Troian Bellisario: Just Me & My Girl

Happier Than a 4 Year Old On Christmas

Three Months Later
Troian's Pov

"How many more minutes?" Aspen asks impatiently.

"Only a few." I reply.

"How about now?" She asks again.

"Still the same answer." I tell her with a laugh.

"Okay, but what about now?" She questions, standing up from the couch.

"Aspen, there's still a few more minutes until people start arriving." I laugh, finding her impatience kind of funny.

"How long is a minute?" She asks, her blue eyes holding a curious expression.

"Sixty seconds." I reply.

"Okay." Aspen says "One, two, three, four, five, six-"

"Wait!" I interrupt her "I don't know exactly how much time until everyone gets here. It was just a guess."

"That's okay mommy." She replies "I'm going to count anyway. Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen-"

She's interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Someone's here!" She yells, running over to the front door. I follow her as she pulls it open, revealing Lucy.

"Lucy!" Aspen exclaims, jumping into her arms.

"Hey kiddo, Merry Christmas Eve!" Lucy replies, planting a big kiss on her cheek.

"Merry Christmas Eve!" Aspen giggles. I hug Lucy, then usher her into the living room where plates and bowls of snacks await. I invited all my friends and family over for a Christmas Eve dinner, which Aspen couldn't be more excited about.

"Wow Troian, this room is beautiful." Lucy says "All the Christmas decorations are perfect."

"Thanks, I had a lot of fun decorating it." I admit "I hope I didn't go over the top."

"No not at all!" Lucy reassures me "This room instantly got me into the Christmas spirit."

"This room got you into the Christmas spirit?" I question "Says the girl who bought everyone onesies with a dancing reindeer on the front."

"Okay, this room got me even more into the Christmas spirit." Lucy agrees "But we're all putting on the onesies tonight, I texted everyone and said to bring them."

"Can't wait." I only half joke. I do have to admit, I kind of love the onesies that Lucy bought us.

There's another knock on the door, causing Aspen to excitedly jump off the couch. I open the door, revealing Shay and Ashley. I happily welcome them inside as a wave of voices saying 'Merry Christmas' fill the foyer. We go back to the living room as we wait for everyone else to show up, and I turn on Aspen's favourite Christmas movie, Elf, to pass the time. Over the next twenty minutes, everyone else shows up. My parents, friends, and even some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Everyone's here except for one person. Keegan. I'm sure he's just running a little late.

I walk over to the couch and sit down next to Sasha, who is playing a game of Pictionary with Ashley, Janel, and my cousin Lia. Aspen sits on Tyler's lap, grinning as they play some kind of clapping game. Everyone in the room seems to be enjoying themselves, which makes me happy. So far, Christmas dinner is going great. Aspen walks over to me, looking around the room as she gets closer.

"Mommy, where's Keegan?" She asks, looking slightly concerned.

"He's running a little late, but I'm sure he'll be here soon." I reassure her, fixing the silky red bow in her hair. Suddenly, I hear a knock on the door, and rush over to open it. Aspen gets there before me, then pulls the door open to show Keegan on the other side. She flings her arms around his legs and hugs tightly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey Aspen, Merry Christmas!" Keegan laughs, looking down at the little girl clinging to him.

"Merry Christmas!" Aspen replies, eyeing the box in his arms "What's that?"

"It's a surprise." Keegan says jokingly as Aspen lets go of his legs.

She gasps "What kind of surprise?!"

"A delicious surprise." Keegan teases "A chocolaty, sweet, decadent-"

"Lemme have some!" Aspen cuts him off, her eyes wide.

Keegan chuckles "You don't even know what it is yet."

"I know, but it sounds so good!" Aspen gushes "It has chocolate!"

"Of course it does." Keegan says "It's chocolate cake."

"Chocolate cake?!" Aspen exclaims "Let's have some!"

"We can have some, but only after dinner." Keegan says. Aspen turns to face me, a grin on her face.

"Mommy, can we have dinner now?" She asks innocently.

"Nice try, Aspen." I chuckle "But it doesn't work that way. Besides, dinner isn't ready yet."

"Okay." She sighs, running back into the living room where everyone else is. After we're left alone, I turn to face Keegan, then stand up on my toes to give him a kiss. His breath is warm and sweet, comforting me just as much as his gentle hand caressing my cheek.

"Merry Christmas, babe." I say under my breath. He presses his lips against mine one last time before we pull apart.

"Merry Christmas, my love." Keegan replies, brushing a strand of loose hair off my face. After putting the cake in the fridge, Keegan and I go into the living room. Everyone seems preoccupied with something, even Aspen, who sits on the floor with my two nieces. Georgia is five, and Cassidy is six, so they get along with Aspen really well. I listen in on their conversation, which consists of Aspen telling them about the cake Keegan brought. They both watch her excitedly as she describes how big and beautiful the cake is. I can't help but laugh to myself, knowing that chocolate cake will probably be the only thing on Aspen's mind for the next little while.

Once dinner is ready, the adults all sit down at the big table, and the kids at the smaller one. Cheerful chatter fills the room as everyone piles food onto their plates, bringing even more Christmas spirit into the room. The decorations everywhere add to the festivity, but it's really the people that makes Christmas so special. The reason why I love it so much is because everyone's so happy, and it's a perfect excuse to hang out with all my loved ones. I can't help but feel like a giddy child again.

As I take a bite of mashed potatoes, I grab Keegan's hand under the table. He gives my hand a comforting squeeze, then looks at me with a sincere smile. I return it, then glance over to the table where Aspen sits with the rest of the kids. Most of them are too busy talking and laughing to eat, but I don't think too much about it. They all look so happy, and that's really all that matters. It is Christmas Eve, after all. But I'm glad they're so happy, because I feel the exact same way. Although how could I not, everything in my life is going perfect.

~~~

A/N: Yay for a Christmas chapter in October! I don't really know how that happened, it just kind of did. But did it get you into the Christmas spirit??? Anyway, I want to say thank you for all the reads! It means so much! Don't forget to vote & comment for the next chapter! ❤️❤️❤️