by Jack Parker
"Shhhh." He shushed me, stopping so we didn't wake anyone up. He found it funny, the embarrassingly obnoxious laugh I had when I got tickled. I hated it.
He pulled out a present, wrapped in pretty pink paper, an ivory bow wrapped around it. I admired how beautiful it looked, "This is pretty." I looked at him suspiciously, "Did you wrap this?"
"I do hold some special talents." He grinned.
"Really?" My eyes widened in shock, it was the most beautifully presented gift I'd ever seen.
"No." He looked disappointed. "My mom did it." I smirked at him and he pouted, "Are you going to open it?"
"Okay, okay. You're so demanding." I teased, while I began to unwrap it. It was a plain white box, and when I opened it, I could only stare at it in awe.
"This is for me?" I smiled goofily. It was a beautiful silver necklace, and I adored it.
"Look," He leaned over to me, and held out the heart at the end of it, and flipped it over. Engraved on the back in beautiful script was 'To Heidi, I love you, Camdon'. He looked up at me and smiled a little nervously, "Is it too weird? I wasn't sure if you'd like it, but I wanted you to have a part of me close to your heart-"
I practically threw my arms around his neck, "Camdon, I love it so much." A bubbly laughter escaped from my lips, "I love you so much. It's perfect." I pulled back and kissed him intensely. Right as we were starting to get heated, Camdon moved away.
"There's still one more." He watched me, a satisfied look on my face as I put it on.
"I'll wear it always." I told him, "I can't imagine you having anything else. And I have one for you too." I smiled, happy I decided to bring it.
"You didn't have to get me anything-" He began to protest but I shook my head at him.
"Neither did you."
"Fine," He said, but I could tell he was excited to see what I got him. Camdon handed me another square present, this one a little bit larger, and heavier.
"You don't actually get to keep what's inside, but I wanted to make it special when I showed you."
I scrunched my eyebrows together, a little confused at what was inside. I couldn't figure out what it could possibly be, and decided it would be best if I just opened it. I eagerly took off the wrapping paper and stared curiously at the picture frame, a piece of paper inside.
My eyes grazed over it, not really sure what it was. "It's my copy of my letter of intent." Camdon explained to me, waiting to see me catch on. My eyes widened and I saw the Iowa Hawkeyes logo on the corner, and quickly read over the words, and saw him and the coach's signature. Camdon continued, "I won't get as much playing time freshman year as that school in Colorado, but they gave me more scholarship, because they're trying to keep kids in-state, and they have a big senior class graduating, so I'll get more time next year."
I looked up at him in awe, my heart soaring, happiness practically coursing through my veins. "You're going to play lacrosse at Iowa?" I asked in disbelief.
He nodded eagerly.
"So… you're going to go to the same school as me?" My voice cracked.
"Yes." He smiled, and began to give me a kiss.
"Wait!" I said excitedly, "I have your present. Which isn't nearly as good, but here you go." I rummaged through my purse and took out a wrapped gift and handed it to him.
"That I did myself." I said, gloating.
Camdon laughed, "It's very nice." He unwrapped the gift and stared at it in shock. "How… how did you get this?"
I watched him stare down at the football tickets I had given him. It was too the Rose Bowl, one of the best college football games of the season. "I kind of correlated with Tom. I hope you don't mind." For Christmas, Tom sent Camdon a plan ticket out to visit him, with a layover in Phoenix, so I could see him for a little while before he went back to Iowa. "I put two tickets in there, so you and Tom could go together. But if he gets to be overbearing, make sure you kick him out."
"You got me tickets to the Rose Bowl?" Camdon said, his voice almost a shout, "Heidi! That's amazing!"
"I know. I bought those things way in advance. Their really hard to come by." I shrugged. "Oh!" I told him, "And one more thing. Check your voicemail."
"My voicemail?" Camdon looked at me skeptically. I nodded eagerly, watching him go through his missed message.
I took Ella away that night at dinner, and had her call him off of my phone when I knew he was busy, and leave him a message. She had yet to really speak to him, so I had her wish him a Merry Christmas and tell him how much she loved him.
Watching the emotions run through Camdon's face reminded me of how much I love him. He looked at me in shock while listening to it, his eyes wide, but clearly elated. "Ella?" He asked me.
I nodded, "Yes."
"I really do mean it when I say I love you." And at that, he leaned in and kissed me.
*****
THE END
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
