“Where is everyone?”, you ask as you watch a smile spread sweetly across my lips. “I didn’t get to spend enough time with my favourite boy this year, it’s just you and me today.” Your heart starts beating faster as a familiar feeling warms your body and you instantly look down to the place beside where my feet rest on the floor, your body barely angled towards me. A rush of excitement is followed closely by a sobering snap of shame. Your cheeks start to redden like the Christmas ornaments we hung together on the tree last week.
I slide in a little closer on the sofa and you try to ignore the fact that your head is perfectly parallel to my cleavage. The way you’re staring straight down betrays you. I wrap my arm around you and you lean in, happy for a place to hide your rosy, little face. As I run my hands over your shoulders and down your back, you instantly feel a warm visceral safety, something that doesn’t even require memory, it’s just a total body warmth, a wave that takes you under.