Always There || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 189: It's You & Me

After opening what already felt like way too many gifts, I finally came across a box with Josh's name written on it. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that it wasn't from me, so that meant my mom had to have gone out and gotten something for him too. I pulled it out from under the tree and handed it to him. He stared back at me wide-eyed, flashing me a toothy grin.

"For me?" He asked. I nodded, giggling to myself.
"Of course for you." I said, placing it in his lap. He bit down on his lip, peeking over at my mom who nodded, motioning towards the gift again. He hesitated for a moment before finally peeling open the wrapping paper little by little, his face dropping when he could make out what it was.

"This is beautiful.." He whispered, picking up the camera bag and carefully inspecting it, finally stopping when he got to the strap, which had his initials embossed into the leather.
"Who's it from?" Mom asked. I smirked over at her to see her already smiling back at us. Josh looked through the paper, finally laughing to himself when he found the tag.
"From Santa." He said, his smile growing as he kept his eyes on the bag. "Well.. thank you."

I would have to thank her later.

"That'll be great when you guys go. Now you can keep everything together." He nodded, flashing her a timid grin.
"Thank you." He mouthed. She nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with all this stuff." I said, looking around at everything.
"You can take it all with you when you go. It's a new stage in your life, so.. what better way to start it off than with new things." I nodded, still unable to believe how she was able to do all of this.

"Well, I'm going to get breakfast started." She said, pushing herself up from the couch. "I'll leave you two alone for a little bit." I felt my cheeks burn, smirking up at her as she winked back at me, making her way into the kitchen.

When I knew she was finally our of ear-shot, I turned back to Josh who was still inspecting every zipper and pocket of his new camera bag. It was adorable to watch. His old one was torn to shreds, the strap of it just threads away from snapping.

He deserved this more than anyone.

"Was this you?" I finally asked. He bit down on his lip, trying to contain his smile as he peeked back over at me.
"Was what me?" I shook my head, playfully rolling my eyes as I motioned over towards my gifts. He shrugged, bringing his attention back to his bag again.
"These weren't from me. I gave you your gift last night, remember?" He said simply. "And I'm pretty sure the tags said from Santa, so.."

I crawled over to him, reaching up and pulling him into a quick kiss.
"Thank you." I whispered. He moved in closer, leaning his forehead against mine before kissing me again. I cuddled close to him, leaning my head on his shoulder as he showed me where he was going to put everything, and how much nicer this bag was from his old one. He was so cute when he got excited about something. I could listen to him talk for hours, about anything and everything.

"You know, Sam got me a camera." I said. He stopped, turning to me, his eyes going wide.
"He what?" My cheeks burned at his change of tone, suddenly wondering what the problem was.
"Y-yeah, he.. he told me that.. I should start filming my own stuff too."
"Well, that's.. that's nice." He muttered. I nodded.
"Yeah."
"And.. w-what about Jake?" He asked. My stomach dropped.
"What about Jake?"
"What did he get you?" I felt my heart start to beat faster, wondering if I should have even brought this up at all. I looked over at his gifts on the other side of the tree, knowing that I couldn't show Josh without him seeing Jake's letter. I decided to leave it be.

"He got me a journal to write in." I finally said. "And.. he showed me the first song he ever wrote."
"The one.. about you?" He asked. I nodded.
"Was it any good?" I could hear the subtle laughter in his voice now. I sighed, nodding as I peeked up at him.
"For a five year old, it was very good." He nodded, staying quiet for a moment.
"Well, that was nice of them."
"Yeah.."

"What did you get them?" He pried. I should have known it wasn't going to end just like that.
"I got Sam a new strap for his bass, and.. I got Jake some picks and a bracelet. Well, technically.. I gave him back his bracelet. I got it engraved for him."
"Oh.." He muttered.

"Can I tell you something?" I added. He nodded, peeking back down at me. I leaned in closer, whispering into his ear.
"Your gift was my favorite." He scrunched up his face, trying his best to hide his embarrassed grin and blushing cheeks.
"Really?" He asked. I carefully crawled into his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck, leaning into a long kiss.
"Really. I feel so beautiful when I get to see me the way you see me, and that's the greatest gift anyone could ever give me. You are so talented, so.. wonderful in every way, and I am so lucky to be yours."

He reached up, gently caressing my neck as he pulled me back into another passionate kiss. Flashes of the night before played over in my mind as his hands slowly made their way into my hair, kissing me harder. The fact that this whole time, we could have been like that, making me wonder that if we had been, would things have been different?

I quickly shook the thought.
Because it didn't matter now.
We were together and we were happy.

And now I couldn't even imagine a world where he wasn't the center of it.

I moved my hands down his chest, gently grabbing onto him, pulling him in closer when I noticed again. My dad's shirt. How badly I wished he could have gotten the chance to meet him. To meet all of them. He would have loved them. Though, I know if he was still here, the chances of Josh staying over would have been slim to none. But it would've been a fair trade.

I gently traced the letters across his shirt with my fingers, feeling myself start to daze within my daydreams of what if's and what could have beens.
"You okay?" He asked, gently brushing his fingers against my cheek, snapping me back into reality.
"Y-yeah, I just.. can I ask you something?" I finally muttered, feeling my heart start to beat faster. He nodded.
"Of course, what is it?"
"And I just.. I don't want you to think about it too much, I just.. I just really need your help with something."
"Jaime, whatever it is, it's okay." I sighed, holding my stare on him, wishing this wasn't something I had to ask of him, but I knew the less I was around Jake the better.

"I.. I just.. so, Jake has.. one of my dad's shirts too. And I don't.. I mean.." I stopped myself, not wanting to get upset after such a good morning. "I was wondering if you could ask him.. if I could have it back. He took it with him, and.. I just.. I want it back. I don't want anyone else in them. Just.. you." His face relaxed into a gentle smile as he ran his fingers through my hair, brushing it out of my face.
"Of course." He said softly. I leaned back into a long kiss until his lips curled into a smile.
"Thank you." I whispered.

"Jaime, it's you and me now, and.. whatever you need, if you are happy with me, I can forget about the rest. I just want everything to be okay with us, whatever that means."
"It is."
"So.. you're happy with your decision?" He asked. I nodded, my smile growing.
"Josh, you are the easiest decision I've ever made." I said, kissing him again. "And I will choose you, over and over again. So, hopefully you're happy with your decision." He nodded, giggling to himself.

And it was true.
That is until, he ever had another question for me.

But even if he had asked today, I knew that saying 'yes' to him would always be the easiest yes of my life.