Page 68 of Love Me In Color

The top of it was velvety. It wasn’t heavy and fit on the palm of my hand perfectly. I opened it, revealing a shiny, small, sparking ‘B’ necklace adorned with shiny rocks. It caught the light just right, sending a twinkle into my eyes. It was captivating.

“This is beautiful, Richard. But I can’t accept it.”

“Please, Blake. Stop resisting me spoiling you. It’s for your birthday.”

“I just…I don’t know what to say…”

“Just say you’ll wear it.”

“Okay…thank you.”

He pulled me in for a hug, and I hugged him back. Erik was hanging by the back of the room, eyes burning a hole through Richard’s back.

“I’d kiss you, but Erik is hanging behind to help me clean up,” Richard whispered.

“It’s okay,” I pulled away from him, relieved, pretending that Erik being here was the only cause to stop his kiss.

My feelings for Richard were conflicted. We had an incredible time the other night, and he even stepped out of his comfort zone for me. But right now, I was annoyed with him. He threw me a nice party, but I wasn’t shy about sharing why I didn’t celebrate my birthday with him. He had ignored me.

I walked out of the restaurant. My lungs cleared out the air in them. My eyes felt heavy. My smile was tired of pretending.

“Button!” Erik called after me. He jogged toward me, a small bag in his hands. I turned to face him, scowling. “What did I do? You have that angry look on your face.”

“You helped throw a party…for me…for the birthday I don’t celebrate!”

I groaned, hoping the memory would click in his mind. It took him a few seconds longer than it should have, but the recognition flashed in his mind, and his eyes darkened. A frown quickly replaced his smile. So much for never forgetting anything about me.

“Your parents’ divorce…” he whispered to himself. He took a step forward and grabbed my hand from my side. “Button, I’m so sorry. I completely spaced. Richard suggested the party since you’ve been working so hard, and I just…I just wanted to help.”

“It is what it is, Erik.”

“Well, here,” he handed me the bag. “Not a birthday present. It’s a peace offering for you to forgive me. I just happen to have hurt you and be begging for forgiveness on the day of your birth.”

“That’s not the loophole you think it is,” I said, taking the bag and rummaging through the tissue paper. My hand touched the pointy end of a box. I grabbed it and pulled it out. Erik tapped his fingers together, seeking approval on my face.

“I know you hate necklaces because it feels like they’ll choke you, but I hope you like this.”

I opened the box, and a glistening circular piece of metal caught the sun. There was a knot in my throat as I immediately recognized the item in front of me. It was a newer version, yet it almost matched the bracelet I gifted him for his college graduation. The one he still wore every day.

It had a little dome at the top of a flat button, and I was sure I would find an outdated picture of us in the middle.

Erik watched me intently, studying my reaction. The tears pooled in my eyes, and I was on the verge of losing control of my emotions for the millionth time since he came back into my life. I brought the dome to my eye and peeked to see which picture he chose.

When I gave him the bracelet, I had chosen our prom picture. It had been the only nice picture we had taken in years, and it felt fitting to reminisce about a chapter of our life that had closed.

He chose our college graduation. We stood next to each other with wide smiles, smiles that didn’t know what kind of future awaited us. If only twenty-two-year-old Blake had known that only two years after that, she would make a decision that would break her. My mom had taken the picture. We had decided to give our relationship a real chance just a couple of weeks before this was taken. Our parents were ecstatic.

It turns out that our graduation gowns had been dark blue.

Feelings that I was trying to suppress were coming to the surface. Erik pulled me closer to him. His thumb pushed away the tear that was rolling down my cheek.

“I’m sorry that I helped throw you a party,” he whispered, reaching for the bracelet. He gingerly grabbed it and clasped it around my wrist. “I’m sorry I got you a gift, but I hope you like it.”

His own tattered bracelet glimmered in the light.

“Thank you,” I managed to mutter as I pulled away from him. I climbed on my toes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

I didn’t say anything else and left him standing behind me. I took a peek back at him before I turned the corner. He looked at me longingly. Full of hope. The nostalgic part of me wanted my heart to see what he saw. He optimistically saw a future in which we could make us work again.

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