They had plans to stay in town for Christmas

It was the first full day of Christmas break, and Leah Williams couldn't have been more relieved. She knew she could have some peace and rest-finally. Jonathan would be home for the holiday a bit more—but he didn’t have nearly as much time off as she had. She was determined to enjoy some much-needed quality time together and self-care alone when she had the chance.

"I can't believe it is finally Christmas break." Leah purred, draping her arm over Jonathan's shoulder as they laid on the couch tangled in each other’s arms, the TV going in the background on some new Netflix special they didn’t care too much about."No work, no parents, and alarm clocks."

"Just us and our Netflix backlog." Jonathan chuckled. He kissed her forehead before returning to the article he was reading on his phone.

“Are you sure you are okay with us just staying here for Christmas? You won’t be upset if we don’t go see your family?” Leah asked a bit hesitantly.

“Of course not babe. We agreed it would be a good idea to have this one to ourselves. Besides—work has me busy. Not everyone gets two weeks off at Christmas.” He gave her a sly glance he knew would send her on a torrent of complaining about work.

“Oh well you are MORE than welcome to grade papers, deal with crazy ass parents asking why their baby didn’t make an 95 on an assignment they didn’t even turn in. Oh don’t get me started.” she huffed angrily, tempering herself with the realization she had all this break to enjoy without Pleasant Plains High School to worry about. Jonathan squeezed her close.

“I know babe. I know. Look, I gotta go back into work. I think it will be nice to have a holiday to ourselves. Besides—it will be a good way to practice for when we have our first Christmas as a married couple.” He kissed her. She closed her eyes and held him tight, letting the moment linger before he had to pull away and head back into work.