Chapter 247

Noah

I woke up because someone was very determined to greet us at the crack of dawn.

Or… my phone was greeting everyone, which could be quite possible since I had set twenty alarms and reminders to send messages to every soul we knew.

Either way, it wouldn’t shut up.

Ding. Ding. Ding-ding. Ding.

Before I’d even opened my eyes, I felt Aiden groan behind me and bury his face deeper into the back of my neck.

“Oh my God,” he muttered, voice gravelly with sleep. “Turn that phone off.”

“What?” I whispered back, already grinning as I fumbled for it under the pillow. “This is the sound of loooove.”

“I bet it is,” he said with a grin. Then his arm looped around my waist and he dragged me back against his chest. “You wanna hear the sound of my love biting you in the ass for waking me up?”

He nipped at my neck to prove his point.

I squeaked. He laughed.

And then we were wrestling like idiots—half asleep, messy-haired, laughing into each other’s mouths as we kept kissing between breaths. Eventually we flopped back against the pillows in a helpless tangle, hearts pounding more from joy than effort.

“Merry Christmas, Aiden,” I said softly, suddenly feeling it hit me all at once.

He looked at me like it meant everything. Like I meant everything.

“Merry Christmas, my baby boy.”

I kissed him again—slowly, sweetly, like I was tasting the day before it even began.

Then I ruined the mood completely.

“Okay! Time to get up! We gotta cook! Gift time! Christmas!!”

He let out the most dramatic groan known to mankind.

“Noah. It’s seven a.m.” He dragged a hand over his face. “Everything is done. Gifts are ready, we are eating at Lexie’s… And I am tired from last night’s chaos.”

“And from all the love?” I teased.

He smiled into the pillow and pulled me back for another kiss. “Never tired of all the love.”

That one melted me.

But I still bounced out of bed like a five-year-old on sugar.

“Okay then! Hot cocoa time!”

I threw on one of Aiden’s big sweaters and padded barefoot down the stairs, feeling the warm wood under my toes, fairy lights still glowing faintly in the morning gray. The place smelled like cinnamon and pine and something like safety. Stockings were hanging crooked because I couldn’t stop straightening them yesterday. The tree glittered over the ton of presents underneath. And the kitchen—

The kitchen looked like I’d been nesting there for fifty years.

I grabbed cocoa, marshmallows, sugar cookies, whipped cream… and as I stirred chocolate into milk and waited for it to heat, I couldn’t help it.

My brain went back.

Five months.

Five months since that night at the Dominion.

Five months since everything changed again—only this time for the better. And God… so much had happened.

Being back in Texas felt surreal, even though we’d only been gone a few months. Somehow, it already felt like another lifetime.

Between signing with the New Orleans Saints, renting a temporary place with Aiden, relocating, football, keeping up with all the updates from family and friends, and Aiden helping Hale set up the new Dominion… life had been insane. Non-stop. Exhausting.

And I wouldn’t have changed a single second of it.

Taking a Christmas break and coming back to where our love story had started—visiting everyone we loved, catching up on their new plans and new beginnings—felt like stepping into another adventure entirely.

Everyone had insisted we stay with them for the holidays. Hale. Lexie’s mom. My mom. Pretty much anyone who had a spare pillow. But Aiden and I had decided to rent our own place for the season so we could have time to ourselves too—and so we could host when we wanted. We were planning on inviting everyone over for New Year’s Eve. But today—Christmas Day—we were all meeting at the Harts’ mansion.

For old times’ sake.

There was something unbelievably comforting about that. Like the universe had decided we’d been through enough storms and finally owed us a warm blanket and a fireplace.

The rental house we’d chosen wasn’t huge or fancy—just beautiful in a soft, cozy way. Wood floors. Big windows that let in winter light. A kitchen that looked like it belonged in a Christmas Hallmark movie. The kind of place where love could stretch out and breathe for a while.

Aiden was upstairs still pretending to sleep, and I was in the kitchen—arranging our little festive breakfast, feeling my heart swell to the point of ridiculousness—thinking about how crazy it was that this… all of this… was our life now.

All that shit we'd gone through—and it had been a whole lot of shit—had finally paid off.

Aiden finally shuffled down the stairs a little while later, still barefoot, still half-asleep, wearing one of those soft sweaters that made him look completely unfair to humanity. He found me in the kitchen, and without a word, wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“I can smell cinnamon,” he mumbled.

“That’s because I put cinnamon in the cocoa,” I said.

“And cardamom,” he added, sniffing.

I laughed. “Okay, cardamom too.”

We took our mugs and moved to the couch, curling under the same blanket automatically, like gravity had its own opinion about where our bodies belonged. Soft Christmas music filled the room. The lights on the tree glowed. The air smelled sweet and safe.

For a while, we didn’t talk. We just sipped cocoa, and kissed sometimes, and whispered very important things like “I love you” and “don’t ever move away from me or I’ll actually die.”

Then Aiden chuckled softly. “You know… I still remember our first Christmas.”

My chest tightened. “Yeah?”

“I didn’t even get to give you your present,” he said quietly. “Didn’t get to hold you. Didn’t get to tell you what I wanted to tell you.”

I swallowed. “I remember how badly I wanted to run to you. How I wanted to say everything out loud. But instead… a year ago today… I was proposing to Lexie.”

The memory washed through me—sharp even now.

“It crushed me,” I admitted. “It crushed both of us. And I kept thinking… this is it. This is my life now. And the person I love most doesn’t get to be mine.”

Aiden pressed his forehead to mine.

“And now look at us,” he whispered.

And yeah. When I looked at him… The gorgeous man by my side…

It felt like waking up inside a dream I refused to leave.

We opened presents after that. Aiden went first—because he always insisted on making a fuss out of me, and I pretended to fight it even though I secretly loved every second.

He’d wrapped everything beautifully because of course he had.

There was a ridiculously soft sweater. A gorgeous vintage poetry book—the first one we’d ever read together. Some football things that made me laugh and kiss him stupid.

And then he handed me a final very large box.

When I opened it, I actually forgot how lungs worked.

“Oh my God,” I breathed. “Aiden. This is a… this is an acoustic Fender guitar!!! Holy shit!!”

He smiled—soft and proud. “I remember you saying you always wanted one. I think it’s time you started playing again, baby boy. Properly playing.”

I stared at it.

Then at him.

Then back at it.

Then back at him.

“Maybe,” he added, “you’ll play for me sometime.”

“I’ll play for you always,” I said.

And then I kissed him like I meant it—because I did.

His turn was next.

I’d gotten him a beautifully tailored jacket—dark, sleek, perfect for him. A few things I knew he needed but would never buy himself. And then the watch.

A gold watch with delicate hands in the shape of baseball bats. On the back, I’d had engraved:

Timeless—like us.

From your baby boy.

He didn’t say anything at first. He just looked at me. And I swear I saw whole universes move inside his eyes.

We spent the afternoon exactly how Christmas afternoons were meant to be spent—tangled together under blankets, sugar cookies within reach, me singing along (poorly and dramatically) to A Christmas Carol: The Musical, while Aiden pretended to be annoyed but secretly loved it.

We kissed too much. We laughed too much. We let ourselves be happy.

And by four o’clock, it was time to get ready.

Lexie had insisted we arrive at five sharp for carols, gifts, dinner, and—as tradition demanded—It’s a Wonderful Life afterward.

So we pulled ourselves out of our cocoon…

…and went to join the people who had somehow become our family.