Last Christmas
By
DKM
Rating:
PG-13
Category:
Christmas Fic
Music:
“Last Christmas” by Darren Hayes (Oh, come ON! How could I go through any
fic without mentioning him somewhere?)
Summary:
Last Christmas, Jake McCarty gave his heart to Sara Pezzini. This Christmas, the
memory comes back to haunt him.
Author's
Note: This is a little bit of a spoiler for Part 3 of The Twisted, Tied Up, and
Tangled Series. Hopefully I don’t give up too much in this fic to show you
what’s going to happen. For those of you who haven’t even begun to read the
series, I suggest now being the best time since Part 1 is almost done, and I’m
halfway through writing Part 2. For those of you reading it, I hope you like
this and don’t get pissed at me for giving away a few precious details. For
all of you, please enjoy the fic!
Archive:
Email me at Dmmuzicfan@aol.com.
Feedback/Comments:
SEE EMAIL ABOVE OR BE NICE AND SUBMIT A REVIEW!
Disclaimer:
The usual, you should know it by now.
1 Year Earlier:
Last
Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Once
bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance
But you still catch my eye
Tell me baby, do you recognize me?
Well it's been a year
It doesn't surprise me
'Happy Christmas'
I wrapped it up and sent it
With a letter saying I love you
I meant it
Now I know what a fool I've been
But if you kissed me now
I know you'd fool me again
“Hey,
rookie,” came the voice of the angel Jake McCarty had been waiting to hear
that night ever since the stupid 11th Precinct Christmas party began.
He spun around to find Sara Pezzini, his partner and probably one of the most
beautiful women he had ever seen, walk up behind him holding a Champaign flute
in her right hand as she wrapped her left arm around his.
Jake
stared at her with wide eyes. This was the first time he had ever seen Sara in a
dress, especially one so brightly colored. He loved how the red silk flowed over
her flawless body and the way it was accented by her bracelet. And on top of her
head was a little red Santa hat.
“Well,
if it isn’t Mrs. Clause herself,” Jake replied as held her in a tight
embrace. She smiled at him, her lips daring him to get close and kiss them. Jake
knew he had to get a grip and stay away. It was a bad idea to get too close to a
coworker, especially one like Sara Pezzini. Yeah, she was drop dead gorgeous and
had a wonderful personality, but the way she kept him out of the loop was
annoying. But deep down, there was a part of him that ached for her to reveal
her secrets to him. He didn’t care if they would hurt him or get him killed.
She was just so mysterious, and he was willing to take the risk.
“Do you
really like it?” Sara asked, pointing to her dress as she escaped Jake’s
grasp and twirled around to show him all of it. She looked spectacular, but he
didn’t dare say that out loud.
“It
looks good on you, Pez,” Jake said.
“Is the
hat going a little overboard?” she questioned, almost pulling it off her head.
“No,
that’s definitely not going overboard. I think all you need is fluffy white
trim around the bottom of your dress and your outfit is complete,” he blurted,
suddenly realizing the mistake he had just made. Sara began to laugh, though.
Thank God she had taken it as a joke.
“So, you
wanna ditch this party?” she asked, taking the hat off and beginning to fuss
with her hair.
“Nothing
would make me happier,” Jake answered as he took her arm and quietly led her
away from the crowd of people around them. As they stepped outside, a light snow
was beginning to fall. The ground was already dusted slightly as Jake helped her
walk to his car.
“I guess
we’re actually going to have a white Christmas this year,” Sara commented as
she tried not to slip and fall on her heels. She was finding it had to get
traction and relied on him whenever she lost her balance, which was quite often.
When they finally made it to the car, he helped her slip into the passenger’s
seat. Sara immediately kicked off her shoes, feeing much more comfortable now
that they were lying on the floor beside her feet instead of on them.
“Yeah,
pretty nice if you asked me, seeing that I’ve never really had the privilege
of a true white Christmas,” Jake said as he started the car and pulled out of
the parking lot and onto the street. “Where to?”
“Somewhere
that I can get a real drink,” Sara answered with a smile.
“Alright,
to the first bar we see!” he replied enthusiastically. A few blocks down, Jake
stopped in front of the only bar still open at three in the morning. He helped
Sara into the bustling pub and found them stools at the bar.
The drinks
slowly began to pile up in front of them as they sat and talked about almost
anything and everything from Jake’s surfing days to Sara’s childhood. He
noted how she managed to drink more when she talked about that frustrating
period in her life. By the time she put down her last bottle of beer, Sara
seemed to slur every word that left her mouth.
“Maybe
it’s time that I took you home,” Jake said as he helped her to her feet.
“Oh,
come on, McCarty, one more drink,” Sara pleaded as he led her away from the
bar and towards the door. She seemed to stumble even more now that the alcohol
was circulation through her system in copious amounts.
“I think
you’ve had enough for one night,” he gently replied as she leaned heavily
against his body. Sara was definitely beyond being able to take herself home
that night, and Jake was glad that she hadn’t left the party alone. He eased
her into the passenger’s seat of his car and slowly drove to her place since
the roads were now covered in almost an inch and a half of snow.
After
parking in the alley beside Sara’s building, Jake found himself in a
predicament. How was he ever going to get Sara into her apartment without having
her trip and fall all over herself? She was babbling on about how she hated her
shoes, so he decided to pick her up and carry her up the stairs. The task proved
to be easier said that done. She was a restless drunk, swinging her arms about
as they began their ascent up the stairs to her apartment.
When they
finally reached her floor, Sara slipped out of Jake’s arms and began to fiddle
with her purse, looking for her keys. Jake snatched it away from her and pulled
them out. He opened the door and led her inside where she quickly kicked off her
shoes and headed into the bedroom, stopping at the threshold and looking back at
him with amorous eyes
With a
devious smiled, Sara asked, “Would you like to help me out of this dress?”
Jake knew the offer was tempting. It had been something he had imagined ever
since the first day he met Sara, but seeing her so intoxicated, he decided
against it, no matter how badly his body wanted to. It was wrong to take
advantage of someone so fragile. “Fine,” she pouted, stumbling into the
room.
Jake
remained at the front door, respecting Sara’s privacy, until he heard a loud
thud come from the bedroom. He ran inside to find Sara on the floor, her face
plastered to the polished wood and her eyes closed. The scene would have been
pretty comical under different conditions, but Jake knew this was no laughing
matter. He picked Sara up off the floor and delicately laid her on the bed.
A goofy
grin appeared on Sara’s face as her eyes fluttered open. “Stupid me,” she
muttered.
“Don’t
worry, it never happened,” Jake whispered as he tucked her into bed.
“Then
neither did this,” Sara replied, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him
towards her lips for a delicate kiss.
Jake could
feel his body succumb to the feelings that he desperately tried to push away as
the kiss deepened. Sara’s hold was much stronger that he imagined, and soon,
he was on top of her, holding her in his arms as they continued to kiss.
Abruptly, he pulled away and said, “This is so wrong.”
“No,
it’s not,” Sara whined as she tried to pull Jake in for another kiss. He
pushed himself away from the bed and towards the door. “Jake! Come back!”
she called. He didn’t turn around. “At least give me a reason why it’s so
wrong!”
He spun
around quickly and marched back into her room. “Because I love you too
much,” Jake answered, exposing his heart to her for the first time. “And I
don’t want you to regret this. Maybe some time in the future when you have
some idea as to what’s going on, we can let this happen, but not now. Not
while you’re intoxicated.”
Sara
looked disappointed. “Whatever,” she replied. “Your loss.” She rolled
over onto her side, unable to see the painful expression that came across his
face. Jake turned and left the room, his heart feeling like it had just been
caught in a blender in puree mode. He walked out of the apartment building and
back to his car. Before even getting inside, he stole a look up into Sara’s
window to see that she had probably already passed out. His mind began to drift
to what might have been if this night had gone in a different direction.
The kiss
would remain on Jake’s mind even as he drove back to his place and went to
bed. He dreamed about it, wondering if it had actually happened, or if it had
just been a figment of his imagination. When he woke up later that morning to
the sound of Christmas carols playing all over his building, Jake tried to drown
it out with rock music cranked up as high as his stereo would go. It drowned out
almost every sound, including the phone, which was still in his pocket, buzzing
incessantly. When he finally decided to pick it up, he was surprised by who it
was.
“Jake,
what happened last night?” Sara asked in a groggy and very raspy voice. He
knew that she didn’t remember anything beyond the Christmas party, easing his
soul a little more.
“You got
really drunk and I took you home,” Jake answered softly, realizing that her
head was probably still spinning.
“Thank
you,” she replied. “I don’t think I would have made it home alive if it
wasn’t for you.”
“You’re
welcome,” he said, smiling a sad and sorry smile. If only she had remembered
that kiss. It would have meant utter joy and misery at the same time. In this
case, it was better to forget that it even happened. After all, she had been the
one who said it never happened.
“Hey,
I’ve got to get going. I really don’t think you want to hear about my up
chuck reflexes right now, so I’ll leave you alone until tomorrow,” Sara told
him just before hanging up.
“You’re
right, I don’t,” he joked. “Have a merry Christmas, Sara.”
“You
too, Jake.”
He hung up
the phone and threw it onto the couch then looked at his sorry excuse for a
Christmas tree, a small plastic leafless tree with a little bit of tinsel and
ornaments as decoration. Jake smiled; there was one gift under it, one he had
been waiting to give to someone special. ‘I guess it’ll have to wait until
next year,’ he thought, picking it up in his hand and placing it in his desk
drawer for safe keeping until next Christmas.
The Present:
Last
Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
A
crowded room friends with tired eyes
I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice
My God! I thought you were someone to rely on
Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover but you tore me apart
Now I've found a real love you'll never fool me again
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Jake
parked in the alley beside Sara’s building that snowy Christmas Eve night,
and, with large back of gifts under each arm, made his way up to her apartment
where all his friends had gathered to spend Christmas with Sara, her new
boyfriend, correction, soon to be fiancé, Darren Hayes, and their baby
daughter, Mira, who was only days old.
In the
last nine months, several things had changed in his life. Sara had fallen in
love with one musician who had unexpectedly died in her arms, then fell in love
again with another musician, this time saying that he was her true destiny. Jake
had stopped following the soap opera even though he had confessed his feelings
for Sara at a time when she really didn’t need the extra stress. It had taken
several months to clear the episode from her mind, even though it probably still
lingered there from time to time, dissipating whenever she was with Darren, and
becoming quite clear when she and Jake were alone in a room.
Now,
knowing that Darren was going to propose to Sara that night, Jake wished he
wasn’t at the party fearing that he’d probably walk out just as the crucial
moment came upon him. The last thing he wanted to see was the one woman he loved
accept a proposal from another man.
Jake felt
like slapping himself for being so stupid. Why he was being so cynical baffled
him since to his right stood another woman he was beginning to fall madly in
love with. She wasn’t Sara, but she was someone he knew loved him as much as
he loved her. Christina Arsovska was her name, and she was a young Macedonian
girl who had just moved to
Christina
stood beside him as he knocked at Sara’s door, which soon opened to reveal her
holding a tiny bundle in her arms. “Come in!” she enthusiastically motioned
to them as she smiled. “Finally, you’re here! What took you so long?”
“Traffic,”
Jake answered. “It’s snowing again.”
“Oh, I
guess it’s going to be another white Christmas,” Sara said as she led them
into the living room of her apartment where everyone else had gathered. “So,
are you going to introduce me?” she asked, referring to the woman who was
quietly walking by his side.
“Sara,
this is Christina Arsovska, Christina, this is my partner, Sara Pezzini,” Jake
introduced.
“Please
to finally meet the girl who’s stolen my friend’s heart,” Sara politely
replied as she extended her free hand. Christina blushed as did Jake. “This is
my daughter, Mira. Darren should be around here somewhere. Give me a sec to find
him.” Sara scurried off to find him while Christina and Jake were left alone.
“So,
she’s the one that got away,” Christina said as she helped him put the gifts
down without breaking them.
“Yep,”
Jake replied, letting his feelings flood through his body as he remembered that
last Christmas when he had taken Sara home and almost ended up in bed with her.
He turned to face Christina, and slowly those feelings began to dissipate as new
ones took their place. Looking into her hazel brown eyes, he found something
there that never existed in Sara, true love. Maybe it was a good thing that he
and Sara didn’t spend that night together. Maybe fate had stepped in just in
time to send his this angel standing before him.
“Have
you gotten over her?” Christina asked, wanting that reassurance from him that
she was truly his one and only.
“I’m
so over her,” Jake said. “You’re the one for me, and I see that every time
I look into your eyes.” He ran his fingers through her hair and leaned in to
kiss her. Love was definitely present in that kiss; unlike that one he had
shared with Sara a year before, which was filled with lust and passion.
Christina
looked into his crystal blue eyes and smiled. “I love you,” she whispered as
she tightly embraced him.
“I love
you, too,” Jake whispered back, confirming his own feelings for his
girlfriend. He really was over Sara if he was willing to speak those words to
another woman. He reached behind his back and pulled out the small present he
had saved from the year before last that he said he would give to someone
special. That special person had finally arrived, and he was ready to give up
that small package.
“What’s
that?” Christina inquired as he held it out in front of her.
“A
little something I was saving for someone special,” he answered. “Open
it.”
Christina
took the small box into her hands and gently began to peel off the wrapping.
Beneath the plain red paper, she found a small velvet box. Opening it, she
discovered a beautiful white gold necklace with matching heart shaped pendant
inside. Jake flipped it over so she could read the inscription.
“To the
one I love and will cherish for all eternity,” Christina read aloud as the
tears began to form in her eyes. “Oh, Jake!” She couldn’t help the
emotions that suddenly filled her heart.
“It
belonged to my mother,” he began to explain. “She told me to give it to that
one special girl that came along, the one I knew I wanted to marry. I think you
can guess where this is going.”
Christina
nodded as tears spilled down her cheeks. “But not now,” she said. “This is
Darren and Sara’s night. Let them have the attention, and tomorrow we can have
ours.”
“Alright,”
Jake replied even though he wanted to badly to propose to her that very second.
But he had promised himself that he wouldn’t do it until after Darren and
Sara. After all, Darren had been planning this ever since Thanksgiving while
Jake’s proposal was more spur of the moment than thought out even though he
knew deep down inside it was right. He looked over at Christina, who was now
bright and cheery with excitement.
From
across the room, Sara looked over at the two of them and saw how happy they
were. She smiled, and Jake smiled back, realizing that there was nothing more to
their relationship than friendship. Like he said before, he was so over her. It
was about time that he moved on.
The End