Page 31 of When October Starts

I told Mom and Aggie that I would be back before dinner, so I had about three hours to stay at Ezra’s. After ringing his doorbell and waiting a few seconds, I entered the building and walked upstairs to meet him at his door.

“Is that a present I see?” he asked.

I looked down at the bag I was carrying. Christmas wrapping paper could be seen on the inside, but his present wasn’t the only thing I was excited for him to see. “It is,” I replied, letting him pull me to him and kiss me gently.

Ezra’s warm hands cupped both my cheeks, and I immediately stopped freezing as I felt his body against mine. His lips moved slowly with mine, and his tongue brushed along my bottom lip before he broke the kiss.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I need to be home by seven,” I added. I passed him to get inside and took off my shoes and coat.

“Want some tea?” Ezra walked to the kitchen, after I hung my coat next to his, then I sat down on the couch and pulled out his present. I left the envelope I received in the mail this morning in the bag.

“Yes, please.”

“There’s something I need to talk to you about. It’s about Christmas and I don’t wanna upset you or anything, but I need to tell you.” His voice sounded slightly unsure.

“I know that Santa’s not real,” I mocked, and I heard him chuckle. “It’s a little more serious than that, Juno.”

“If it will upset me, then I don’t think I want you to tell me,” I frowned.

He walked over to me with two cups of tea in his hands and he set them down on the coffee table. “I have to tell you. I’ll feel better if I do, and I don’t want you to find out someday and then be mad at me for never telling you.”

I scrunched up my nose. “All right. Tell me.” I prepared myself for the worst and watched him closely as he chose his words carefully.

“Wait.” I held up my hand to stop him from talking. “Let’s talk about the upsetting part after the presents. It’s nothing big or expensive…but when I saw it, I thought of you and wanted you to have it.”

I held the present to him and he took it with a smile on his face. He ripped the paper off the little box, then opened it and found my present in it. “A pick puncher?”

I nodded. “You said you lose your picks a lot, so now, instead of buying new ones every time you need one, you can just use this to punch one from an old credit card or something.”

He grinned, then cupped the back of my head and kissed my forehead. “This is perfect. I never thought of this. Thank you, sweetheart.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied, smiling brightly at him.

“Here, I got you something too.” He put the pick puncher down on the coffee table, then reached next to the couch to pick up the present.

I put it on my lap and looked at him before ripping the paper. My jaw dropped as I saw what it was, and I lifted it up to take a better look at it. “This is…I love it!” It was a retro sweater coming straight from the eighties. I owned many of those, but this one just became my favorite because Ezra gifted it to me.

“I figured you’d love it. I had to go shop for it in my grandpa’s closet,” he joked.

“Why are you saying it like it’s a bad thing?” I grinned, cuddling the sweater to my chest. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re the only girl I know who can pull these sweaters off and still look adorable,” he told me.

“Good. Don’t expect me to wear anything else when it’s cold.” I reached into my bag to pull out the envelope and handed it to him. “I got this in the mail this morning.”

Ezra looked at the envelope and quickly opened it. He must’ve read the name on the back, and he made quick work of pulling the letter out.

I pressed my lips into a thin line and held back a grin. “You got accepted!” he exclaimed wide eyed. “Juno, this is amazing! Congrats!” He pulled me into his embrace and held me tight while his hands rubbed my back. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. Are you excited?”

I nodded, keeping my arms wrapped around his neck. I leaned back and looked into his eyes, and the joy in them was not to miss. “Very. That means we can see each other every day if we want.”

“Only a few more months, and we don’t have to hide anymore.”

*

Ezra

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