Page 105 of Between Us

Smiling softly at her, I lean forward, brushing my thumb along her cheek. “Thanks, Storm Cloud.” I nod toward the tree, pretending it’s a private moment between us; that her parents aren’t mere feet away. To Tim’s credit, he’s taking his sweet time unwrapping the box from Blake. Selena is blatantly watching us with her coffee mug paused midair, a knowing smirk gracing her face. “There’s something there for you too.”

She perks up and looks over her shoulder. “Really?”

“Of course. It’s the snowman wrapping paper,” I add with a smug lift of my lips. “It was the easiest gift I’ve ever bought.”

Rolling her eyes, she leans over to grab the small box, but insists I open mine first. She seems excited—nervous, but mostly excited—so I go with it.

The wrapping is pretty and simple. Brown paper with green, red, and white dots on it, and ribbon in all the same colors she expertly tied and twirled. I almost feel bad to ruin it, but of course my curiosity wins out.

Inside, I find a few folded sweatshirts and a pair of sweats.

The first one is a vintage Seattle Supersonic t-shirt. It instantly brings a smile to my face, remembering one of the nights we went to grab dinner at The Loop. I told her how my dad took me to a game once, before they rebranded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was one of the first times we moved for their job, and it’s my favorite memory with him.

Next, I pull out two crewnecks. One with an old schoolLooney Tunesprint, but the last one is something I’d recognize anywhere. It’s the exact Nike crewneck I showed her at work a week or so ago. Half button with green, gray, and blue color blocks and a large NIKE on the left pec. It’s from a super limited run in the early nineties—in fact, I’m positive all of this is authentic merch from at least two decades ago—and I’ve spent about two years trying to find this for less than a hundred bucks. I didn’t even know there were matching sweats to it.

And now, I’m holding both of them.

“I don’t know where you found these,” I look up at her with what I’m sure is a goofy smile, “but Blake, these are dope. Thank you so much.”

The smile she’s been anxiously holding back breaks out into one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. “I’m so happy you like them,” she quietly gushes, reaching over to squeeze my knee. I grab her hand before she can pull away. “I found the Supersonics tee andLooney Tunescrew a couple weeks ago, but I was so worried the Nike one wouldn’t get here in time.”

“How did you get it?”

“Well,” she wryly tilts her head and looks to the side. “My brother may not play baseball anymore, he does however, still know people in some high up places.” Blake isn’t one to brag about herself, but she loves to talk about her brother and friends’ accomplishments. “I don’t know the specifics. He somehow pulled it off for me so I could do this for you.”

The familiar warmth that comes with being loved by the Miller’s floods my chest again. Not only because Blake cared enough to mention something that was important to me, but because her brother—who I only kind of met last night—went out of his way to help her do this for me too. It only confirms what I’ve suspected for a while… This family is one I want to be a part of. A family I’d want to raise my own in.

With a tight chest, I nod toward the small box in Blake’s hands. “Open your gift, pretty girl.”

Her eyes glance at her parents the same second the light pink color crawls up her neck and cheeks.

She gently takes the small bow off and sets it next to her. Next, she slowly turns the box over and works her pinky between the flaps of paper that are taped together. She moves toward one of the ends and does the same thing.

“Blake, you can tear it.”

“She’s done this her entire life,” Selena rolls her eyes, smiling as she watches Blake, curiosity of what’s in the box clear in her eyes. “Tim’s almost as bad, but not quite.”

I look over at my boss, who is chuckling good-naturedly. I really thought he was trying to give us a sense of privacy, not that he was overtly careful with wrapping paper. Though, Blake’s a little less shocking.

“There we go,” Blake happily sighs, pulling my attention back to her. With just as much care, she opens the lid and stares down at the contents for what feels like forever, only seconds really. She looks up to me with so much affection—almost as much as I feel for her, but not quite. “Adrian. This is… beautiful.”

“Yeah? You like it?” I gesture for the box, taking the dainty silver chain out when she hands it to me. It’s the twin to the one she mentioned is her favorite of mine, except this one’s thinner and a little shorter. It’ll hang on her collarbone whereas mine goes down to the top of my chest.

The other difference is, I love the simple, minimalist look of the bare chain. On me. Her’s has a small silver cloud that hangs down.

I reach around her neck and clasp it into place. Beaming as she runs her fingers along the cold metal, she turns toward her mom to show her.

Selena smiles and nods approvingly. “That’s gorgeous.”

“It’s perfect,” Blake confirms with a soft smile.

“I knew I had to get it as soon as I saw it.”

“That’s how I felt when I saw the Supersonic t-shirt. Though, it feels silly in comparison now.”

“Nah, it’s just as perfect.”

With my mom’s help, I bought Tim and Selena one of those electronic picture frames. It connects through an app that Blake already sent Grady the link to. So now, he can update it as Stella grows and they can feel like they’re missing a little less of that time. Selena starts crying—happy tears Blake confirms—and Tim thanks me on their behalf before handing me a present. It’s a large gift bag with a new Adidas gym bag. It’s no secret that my old Under Armor one has seen better days. It’s one of those things I don’t want to splurge on, but the fact he noticed despite the amount of responsibilities he has means a lot.

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