Page 216 of Choosing You

He pulls back just enough to talk softly against my lips. “When I said I missed you, I meant that I really, really missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” I kiss him back as I position myself over him. His hands move to my backside and he pulls me into him as he pushes up with his hips. After a while of him guiding me, I move his hands away and take over. I still have no idea what I’m doing when I’m on top like this, but Garret definitely likes it, so I guess I’m not that bad.

Afterward, I lie down on the non-injured side of his chest. “Merry Christmas, Garret.”

He laughs. “Are you saying that was my present?”

“No! I was just saying Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too. Are you ready for your gift?”

“Let me get dressed first.”

We get up and put our pajamas back on.

He walks over to his closet. “Remember that it only cost $1.50, so don’t get too excited.”

“Wait. First I need to go to my room and get yours.”

When I come back he has the regular room lights on. We take a seat on the bed, facing each other.

“You first,” I say.

“Okay, now you may think this is totally lame, but I didn’t know what else to do given the fact that you won’t let me spend any money.”

He hands me a small green notebook. It’s the one we started using early in the semester to write down stuff we were too embarrassed to say out loud.

“That’s funny,” I say.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He looks offended. “You don’t even know what’s in it yet.”

I pull out my own green notebook from behind my back. “We had the same idea.”

He takes the notebook. “Thatisfunny. So what’s in yours?”

“You have to read it. That’s why I wrote it down. I’m too embarrassed to say these things out loud.”

“Well, yours is kind of a mix of stuff. Last semester, I started writing down things I wanted to remember about us. Like our first date. The bowling. The Mexican place. That type of stuff. You’ll see. And at the end I put a list.”

“A list of what?”

“You always ask me why I want to be with you. So I answered you. Now you’ll have tons of reasons and they’re all written down. I’m hoping it will make you stop worrying that I’m going to leave. After you read it, you’ll see there’s no possible way that I could.”

“Yours sounds way better than mine. Maybe you should give me mine back and I’ll add some more.”

“Relax, Jade. Whatever you wrote, I’m sure I’ll like it.”

I get under the covers and lean against the headboard. Garret does the same. Then we start reading.

Garret’s notebook has about 10 pages of writing. Each entry is sectioned off by date. He has stuff about the first day we met, the first time we kissed, our first sleepover, and other firsts. I read it all, smiling at some of it and tearing up at other parts. He wrote it like a story. Put all together, it’s the story of how we fell in love. And it’s the absolute best gift I’ve ever received.

I flip to the last page and read the list.

Why I love a potato-chip-addicted girl

from Iowa …

She’s funny,even when she’s not trying.

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