flushed cheeks

(christmas special.)

Kody leaned against the wall, letting her arms rest for a moment. She had been stuck there for a while, stretching as far up as she could to hang the lights the way she wanted to. There had not been enough room to set up a tree in Jill's living room, so she decided to make one on the wall with lights and little decorations. It was going pretty well, if she said so herself. Though she was tired, the smile never left her face and the bubble of excitement remained in her chest.

A presence at her back sent a shiver down her spine, heat blanketing her from her bottom to the top of her shoulder. "How's it going over here?" a low voice rumbled in her ear.

Cheeks warming, she forced her body to remain relaxed as she subtly leaned back against Lucas. "Okay, I think." she murmured, leaning her head back to catch a glimpse at his face. His eyes glowed almost amber in the yellow-ish light of the twinkle lights and his dimple was on full display. "How does it look?"

"It looks good, doll," he said, pushing her hair back from her forehead as he glanced down at her. She could not stop the silly grin that settled itself on her lips at his words. Chuckling softly, he dipped his head down and kissed her softly.

Heat flared in her cheeks, but she kissed back, her hand lifting to settle on the hand now cupping her jaw. Her eyes remained closed even after he lifted his head, causing him to release another chuckle. With a light tap on her bottom, he stepped back. "When you're done with the lights, come help me in the kitchen, hmm?"

Eyes finally fluttering open, she nodded and watched as he disappeared around the corner. A pout found its way to her face as his warmth left her. Wanting to be close to him once again, she hurriedly finished hanging the lights where they were meant to go and scurried her way into the kitchen.

"That was fast," he said, laughter present in his voice and shining in his eyes as he looked at her over his shoulder, from what he was doing at the sink. The water was on, a small trickle still falling into the steel sink. Ignoring the noise, she scurried over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against his back. He laughed again, contorting to press a kiss to the top of her head before turning back to the sink. "Come sit on the counter, doll. I wanna see your cute face while I finish cleaning these vegetables."

Kody pouted once again, but pressed her front further against the broad, warm expanse of his back, forehead resting between his shoulder blades. She paused briefly to feel the muscles flex as he moved before detaching herself from him entirely to move to the side of the sink. However, with the counter being almost waist-level with her, she turned to him with wide eyes. "Help?"

"I forget how small you are sometimes," he mused, wiping the water from his hands using a hand towel hanging from the waist of his jeans. "Press your hands against the counter and push up as I lift you, okay?"

She nodded, palms flat against the cool granite of the counter. His hands settled on her hips, fingers gripping just tight enough that there was no chance of her slipping from his grasp.

"Ready?" When she nodded again, he lifted her up and settled her bottom on the cold counter. A small squeak came from her at the move and how her bare thighs came into contact with the cool surface.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She sent him a grin in response, and he went back to washing and peeling the vegetables. She watched him work in relative silence, occasionally humming a random tune, her feet swinging in the air. She took note of the muscles in his arms, flexing and bulging against the rolled-up sleeves of his white button-up. Ignoring the warmth that swept through her, she continued watching him. First potatoes–the small golden ones–then multicolored carrots were peeled. Onions were trimmed and rinsed off.