#santamstarter

“I’m throwing an ugly sweater party to celebrate Christmas.” She announced to the person in front of her as she handed them an invitation. “It’ll be tons of fun with amazing food. Plus we’re having a white elephant gift exchange which can get wild.” She explained with excitement. “It’ll be a party to really deck the halls.” She joked with a laugh. “So what do you say? Are you in?”

While she was never usually one to pass up an opportunity to celebrate, Jasmine had always taken her work seriously and with several fundraisers coming up in the new year, she had been dedicating herself to planning them. Silence had never suited her though and with her offices closed for the holidays, she’d instead chosen to work in her nearby coffee shop. Too engrossed in her work, the lunch rush had almost passed her by until she sense someone hovering near her table. “Hey.” Easy smile lit up her features as she waved slightly. “I’m so sorry my head was totally elsewhere and I didn’t realise it had gotten so full in here. But there’s a spare seat here if you want it, just let me move some of my papers.”

Even though she had only been gone a little over a month, the blonde had found herself missing not just the people she knew in Santa Monica but the place itself. It had given her a newfound appreciation for the place that she had slowly begun to call her home. As she walked with Stella she found herself walking that little bit slowly to admire all the festive decorations that had sprung up. Stopping for a moment to take in the Christmas tree, a soft smile of appreciation for it found its way onto her lips before she turned slightly to the person next to her. “They’ve made such a lovely job of it, don’t you think?”

“Hey... don’t mean to be a pain in the ass, but is there any chance you can grab that bag for me?” Honestly, it was a miracle that Josh had even made it down as far as where his boat was docked, but as for getting things onto the actual boat or down the jetty —- he wasn’t having much luck. “I really need to stop trying to carry so much down here,” he added with a roll of his eyes. 

“You ever get barfed on three times in one day?” He asked the person sitting next to him in the bar. “The last time it happened to me was when my son was a baby. Today it happened again and now I’m seriously reconsidering my career choice to work with sick people.”

“Look. I’m trying to just order a fucking princess for a soon to be five-year-olds birthday this weekend. You’re add said that you had fucking princesses and now you are telling me that the only princess you have is the brave girl? My daughter doesn’t even understand her! What happened to those frozen bitches? Hello?” Letting out a huff in frustration she ran her fingers through her hair considering everything that she still needed to get done. After everything that had happened the entire ordeal left her further frustrated than prior before. Moving to turn she had almost completely run into someone. “Fuck! Sorry. Fuck.” 

“I think we need to have a discussion about this countries obsession with pumpkin spiced things.” Logan began, tone as serious as one would take when talking about a ruined engine or busted carburetor. “It’s not good. It’s never been good. And people thinking it is are delusional. You’ve drank the, uh... pumpkin spiced kool-aid, so to speak.” He says the last words as if the entire build up has been because of that --- just so he can make that joke.

It had always been a challenge to keep Gabriel’s attention but incredibly easy to catch it. There was a fickleness about him which meant that somehow his gaze always got drawn to what he considered the most exciting or entertaining thing in a room. The only person exempt from this treatment was his son when he always considered the young boy the best focus for his attention. Currently his attention was fixed on a couple having a blazing domestic in the middle of the street. There was an undeniable look of amusement on his face as he watched the scene unfold, unable to keep himself from snickering slightly as the insults grew louder. Shifting in his seat slightly, he leaned closer to no one in particular before speaking. “You think they get off on the attention? They gotta know that everyone’s zoning in on them.”