shame," He murmured, before returning to the cookies, wolfing them down at an alarming rate.

My forehead creased with worry as I watched him for about a minute or two. "Declan, as much as I love having you around, could you stop eating? I haven't got anything to give to my Grandma for Christmas, and I was hoping to give her some of those cookies."

He chuckled, and stuffed another cookie into his mouth. "You mean you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet?"

"It's my Grandma. What can you possibly get old people?" I shrugged, "And besides, I've been way too busy to do any Christmas shopping."

He rolled his eyes and stood up abruptly. "Get her a scarf from Primark or something, old people love those. Come on."

He stretched out a hand to me, and I stared at it, momentarily confused. "Now?"

"What, are you going to wait till Christmas? Yes, now."

"But the lesson – "

"Screw that, El. Christmas is way more important."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Declan was already waiting in the car for me by the time I was done, and I sent a gust of wind rushing in after me as I threw myself in the passenger seat beside him.

"I'm so sorry," I gushed, shooting him an apologetic look. "I couldn't find my coat."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Why didn't you just wear one of the coats hanging on the stand? I saw a couple of those in the hallway earlier."

"Well, those belong to my Mum. Besides, the coats were blue."

"Ah, and blue coats aren't as warm as your white one," He finished, a mocking grin curving his lips.

We both knew that he was only joking, however, and I gave him a light-hearted punch. "No, because blue coats don't go with orange rompers."

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "I'll never understand girls."

"Then don't attempt to. Come on, let's go."

He turned the key in the ignition, but then paused as he glanced over at me. "Put on your seat-belt, El."

My parents had never been firm believers in the seat-belt rule, for they firmly believed that their excellent driving skills were sufficient to keep me safe. "I'm good, it's just a five-minute drive – "

"Put it on."

" – no one's even going to know if I don't, and – "

"For fuck's sake, Eloise, just put the bloody thing on!" He yelled, effectively cutting me off.

Silence descended then, and as I turned to face him. His posture was rigid, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. It was the maddest I had ever seen him, a sudden outburst of fury that completely threw me in for a loop. And frankly, I had no idea how I was supposed to deal with that. Emotions scared me – they all terrified me and left me at a lost as to what to do.

I hastily buckled my seat-belt and sat with my hands folded on my lap – model-student pose.

I felt Declan's gaze on me, and he sighed at last. "I'm sorry, El," He murmured, his voice apologetic. "I just – look, I want you to be safe, alright?"

I bit my lip and nodded mutely, but was surprised when he reached over, his fingers intertwining with mine.

His voice was rough, almost unsteady, when he started, "Remember how I said I'd tell you about Matt someday?"

"Yes," My reply was so soft I could hardly hear myself.

"It was an accident," He said, slowly. "My Dad left me and Matt in the car one day to buy something he forgot to buy, and I figured I could drive around without a license and not get caught. Only it didn't happen, because I didn't just get caught, I – "

"You don't have to continue,," I said, quickly, when he let out a staggered breath.

"It was the most selfish thing I did," He murmured, "when I realised I was in the wrong lane and I was about to crash into the truck. And I swerved to avoid getting myself hit," He continued, anger laced in his tone. "I guess a part of me didn't want to get hit and I was fucking willing to let Matt – who was sitting beside me – get hit instead. It was like, I was too fucking concerned with saving my own arse I completely forgot about my brother's."

"I – "

"You don't have to say anything," Declan cut me off, his eyes were cold, his expression impassive. "I'm probably the biggest arse ever and fuck if I don't already know it. Let's just go."

"Declan – "

"Just drop it, Eloise."