Kisses Don't Lie

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I excused myself from the family gathering at about four o’clock and dashed upstairs. I grabbed the envelope quickly, just as the doorbell rang. He was here.

         “Lacey, door for you!” Dad shouted from downstairs. I skipped down each step until I reached the door. Thankfully, Dad left us alone.

        “Want to go outside?” I said. “It’s quieter out there.”

        “Sure, just make sure you put on a coat – it’s quite chilly out here.” He was so sweet! I pulled on my winter coat and a scarf I’d got for Christmas before heading out.

We took a short walk so we’d be away from people watching out of the window (mentioning no names).

        “So how was your Christmas?” I asked, breaking the silence.

        “It’s quiet, you know. Mum’s still in a bit of a mess from Dad.” He didn’t say anything else so I didn’t press him.

         “You should both come to our surprise party for Olivia,” I finally said. Perhaps there was another person that needed a distraction.

         “We could do that? I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

         “Of course, the more the merrier. You wouldn’t be intruding, Mum and Dad think you’re great.”

         “Thanks, I’m sure she’d appreciate a distraction.”

I pulled his hand into mine for reassurance, and then dug out the envelope.

      “Let me give you mine first,” he said, noticing what I was doing.

       “Okay.” He pulled out a square shaped package and handed it to me. It was thin so the shape gave away what it was. I wasn’t expecting the type of what it was though when I ripped open the Christmas wrapping paper.

Inside, was a CD – but not just any CD. On the cover was a picture of us being daft on the beach trip, and on the back was another picture of us on a ride at the theme park. Then I read the track list. It was a compilation of all of my favourite songs – even the b-sides. The first track was the one we’d been listening to on his iPod. I was lost for words.

      “Open it,” he said, laughing. I opened the case to find that the front cover was actually a booklet like the ones you found in albums from the shops. It turned the page to find he’d made pages with the lyrics of each song on, each having a picture of me or of us both as the background. That was when I saw the actual CD. It was a collage of many pictures of us pulling silly faces, me sitting on swings and lots of them were from our outings to random attractions like ice skating and paintball.

       “So much work has gone into this,” I breathed. “Thank you.” I looked up at him and saw he was grinning. He obviously liked my reaction.

I stepped on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. It was like the one at the park, filled with so much passion. I pulled away when it got too much. He looked confused, but then he smiled. We were on the same page – that was thankful. For a moment we had forgotten that we were playing a game here.

Then it was time for me to give him my present. To be honest, it was nothing compared to what he’d made for me and a part of me regretted not thinking about it more. But it was too late now so I handed him the envelope.

My heart seemed to pound in my chest as he tore the envelope slowly, trying not to rip what was inside. What if he thought the idea was stupid? He looked up at my anxious face and laughed. He was taking his time on purpose!

         “Hurry up and open it,” I moaned, not wanting to wait any longer. It was the wrong thing to say because he then tore it even more slowly so that I could hear every singe tear in the paper.

Finally, the envelope was open, and he was digging inside it to find the present. He pulled them out slowly, and then stared at them for a few seconds. Then he let out a thrilled laugh that made me laugh too.

          “You want to go back here?” he asked, bewildered.

          “Well, if you’re using the second to take me I won’t say no,” I teased.

           “You know, I think I might just take my Mum instead, if you don’t mind?” I felt my heart drop in my chest.

          “It’s your present – use it how you like,” I said, a little snappily.

          “Don’t be stupid Jennings; of course I’m taking you with me.” I grinned happily. It was going to be so much fun, because my present to Jackson was two bus tickets to the beach where he first took me out. The date was set for some time in the Easter holidays.

We hugged again, and he whispered something in my ear.

          “Thank you,” he said. “It’s a wonderful present.” I blushed happily and couldn’t help the tiny smile that reached the corners of my lips. He liked my present and that was all that mattered.  “I’ll take you back to yours and then go and tell my Mum about the party,” he added, before taking my hand in his.

          “Sure,” I agreed. We took our time walking home, chattering about what we’d done. When we stopped in front of my house, he made me face him again.

         “You look beautiful Lacey.”

He walked away before I could say another word.

Oh my gosh - I got 40000 reads :D That is like, the biggest achievement ever for me.

So I've had tests this week - got an A in Physics which is the biggest surprise ever. Like totally.

Anyway. My new short story. COMPLETED

It's called The Screaming Mind. Please go check it out. It would mean alot.

And don't forget Classed! That's a science fiction story, kinda dystopian. I update that one more frequently than this - as this is just a bit of fun when I want to write carefree :)

Anyway, Thank you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<3