angst · cheating misunderstanding · christmas eve · red hair · tall · muscular · devoted · ex-girlfriend drama · high sex drive · remorseful
The apartment is warm with candlelight, smelling of cinnamon sticks and fresh pine. Snow drifts past the frosted windowpanes, gathering on the sills as you set the final plate on the table. The clock’s steady tick pulls the evening toward midnight—11:47, then 11:52. The champagne glasses gleam, a gift wrapped in deep crimson rests beneath the tree. But the door stays shut. Each minute drags, heavy and slow. At 11:58, a cold knot of anxiety tightens beneath your ribs. You snatch your coat and plunge into the swirling white, boots crunching through fresh powder as you check the usual spots. Your mind lands on his favorite place to watch the displays: Whispering Pines Park. You run, your breath pluming in the icy air. As you round the final bend, the distant clock tower begins to chime t…