| Easy Love By Tiffany Chapter: 15 The Smell of Christmas is in the Air... A few Days Later� Pacey wandered through the department store aisle wondering why he always waited until the last possible moment to go Christmas shopping. He was always subjected to being jolted, jerked and shoved as he tried to shop peacefully. He sighed as he picked up a dancing bear for his brother; he figured that his �in the closet� sibling would appreciate it. He was in the middle of serious debate on what to get Gretchen when he stopped short at the sight of the man at the counter. It was Dawson. He stood off to the sideline not sure why he was keeping himself hidden and listened to his friend. �Now what would you like the engraving to say, sir?� �Something simple but sincere� �I love you�.� He remarked testing the words. �Do you think that sounds too predictable?� The salesclerk simply shook her head. �A girl never gets tired of hearing her man say I love you. It�s the best three words in the world when it�s honest and true. Sometimes the most simple things make the biggest impact.� She smiled. �That�s what I was thinking. Okay go for it!� �Is this your first Christmas together?� �Yeah� as a couple.� �That�s so sweet. I�m sure she�s going to melt when she sees this.� He nodded. �I hope so. She�s worth it.� Pacey stepped back and away from the scene not wanting to witness anymore. It wasn�t that he begrudged Dawson his happiness� okay maybe he did a little. But it wasn�t because he didn�t want him to be happy, he just wished that it could be with someone else. This was getting harder and harder to fight and it scared him. The last thing that he wanted to do was to hurt Dawson or Andie by acting on his feelings. Their group was barely recovering from the last fallout. He sighed. What did he ever do to the Gods above to become a pawn in whatever chess game they happened to be playing with his life? The night before Finals� �And who was the American Playwright that shocked the nation with his play that held the nickname of �The door slam that was heard around the world�?� She asked. �That would be the German playwright, Henrick Ibsen and his famous play of �A Doll�s House�.� Pacey answered leaning back in his chair cockily. Andie smiled. �And one of his other works.� �That would be �Ghosts�. A story about secrets and misperceptions of the �idealistic life�. He hints at the taboo disease of dare I say it, Syphilis.� He shot back. �Nicely done. And that would conclude our session of Dramatic Literature.� She stated snapping the book shut and looking over at her penciled schedule. Checking off another topic she looked up at him. �That�s it. We have covered all of your classes and you are as prepared for this exam as I can make you. The rest will be up to you.� He sighed as he let the front legs of the chair settle back onto the floor. �Which means that I will most certainly mess it up.� �Stop that. Stop doubting yourself and what you know. We just spent the last month studying for your Fall exams and making sure that you did every extra credit assignment that you could and turning in all your homework in on time. There is no room for self-pity.� �What about when Spring term starts?� �I�ll be there to see you through that as well.� She remarked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. �You know you�re not alone in this.� �Thanks.� He whispered. She shook her head. �Now you are going to go home and get a good night�s rest for tomorrow.� She ordered helping him pack his bag and walking him to the door. At the last moment he turned back and stared at her. �I really appreciate this.� He moved in to hug her as she did the same and as he wrapped her in his embrace he breathed in her scent and pressed his fingers into her back. It was an intimate hug shared between old flames not just friends. And as they pulled apart both were aware of the intimacy. �You should go.� She stated quietly. He nodded. �Yeah. See you tomorrow.� As she shut the door she leaned against it and sighed. She jumped slightly when she heard the knock. She furrowed her brow as she opened the door and stared with confused eyes at Pacey. �What� what are you doing?� �Do you want to go for a walk?� He asked suddenly. �Pacey it�s almost ten. You should get some rest.� �I�m not going to be able to sleep. I�ve got way too many Chemistry equations and Dramatic Ironies going around inside here.� He said pointing to his head. �There is no way that I�m going to sleep. So what do you say?� When he saw her hesitation he sighed. �Come on Andie� please� just a short one.� It was when he gave her the puppy dog eyes that she relented. She shook her head. �One walk around the block and that�s it!� She stated resolutely as she grabbed her jacket off the coat rack. �One lap and I�ll have you back and ready for bed in no time.� He smiled watching as she stepped out into the night with him. The wintry wind hit her fast in the face and she shivered as they made their way onto the sidewalk. He strolled beside her silently for a few moments before he turned to her and broke the silence. �So the game is the day after tomorrow.� He stated. �I know. I was on the field earlier today watching them practice with Jack.� �How are they doing?� �They�re good.� She answered softly. �Jake is all over the goal posts. I mean he�s like this little Enforcer it�s amazing!� He nodded. �They have a great coach.� �They have two great coaches! And I don�t mean me. I�m talking about you and Jack. You both inspire such confidence and determination in them. They love having you there� both of you. And they can�t wait to see you at the game.� �I miss them too. Is it weird for me to be so psyched about this?� �You? Jack is having dreams about secret plays that he�s thought up and I tell you Pacey if I get another email from another parent asking me how practices are going I think I might excommunicate myself from the entire internet world as I know it. There�s this buzz around the field now because everyone is so excited and anticipating the game. It�s unreal.� She remarked removing her hand briefly from her coat pocket to brush a few strands of hair from her eyes and tucking it beneath her hat. �How are the kids doing?� �Oddly enough, they seem perfectly calm.� Taking in a deep breath she exhaled and watched the puff of air mingle with the cold winter in front of her face. �So Christmas is only a week away.� When she saw him nod she smirked. �So how many people do you still need presents for?� �What makes you think that I�m not done?� �Because I know you.� �It just so happens that I am done� technically speaking anyway.� �Which means that you�re what exactly?� �That I�m only half as behind as I was last year. So I think I�m doing a lot better.� �You know Pacey this can all be avoided if you would just sit down and make a list of all those that you want to get presents for and then make a reasonable budget for how much you intend to spend and then proceed to periodically purchase things as the month of December comes closer. But no� you would rather procrastinate until the final moment when stores are packed with maniacal shoppers looking to take your hand off if you happen to be reaching in the same general direction as the �Hello Kitty� doll they were looking at!� She rambled. �But see that�s where the fun is. What joy is it if I can�t make shopping a life threatening experience? It just wouldn�t be Christmas without those near death adventures.� When he saw her shake her head he sighed. �Are you honestly telling me that you have all your Christmas shopping done?� �Yes� since the day before Thanksgiving� well except for one thing but that�s because it occurred to me after I made my list.� He didn�t bother to ask assuming that the gift had something to do with Dawson. He would rather leave that subject alone. She sighed. �Leave it to be you that throws my entire shopping endeavor off course.� She remarked absently. His eyebrows perked. �Me?� �Yeah you! Who else�s present would boggle my mind until I thought I would go insane? Only you could jeopardize any kind of set criteria that I have.� A grin spread across his face without his control and he sighed. Draping an arm around her shoulders comfortably he shook his head. �Glad to be of help McPhee.� He retorted. She looked up at him and smirked. �You better be glad that it�s not refundable.� He wagged his eyebrows up and down at her. �Oh how I am!� |
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