keep shining on // jaze
Baze closed the door behind her as he wrinkled his nose, wondering if Julietta was serious about liking the smell. He knew that she had a tendency to like most things, but even the odor of a thousand candles lit at the same time? She was joking, right? If not, he might as well keep her forever, because he doubted he would find anyone as forgiving of the Ashby Christmas traditions as she was. “You like the smell?” he questioned, a little afraid of her answer. “It’s okay if you don’t,” he reassured her, laughing a little, “my mom goes a little.. crazy. You know, you’ve met my mom.”
"A fruit cake?" Baze quipped, raising his eyebrows and sending a teasing grin her way as he went over to the Christmas tree. Underneath were multiple presents, but right now, he was just looking for three in particular. Bright red wrapping paper and green ribbon, as predictable as you could get on Christmas, but he hoped that what lay inside wouldn’t be so cliche. Or rather… well, he was sure that they would be cliche, but he hoped she would like them. She probably would — Julietta always did — but Baze wanted to see her eyes light up, wanted to see everything about her light up. She was his girlfriend now, but that didn’t mean Baze had stopped wanting to please her.
He set the gifts on a table and sauntered over to his girlfriend, smiling bashfully and wrapping his arms around her waist. It was Christmas, they had been dating for months, and they were alone; it seemed an appropriate time to be so affectionate with her. Sometimes, Baze wondered if Julietta wanted more from him, and most of the time, he wanted to tell her that he wanted more from himself, too. He wanted to be almost obnoxious about his love for her, wanted to take her around and show her off. He loved her, though, and he would get there eventually. For now, he saved most of these moments for when it was just the two of them. His forehead gently rapped against hers as he asked, “You can go first if you want. I’ll go whenever.”
Julietta shrugged, taking in the sight of the incredibly decked halls. It was good to see that she was dating someone who clearly came from a family that was as close knit as her own, apparent in not how nice the Christmas decorations were, but in rather how she could see the personal touches in the way they'd been put up or selected. That included the dozens of candles. "Should I not? It smells like a home, you know? It reminds me of my house. How you can just smell that someone lives there and that the people who live there actually spend time there." She smiled softly, cheeks glowing softly under the light of the various Christmas lights, the candles flickering. "That's what it smells like."
She poked her tongue out at her boyfriend, cheeks flushing not because she was embarrassed, but because she was just so happy. She felt like the keeper of this special version of Baze that nobody got to see, at least not as often as she did. He was just the right amount of affectionate with her in public, enough to be cute, but in private, that was when he really came out of his shell in more ways than one. She adored who he was all the time, certainly, but the Baze that teased and flirted was perhaps her favorite version, mainly because that one was only for her. "No, it's not a fruit cake! Have a little faith in me." She picked up one of the bags from the floor, handing it over to him, knowing he'd be surprised that something so heavy could only contain baked goods, but it was stuffed to the brim with cookies, brownies, and candies. "They're for your entire family. Mainly you, but don't tell them that."
Her heart raced a little as he grew closer, the smell of his soap and the warmth of his body making her close her eyes just to savor it for a moment. She'd dated before, but she'd certainly never felt like this with a guy before. She'd never felt this need for connection, and not only physically, but intellectually and emotionally. It was perhaps the biggest feeling she'd ever encountered in her short sixteen years, but it didn't scare her. Nothing with Baze could be scary. She leaned in to sneak a kiss while he was so close, understanding what people meant when they said someone tasted like Christmas when their lips meant. This was what Christmas was supposed to feel like. Pulling back, Julietta grinned. "Well I just gave you your baked goods, so you're up!"
