The next days went by like a dream. Or another mushy movie-trailer. Alyson and AJ had been cooking together and afterwards enjoyed their candle-light dinner, exchanging lovely words and promises and falling asleep in each other's arms after sharing their passion again and again.
They had walked through the woods, holding hands and keeping each other warm, talking endlessly about everything and anything.
They had been strolling around Trois Rivière, acting like any other happily-in-love couple.
But at night, when AJ was long asleep, Alyson would cuddle up closer to him and try to get rid of the doubts that filled her head. In her heart everything felt the way it should - AJ made her happy and she was more than glad that he was here. His arms around her let her feel safe, his steady heartbeat meant peace, his warmth gave her own body and soul heat. But everything was just like a wonderful re-run of what they had last year, and she was afraid that it could end again like last year. He had already told her that, although he didn't have to work until February, he would fly home to celebrate the new Millennium with his family and his friends. He wanted her there, and had sworn this time she was going to be there. All of it sounded too familiar...
She sighed and placed light kisses on his chest, where her head was resting. AJ stirred, turning onto his side, so that he was facing her. "Aly", he whispered in his sleep and wrapped his other arm around her.
A single tear rolled down Alyson's cheek that she quickly wiped away. She had promised herself she wouldn't break down should he leave. She had promised herself she wouldn't believe every word he said. Only time would tell if he meant it when he said he loved her. In time she would see if she was really the only one he was dreaming of. But until then she wouldn't give her heart to him. The only problem was that that was easier said than done...
When Alyson woke up the next morning she felt cold - and soon realized why. He was not there. She was wide awake at once, feeling nervous, but then her eyes found his clothes still laying around everywhere in the room. And then she heard the music coming from downstairs and she wanted to cry. She was so scared that he could just leave, without a word, and not come back again. She cursed herself as she realized that she was breaking her rules, that she wanted to believe him, but couldn't really.
AJ came into the room with a grin and a tray in his hands. He had made breakfast to surprise her in bed. His grin faded as he saw her, as he saw the worried and unhappy expression on her face. He put down the tray on the bedside-table and sat down next to her. "Hey beauty, what's wrong?" he asked concerned.
"Nothing, what should be wrong?" she just replied, avoiding his stare.
He caressed her cheek with his hand, until she looked at him. "What's wrong?" he then asked again.
Alyson took his hand in hers, before falling into his arms. She buried her face in the crook of his neck without a word. But he had figured her out already: "You think I'll pack up in a few days and just leave, right?" He didn't need to hear an answer, he knew before that it would take more to convince her than just a few words, just a few hours of lust. But he knew that eventually she would have to believe him because this time he was here to stay. He wouldn't leave her behind, even when he had to get back to business. "Right now there's nothing more I can do to make you believe me, babe. Not now. But some day we'll be looking back and then you'll know I was serious. I hope that then you will love me as much as I love you!" He played with strands of her hair, gently rubbing her back with his other hand.
Alyson placed a soft kiss on his neck, where her head was resting, before she came up and whispered into his ear: "I'm so sure I will!"
AJ just smiled at that and held her close in his arms for a little while. "You hungry?" he then asked, breaking their silence.
"Yeah", Alyson replied smiling. "We've been doing a lot of exercise last night..." They smiled at each other mischievously, before starting their breakfast.
Later that same day AJ and Alyson were ice-skating on a small lake. They were surrounded by couples of all ages and kids with their siblings and parents. Christmas songs were playing and everyone was enjoying themselves. Well, at least by now.
Alyson had had a hard time to convince AJ to go ice-skating with her. She knew he'd never been one for snow and ice, but she had promised him it would be fun and finally he hadn't been able to resist her begging. They've been on the ice for half an hour now and he was beginning to enjoy himself. Just because he didn't like ice didn't mean that he wasn't a skilled skater. But of course, since he hadn't been ice-skating in ages, he had to hold on to Alyson's hand, so that he wouldn't land on his butt too often.
"Whoa - Aly, I'm..." The two started laughing as AJ almost fell backwards. He tightened his grip on Alyson, who was struggling to stay on her feet as well, but somehow they managed not to fall down.
As they continued to the other side of the lake, she asked: "Aren't you flying down home any day now?"
"Why should I?" AJ asked surprised.
"AJ, it's Christmas in two days. You should be with your family, not here."
"You're not with your family either!" he retorted.
"But that isn't that unusual for me. But you, you've always been with them at this time of year."
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" AJ asked with a little smile.
"No", Alyson quickly protested. "But I feel guilty keeping you away from them."
"You don't have to", he assured her. "They know how important you are for me. Besides...I never have a better time at Christmas than when I spent it with you! I wouldn't wanna trade it for the world!"
They looked into each other's eyes and for a moment the world stopped turning. It was one of those moments where no words had to be told, but still so much was said. And when they suddenly lost their balance and fell, it seemed as if with the hitting of the ice, something else had hit Alyson. In that second she realized that she was not only falling, but that she was falling in love. With the man whose arms safely held her and who would never let anything happen to her. She realized that they had fallen with each other, for each other and that they had finally landed on solid ground. This time she was sure he was here to stay and she was going to love him endlessly.
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