Chapter 15
"I want my
present!" Justin whined.
"A little impatient aren't
we?" Meredith responded in a
motherly tone.
They both sat Indian style on the
bed facing each other. Meredith reached
over the side of the bed where she had dropped her bag. She pulled it on to the bed and placed it in
her lap. She searched through it and
gasped. She looked up at Justin
wide-eyed.
"I forgot it." She said stunned.
His shoulders slumped and his
mouth opened slightly in disappointment, "You're kiddin?"
"YUP!" She smiled and
pulled out 2 small presents and a medium sized envelope. She handed him one of the presents and he
looked at her and smiled. HE immediately
ripped open the package. It was a CD.
"OK, before you go
crazy. I know you already have every CD
ever made. But you DONT have this
CD. Believe me, I know, because I made this
one myself. It has all our songs on
it. Some of them are stupid and some
have a lot of meaning. I liked the cover. Lance actually gave me the idea to make a CD
sleeve with pictures of us. I just thought it was something you could keep with
you and listen to whenever I'm not around.
I have one too. I listened to it
all this week while I was at home."
She shrugged and shyly looked down at her hands playing with a loose
string on the comforter of the bed.
Justin put a finger under her chin
and lifted her head. Her eyes remained
turned down.
"I know its
a little corny but-" Before she could finish Justin's pout was lightly
caressing hers. His hand came up and
cupped her cheek. When he pulled away he
looked at her adoringly.
"It's perfect. Hehe, JC told you I
wanted this didn't he?" He chuckled
and pulled back a little further.
"Yeah, he told me you wished
there was a CD of "our songs."
So, I made one." She smiled
at him and put the next present in his lap.
He smiled like a little kid and ripped it open as well. He found a box and opened the end of it. He pulled out something wrapped in bubble
wrap. Justin carefully took the bubble
wrap off and before even looking at the gift started popping the wrap.
"You are such a 10 year
old. Look!" She pointed at the gift. He looked at it and immediately smiled.
It was a wooden frame that he knew
would look great in his bedroom. The
picture was of him and Meredith snuggled up together both fast asleep. He was on his back with one arm around her
shoulders and his hand rested on her side.
She was laying on her other side with her face resting on his shoulder
and her hand gently lying on his chest.
His other arm was bent and his hand covered hers on his chest. It was probably the best picture he had ever
seen. At least to him.
He began laughing and leaned over
and kissed her forehead, "I think you are drooling."
"Probably
so.
With you around it kinda just happens." She
smiled sweetly.
"I love this, M. I really do.
I know exactly where I'm putting it.
Right by my bed." He ran his fingertips across the frame and
set it beside him on top of the CD.
"Well...." He started, eyeing the envelope.
"This one? This one I
explain. I know how you hate it when
people put your birthday and Christmas presents together. But I have to do this, because its a HUGE,
GIGANTIC, 'Nothing- can-top-this' birthday present that kinda
needs to already to be given for us to be ready when it actually
occurs."
"YEAH!" He put his hands in
the air and rooted.
She handed him the envelope and he
opened it while she talked. "OK,
you know how you have the 2 weeks off around your birthday?" He nodded and she continued. "Well, we
are going on a trip. Just
me and you."
He smiled brightly and amazed,
"Where?"
"
"I know,
it will be a lot of time traveling. But
we will fly to
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Justin exclaimed.
"Yeah. Just
you and me. I'm trying to get it
so that we don't have security. But no promises yet. You know how people are in
Justin shook his head at the plane
tickets and reservations in his hands that he had removed from the
envelope. "No one has ever done
anything like this for me before."
He paused still in shock and looked up at her. "Guess
what?"
"What?" She asked.
"I love you. I love you more than anything else. I love you.
OH, by the way, I love you. And one
more thing, I love you." He tackled
her in a hug and pinned her on to the bed.
He immediately started kissing her lightly.
"Did I mention I love
you?" He asked between kisses.
"Yeah,
several times. And the feeling is mutual." She kissed him back and placed her hands on
his face and pulled him away.
"So you like you
gift?" She asked seriously.
He propped himself up on his
elbows above her and looked down at her face.
"1st of all, having you come here for Christmas is worth about 100
Christmas presents. The CD and picture I
love. And I'm utterly speechless about
the trip. It's going to be sooo much fun. A
little romantic raundevue with the only girl I will
ever love."
"Good answer." She nodded her head.
"Angel..." He leaned
down and nuzzled her neck like he knew she loved.
"Yeah..." She whispered.
HE brought his mouth to her ear.
"You are the most amazing person I have ever met. I never EVER want to be away from you."
"I love you Justin. You know I always will." He lifted his head to hover above hers as she
finished, "I always have. From the
first day I met you and you were playing basketball. I remember when I looked into your eyes I got
lost. I've had never felt like that
before. And every time I'm in the same
room as you I get that feeling back.
It's something I'll feel until the day I die."
"Are you trying to out do
me?" He giggled as he rested his
cheek on her chest.
She brought a hand up and started
massaging his curls. "No, I'm just telling you how I feel."
"I think we might need to go
downstairs. I bet my mom thinks that
I've taken advantage of you."
Justin sighed against her.
"YOU HAVE!" She exclaimed, he just laughed with her.
After a few minutes she sat up and
he was forced to do the same. "It's
Christmas Justin. Let's go spend it with
your family." She stood up and
offered her hands. He accepted and
followed her downstairs; happy that he would be able to spend Christmas with
the only person he wanted to.
--------------
"So I see you two are still
alive."
"Yeah, we are
alive." Justin mumbled and brought
Meredith close to him. He turned to her;
"You want some hot chocolate?"
"MMM that sounds good. Lets go!" Justin took her hand and led her into the
kitchen. He pulled out the instant packs
of hot chocolate and started boiling water.
Meredith leaned on the counter and wrinkled her nose at him.
"What?"
"You make it with
water?" She asked almost gagging.
"Yeah that's how it says
to." He said pointing to the little
packages.
"OH my gosh. I have to teach you a thing or
two." She walked to the fridge and
pulled out whipped cream.
"MEREDITH! My family is here, I don't think
so." Justin chuckled.
"OH my gosh. Could you get your mind out of the gutter
please?" She pulled out the milk.
"You have any sprinkles or
ground cinnamon?" He walked over to
a cabinet and pulled out container of cinnamon.
She smiled and took the two mugs and poured milk into them. She then walked to the microwave and warmed
up the milk for 2 minutes. He looked at
her questionably.
"I know what I'm doing. You can turn off the stove now. We won't need the water." She smiled smugly and watched him as he
grumbled and turned off the stove. The
microwave buzzer went off and she removed the two coffee mugs with steaming
milk in them. Justin appeared beside her
and watched her work. She poured the
cocoa mix in both of the mugs and stirred until they were both perfectly
mixed. She grabbed the whipped cream and
shook the can. Meredith looked up at
Justin and he wiggled his eyebrows. She
ignored him and topped the mugs with the whipped cream. She then sprinkled the cinnamon on the
whipped cream and picked up her mug. She
took a sip.
Meredith jumped up on the counter.
"Mmmmm, now that's good." She nodded to his mug. "Try it."
He cautiously brought the mug to
his lips and took a long gulp. He closed
his eyes because the warm liquid felt so good and sweet going down his
throat. He pulled the mug away and
sighed.
"That's awesome." He opened his eyes and looked at her laughing
face.
"You have whipped cream on
your nose, sweetheart." He crossed
his eyes and pushed his lips together, making a goofy face to try to see
it. He brought his hand up to wipe it
away but she stopped him.
"I'll take care of
that." She leaned down and kissed
him on the nose taking the cream with her.
She smiled, "All
better."
"Nope, not
quite." He smirked and placed his mug on the
counter. He stood in front of her and
parted her knees. He stepped in between
them and put both hands on the counter beside her hips. She raised an eyebrow.
"You have a little whipped
cream on your lips." He whispered
inching towards her.
"No I don't." She giggled.
"I know, but don't tell
anyone." He crushed his mouth to
hers and she immediately sat down her mug.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his
waist. He leaned in, to get as close as
possible to her.
She was confused at the way this
kiss was different from the rest.
Maybe it was the way he tasted
like chocolate and whipped cream with a hint of cinnamon. Maybe it was the fact that he had his hand
under her sweatshirt gently running his fingers across the skin of her lower
back. Maybe it was the way his lips were
consuming hers. Maybe it was the way his
tongue thrusted seductively throughout her mouth in a
set rhythm. Maybe it was the smell of
his cologne that she had become addicted to.
Maybe it was the feel of his tamed, yet soft curls in-between her
fingers. Maybe it was the way he would
once in a while mumble something against her mouth. Maybe it was the holidays. Maybe it was because she had these feelings
she kept trying to push down every time she saw him. Maybe it was the fact that her desire to make
love with him was growing with every second and she was become insanely aware
of it.
She was losing control.
"EWWW. Justin let her
breathe!!" John's voice echoed in the kitchen and through their
brains. Justin stopped mid kiss and
slowly pulled away. He turned to his
brother and kept his eyes closed.
"Jon, go in the den. We will be there in a minute. OK?" John ran back into the den with the rest of
the family.
Justin sighed and rested his head
with his still closed eyes on her shoulder. After a few minutes of still holding her he
spoke.
"What did you put in that
cocoa?" He whispered then giggled.
She shook her head in shock and
stared at the sink on the other side of the room. "Huh?"
"Meredith are
you OK?" He lifted his head and
rested his forehead against hers. Her
eyes were glassed over and unfocused. He
looked at her and chuckled.
"What is it?" He giggled.
"I..I..I
just scared myself. I need to be more
careful when I'm with you, that's all." She blinked a few times and smiled a forced
smile at him and scooted over so she could have some room to get off the
counter. Justin quickly stepped in her
way.
"Something's
wrong." He looked at her with
concern.
"I'll tell you later
OK?" She kissed him quickly on the
lips and jumped off the counter. She
grabbed his hand and pulled him.
"Come on. Your family is waiting." He sighed and let her drag him into the
living room. She sat down on the couch
and Justin sat right beside her staring at her. She was already in deep conversation with
-I wonder what is wrong. Damn, she is beautiful. Just look at her. I'm so in love with her. -
Justin smiled to himself and
leaned over and kissed her temple. She
turned and smiled at him genuinely and he immediately felt better.
Justin leaned back on the couch
and wrapped one arm around her shoulders.
Besides the fact that something was bothering her, he was happy. Perfectly happy.
They spent the rest of the evening
talking, listening to Jon tell about and play with his new presents. Meredith gave Jon and Lynn and a few other
family members gifts. She liked her
boyfriend's family. They were actually
still quite normal. They never treated
Justin like he was a superstar. She
loved them for that. It was exactly what
he needed.
Soon everyone was singing
Christmas carols together. Meredith found out that it was a tradition in their
family. While most everyone crowded
around the piano while
-------------
Justin flicked on the light of his
kitchen and immediately walked to the refrigerator. Meredith sat on one of the barstools and
watched him as he scanned the frige.
"J, I feel bad. Don't you think you should be with your
family right now?"
"Actually, I bet my
grandparents are asleep right now. Mom
and dad are in their own world snuggled on the couch. Jon is in his room playing with his new
toys. So right now I would be with my
brother getting tired of him and his Pokemon, or I'd
be by myself. Besides, I have to give
you YOUR presents."
"AHHH, presents with an S.
That's pural."
She smiled and slipped off the barstool and walked over to him still in
front of the refrigerator. She wrapped
her arms around him and rested her head on his back.
"What are you looking
for?"
"Something
edible."
"Justin we ate like 2 hours
ago. I can't believe you are still
hungry."
"Well, if someone would have
stopped touching my knee and poking me in the side and giving me this smile
that makes me melt maybe I would have stopped paying attention to her and ate a
little more." He pulled out a box
that had some left over Chinese in it and a can of Pepsi. He kicked the fridge shut and placed his food
on the counter. He pulled out a plate
and dumped the food on it and placed it in the microwave to warm it. He rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Meredith.."
"Yeah.." She mumbled from his back.
"Are you going to stay
attached to me like a leech all night?"
He laughed some more when she pulled away. He turned around and saw her hurt expression.
"So I'm a leech is that
it? I cling to you and suck out your
life." The microwave went off and
she opened it up and plopped the plate beside him on the counter causing a little
of it to spill.
He sighed loudly and grabbed her
arm before she was able to storm off. He
bent down so he was eye level with her.
His eyes were wide and looking in hers for forgiveness. "Angel you know that's not what I
meant. It was a little joke. I'm sorry it hurt you. Forgive me?"
She slumped
her shoulders. "I'm so stupid. I know that's not what you think of me, I
just, I don't know. I have a lot on my
mind."
He picked up a fork and shoved
some Chinese food in his mouth. He
swallowed it and took a long gulp of his drink.
"Does this have anything to do with the kiss this
afternoon?"
She was shocked. How did he know? "What?"
"Ever since then you've been kinda weird. One
minute you are distant the next you are all cuddly. Yeah it was a really intense kiss but, it's
not like we were having sex."
She stopped breathing and he
noticed.
"What is it?" He knew her.
This was weird. They would always
joke about sex but he had never seen her react like this before.
"Justin, while we were...I
don't want you to get the wrong idea. I
know you wont, but there is always a fear in me of
someone trying something on me."
"Like Dan." He said softly placing the plate in the sink.
She nodded and repeated him in a
whisper. "Like Dan."
"I'm confused, please
explain." He put his large hand on
the small of her back and led her into his living room. She gently sat down on the edge of the plush
white couch. He rested on the glass
coffee table directly in front of her.
He grabbed her hands and immediate started playing with them, moving his
long fingers in-between hers.
"I keep getting these
feelings Justin. Feelings I don't need
to have. Well I guess its OK to have
them but I, I kept thinking that one day I might act on them. And if that happens I don't know if I could
stand myself." She looked up at him expectantly.
"Keep talking. I don't have a
clue what you are saying." He
lightly laughed and continued looking at her worried face. She was avoiding his face and eyes. She was chewing on her lip furiously and her
eyebrows her merged in worry.
"I, well...You see, I
umm...gosh.."
She took her hands from Justin and rested her elbows on her knees and
ran her hands through her hair.
Justin placed his strong hands
around her small wrist to stop her.
"Meredith, you can tell me anything. You KNOW that. I won't judge you or think any less of you. Just spit it out!" He smiled at her.
She looked down at carpeted floor
below her feet. She said in a very quiet
weak voice, but it was audible. "Justin I keep thinking about wanting to
have sex with you and it scares me. It really scares me."
He smiled brightly and pressed his
lips together so he wouldn't burst with laughter. She finally looked up at him and shook her
head. "This isn't funny
Justin. Its not that I think it would be
bad to do it with you. I just; I've
always promised myself that I would wait.
Wait until my honeymoon. And I
keep getting these feelings like when you were kissing me today and I start thinking
that I don't care anymore. My mind and
my body are telling me two completely things and my heart and soul are lost in
the mix. I know its so cliché but,
Justin I need you to help me and try not to let me get carried away because,
well, I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to control myself much
longer." She sighed and rested
against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.
Justin smiled at her. She was amazing. He didn't know why, she just was. He got off the coffee table and walked over
to the Christmas tree in the corner of the large room. He studied it. It was covered in white, gold, and silver
ornaments. It matched the room
nicely. There were only 2 presents under
it. All the rest had been given already. Both of them were for her. He picked up the smallest one and laughed to
himself.
-This is the PERFECT time to give
her this one. -
He turned around and noticed her
still lying back on the couch but now she was staring at him.
"I'm sorry Justin. I know it sounds very trivial, but this is a
big deal to me. I know, I know. I'm just
a naive little child."
Justin walked back over to the
couch. "No, you aren't. And it's
not trivial. It means a lot to you, so
it CAN'T be trivial." He smiled and sat down beside her. He played with the small present in his
hands. She looked at it and he noticed
her looking between the present and his face.
He yawned and tossed the present at her.
"UH, thanks!" She giggled.
"I probably shouldn't have
thrown that." He thought out loud
and watched her intently as she opened the present. It was a very small package. After the paper was discarded she opened the
white box to only find a navy velvet one placed snugly
in it. Justin watched her face as it
turned from happy to straight shock. He
smiled to himself. He knew he had gotten
her the perfect gift and with her little declaration she had just made, this
perfected it even more. She nervously
opened the velvet box and opened her mouth in amazement. She placed the gift on the coffee table and
just stared at it. Her mouth began to
move and Justin smiled at her even more.
"I, I, I cant
believe. You, you got me a promise
ring." She said not moving her eyes
from the band of platinum in front of her.
It widen on the top of the ring and there was a
small diamond cross implanted in it. Justin picked up the box and her eyes
moved with it. He carefully took the
ring from the casing with one hand and slowly picked up her left hand with the
other.
"Angel, this is my promise to
you. This is my promise to one day marry
you. This is my promise to stay by your
side and be with you until the end of time.
It's my promise to wait for you.
It's my promise to always love you and only you." He slid the ring until it hit where her ring
finger and hand met. Her eyes were still on the ring. He pulled her hand up to
his mouth and kissed the ring feathery.
Her eyes left the ring and met with his.
Two quick tears escaped her watery eyes and she smiled at the man in
front of her. The man she loved. She took her hand from his and placed both of
them on the sides of his face. She
brought herself close to him, so that she was sitting in his lap. She looked at him with love and passion.
"I love you,
always." She locked her lips with
his and he wrapped his arms around her.
He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers never parting from her
wide-eyes.
"I love you too, angel. From this day
forward." He paused and gave a goofy grin. "For better for
worse, in sick-"
"Don't start that." She interrupted him and giggled. He leaned in for one more
sweet kiss and lay back on the couch, bringing her with him.
"I have 1 more gift for
you." She sat up.
"Well...." She looked at him like a little kid. He
chuckled and pointed to the tree. He
slung his arm over his eyes, a pure sign he was very tired.
"It's under the tree. It's kinda
heavy. Open it over there and I'll watch
your happy expression from here."
"You know laziness is a turn
off." She mocked the line he had
given her so many times as she walked over to the tree. She sat down on the floor and pulled the
large, heavy present halfway in her lap.
She easily tore off the paper and looked down at the gift. She smiled amazed and slowly turned her head
to look over her shoulder. Justin was
lying on his stomach and had both arms his bent on the armrest. His fingers were locked together and his chin
was resting on his knuckles. He grinned
at her.
"I can't believe you got it
for me." She shook her head and
turned back down to the gift. She ripped
off the rest of the paper and looked down at the framed photograph in front of
her.
It was a very large picture of the
North Carolinian coast. The sun was rising over the gentle waves and had casted an eerie glow on everything. The sky was an odd pink. The water looked almost gray. On the white sand were two figures, a male
and female sitting in the sand with their backs to the photographer. They were kissing each other lightly.
The professional photo was called
"First Kiss" and the two had seen it in a gallery in
"I love it Justin. I really
do." She said running her hands
over the frame, trying her best not to cry again.
"I'm glad you like
it." He smiled at her back. After about 5 minutes, she was still looking
at the photo.
"Mere, will you come over
here and snuggle with me. I'm about to
fall asleep and I want to in your arms.
You can look at the picture all the time, now COME HERE!" He pointed to himself and smiled triumphantly
when she placed the large picture back under the tree and walked towards him.
She stood above him as he turned
his body on the couch. Now he was on his
back. He simply spread his arms out and
above his body. He smiled a goofy smile
which she shook her head in return and laid down in his arms. He inhaled her scent and let out a happy sigh
as he held her tightly against him. He
kissed the top of her head and mumbled.
"This has been the best
Christmas. Thank you for coming
home." He smiled to himself. " You need to
be home with me, alone with me. Holding me next to the Christmas tree. Kissing under the mistle toe.." He began singing to her but noticed her heavy
breathing and content expression on her face along with her closed eyes. He smiled and placed his head on the pillow
behind him.
"Goodnight my angel. I'll love you forever and ever. Merry Christmas."
He whispered and soon was in a peaceful sleep.