Page 23 of Wrapped Up In Tinsel

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

I waved and waited as he hurried inside. The thought of staying in my empty house weighed heavy on me, and I knew if I stayed here any longer, he’d notice when he came back out to go to his parents’. I started the car and drove back to my parents’, and for the next few hours forced myself to focus on them and enjoy my time. Because he was right, they were good people, and thiswasa nice way to spend the day.

Finally, at six o’clock I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t think Garrett would be home, but I wanted to drive by his house to check. He’d sent a few texts with pictures of their dinner and his relatives, but he hadn’t mentioned when he planned to be home. “I think I’ll be heading out,” I said, and Dale rolled her eyes.

“You mean you think you’ll be going to Garrett’s house,” she said and laughed.

“Possibly.”

“He’s very nice,” she whispered. “I know Mom and Dad thought he was great. Except for the fact that he’s crazy competitive.”

“Yeah, he did warn me,” I said and barked out a laugh.

“He’s very nice, not bad to look at, and his enchiladas were delicious,” Mom said.

“Mom!”

“What? It’s true, isn’t it?” she said to me with a pat on the cheek and a wink.

“Yeah, it is. I think I’ll stop by and see if he’s at his house before I go home.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Mom said.

I had just pulled up to his house when his car pulled into the driveway. He smiled and waved to me before getting out of his car and rushing over. “I was hoping you’d show up. Come on inside.” He handed me Teddy, before unpacking a couple of bags from the back of the car.

“I didn’t think you’d be back here already. I was just stopping by to check before I went home.”

“Come inside. We ate and I kept falling asleep. Mom told me to go home and go to bed but not before she gave me a week’s worth of leftovers,” he said and held up one of the bags that I now knew were packed with food.

“I might have packed an overnight bag,” I admitted and hoped he didn’t mind.

“Good, because you’re not leaving until at least tomorrow night,” he said, not missing a beat, and hurried over to unlock his door. I set Teddy down as soon as I was inside, and he went right to his bed. “He’s worn out, he can only handle being passed around for so long.”

“What about you? Are you still tired?” I asked and stepped close enough to loop my finger in his belt loop.

“I think I can stay awake a while longer,” he said, and leaned in to kiss me.

“Good, because I need to work off some of the food I ate today, and I have a perfect way to do it.” He laughed at that and grabbed my hand.

“Come on then, no time like the present,” he said as he pulled me along to his room.

Twenty-Four

Garrett

Thanksgiving passed and thetwo of us grew closer and closer. When he left to go home, I had to resist the urge to tell him to stay longer. I knew he needed to go home sometimes, but I missed him so much when he was gone. And if the way he showed up so many times, when I was least expecting him to, told me anything, it was that he felt the same.

Christmas would be here in a week, and I had received another cake each week since the first. Now I was waiting for it, even if I still had no clue who it was. Jess, my sister, swore she didn’t know anything about it, and Steve didn’t seem the type to do that. I’d finished my shift and was driving home when he called me.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked.

“Just waiting for you to call.”

“Well good thing I called,” he said and chuckled. “Feel like getting dinner?”

“You know it. What sounds good?”

“How does Chinese food sound?” he asked.

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