Page 270 of Falling Backwards
It all makes me happy.I took her around my mom—and am doing it again on Christmas Day—and she wants to take me around her parents too.
“Yeah, I do,” I answer.
Now her look is longer than just a glance.Happy, too, she smiles.“They’ll be here in a couple days, on the twenty-third.You and I are going to your mom’s house on Christmas Day?”
“Yep.”
“Okay.We can see my mom and dad on Christmas Eve, if you want.Maybe after our little thing with our friends?”
I start to nod my approval, then speak on a sudden thought.“Or maybe they’d like to come with us to my mom’s?”
Maggie’s smile lights up into a grin I can’t help mirroring.She reaches for her phone.“Oh, I love that!I think they will, too, but I’ll text and make sure!”
I dig my phone from my pocket and say, “Cool!I’ll ask too,” despite knowing my mom will be beyond excited by this idea.
Indeed, in short minutes, we have a plan settled.
And I have my hands and knees placed strategically through gifts, scissors, and giftwrapping essentials, have the strings of my hoodie in gently tugging fingers, so I can come close to the beautiful girl who is saying she loves me and onto whose cheek a speck of green glitter has snuck.
I swipe at it with my thumb but don’t yet check to see if that takes care of it.Too busy saying I love her, too, and then getting kissed—and kissed well.
Priorities and all that.
—
Ah, Merritt’s.How I have missed thee.
While I wait for Maggie and the others to arrive, I gaze around.It’s busy as hell in here.Almost overwhelmingly so, honestly.The Wednesday night margarita specials plus the holiday goings-on have drawn quite a crowd.I was crazy lucky to be able to snag a corner booth for our group.Now I just need my people to join me so I’m not chilling all alone at this big table like a douchebag.
Not counting my brief visit with Jayden (whichdoesn’tcount, in my opinion), tonight is the first time Maggie and I will be back at the bar since Kyle came up.We’ve been looking forward to it.This place has always been one we greatly enjoyed and spent a fair amount of time in, even though we were irked to so often run into each other here outside of work.
I realize with a swooping stomach that this is actually the booth we sat in with our friends the night she first became afraid of Kyle.I sat next to her because she needed me close by until it was time to leave.
Since it’s currently just me sitting here, I’ve been planted in the middle of the curved seat.I look now at where the two of us were that night.I remember what she was wearing, and how she chewed on her straw and set my already tense nerves even more on-edge, and that I’d gotten the strongest urge to touch her where Kyle could see, and that she was right about dipping pretzel bites in mustard being delicious….
I can’t wait to see her tonight.Late this morning was the last time I was with her; she, Emma, and Joy spent the day together because they wanted to shop and take their time getting ready to come out to this thing.
In fact, they and Paxton should be here any—
“Dude, Luke, nice table!”that very guy’s voice cuts through the noise of the place.I look up from that empty spot in the booth and see my friend with his hands out in surprise.“I thought for sure we’d all be split up around the room!”
Grinning, I reach out, and so does he.We smack our hands into a brief greeting hold.“Yeah, good thing we didn’t meet up outside.”I give him a half-pointed look.
He sits.“You know, I heard what you said about the first to arrive getting a table instead of being cold waiting outside for everyone else, and a small part of me was like,‘Dang, my boy’s kind of a little bitch,’but then—”
A laugh bursts out of me.“Then you realized I’m at least a smart little bitch?”
He cackles and holds up his hands.“Yeah, man, I was too judgy!’Cause you were right that someone needed to claim us a table and that folks don’t need to be hanging out in thisballs-coldweather.”
“May as well have kept snowing.”
“For real.That was fun.”
Sure was,I think warmly.
“You ready to have a good time tonight?”he asks.
“Yep.”I shrug.“Not that I haven’t been having a great time elsewhere lately, but yeah, it’ll be nice to hang out here.”
