Page 291 of Falling Backwards
From the pretty paper I’ve opened, I extract a palm-sized square box that obviously has jewelry inside.My heart leaps.
It doesn’t matter what the piece is—a necklace, bracelet, pair of earrings—I already love it.
Before I lift the lid, I look at Luke and see he has only halfway opened what I got him too.The dark gray t-shirt is out of the giftbag and in plain view, but it’s still neatly rolled up where it rests in his lap.
Smiling, he lifts his chin at me and says, “Open yours,” in a way I can’t bear to argue with.
So I open it.And my heart doesn’t just leap, itsoars.
“Luke.” I press a hand to my chest and swing my already-damp eyes between him and the gold necklace.“Oh, wow!”
His smile is gentling across his lips, but it stays full in his eyes.He sets his gift to the side and scoots over to me.“You like it?Want me to help put it on?”
“Yes and yes!”I carefully pull the delicate chain free, then spread it across my fingers so I can marvel at its pretty glint and the understated L on it.
The initial of his name.
I know my own smile is wobbling, but I don’t hide it from him.
He brushes my cheek with his knuckles, then takes the necklace from me and slips it beneath my hair.After he’s got it fastened and straightened just below my collarbone, I give him three seconds to admire it, then drag him into a kiss.He holds the back of my head, matching my ardor.
Shortly, I tell him, “I love it.Thank you so much.It’s perfect.”
“You’re welcome.Not the fanciest of jewelry, but….”
“I don’t care.It’ll last fine because I’ll take care of it.”
He gives my lips another long peck.“I don’t care either.I love how it looks on you.”
Wish I could live in his warm voice, the blue of his eyes, the tenderness of his touch.
But I urge him to finish opening his gift now.
I’m trying not to laugh even before he gets the t-shirt unrolled, but then laughter bursts out ofhimwith an eye-crinkling grin, and I can’t hold back.
“Is it stupid?”I work to get out.
“Are you kidding?”He goes from looking at the shirt to holding it up so I can see better, though it quakes with his amusement.“It’s real life!”
We crack up as we look at‘eggs Ben-addict’and the simple, colorful graphic of eggs Benedict placed under the text.
“I’m fucking wearing thisnow.”He drops the shirt aside and starts pulling up the one he has on.
“No, you need to wash it first,” I say, though I’m interested in the undressing aspect of this.
He pauses with his current shirt lifted halfway up his chest, then continues.“It’ll be fine.”
“No,it needs to be washed.We have time to get it done before we go to your mom’s.”I reach across him for the new shirt.“Give—”
He grabs it and holds it away.I get distracted by his bare shoulder and accidentally touch it instead of aiming for the shirt again.Then I can’t help fleetingly touching his chest—I pull my hand back and look at him sheepishly.
Just like that, there’s a shift in his eyes; a flirty smirk comes to his lips as he flicks that gaze over me.
I can feel these moments turning from lighthearted and fun into something more.
“Actually,” he says with the change in his tone, too, “you know what?You’re right.We do have time to wash it.”
I press my lips together, but I can’t mask a smile.
