As soon as she said the words she regret these.
'What's wrong with me!?', she shouted inside and could slaps herself! There were two options: either she lied or she would admit that she did not want to be alone in his bed.

"Huh", came confused from Bert, who had not yet processed this sentence properly. He straightened up and looked at her. Even though it was dark, she could feel his questioning look.

She decided to lie: "I can sleep on the sofa… after all, I am just your guest." The words had not come from her lips, when she could have slapped herself again- One shouldn't lie! And the fact that she lied to the most honest, loving and important person in her life hurt her.

And with his answer, she felt even shabbier: "Nonsense! Because you're my guest, you deserve it more comfortable than me!" With these words he fell onto the sofa and covered himself. "Good night. And sleep well!"

"Good night," she murmured almost inaudibly, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

In the middle of the night the storm started to get heavier and Mary woke up with a shake on her shoulders and the gentle yet energetic sound of her name: "Mary!"

"What?" She asked confused. But something was wrong. Her pulse was very high and she was bathed in sweat. Then she realised the storm outside.

"Ya screamed in yer sleep ..."

She did not answer.

"Mary?"

She looked out the window.

"I know ya don't like to explain, and you don't really owe me any explanation... But I'm worried...", he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Mary studied his silhouette, dimly lit by the moon, "You are worried?"

"Yes," Bert looked at his feet and kneaded his hands in shame, "you've been so strange since the evening. You'd rather be somewhere else, right? "

"What!?", her eyes widened in shock, "how do you come up with that?"

Bert considered how he chose his next words. Depending on how he would formulate his guess, this could have a negative effect on their friendship because Mary was unpredictable for him.

After several seconds of silence, he began: "Please don't get me wrong, Mary... But you're so distant all evening. Almost as if yer thoughts were somewhere else. You aren't laughing, you're stiff and you're just looking out the window. You'd rather be somewhere else, right?" He paused for a moment," I can understand it, if you prefer to be at Christmas with your uncle or anywhere else." It shook more violently at the window. "I really don't want to force ya t' stay: but I'd still be scared of you if you went out there in the middle of the night… Especially because it's stormy."
His voice softened towards the end and it contained an emotion that Mary could not interpret.

But as soon as she had processed what he had said, she sat up and hugged him. What in the world did she deserve a friend like him? When he put his arms around her petite figure, all her negative thoughts seemed forgotten. This hug gave her so much warmth and she closed her eyes. It seemed to her that his closeness was everything she ever wanted. "There isn't a place I'd rather be… than with you" she mumbled into his crook and squeezed him a bit more. This was the first time she did not repress the thoughts about her feelings but speak them openly.

Bert smiled quietly at the words. But another rattle made her stiffen. "Could it be that you're afraid of the storm?" He noticed her nod.

"All right, Mary," he stroked her back reassuringly, "you're not alone... I'm with you. And I'll always be there for ya."

Mary broke away from Bert and just looked at him. His eyes looked at her lovingly and she just could not find words. Sure, her logical mind told her that it did not matter if she was alone in the storm or not. But her heart was glad to know that he would not let her down. Yes, she was terribly afraid of storms, but she could always hide that fear. Maybe she did not do that that night, since she was with Bert and did not want to hide from him? "Thanks, Bert... It's good to know that I'm not alone."

The next thing she felt was his soft lips on her forehead: "I'll always be there for ya."

She looked at him again. Now that her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, she could see his face better now. The feelings she had for this man were enormous and she would like to tell him what she felt about him. But she also knew that words alone would never be enough!
Her heart was screaming to show him!
So she took all her courage and slowly approached his face with hers. And even before she was able to properly handle this movement, her lips were already on his. So they paused for a moment, until he wrapped his arms around her and her hands found themselves on the back of his neck and back. The kiss became more intense and it was clear that both felt the same at the moment! Slowly they lowered themselves to the bed, but did not interrupt the kiss.

Only when they needed air again, they parted. For a moment, they just looked at each other and could not find words. Bert lovingly stroked a stray strand behind her ear and smiled as it could not have been wider.

But when Mary said three more words, his smile widened:

"I love you"

Bert kissed her again before he broke away and said between two kisses, "I love you too, Mary."

And at that moment, there were only the two people left in the world.
Nobody was sleeping on the sofa that night.

And nobody noticed that the storm ebbed off and after only a few minutes there is not even a breeze.

It was the best Christmas ever.

Here's the final chapter :)

I hope you liked this short story :D