coffee // joshler

45

tyler's point of view

after i clean myself up and pray that no one noticed or heard anything, i shove my wallet and my phone in the pocket of the hoodie i stole from josh and then go downstairs.

maddy, zack, tatum, and will are all sitting on the couch, talking about something im unaware of.

"we waiting for jay?" i ask, taking a seat at the end of the couch.

"yeah. p and mia are already asleep, so its just jay holding us back," tatum says, taking a drink of water.

"that reminds me. what are you guys getting pepper this year?" maddy asks, "i was probably just gonna get an outfit or two."

"that's fine. we're getting her a few toys and some stuff for her room. there's not much we can give her since she's so young."

"wait, what should i buy her? what should i get for mia? im so bad at this. i don't know what to buy for any of you," i sigh and run a hand over my head. ive always been bad at picking gifts, and i always feel horrible about it because i get such great presents each year.

"get p something that has to do with dora. she loves that show," zack answers now and i nod.

"what about your offspring?" i sigh and look back to maddy and will.

"get her a hat or something. she loves you, ty. it doesn't matter what you get her," maddy wraps an arm around my shoulder. "and i like jewellery."

"oooh, i want jewellery," tatum claps her hands togetger.

"and your husbands?"

"i could use a new wallet," zach says. "p has taken to chewing on mine when i leave it unattended."

"can i have a gift-card to your cafe?" will stands up and stretches. "and a pass to leave without jay?"

"you can always come by lemondrop and get whatever you want. you dont need a gift-card. ill go get jay since im riding with him anyway. you guys go ahead," i stand up and wave them off before i jog upstairs to find jay.

he's sitting on his bed, his x-box controller in hand.

"dang it, jay, come on. everyone already left," i tell him, leaning against the door frame.

"fine," he saves his game and turns it off, and then grabs his jacket and leads me to his car.

we all wander around the store separately, picking out things here and there.

i get mia a hat, as suggested, that i know will look absolutely adorable on her. pepper gets a stuffed version of boots from dora. maddy and tatum each get a bracelet, zach gets a wallet, and will gets a hat similar to the one i bought for his daughter. i buy dad a watch and mom a necklace.

but when it comes time to shop for josh, im clueless. i wander around the store until ive been down every isle.

i end up picking a new pair of shoes and a nice sweater. i feel bad for buying something so generic, but i cant think of anything else, so i decide to give up. i can always come back another time.

after we're all done shopping, we come home and hide our presents before we all pass out in various parts of the house.

i wake up the next morning in my childhood bedroom and sigh. who let me pick this wallpaper?

i shake my head and stand up, stretching my arms and letting out a yawn. i walk out of my room and see mia in the hall.

"well, hello, miss mia," i pick her up, kissing her cheek and lifting her to sit on my shoulders. she giggles and i smile. "lets go find mommy and daddy, yeah?"

i walk as carefully as possible until i find her father in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"hi, will. i found something that belongs to you," i come to stand beside him and his eyes light up.

"there's my baby girl! hi!" he reaches up and pokes her cheek. he looks back down to me, his smile still wide. "maddys getting ready and then we'll be good to go."

will and i make conversation until maddy comes in, her face made up and her hair done. "ready?"

when they drop me off, josh is waiting with jim on a leash.

i say goodbye to maddy, will, and mia, and then i leave them, my backpack slung over my shoulders. the two bags of presents i bought are stapled closed to prevent any peeking, but josh still tries to look into them.

"stop looking," i walk past him into the building, and he follows, laughing at me.

"im sorry. im sorry," he kisses my cheek as we step onto the elevator. "how was shopping, love?"

"i caught something," i sigh as we exit the elevator.

"what?" he opens the door for me when we get there and i immediately go to our bedroom to put the presents in our closet.

"baby fever."

he sits on the bed and holds his hands out to take mine. "all in good time, my dear."

"i love you," i lean my head on his shoulder.

"i love you. but i still want to know what you got me for christmas."

"im not telling you," i push him away and stand up. "and the bags are stapled, so ill know if you looked."

"im picking your presents up next week," he sighs and lays back on the bed. "which reminds me: my family is doing christmas on the twenty-sixth so you can come and we can still celebrate with your family on the twenty-fifth."

"what? that's so nice," i smile down at him, but im a little nervous about it.

"only if you want, of course."

"all i want for christmas is you."

(an: it is currently june but GOD I AM SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS!!!! also idk if its zack or zach but same thing and in another chapter i had jays name as jordan for some reason??? anyway i mightve missed it in other places but yolo)