Christmas Eve. Brampton, Ontario.

“Want some eggnog babe?” Nicki called from the kitchen.

Instead of answering, Tyler got out of his chair to see her. When he walked in, her back was turned. He seized the opportunity to wrap his arms around her. He buried his face in the side of her neck, forcing tiny giggles to escape her lips.

“I would love some eggnog,” he said, into her neck. When he breathed in, he was surrounded by her scent. “You smell so good. Can I have you instead?”

Nicki giggled some more and wriggled in his arms. Tyler brushed her hair out of the way to kiss her neck. Her head lolled back and she groaned. One of his hands snuck up the bottom of her shirt, caressing the soft skin on her stomach.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Tyler quickly pulled himself away from her and cleared his throat.

“Hey, mom.”

His mother shook her head. “You know, I heard you two last night.”

He felt his cheeks burning. If he had to guess, he’d say Nicki’s had already turned bright red.

“Jackie, I’m so sorry. It was just – “

She laughed. “Nicki, honey, don’t have a stroke. Just try to keep it down next time, that’s all.”

Tyler had honestly thought they’d been quiet. But, then again, what did he know? He hadn’t been paying much attention to the noise level.

“Pour me some eggnog, would you?” his mother asked before leaving the room.

Nicki turned around and bit her lip. “Oops.”

“Don’t worry about it. Last night was my fault, anyways.”

“It was entirely your fault. You’re such a tease,” she said, giving him a push on the chest.

“I can’t believe you just called me a tease. Maybe you should lay off the eggnog.”

Her eyes widened. “Is there alcohol in this?”

“Yeah. You didn’t read the bottle?”

“No.”

Tyler burst out laughing. She was so airheaded sometimes.

“Here, let me help,” he said when he’d gained control of himself.

He grabbed the bottle from her and poured three glasses, one with much less than the other two.

“Can you guess which one’s yours?”

Nicki threw an elbow into his ribs. “You’re a jerk.”

“Ah ah ah,” he said, grabbing her ring finger. “Remember what you said?”

“Fine, you’re not a jerk,” she sighed.

When they got home after the ball, they’d stayed up all night talking. At one point, the lack of sleep had gotten to Nicki’s head. She’d stared at the ring on her finger and said ‘This is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe it. Tyler, I promise I’ll never say or do anything mean to you ever again’. It hadn’t made much sense to him at the time, since she never did anything mean to anyone, never mind him. But ever since, he’d used it against her whenever she got feisty.

“Love you.”

“Love you too,” she responded, smiling. “I just can’t resist your boyish charm.”

Tyler bumped her with his hip before picking up two of the glasses.

“You ready to get back in there?”

She nodded and picked up her cup, filled with half the eggnog of everyone else’s. Tyler made his way back to the living room and handed his mom her drink before sitting down in his chair and pulling Nicki onto his lap.

“You know, there are plenty of open seats,” Candace teased.

“If Brad was here you know you’d be in his lap, too.”

“Let’s not talk about that,” said Tyler.

Candace and Brad’s relationship had developed to the point where he was just waiting until she turned eighteen before they officially became a couple. Tyler was glad to see her so happy, but the thought of his teammate and best friend sleeping with his sister made him physically ill. It would take a long time for him to adjust, if he ever did.

“So, have you two picked a date yet?” his mother asked, trying to break up the tension.

Tyler felt Nicki fidget in his lap. He knew she felt guilty about wanting to wait so long.

“We’re waiting until Nicki graduates. So no, we haven’t picked a date.”

He watched as her face dropped. “Three years?”

“Four, actually,” Nicki mumbled. “I’m getting my Masters.”

** * * * *

Nicki stood in the middle of Tyler’s room, waiting for him to come to bed. She took the shining ring off of her finger and held it close to her eyes, reading the engraved words. “I feel like that.”

She had completely lost it the morning after Tyler proposed, when he mentioned that he’d gotten something engraved. The instant she read the words, tears began to fall. She was in disbelief that he’d remembered. Those words meant so much more to her than lyrics from a song. Once he’d explained why he chose them, they meant even more.

Ever since, she hadn’t stopped listening to that song. To that day, it remained his ringtone on her phone. She subconsciously began to sing the words under her breath.

“Whatcha singing?”

Nicki spun around to face Tyler, who was already in his pajamas. She wondered how long he’d been in the room.

“Our song.”

He grinned at her. “I thought so. My mom says goodnight, by the way.”

She groaned. “I feel like an asshole,” she said as she began to undress and put on her pajamas.

“Don’t,” Tyler said, trying to comfort her. “Neither of us wants to rush this. It’s our decision. Our families are just gonna have to deal with it.”

“Yeah, but still. I mean for God’s sake, my grandmother keeps telling me she’s going to die before the wedding. Talk about a guilt trip.”

He chuckled and hugged her. “Don’t let it bother you. You have to do what’s best for you.”

“You don’t mind waiting, do you?”

Tyler shook his head; his chin messed up her hair.

“As long as I know that someday my last name will be yours too, I’ll wait however long you want.”

Nicki had no idea how to respond. She decided to take the foolproof route and nudged her lips between his. Loving fingers slid into her hair as he pulled her closer to him. Even a year wasn’t enough time for Nicki to adjust to his kiss. Her head was spinning.

Tyler pulled away from her all too soon. He turned off the light and scooped her up, letting her down delicately on the bed. When he sat down next to her, she rolled over and wrapped her arms around him, not even giving him the chance to lie down. She let her head fall onto his shoulder, and felt his caring arms around her. His lips against her forehead coaxed the words out of her.

“I can’t wait to marry you.”