7A/N: A sweet short story for Christmas to remind us that miracles do happen and our friends, whether old or new, will always be with us.
Enjoy!
Promise
The neighborhood was quiet except for the howling of the wind and the gentle sway of the trees. Though it was already seven, the street was anything but dark. Christmas lights glowed on almost every house down the street. The outside looked like a ghost town, except for the cars that parked in the driveways, but families gathered around the table for Christmas dinner and reunion. Yet, at the very end of the neighborhood, where the houses meet the forest, two parents frantically searched for their two children.
"What should we put in there?" Young Caitlyn Jones asked her friend as she watched him dug the hole on the ground. She pulled the jacket tighter around her little body. She had been barely out for ten minutes, but her ears were already frozen and she couldn't feel her nose. Yet, she had no wish to go back. Her parents would probably scold her and box her ears for running out on a Christmas Eve.
"I know what I'm going to put in there," Aaron said smugly as he stood up to his complete four feet after digging the hole.
"What?"
"This!" Proudly, Aaron pulled out the box he'd tucked into his shirt before he escaped from the house. Slowly, he opened the box and showed Cait the necklace his mother had given him when he turned ten last year.
"You're going to bury this?" Cait gaped, her hazel eyes going wide at the sight of the beautiful necklace. It was a diamond set into the shape of a heart and framed with gold at the sides. On either side of it were two teardrop emeralds. The chain was also made of pure gold.
"Why not? I'm coming back for it."
"But it's...it's..." Cait couldn't find the words to explain. Even at the age of nine, she knew the necklace was priceless. It had been passed dowm Aaron's family for God knows how long. Legend had it that the necklace was made in England right before Aaron's ancestor had to come over to America three hundred years ago.
"So, what have you got?" Aaron kept the box open and waited for Cait to put her item in it.
"I don't have anything," Cait blurted out. "Mama wouldn't give me anything. She said we'll just lose it."
His face troubled, Aaron looked back at the box and muttered, "Then we can't do this. It'll be meaningless."
"I tried to tell you before, but I couldn't get away the whole morning, and then you were gone." Cait hung her head in shame. Aaron's going to be mad, she knew it, just like her dad was the other day when he came back home and found Mama haven't cooked dinner yet.
"Oh, I know." Aaron's eyes brightened when he caught sight of Cait's pigtails.
Cait looked up, her eyes full of wariness. "What is it?"
Gently, Aaron took off the scrunchies holding up Cait's pigtails and ruffled Cait's hair until the blond locks were falling around her face and not flying off in every other direction.
"Let's use this." Aaron tried to stuff the two scrunchies inside the small box. When the two wouldn't fit, he gave one back to Cait and only put one inside the box.
Cait watched in fascination as Aaron buried the little box and it disappeared from her sight.
"Are you sure we'll be able to find it?"
"Of course. It's easy." Aaron dusted his small hands and put the gloves back on. Though he wouldn't admit it, his hands were numb, but he was happy that he'd finally finished with everything.
"How?"
"See that tree there?" Aaron pointed to the one behind them. Cait nodded. "It's the only one here."
Caitlyn didn't get it. "But there're trees all around us."
Aaron looked exasperated. "Cait, it's the only one by this spring, and it's the largest one here."
"Okay." Cait nodded, finally seeing the difference. "But when are we coming back for it? You're leaving after New Years, right?"
Aaron's brows drew tight as he thought it out. "I don't know. Let's say ten years from now. On Christmas Eve and at midnight. We'll meet back here again and dig it out together. I'm sure I can come back then!"
"Ten years?"
"Yep!" Aaron nodded enthusiastically.
"You promise?" Unlike Aaron, Cait wasn't so sure about everything. Growing up in a completely different household, she didn't not have the childish enthusiasm Aaron often did.
"Of course!"
"Pinky promise?" Cait held out her hand even as she secretly prepared herself for Aaron to laugh at her silliness. Yet, Aaron's reaction totally shocked her.
"Okay." Cait watched their pinkies together and couldn't contain the smile blooming across her face. She found it a wonder that Aaron could stand all her silliness when her parents couldn't.
After about 30 minutes, the two children arrived in front of Cait's house, which was just a few doors down from Aaron's, but relatively smaller in size. They'd barely reached the door when it swung open and Cait's dad towered over them. Unconsciously, Cait drew back even as the man reached for her.
"Oh, thank God you're alright!" The woman behind the man wailed but made no move to come to her daughter.
"You're in big trouble, young lady! Now come back in here and stop embarrassing us!" The man said in a stern tone, grabbed Cait's wrist harshly, and pulled her back behind him. Then he turned his fury to Aaron. "You, Mr. Aaron Sherman, I never want to see you near my daughter again! If I do, even your parents money won't save you!" With that, he slammed the door shut.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Aaron shouted and banged his tiny fists against the door. When nothing happened, he sighed and only prayed that Cait would be alright. Then, pulling his jacket tighter, he headed back home to face the wrath of his own parents.
"Cait! Earth to Cait!" Cait blinked at the voice and found herself looking at a hand waving incessantly in front of her face.
"Stop that!" She snapped and pulled the hand down to come face to face with her best friend, Sherry Jamison.
"Sorry," Sherry said sheepishly. "But you went off to your own little world again."
"So? There's nothing to do." Cait looked around them at the passing people in the club.
Sherry and her were sitting at the bar, sharing a couple of drinks after dancing until they both couldn't feel their feet anymore. There were more people than Cait expected at the club tonight, considering it was Christmas Eve, but she supposed Sherry and her weren't the only ones who had no one to celebrate the holiday with.
"Ready to dance again?" Sherry put down her glass of rootbeer and glanced at the dance floor.
Cait looked at her watch. 10:50. She still had plenty of time before she has to leave. Though she really didn't feel like dancing, there was nothing else to do. If she stay here by herself, then no doubt the memory would come back again. It was the last thing she needed right now.
"Ooo...Check that out! Now that's what I call delicious."
Cait turned at the reverence and playfulness she heard in her friend's voice. There was only one being on this planet that could draw out those two sounds simultaneously from Sherry, and it was a man.
No doubt, Cait found who it was seconds later. Even she, who hardly ever agreed with Sherry's taste in men, found her mouth watering at the sight of him. He was at least six feet tall and athletic in build. He had broad shoulders, stretching the black shirt he wore, narrow waist, and long legs. His hair was a dark blond in the dim light of the club. His facial features were a blur, but Cait could easily see his sizzling blue eyes. Even from far away, Cait knew this man was lethal and must be what some would call God's gift to women.
Cait had to beat back the urge to lick her lips.
"Oh, look, he's looking at us!"
Cait had the bad luck to meet those searing blue eyes. She swore her heart stopped and then picked up speed until she thought it would burst through her chest. Fire seemed to be crawling up her skin. She closed her eyes against the sensation. When she opened them again, she saw he'd turned away from them. Before she could stop herself, her eyes took another inspection.
She had to say, the man's got a really really nice bottom.
"Now, I wish I knew someone like that," Sherry said as she stood up from her seat.
"Go make your acquaintance. No man can resist you."
Sherry smirked and licked her lips as she took another inspection of the man. "He's definitely worth the effort."
"Good luck. Be sure to spare whoever the unlucky girl is."
"I will. I'll be back later."
Cait smiled into her drink. She almost felt sorry for the man. No matter how good-looking, he was definitely no match for Sherry. Unlike Cait, Sherry had no shyness whatsoever, especially when it came to men. When she saw someone she wants, she set out to get him and won't let anything or anyone get in her way.
It looked like Sherry's just found herself the best Christmas gift ever. At least her best friend won't spend Christmas Eve alone.
"Hey, Paul, get me another glass." Cait shouted to the bartender on her left when she finished her drink several minutes later.
"In a sec." True to his word, Paul placed a glass of coke in front of Cait moments later.
Cait was just taking a sip when someone sat beside her in Sherry's seat.
"Hey, Aaron, man, what're you doing here?" Hearing Paul's greeting to the man, Cait almost choked on the drink. Aaron?
"Thought I'd drop in and see how you're doing." The man beside her spoke. His voice was just slightly accented to raise a woman's blood pressure.
"What? Europe isn't good enough for you?"
Cait put down the drink carefully, lest she spill it. She turned around and was shocked to see that the man named Aaron was actually the one Sherry and she was just ogling a few minutes before.
She tore her gaze away from him, which was pretty hard to do, and turned to the dance floor. She searched through the crowd and soon spotted Sherry dancing with another man looking just as good as Aaron.
Oh my, is today our lucky day or what?
"Don't worry. Your friend's in good hands."
Cait turned to see the man named Aaron looking at her with a half smile on his face. Now that she could see him clearly, she noticed that his face was just as gorgeous as the rest of him.
The sharp angles and planes, combined with the strong bone structure, would've made a perfect face if not for the small cleft in his left chin and crooked nose. It was a face that was both pretty and dangerous, a deadly combination and one that definitely had left thousands of women heartbroken in its wake.
Aaron was taking his own sweet time studying the blonde sitting beside him. She was petite in statue and dressed conservatively compared to her friend. Unlike her friend Sherry, whose beauty hit a man straight in the face, hers was a quiet one that slowly grows on another.
From the guarded look on her face, he could also tell she wasn't as easygoing or trusting as her friend had been.
"I'm not worried. Sherry can take care of herself. I'm just surprised she didn't stay on her original target."
Aaron grinned, flashing a pair of unbelievably adorable dimples.
Butterfly wings fluttered in Cait's stomach.
"Oh, it didn't take long to convince her. My friend Mike's got a way with women."
"Is he the only one?" Cait asked dryly.
Aaron laughed, a full-throated, hearty sound. Cait found herself liking the sound and dropped her guard by giving him a small smile. Aaron found the smile both sweet and endearing, and some part of him wanted to see more and know more.
"No, I guess not." Aaron's smile was unrepentant.
"Don't waste your breath, Aaron, Cait here's agreed to marry me a long time ago, didn't you, honey?" Paul said behind the bar.
Aaron's smile disappeared after hearing her name. He looked at her sharply and noticed again her blonde hair falling in soft waves down her back and the hazel eyes set in an angelic face. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be this easy.
Cait didn't notice Aaron's sudden change of demeanor. "Of course. I'm still waiting for your proposal, Paul."
This time when Paul laughed, Cait noticed there was no reaction from the man beside her. He was studying here like a scientist studying his experiment and made her want to squirm in her seat. She was reminded again of his name, and didn't Paul just say her name? Could he know? Was it really him? She didn't dare to ask. No doubt she'd make a fool of herself. The magic of that Christmas Eve had long died.
"Is something wrong?"
Aaron shook his head to clear his thoughts away. There was no point in thinking about it now. He'd find out in less than an hour. "Nothing."
Cait watched him check his watch and did the same. 11:20. It was time to go.
"Sorry, I need to go," Cait said and stood up. Aaron's head shot up sharply as if she'd just punched him. "Paul, tell Sherry I'll see her tomorrow."
"Sure. Merry Christmas, Cait."
"Merry Christmas." Cait paid for the drinks and headed out the door.
"I gotta go." Aaron slowly stood up while watching Cait making her way out of the club, mesmerized by the soft sway of her hips.
Paul followed his friend's gaze and smiled. "She's something, isn't she?"
"Yeah." Aaron found himself agreeing before thinking and grimaced.
Paul restrained himself from laughing, though it was in his eyes for all the see. "Nice seeing you again, Aaron. Merry Christmas."
"You too."
Cait felt as silly as when she was nine years old as she walked through the small forest. What was she doing here? After fifteen years, you'd think she'd learn from her naivete, but here she was, again.
She stopped once she found the tree. It seemed to take less and less time to find it as years passed, maybe it was because the forest was half the size of the one fifteen years ago and still becoming smaller and smaller. In another year, Cait knew the forest would no longer be here and would be replaced by houses or apartment complex.
Softly, she touched the ground where the timpcapsule was buried. Funny, when she first buried it, she was afraid she'd never find it again. Yet, five years ago, when she returned as promised, she was as sure of the place as she was of her name.
"Where are you?" She whispered and thought of the little boy who'd buried the capsule fifteen years ago. The image was as clear as if he'd been standing in front of her. She wondered again, as she often did since he'd left, of how he had turned out.
Was he somewhere with his own family now? Celebrating Christmas with them? Even as she waited here for him as she did every year for the past five years when he'd broken their promise?
Cait sat down and leaned back against the tree. She set her the alarm on her watch to go off at one, like she'd always done. One hour. Every Christmas Eve since she'd turned nineteen.
Now she closed her eyes and waited.
Aaron pulled to a stop next to the white block house that he'd lived in until he was ten. The light was on and Christmas lights were hung on the outside. It made him wonder what kind of people lived in there now.
The atmosphere of the small neighborhood he'd grown up in hadn't changed much in fifteen years. The only thing that changed were the roads and the number of houses. He'd gotten lost twice on his way here even with the map he'd printed out.
Aaron was surprised to see the houses at the other end of the trees as he stood at its edge. The forest had seemed endless in his childhood, and it had been a source of adventure, both to him and Cait.
Aaron checked his watch. It was already past midnight, but then, who cared? It wasn't like he was going to find someone there waiting for him. Even as he wandered in the trees, he berated himself for coming. For all he knew, the time capsule might be under one of the new houses that had been built in the past fifteen years while he'd been away. And even if it was still here, what was he going to do with it?
Something. He'd do something with it, thinking of the little girl who'd been his best friend in childhood. Maybe he should just leave it there. He was the one who broke the promise, so what was the point of digging it up when the capsule had lost its meaning?
Aaron stopped when he saw the tree. Somehow he didn't have to question it. He just knew deep in his heart this was the one. And when his gaze dropped down, his heart picked up speed as he saw the person sitting under it.
Was it possible?
"Cait?" He whispered the name he hadn't said in the past fifteen years.
The person looked up and both of their eyes widened. Aaron didn't feel as stunned as he thought he would. In a way, back at the club, when he found out her name, and when she said she had to leave, he knew it was her, and he'd find her here tonight.
"It's you."
Cait sat there in stunned disbelief. "What...what're you doing here?" She asked when she could find her voice again. She refused to believe the little voice in her brain telling her this was Aaron Sherman, the Aaron that buried the capsule. It just seemed too good to be true.
"The same reason you're here," Aaron answered quietly.
Cait stood up. She felt uncomfortable sitting there when he stood so tall. For all she knew, he could be a serial killer and followed her out here to just kill her.
"But why?" Despite her resolve not to believe it, she asked the question. "Why now? After all these years."
"You may not believe it now, but the promise meant a lot to me." Aaron moved forward and bent down. Even as he spoke, he started digging through the dirt. "I wasn't able to come five years ago. I'm sorry."
When he unearthed the box, Cait found tears in her eyes. She didn't know why she was crying. The time capsule shouldn't have meant much. After all, they buried it when they were children and with children's innocence believed that their friendship could last forever. Yet now, after fifteen years, neither of them knew the other. How could they be friends when they didn't know anything about the other person?
Aaron held the box in his hands but didn't open it. It wasn't time to open it yet. There were questions that needed to be answered as well as asked.
"Mother and I went to Europe after I left. I remember every year, at Christmas Eve, I would wonder about the box, and where you were. When I was old enough, I found the old address and wrote you letters, but you never replied." There was no accusation in his tone, just simple fact. Accusation wouldn't have changed anything.
"We moved out of here three years after you left. Daddy lost his job, so we couldn't stay here anymore."
Cait closed her eyes against those memories. She didn't want to think about those years when she had no roof over her head and barely anything to eat as days passed. She remembered for the first time, she was glad that it never snowed in Houston, because she no doubt would have died in the cold winter with no shelter.
"Why didn't you come?"
"I wanted to. I've never stopped thinking about it. I even had my bags packed and had a plane ticket. But my grandparents' plane crashed when they flew from England to Paris. I couldn't just leave."
Cait understood his reason, and saw in his eyes that he told the truth. Yet, she couldn't forgive him.
"But you didn't come back the next year, or the next year, not until today!"
"What was the point? I broke the promise. For ten years, I waited and wondered, and it's all gone. For all I know, you could've taken the box and there would be nothing left here for me. I didn't want to face that."
"I wouldn't have done that. Do you remember? We only had each other, at least, I only had you. Everyone in school bullied and made fun of me, and you were the only one that stood up for me. Maybe it's been ten, no, fifteen years, but I could never repay that kindness, because you protected me when I couldn't.
"Did you know I came here full of hope and anticipation? I remembered you as the ten-year-old boy and all your vulnerabilities. Most of all, I remembered your promise. I was ready to go back ten years, and our friendship could've continued on as if the ten years of separation hadn't occurred.
"But you weren't here. I waited until morning. When you still didn't come, I realized you didn't care half as I did. Heck, you probably forgot about the whole thing." Cait looked at Aaron and smiled sadly. "I got mad and was tempted to dig the box out and throw everything away, but I didn't."
"No, you didn't. Instead, you came here every year. Why?"
"I don't know. I guess I still had hope and still believed in the magic of Christmas time. I wished every year, to Santa, that you'd come back. It was the only gift I asked for."
Aaron found he couldn't say anything after such a simple and innocent admission. He should've known better. Instead, he opened the box and took out the necklace. "I wanted to give this to you." He smiled when he saw Cait's eyes widen in disbelief. "If you hadn't come up with the time capsule idea, I would've given it to you."
"I wouldn't have accepted it. The necklace meant to much to your family. I'm surprised your mother gave it to you when you were so young."
This time, his smile was sheepish. "Believe me, she deeply regretted it when I couldn't find it. She still thinks I've lost it."
"Well, wouldn't it be a surprise for her to see it again?"
"She won't see it."
"What do you mean?"
Cait couldn't move as Aaron walked toward her. She wanted to, but her legs refused to listen to her brain. Aaron stoppd in front of her and fastened the necklace around her neck.
"You can't possibly..." Cait gasped in disbelief.
"It's mine to give to whomever I wish. And I want you to have it." Aaron fingered the emerald teardrops gently. "It looks beautiful on you."
Cait was already trying to take it off. "I can't accept it."
Effortlessly, Aaron took hold of her wrists and pulled them down, away from the necklace. "Yes, you can. Tell me, if I never left, and we continued to be friends for the past fifteen years, would you have accepted it?"
"I might, but the point is we weren't friends for the past fifteen years!"
"You said yourself you were ready to forget those ten years, now why not make it fifteen?"
"But can't you see it's only a fantasy? We don't know each other anymore! And we're not kids anymore either!"
"That's the whole point!" Aaron took a deep breath when he realized he was shouting. Once he had his anger under control, he spoke again calmly, "We're adults now, Cait. Nobody's going to separate us again if we don't want them to."
"I don't want to depend on anyone again."
"You don't have to."
"But aren't you going back to Europe?"
"Not any time soon. And even if I do, we can keep in touch with each other."
Cait touched the necklace almost absentmindedly as if thinking it through. "I don't know. I might lose this. I'm not very good at keeping my things in order."
Aaron suddenly smiled wickedly. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you won't lose it." His big hand covered her smaller one over the necklace. "Now, don't I get a Christmas present too? God knows you have yours."
Cait looked at him, confusion written all over her face. "What would you like?"
If it was possible, his smile turned even more wicked, and dashing. Cait was suddenly aware that she was plastered against him and his arms were around her waist. Before she could move back, his arms tightened.
"This," he murmured against her lips and claimed them.
The kiss was just between tender and demanding. Cait wasn't sure which one it was. His tongue explored every inch of her mouth, slowly and thoroughly, as if he was savoring the taste of her. His scent overwhelmed her. A mixture of wilderness and masculinity. She could feel every defined muscle against her against her body. For a moment, she let herself imagine what it would feel like to explore every inch of his fabulous body.
Aaron didn't know what he expected. He knew she was going to be soft, but he didn't imagine the fire that suddenly ignited between them, and definitely not the fierce burning in his loins. He wondered if she was aware of the soft moans coming from her or the fact her arms were wrapped around his neck and she was moving restlessly against him. He knew he'd found a friend, but never thought he would find a lover as well.
When he pulled away from her, both of them were breathing heavily. He was surprised to find his knees were weak from the kiss. It had been a long time since any woman had this much effect on him.
Sighing, he leaned his forehead against hers and had the satisfaction of seeing Cait's eyes still glazed from the kiss.
"Merry Christmas, Cait."
Cait smiled at him. Her mind was pleasantly fuzzy from the kiss, but she didn't mind. He was such a handsome man, and she felt so desirable to have him kiss her. She wouldn't have minded another one.
Besides, despite the fifteen years separating them, she really felt as if she had her best friend back. Call it a childhood fantasy, but she was just enough of a dreamer to still believe in Christmas magic.
"Merry Christmas."
So saying, Cait leaned up on her tiptoes and gave him another mindblowing kiss.
A/N: So, how was it? Did you like it? I know it's cliched and all, with the promise and everything, but I really couldn't resist writing it. It just seemed really fun.
I was wondering if I should do another one, a short story like this, fornext Christmas.
Plz Review and tell me what you think!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!