The Variations by Jones M (christmas read aloud txt) 📖

feel at home," he explained. "But unlike some rooms in the house, this one does not have a bathroom."

"Oh."

"It's actually right over there," he pointed with his thumb to his side. Kate looked around the hallway, spotting two doors at the far end that were facing opposite each other.

"How many bathrooms does this house even have?" she asked him in surprise.

"Four," Chris replied simply.

"So I'll have to walk to those doors if I want to go to the bathroom," Kate stated, not liking the idea. The memory of walking to a bathroom hours after Susan's wedding played in her mind. The house had looked creepy at night, and so it had her mind playing tricks with her eyes.

"My room has a bathroom. You could come sleep with me," Chris stated, smirking when he saw Kate blushing again.

"I think I'll stay in this room," she said.

"Okay," Chris chuckled before turning to head to the dining room. Kate sighed and walked farther into the room before closing the door behind her.

Kate released a contented sigh as she looked around the room. The events of the day had not been expected, but she was glad they had happened. She felt happy that Chris had confessed his feelings for her. He had wanted her all along, and she was glad they were dating. 

But then, she remembered that she and Chris had just become a couple only a few hours ago, and they were suddenly in the same house. Kate started thinking that they should have stayed away from each other for some time so that they could think about their relationship.

But what was there to think about? They had known each other for months, and their friendship had grown into something beautiful. She could not deny how she had felt when Chris had told her he wanted her, especially when he had kissed her and had practically stolen her breath. Things had felt right after that moment, and Marie did not want them to change.

However, a sudden thought came to her mind. Kate worried about how she would act around Chris. She knew things would change now that they were dating, and so she wondered by how much.

A sudden breeze passed through the room, bringing her thoughts back to the present. She remembered she had a shower to take, and so she decided to save the thoughts for later.

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"Hey," Chris greeted when Kate descended into the kitchen. He too had taken a shower, and he looked much better than he had when he had come to her house. He had changed into a loose T-shirt that showed off his arms and a pair of cotton shorts that reached his knees. Kate had also worn the same, but of different colors.

"Hey," Kate said as she approached him, feeling self-conscious about her choice of clothes. Chris smiled at her once she was in front of him before capturing her lips in a kiss.

Kate was not expecting the action, but she welcomed it. It was a slow kiss, but it did not fail to make her feel sensations in her mouth and stomach.

"Have I told you how hot you look right now?" he asked with a deep voice that sent warm chills down her spine. Kate shyly smiled at him, and he grinned at her.

"Is this how you'll act whenever you see me?" Kate teased him with a smile.

"Oh, Kate," Chris smirked. "You have no idea about the number of times I plan to kiss those beautiful lips of yours."

She felt flushed all of a sudden.

"So, what do you want to do right now?"

"We should sort out what we would do in the coming days," she told him.

"Or we could watch a couple of movies right now before we think about that and food," he suggested.

"Okay," Marie did not hesitate to reply. 

 

Chapter 31

Marie moaned in slight exhaustion as she fluttered her eyes open. Orange walls stared at her from the bed, and she blinked her eyes to make sure they were actually there.

She slowly moved to sit on the bed, noticing the comforters and realizing they were not hers. For a short while, she was confused as she wondered where she was. Then the memories of the previous day played in her mind.

Kate's heart thudded at the fact that she was in Chris' house and that they were alone.

'So it had not been a dream,' she thought, smiling at the memory of the events that led her to be in his guest room. She also remembered him kissing her to express his feelings for her.

And what a kiss that was.

They were a couple, and Kate could not be any happier.

She strayed away from those thoughts, looking back at the room and realizing it was a bit dark. She wondered how much time was left before the sun could fully rise.

Kate searched for her phone on the bed. Once she found it, she double-tapped on the screen to observe the time.

The widget glowed '9:00 AM', much to her astonishment. She quickly got off the bed and headed to the window that was hidden behind the curtain. She pulled the material back, and what she saw explained the room's darkness.

The sky was completely filled with gray clouds as snow continued to fall. The ground below her was also covered with the cold substance, and it was close to concealing the road.

"Kate?" Chris's voice called out as he knocked at the door. "Are you up?"

She turned away from the window to head towards it. She opened the door with a grin, only to be greeted by an embrace from Chris.

"Thank goodness," he said on her neck. The heat coming from his body made her feel comfortable in his hold. 

"Good morning to you, too," Kate grinned. Chris gently kissed her nape, and she shivered, making him smile on her skin. He soon retracted the hug.

"I thought it was a dream," he told her.

"What was a dream?" she questioned.

"Our conversation yesterday," he confessed. "We're actually a couple now."

Kate was surprised by the grin he showed her. She was happy he felt the same way, but she did not expect him to tell her that.

"Now, come give me a kiss."

"Chris--" Marie was cut off by the feel of his lips on hers. She soon turned away, whispering "What about morning breath?"

"You brushed your teeth last night, didn't you?"

"Yes--" he cut her off again by angling his head to have better access to her lips. His mouth forced hers open, and his tongue darted in as his lips moved along hers. The action had been quick, and it made Kate gasp as warm tingles traveled through her form. She felt his arms wrap around her form as he brought her flush to his chest. His embrace felt wonderful, and she lost herself in the sensations he brought onto her. 

"How was that for a good morning kiss?" Chris said on her lips, still staring at Kate who looked flushed. He smirked, clearly enjoying the effect he had on her.

"Let's get breakfast," he told her.

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Chris and Kate had spent some minutes in the kitchen preparing their meals. As soon as they were done with that, they went to the entertainment area to watch the TV.

"... and as predicted, the storm hit major parts of the country last night," a news reporter said. "No casualties have been confirmed yet."

"Well, that is good," Marie said before taking a bite of the sandwich she had made for breakfast. At that moment, the TV showed the areas that had been covered with snow. Some clips showed the storm heavily hitting other towns, while others showed people struggling to walk in the snow.

"I didn't expect it to be horrible," an individual commented. "People have things to do. I have to go back to college, but I cannot because of the storm. Now I'm stuck here for God knows how long."

"That is one weird person," Chris commented. "He's complaining about staying at home. I know other people are rejoicing right now that they've got an extended holiday."

Kate nodded in agreement, smiling.

"By the way, what are we going to do about our project?" she asked him, and he frowned.

"Why are we talking about it?" he questioned.

"Well, we are alone in your place," Kate explained. "I thought it would be good if we picked up where we left off. It could help reduce all the stuff we'll have to do once we get back to college."

"To be honest, I have forgotten about it for the whole Christmas break," Chris shared.

"It's okay, Chris," she said. "I already did some of the work--"

"You what?" he asked in shock, his form tensing as he stared at her.

Kate wanted to smack herself for revealing that bit of information.

"Well, I needed to do something to take my mind off... You know," she said.

"What did you do, Kate?" he asked her.

"I started turning the comic you had created for our film into a video guide for the animation process."

"What?" he exclaimed.

"I said started. I haven't gotten along that far with it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chris looked hurt, and Marie felt bad.

"Because I was mad at you. I thought you wanted Tiffany as your girlfriend, remember?" Marie told him before sighing.

"But I wanted you to be my girlfriend," he told her before revealing a smile. "Now you are my girlfriend. Do you want me to remind you again?"

Kate blushed, seeing Chris looking at her like a hungry prey as he reached to caress her cheek.

"BREAKING NEWS," the TV speaker sounded through the room, cutting their moment short. "A new report of the storm has reached us. Instead of lasting for four days, the storm could last up to a week."

"WHAT?" Kate and Chris shouted. They faced each other, both shocked before looking back at the screen.

"As you can see here," the screen cut off to a weatherman who had a map of the US behind him. "These areas will be hit the hardest."

A couple of purple swirls were displayed on the screen, showing the regions that would be affected by the storm. The screen soon displayed a list of towns that would experience heavy snowfall, and Stonedale was one of them.

"This is bad," Chris stated.

"It can't be that bad," Kate said.

"Well, for one, we might stay indoors for more than two days. That is if the storm wouldn't clear up."

"Okay," Marie said without a second thought. "I'm not much of an outside person anyway."

"Also, the generator can't support the whole house for a week," he said.

"That's okay," Kate told him. "We still have the electricity. It could sustain us."

As soon as she had said that, the TV turned off. The heater turned off as well.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Marie yelled, believing she had jinxed the whole house.

Then the TV turned back on.

"Oh. The electricity is back," Marie sighed in relief.

"No, it's not," Chris countered. "That is the generator."

"How sure are you?"

"Do you hear a buzzing sound that seems far away?" he asked.

Marie kept quiet. She focused on the sounds around her, and she soon picked up on it. It could have easily blended with the noise from the TV.

"Oh crap," she commented with a groan. "So, what do we do? Do we have to switch it off and suffer in the cold for some days?"

Chris grinned before saying, "No, but