JB had told himself that he would leave her alone; he had sworn to himself that he would. It was Christmas Eve; surely Aspen was with her family, doing the things that Christian families did on this day – just because he and his friends didn’t really view Christmas Eve as a day to be spent with family, it didn’t mean that it applied to everyone, especially not the biggest Christmas fanatic he had ever met. No, Aspen would be busy on Christmas Eve, he was sure of it, and he swore that he wouldn’t bother her.   He had been at Junior’s house no more than thirty minutes before he realized that leaving Aspen Stuart alone was impossible.   He gave into his weakness and text messaged her, and was surprised (and elated) when she responded not even five minutes later; when she informed him that not only was she not doing anything, but she was at home alone on Christmas Eve, it immediately put a frown on his face.   Where’s your family?   My mom and her husband went out; I didn’t want to go with them.   You still shouldn’t be alone.   As he sent the last message JB looked up from his phone and at his surroundings. He was in the media room with his friends, and Iris and Jackson were leading the argument regarding what they wanted to order for dinner. Yugyeom and BamBam had both joined in on the argument, while Junior and Youngjae watched in amusement; Mark was on his own phone, most likely talking to his girl of the week. The only thing that JB knew for sure was that he would see Aspen that night; he just didn’t know where. He could’ve easily just gone to spend Christmas Eve with Aspen at her house, but he didn’t know how she (or her mom) would feel about that, and he was sure to catch hell from his friends if he left them for Aspen, again.   He took a chance and invited her to Junior’s house, and to his surprise she agreed (though he seemed to have waited an eternity for her to respond). With her green light JB took a deep breath and rose from his seat, drawing everyone’s attention away from their argument.   “Where are you going?” Jackson demanded.   “To pick up Aspen,” JB responded, heading for the door. “I’ll be back.”   “Finally, another girl!” Iris cheered.   “We always have girls around,” Jackson pointed out.   “This is a girl I could actually like,” With a shake of his head JB left his friends and returned to his car, trying not to speed through the ten minute ride to Aspen’s house. He didn’t get a chance to go to the door; as soon as he pulled into the driveway she emerged from the house dressed for the balmy night in jeans and a T-shirt, her hair pulled into a high puff. The sight of her made JB smile immediately; he exited the car as she stopped to lock the front door and met her on the passenger’s side. She glanced up at him and immediately looked away, adjusting her clothes.   “Hey,” he called out to her.   “Hey.” As she reached him he held his arms out for a hug; after a moment’s hesitation she stepped into his embrace, and the soft, generous curves of her body molded against his in a way that made him tighten his grip on her – he felt her freeze and stifled his laugh, releasing her. She thanked him as he opened and closed the passenger door for her and he walked briskly back to his side, closing himself in the small space inside his car.   “Where are we going again?” she inquired of him, taking the time to buckle her seatbelt.   “Junior’s house,” JB responded, looking over his shoulder to back out of the driveway. It was then that he realized that, while he had been spending an abundant amount of time with Aspen over the course of their relationship, she’d had yet to spend any time around his friends. “You know Junior, right?”   “I think so,” Aspen responded.   “We’re just hanging out, ordering food,” JB explained with a shrug. “No big deal.”   “Is it really okay if I come?” Aspen inquired after a moment, her voice more cautious than usual; JB glanced over at her as he headed down the street.   “Yeah, it’s fine,” he assured her. “Nobody minds; I think Iris is excited.”   “Really?” She sounded incredulous; JB laughed a little, shaking his head at her.   “Yeah.” They were back at Jun