“Yeah, where are our parents when we need them?” he jokes.
“Apparently at home with all the turkey and mashed potatoes.” I laugh, plucking the Japanese menu from his hand. “Sushi or Pad Thai?”
Ian drops the other menu on the counter and pulls me into his arms. “I’m sorry, babe. I should’ve—”
“Seriously, it’s just food.” I let the menu go and circle my arms around his neck. “Japanese, Chinese, turkey, pizza… None of it matters but being here with you.” I kiss him tenderly, happy to finally be in his arms. Training has been hard on him. It’s demanding and taxing on him—physically and mentally—and when he isn’t training, he’s so exhausted, he spends his time off sleeping or working out. He says it’s because the missions he’ll have to go on will be life-threatening, and if the men aren’t the best, they’ll put each other, as well as others, at risk. I Googled Navy SEALs and was shocked to learn just how dangerous it is. Thankfully, Ian is in shape and has been preparing his entire life for this. If anyone can become a SEAL, it’s him.
“It’s our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife,” he says, giving me a kiss. “It should be special. I didn’t get off until late, and I completely forgot…”
“It doesn’t matter what we eat as long as we’re eating together,” I insist. “We only have twenty-four hours together, so let’s make the most of it. We’ll have many more Thanksgivings to eat turkey.”
“Okay,” he agrees. “How about we order something to eat, and while we wait for the food to get here, I eat you?” He waggles his brows then nips on my chin playfully. “I’m starving.”
“That sounds like the perfect way to spend our first Thanksgiving.”
Micaela
One Month Later
“Hey, babe.” Ian’s face comes onto the screen of my laptop. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” I run my finger down the screen, wishing I could actually touch his face, feel his lips. “Wish you were here.”
“I wish I were there too.” He sighs. “Only a few more months.”
“It will fly by,” I assure him.
“Getting some skiing in?”
“Of course.” My family has a cabin in Breckenridge, a ski resort in Colorado. We come here every year for winter break. My parents have been coming here since they were kids. It’s tradition. We spend Christmas and New Year’s with everyone, skiing, snowboarding, and having a good time.
“Hopefully next year I’ll be there to race you down the slopes.”
“I can’t wait. Until then, I’ll just have to keep whooping Lexi’s ass.”
“I heard that!” Lexi yells from the other room. Even though our parents all have their own cabins, we always end up hanging out together at one of them. Apparently, this year, it’s ours.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Ian says. “I spoke to Lieutenant Gaspar, and he said if all goes well, I should have no problem getting stationed in Coronado.”
Coronado is where the Navy SEAL base is, which is only about ten minutes from the University of San Diego, where I’m planning to apply to once I finish my associate’s degree in May. It’s also near Scripps, which is where I would love to snag an internship. Him being stationed in Coronado will mean both of our dreams will be able to come true.
“That’s awesome. Any chance you’re going to surprise me for Christmas like you did for my graduation?” I hate that we’re spending our first Christmas as a married couple apart. I wanted to fly out to spend some time with him, like I did for Thanksgiving, but he insisted I spend the time with my family since he would be in and out on missions and didn’t want me to be alone.
“I wish,” he says with a frown. “We’re actually heading out on a training mission. We’ll be gone for at least a week.”
“Where are you going?”
“Arizona.” He grants me a boyish grin. “We’re going to do some skydiving.”
“Sounds like fun.”
Someone yells something in the background and Ian yells back that he’s coming.
“I gotta go, babe. I might be off the radar, so if I don’t talk to you beforehand, I hope you have a good Christmas.” He brings two fingers to his lips and then places them against the screen like he always does, and I do the same.
“You too. I love you.”
“Love you more.”
I wait for him to disconnect the call and then shut my laptop down.
“You ready to hit the slopes?” Lexi asks.
“Yep.”
“Let’s do this.”
“Merry Christmas!” My mom wraps me up in a hug and then moves on to hug my younger sister, Liza, and then my younger brother, Liam.
“Merry Christmas, Mom,” I say, sitting on the couch near the Christmas tree. Since my brother is still young enough to believe in Santa, we follow the tradition of Santa coming on Christmas Eve. Even though Liza and I no longer believe, it’s still nice to continue the tradition.