It’s a Christmas tradition. If you stand under the
mistletoe, you’re more than likely to get kissed. In
some instances love blossoms. It’s hard to believe one
kiss can send you tumbling over the edge, falling
harder than you can imagine. One kiss under the
mistletoe and you’re a goner. Love hits you like a
freight train and changes you forever. Everything you
never thought possible becomes your reality. Dreams
come true in an instant. Such was the true for two
residents of Harmony.
"Arrrrg! That man is despicable. I can’t believe he’s
making me clean up tonight. I don’t know why we
could’t just finish it in the morning. Because he’s a
slave driver, that’s why.” an exasperated Sheridan
Crane yelled hoping Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald would hear.
The volunteers at the Youth Center decided to throw
the kids a dance before Christmas. It had been a huge
success. The kids especially had a great time. Their
only complaint was that it was over too soon. Everyone
had fun.
Everyone except Sheridan that is. She couldn’t
understand why she’d become jealous whenever she saw
Luis and Beth dancing. She tried to convince herself
that it was because she saw what a great time they
were having and that she wanted to have fun too. Deep
down she knew that wasn’t it though. Sure she had come
with Hank, but she knew he wanted their relationship
to be more than just a friendly one. That was
something she definitely wasn’t ready for.
Little did she know that Luis’s night wasn’t as
perfect as it seemed. He too had become jealous when
he saw Sheridan and Hank dancing. Just as Sheridan
had, Luis tried to convince himself that he just
wanted to have as good of a time as she was having.
That was partially a lie and he knew it. He couldn’t
stand the fact that Beth had thrown herself at him
continuously throughout the night. He wanted her to
understand that what they had before was over. She
would’t listen though.
Now Sheridan and Luis were the only two people left.
Luis had insisted on cleaning up tonight. “I don’t
want to have to come in early tomorrow when we still
have plenty of time to do it tonight” he’d said.
“Just be glad that I’m taking this off your community
service. You know, if you quit complaining and
concentrate more on cleaning up, this would be done
much quicker. Or is this too complicated for a spoiled
princess” Luis yelled back. He did’t know how much
more of her complaining he could take.
After that argument, they worked in silence. Luis
could hear Sheridan complaining under her breath
though. Finally he asked “What’s wrong now? Maybe this
was too much work for you.”
“Come on Luis. I’m exhausted. We’ve been here all day,
setting up for this dance and now cleaning up. Can’t
we just finish this in the morning? Please” Sheridan
pleaded. “Please” she whispered.
He knew she was right. It had been a long day for both
of them. He could tell that she was as exhausted as he
was. After looking around at what was left her finally
agreed. “I expect you to be here to finish this with
me in the morning. Don’t be late.”
Sheridan went back to Luis’s office to get her coat
and purse. Luis wasn’t far behind her. Neither had
noticed there was mistletoe hanging in the doorway.
Not right away that is.
Sheridan put her coat on and started to leave. She
stopped in the doorway and turned back to thank him.
He was about to tell her that it was okay when he
noticed the mistletoe.
Sheridan looked up to see what had stopped him. What
she didn’t expect was to remain standing there. She
just couldn’t mover no matter how much she told
herself to. “I couldn’t possibly want him to kiss me,
could I?” she thought.
Luis had similar thoughts running through his head.
“Why isn’t she moving and why am I relieved about
that? I don’t want this, do I?” Why won’t she just
move? Come on Sheridan, just walk away.”
After a few moments of just standing there, Luis
walked forward. His only intention was to take the
mistletoe down. “What good would it be kissing her?
She has no feelings for you and you have none for her”
he thought. He knew that was a lie. He did have
feelings for her, but he’d never admit that.
Sheridan saw him approaching her. “Oh my God, he’s
going to kiss me” she thought. Her heart leaped at the
possibility, but she ’t know why. “The only reason
he’s going to kiss me is because it’s a Christmas
tradition. It didn’t matter because there are no
feelings between us” she thought. Even if it was only
one-sided, she knew it was a lie. That was one thing
she wouldn’t admit to anyone.
When Luis was finally close enough, he reached up for
the mistletoe. What he hadn’t expected was to make eye
contact with Sheridan. That was the one thing he had
tried avoiding. He knew that if he met her gaze then
there was no telling what he would do.
Before either of them knew what happened their lips
were together. What started out as an innocent kiss
soon turned passionate. Hidden feelings were revealed
as the kiss became even more intense. If it hadn’t
been for the need of oxygen, it never would have
ended.
“That was... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that”
Luis said.
“Don’t apologize, it wasn’t your fault. I wanted you
to kiss me” Sheridan said.
“I was just going to take the mistletoe down.”
“Luis, do you regret kissing me?”
“No.”
“Good then. Shut up and kiss me again.”
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you to say
that” he said as their lips met again. Although this
one didn’t last as long, it was still as intense. When
they pulled apart they were both completely
breathless.
“Do you know what I just realized?” Luis asked.
“No, what’s that” Sheridan said.
“I love you. I’ cared about you for awhile now, but I
just realized how deep those feels are.”
“I love you too Luis. Deep down, I always knew I did.
It just took that kiss to realize how much I love you.
Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“You know why Sheridan. I was afraid. Afraid you
didn’t feel the same way. After the arguments we've
gotten into, you can't blame me. Add to the fact that
you called me a macho pig and a slave driver. I can
understand the slave driver though. I want you to know
that I just wanted to be close to you, that's why I
made you do those things. I know that it was selfish
of me, and I'm sorry."
"I understand why you didn't say anything. I was
scared too. The only reason I called you those things
was to protect myself. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have
been able to deny my feelings for you. I thought you
hated me. You hate all the Cranes and called me a
spoiled princess. That hurt a lot. As for you being a
slave driver and your reasons, I forgive you. Deep
down, I enjoyed spending that time with you."
"Sheridan, I'm sorry for calling you a spoiled
princess. I did that for the same reasons you called
me a macho pig. I didn't want you to get too close.
Will you forgive me?"
"Only if you forgive me."
"Well, you are more than forgiven." Luis leaned down
and gave her a soft kiss. "You look exhausted. Why
don't you go home and get some rest?"
"I guess I am. You should get some rest too. I'll see
you in the morning. Night" she said after she gave him
a quick kiss. She picked up her purse and left.
"Goodnight Sheridan. I love you" Luis yelled down the
hallway.
She turned around. "I love you too Luis." It was then
that she noticed he was standing in the doorway. She
wasn't going to miss another opportunity to feel his
lips on hers. She ran back to him and kissed him with
all the love she had for him. He responded in the same
way.
When they pulled apart, Sheridan said "I think this is
my favorite Christmas tradition." She kissed him
again. "Yep, it definitely is."
"Mine too" Luis said.
They parted ways knowing that the future was going to
be bright for them. The mistletoe was going to be a
permanent fixture for all Christmases to come for
them. Who know that a simple thing like a mistletoe
would lead you to your true love.
THE END