“Ben Rhoades, when have you ever said anything like that to anyone?” Jenna asks.
“Probably never. I’m a dick when it comes to this sort of thing. But Drew is my best friend and I happen to know how he feels about Cate. I’m happy he found her and that she makes him happy and it’s about damn time.”
I look on as Drew says, “Thanks, dude. That means a lot to me.”
“I would’ve told you over the phone, but I knew I was gonna see you here so I decided to wait. And besides, I wanted to actually see you before I said it. I’ve known Cate almost as long as I’ve known you, so I have to say,” and he does this funny thing with his hand that I think is supposed to imitate a religious blessing, “I bless this relationship.”
Drew tosses an empty plastic cup at him. “You’re off the ledge, dude.”
“Nah, I’m trying to be serious here. I am glad you two are together. And bro, Cate here is so much better than Rebecca.”
“Fuck. Did you have to spoil the night by bringing that up?”
That surprises even me. Rebecca is Drew’s old girlfriend, the one that broke his heart. Jenna told me all about her and that Ben hated her. I look at Jenna and she’s trying to mask her grin. What’s so funny about that? I think it’s kind of tasteless. Then I look at Drew and a slow grin spreads across his face.
“Okay, I’m completely off the trail here, lost in the woods,” I say.
Drew throws his arm over my shoulders. “Ben always hated Rebecca. I defended her constantly, but then when I figured out he was right, I was … well you know the story. I told you at the beginning when we started dating. What I find funny here is I never thought I’d wave the whole Rebecca thing away, and now, here I am with you, and I could totally give a shit about her. That’s why I’m smiling and I figure it’s why they are too. She was always a touchy subject around me, but not anymore.”
I beam at his words. Drew always knows exactly what to say to make me smile. Our conversation moves to how long Drew is in town to how long I’ll be in Indy, to when we all can get together again. Soon they depart and it’s only Drew and me. I want to curl up next to him somewhere, but it’s getting late and I know I need to be getting home soon.
“Yeah, I know,” he says, reading my mind. “Weren’t we going to exchange gifts tonight?”
“Yeah. Do you want to do it now?”
“Hell yeah. But I have to go to my room. You wanna come?”
“Is this the deal where you tell your parents you have to show me something?”
“You bet it is.”
“Then I’m in.”
There’s a bag I brought in and I snag it before we run up the stairs and go into his room. He shuts the door behind us. His hands slide under my skirt, and glide along my thighs as he follows it up to my unders.
“Cate, I need you. I’ve been thinking about this constantly.”
“What if someone hears? I don’t think I can.” I bite my lip, worrying, as anxiety gnaws at me.
“I know. We can’t. We’ll have to live frustrated for a while and I hate this.”
“So do I. Maybe we can do car sex again?”
“Yeah, but tonight, I want to give you your gift.” He walks to his closet and comes out with a ginormous gift bag. “Merry Christmas, babe. I love you.”
“I love you, too, and thank you.”
“Open it.”
I spread the top of the bag apart and inside there are several things. First, I see a big box, so I pull it out, unwrap it, and laugh. “Oh my goodness! Will you help me?”
“All the way.”
“Good, because if I put these skates on, I’m sure to bust my ass like crazy.”
“Cate, I’ll always catch you if you fall.” His blue eyes catch mine and I know he’s not talking about that kind of falling.
“Drew, I won’t let you fall either. We’re in this together, you know.”
He leans in and kisses me. “There’s more in there.”
My hands dig down, and I pull out another fairly large box. I unwrap the most luxurious bathrobe known to man. On one side is soft terry and on the other side is silk. “Oh my, this is amazing. I love it.”
“You do? I noticed you didn’t have one.”
“I do now and I absolutely love it. It’s perfect! Thank you!” I lean over and kiss him.
“One more and you’re done.”
I fumble in the bottom and find the last box. When I pull it up, I know it’s jewelry. I give him the I can’t believe you did this face. He shrugs. “Just open it,” he says.
When I do, I fall in love all over again. It’s an exquisite necklace, very delicate gold filigree surrounding a center diamond. The design is simple yet elegant and I couldn’t love it any more than I do.
“Cate, don’t cry. It’s only a necklace.”
My fingers fly to my cheeks, because I hadn’t even realized tears were falling. “Now that’s a surprise,” I say, brushing them away.
“The necklace or the tears?”