ball of energy that drifted through me relentlessly.
“The first time you saw me in the quad, you thought I was Chloë Grace Moretz, and when you asked me if I was related to her, I said I was often mistaken for Wednesday Addams. You stared, flabbergasted, but I just walked away.”
“Upset. Not flabbergasted.”
“Potato, potahto.”
“I never knew she played the role of Wednesday, you know that. I just thought you were gorgeous, but don’t stop there. Keep going.”
After a childhood of fitting in, I’d entered high school determined to stand out. To not be the “leftover” child from a long line of famous and successful people. The need to be different had ended up with me in my fair share of scrapes, starting political rallies in high school and painting mosaics on the side of buildings that some called graffiti. I’d purposefully magnified my dark hair, pale skin, and serious expression so that it was the opposite of the casual smiles and attitudes the majority of my siblings and cousins carried around with them. That was how I’d earned the nickname Wednesday Addams. It had been for good reasons. Way more reasons than just my looks.
“Remind me,” he prompted again, placing a kiss on my temple, drawing me again from the emotions and twirling spirals of my brain to us.
“The second time we met, at Ty’s after-party, you asked me out, and I told you that you’d be disappointed in Wednesday’s performance as Chloë, but you still brought me a Coke when you noticed mine was empty.”
“And listened to you talk to Ginny about photography while you had your back to me. Don’t stop. We’re almost to the good part.”
My lips tilted up at the corner ever so slightly. I’d been so rude. I’d put on my best Wednesday performance for him.
“The third time you saw me, behind my camera at the Fall Festival, you asked me out again. You said you didn’t want Chloë or Wednesday but were very much interested in getting to know Eliza Waters, which surprised me because I hadn’t told you my name.”
“And you said if I let you photograph me, you’d consider it. Then, you dressed me like a flower and posted the picture all over the school.”
I almost blushed. Almost. But I hadn’t thought he was genuine, especially after he’d known my name. Especially after he’d known who I was related to.
“The fourth time you saw me, I was in the quad again. You handed me every one of the fliers I’d posted around campus. You’d scrawled a question on the back of each one with your phone number, but you walked away before I could answer it.”
“It took me hours to do that.”
“I never understood why you didn’t just run them through a copier.”
“I wanted it to be personal. Me. To you.”
His messy, boy writing had promised if I hated him after our first date, he’d never bother me again. The sweetness of it had slowly sliced into the shield I’d placed around my heart, and it had almost made me call him. Almost. But his knowing I was Ty’s sister and Derek’s daughter had stopped me.
“Then, you saw me in my ROTC gear and couldn’t resist,” he said.
Just the thought of it brought a full smile to my face. He returned it with the one that made every single sound in my head come to a complete and absolute stop. Just like that day he’d smiled at me in his uniform. Looking so incredibly handsome. So proud. So muscled. So perfectly perfect.
“You jumped out of formation, which would have earned you a demerit if you hadn’t started singing that famous Top Gun song and all your fellow cadets hadn’t joined in.”
“It’s called ‘You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,’ and it’s by the Righteous Brothers, but I forgive you for not knowing, because it was that song and my amazing singing voice that swayed you,” Brett said, kissing me at the corner of the mouth, knowing I’d melt into him, and I did.
“Not your voice. But your abandonment. I’d never had anyone abandon everything for me.”
“I’d still abandon everything for you,” he said, kissing me with tenderness, the sweetness of it filling my heart with a sense of tranquility. He was my path. My whole world. My future. I was terrified the wall separating my two realities was going to crumble apart and cost me everything…cost me him…but I no longer had a choice.
The walls had to come down.
Brett
LOVE IS CHRISTMAS
“Why so scared that