Page 112 of A Certain Step
“I told you, you’re my—”
“Finish that sentence, and I’m taking the train back to the city,” she said with a snort.
“Okay, I’ll play, what’d you get me?”
She propped herself on one elbow. “Part of the gift is at home. I couldn’t bring it with me, but I have a picture. The other is in my bag, inside the house.”
“Tell me because I’m not letting you out of my sight right now.”
She reached back and grabbed her phone from somewhere on the floor, opening her pictures app to show him the custom painting.
Ethan sat up so rapidly that it was jarring. “Holy shit! This is fromThe Muppet Christmas Carol!”
“Yes, I found a local artist in New York open to commissions, so I told her about how much you adored it and asked for a custom poster.”
He bent down, kissing her hard and fast. “Willa, this is fucking amazing! Holy shit. I can’t wait to see it in person. This is the best thing anyone could’ve gotten me.”
“And the second is tickets to Stoic Badger’s next show; it falls on a Monday, so we could go.”
His eyes lit up. “Did you really think I wouldn’t love this, or are you being humble?”
“You made me sob!”
“To be fair, the only thing I love the way you love treehouses is you. Plus, you’re adorable even when you cry.”
She believed him with everything in her, and that was the wildest part of all this. All the fears she had harbored, the agonizing thoughts that’d tormented and kept her up, evanesced when Ethan looked at her. Because he had been the very embodiment of what she hoped treehouses would be in human form. Comfortable. Warm. Perfectly imperfect, jagged edges and all.
He was the dream she never allowed herself to hope for.
It was captivating how Ethan looked at her sometimes. Thinking back to when they were just friends, she’d catch his gazes from time to time, never really thinking anything of it until more recently. She couldn’t find the words to describe the serenity in his eyes or the softness in his smile. His eyes then flitted toward her neck. He drew his finger to one of her now tangled necklaces, spotting the small, simple gold letterEshe wore for the first time today.
A shimmering smile curved along his lips, the corners of his eyes crinkled. “What’s this?” he mused.
“One of my favorite jewelry shops had it in stock, so I bought it a couple of weeks ago.”
He smirked. “Is it for me?”
“No, it’s for my other lover, Edward. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way,” she deadpanned.
He pressed a kiss to where the necklace lay, and she giggled. “Fuck, Willa. I love it. I love it so damn much.”
His wholesome elation would never be topped.
Willa beamed. “I was hoping you would,” she said, holding his face in her hands. She pressed her lips to his in an emphatic kiss.
Later that night, as Ethan showered, Willa compiled a bunch of photographs to post. Sahar had held up her end of the bargain, now a stunning redhead, so Willa’s time had come.
She had prepped for it with Marie during three sessions, actively talking herself into focusing on the truth versus the assumptions, and approached the situation with the reminder that this would always come with the job.
Willa didn’t need to change all her ways with social media—notifications would permanently remain off—but she didn’t want to live in a constant state of anxiety either.
She wanted to take back her agency.
For the first picture, she chose a candid photo Sam had taken of them three days ago, where Ethan’s entire body wrapped around her as she giggled over something he’d said. It was a stark showcase of their relationship in a nutshell—a friendship full of laughter, first, unbeatable comfort, and zero concept of personal space. The second was a selfie shot from earlier today at the restaurant. His arm draped across her shoulder, head tilted as he kissed her temple. The third was a photograph she sneakily took of their hands clasped together in his car. The fourth was his profile while the sunlight haloed his face. The fifth was the treehouse.
She captioned it with—Happy Birthday to the love of my life. My best friend. My favorite everything.@ethaneverett—kept the comments on and sent it out into the world.
He deserved to be openly, loudly, and perpetually loved by her.
