Title: Christmas Wish
Part: 8/12
Author: Wendy
Category: 98º
Rating: PG-13
Copyright: 1999
Charlene woke up early on Christmas morning. She had been unable to sleep much after her and Jeff kissed under the mistletoe. She didn’t know what was going on. For a while there, she really wanted to move their friendship to another level, but after they kissed, Jeff didn’t really do much and she wasn’t sure if he wanted the same thing. It bothered her that for once, she didn’t know how her best friend really felt.
Charlene put on her jacket and went outside to take a breath of fresh air. Snow was falling gently from the pale sky. Wind started to pick up a little, with the snow swirling with every blow. She zipped up her jacket and leaned against the railing.
She looked toward the sky and wondered what everything was between her and Jeff then and there. She loved spending time with Jeff, but that was before they kissed. Everything was just happening so fast, and Charlene was unable to comprehend things.
Unaware that someone else had went on the deck, she jumped at the slightest touch. Charlene turned around and saw Jeff. A look of shock appeared on her face.
"Hey, Jeff," Charlene smiled.
"What are you doing out?" Jeff asked ever so softly.
"I couldn’t sleep," she said.
"I think we need to talk about what happened between us last night," he said seriously.
She nodded slowly, waiting for him to speak another word.
"Ever since we kissed, I couldn’t stop thinking about it," he continued.
"Yeah, same with me," Charlene replied quietly.
The two of them stood in the coldness in silence, not knowing what to say.
"Now what, Jeff?" she asked.
"I wish I knew. All I know is that I felt more than just a friendship kiss in there, I felt it when I was kissing you."
She smiled.
"What?" he asked.
"I don’t know how to say this, but I guess this is probably the best time to say it. Jeff, I know that you’re my best friend, and I would never want to jeopardize that. But I guess after what happened, I think that I need to tell you…" she trailed off.
"Tell me what?"
"I care about you more than a friend. And I guess I never really knew how to deal with it because I don’t want to do anything to ruin what we have already. It’s just that I’m so confused about everything and –"
Jeff leaned forward and kissed her abruptly. Charlene was surprised, but didn’t fight against it.
"We don’t need to answers now to what this can lead to. I know I’m willing to try this with you," Jeff said.
She smiled brightly. "So will I, but I think we should take it slow."
Jeff smiled and nodded. He gave her another kiss.
Inside the house, everyone was downstairs in the living room, looking through the windows at Charlene and Jeff. When the two went back into the house, all of them quickly sat down on the couch and pretended they weren’t looking at what they were doing on the porch.
Charlene smiled at Jeff and then her friends and just wanted to tell them the good news.
"Where were you two?" Jessica asked, trying to hide her laughter.
"I think you guys know, but just to make it all official, Char and I are going to try our relationship on more than a friendship basis," Jeff explained.
Everyone congratulated the new couple.
"I think this calls for a celebration," Jessica announced.
"Actually, speaking of celebrations…" Justin began.
"What are you talking about, J?" Ashley asked.
"I think that they guys should go shopping today," Nick blurted out.
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
"Let’s just say that there’s a little something we want to give you girls, but we have to prepare it without you around," Drew explained.
Becki looked at him suspiciously. "I guess so…"
"Trust us," Jeff added.
"Hey, if you guys say so," Charlene said. "What time can we actually come back?"
"In the early evening or so?" Nick guessed.
Sara nodded. "I guess we’ll just take a couple of the cars and go out to Burlington."
"Just be careful, okay?" Drew told them.
They all said their goodbyes, with the girls leaving and the guys planning their surprise.
Around six at night, the girls finally arrived back at the cabin.
"Hello?" Ashley called out.
There was no answer and the living room was dim. Lights shone from the kitchen and dining room area, where they all approached after dropping their shopping bags down by the couch.
The girls walked into the dining room, with candles on the table, lighting up the room. The guys walked out of the kitchen, each carrying a plate of food with them.
"What’s going on, you guys?" Becki asked.
"Since you guys gave us such a wonderful dinner last night, we thought that we’d give something back to you guys," Drew explained.
"You know you didn’t have to," Charlene said.
"We wanted to," Jeff replied.
"And we want to give you the best present ever," Justin added.
"You already did last night," Ashley stared at Justin, referring to their night of passion the previous night.
Everyone looked at one another, wondering what the two were really talking about. They grinned at one another once they realized what had happened.
"Well, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not as great as what you cooked last night, but we tried," Nick said.
"And that’s all that matters," Sara said as they all sat down around the table.
After dinner was over, the group gathered in the living room, leaving the dishes in the sink temporarily. Instead of the candles lighting the room, the flames of the fireplace illuminated the room.
They all sat there quietly, just enjoying each other’s presence. They hardly got to just spend a night with one another between the tour for the guys and work for the girls. They were all finally together, with a few more days of tranquility following them.
"Oh, yeah, you guys," Charlene began, shifting in Jeff’s embrace, "we bought you something."
She brought over the bags from behind the couch for each of the girls. They all gave the presents to the guys, which the guys loved.
"You know? It’s time like these that I really appreciate all of the friends that I have," Drew said sentimentally.
"Awww…" Becki gave him a kiss.
"No, but I’m for real. I haven’t spent a lot of time with you guys, and I think it’s great that we’re all here now."
They all got together in a group hug.
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