Hooked (43 page)

     “Yeah, I was surprised too
,
but when he told me yes
,
I took the opportunity.”

     “Well, that should give Millie plenty of time to practice her jump shot then.”

     Leave it up to my dad to find a way to be on my case about basketball over Christmas vacation.  Cash looked at me and smirked.  He wasn’t used to having parents on his case
.
I
n fact
,
he hadn’t had anyone tell him what to do in a very long time
.   After we finished eating
,
I got up from the table and grabbed mine and Cash’s plates to put in the sink. 

     “Alright, we will clean up later, are y
’
all ready for
presents
?” I asked while everyone laughed at me.

     “How do you stand this?  I mean, we don’t have a choice man, but you don’t have to deal with this.  Save yourself
,
man.”  Eli teased Cash.

     Cash started to respond
,
but I cut him off.  “Mom, have you had that talk with Eli that you mentioned last week?”

     “What?  What talk?”  Eli asked.

     “Well, mom and I got to talking about how you’re growing up little brother and well, you know…the talk,” I put my hand up to my mouth and whispered the last part.

     “Son, I was thinking maybe we could go to a movie or something during your vacation.  We hardly ever get to spend time with just you and
I
anymore
,
”
m
om said.

     I looked at Eli’s panic stricken face and then glanced at my dad who was telling Eli with hard eyes and one cocked eyebrow
,
that he would in fact
,
be accompanying my mom to that movie.  Cash was laughing under his breath as he pulled me near and whispered, “MAD=1, Eli=0.” I giggled
,
but it was short lived because Eli started his sentence.

     “Well actually mom, I kind of had a lesson in all of that—
”

    
“Eli, I forgot that I needed your help bringing in one of Millie’s gifts.”  Cash hit him on the shoulder
,
but only hard enough for me and Eli to know why. 

    
I could have killed him.  That
dillhole
was
gonna
rat us out about the weekend.  I knew Cash was going to call him out
once they were outside
because we were exchanging gifts privately.  Cash led him out to his car and usually I didn’t want Cash to scare him
,
but today I was all for it.  He deserved it.  T
en
minutes later
,
they came back
inside
,
sans gift and Eli gave me a dirty look.  I just smiled because I knew Cash had threatened him.

     “Millie, you can hand out the presents this year,” dad said as he leaned back against the couch
. 

    
I planned on
handing out
one gift at a time
,
but my excitement soon took over and before I knew it
, I had everyone’s gifts divided up and setting in front of them.
I could tell by everyone’s face that they were not surprised one bit by my lack of control. 
I look up sheepishly and mom said, “Looks like it’s a free for all this year.”

      “Sorry, I guess I got ahead of myself.”

     We all started opening our gifts and within ten minutes
,
we had them opened with paper and ribbon all around us.  Eli was excited because of course he got a hunting rifle that he wanted along with new video games and clothes.  Dad got
mom some earrings and perfume, which she loved.  Mom got dad his usual hunting gear.  I was a little surprised this year because they bought me a new computer.

     “We knew you would need a new a laptop for college,” mom explained as I ripped open the box.

     “Wow!
T
hanks, this will definitely come in handy.”  I looked
at Cash who was smiling at me.  “What did you get?”

     “I got a wallet, a cool pocket knife and a University of Tennessee
hoodie
.”

     I started laughing, “Mom, were you trying to drop a hint?”

    
“Maybe just a little one
.
”
S
he winked.

     “I guess mom wants you to go to college with me,” I said smiling.

     “Well, how about I wear it in support of you?”

     I guess his response was predictable.  I mean, I didn’t really expect anything different, I guess I just hoped.

     “That sounds great.  You’re going to need some more
yellow
though,” I try to tease
.
 

     Eli loved his plaid shirt and his CD’s.  He got excited when he opened them.  “I th
ought you already had these,” I said when I noticed his excitement.

     “I lied
.
”
H
e winked at me.

    
“Dork.”

     We sat around for a while and talked about everything we got and how much we all
loved
what we got.  It was truly a great Christmas.  Cash and I had already decided that we would exchange gifts privately.  I didn’t really care either way
,
but I knew I wasn’t giving him those boxers in front of my family.  After I helped mom clean everything up in the kitchen, Cash and I went to his house to have more privacy.  When we got to his apartment
,
he unlocked the door and
gestured
for me to go in ahead of him.  I was so excited to see what
presents he picked out for me
because he hadn’t once asked me what I wanted.  He kept everything from me and I’m
fairly certain it was his way of torturing me. 

     When I walked in
,
I was quickly brought back to reality because there were no Christmas decorations anywhere.  He didn’t even have a tree up.  I told him I could bring a small one over
,
but he told me not to worry about it.  We had just left my house which was all lit up with the remnants of presents everywhere and here, nothing.  I turned around and smiled back at him.

     “Are you ready for your gift
s,
sweetheart?” 
H
e smiled because he knew the answer to his own question.

     “I’ll start because I’m ready to see your face when you open yours.”

     I had four gifts for him
,
so I handed him the shirt first.  He opened it and smiled.  “I like it, thank you.”

     “You are welcome, I didn’t know if you would wear it because I bought it
in the mall where I shopped for Eli,” I teased.

     “I’ll wear anything you get me
,
plus it’s my two favorite colors, black and gray.”

     I could see that he had two gifts for me
,
so he handed me the first box.  I opened it greedily and threw the paper behind me.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  He bought me the gray UGG boots I had been wanting.
 

    
“How did you know I wanted these?” I asked while taking them out of the box to try them on.

     “I have my ways.”

     “Jess told you because she is the only person I said anything to, that little sneak.”

    
I grabbed two more gifts and handed them to him.  He opened the cologne next.  “Are you trying to tell me something
,
Mil?”

     “No
,
I wasn’t saying you stink, I just think you having this on…yeah, I won’t be able to resist you
,
” I teased him.

     He opened the bottle right then and there and dabbed some on.  I started laughing at him and leaned over the boxes to give him a kiss.  “Okay
,
okay, open this one next,” I said handing him the watch.  He opened it and looked at it for a long time.  He turned it every
which way and notice
d
the engraving.
  He read it and then looked up at me.

     “I kind of took the idea from you when you got me my necklace.  I like the idea of having my thought at the exact moment I bought it for you on it forever.  It’s simple
,
but true, I put forever on it because that’s how I feel about us.”

     “Wow, I don’t know what to say.  The truth is
,
this is the best gift I’ve ever received,” he winked, “besides my birthday present
,
”
he said wiggling his eyebrows.

     “Ugh, you’re never going to leave that alone are you?”

     “I’m serious, though, this is one of the best gifts ever.   I’ve never owned a watch before.”

    
“Never?”

     “Never
,
I guess time was never important to me.  That’s changed now though because when I’m not
with you
,
time passes so slowly.”

     “I’m really glad you like it.”

     “Okay, now for your last gift
,
”
h
e said as he grabbed the bag.

     For some reason
,
I didn’t rip into this present.  I don’t know if it was because it was my last one or if it’s because I felt some kind of weight with it.  I picked the paper out of the bag and opened the box it was in.  I held my breath for a moment.  It was a plain
silver
band.  I picked it up
,
looking at Cash as I did.  On the inside of the ring was Cash’s name.  I inspected it closer and realized that it was Cash’s signature.  Somehow
,
he had signed his name and they engraved it.  I held it up and looked over to him. 

    
“I love it!  It’s so unique.”

     “I wanted to get you something that shows how important you are to me.  You know I don’t have much in the way of…well, anything.  All I have is my word.  You know I keep it
,
right?”  I
nodded
my head because I wasn’t sure what he was trying to say or where he was going with this.  “I thought about our futures and how we are going in separate directions even though we don’t want to.  That brought me to signing up for the Army and how big of a commitment I will be making just by signing my name on a piece of paper.  My signature is the thing that binds that contract and without it
,
I wouldn’t be able to get in.”

     He took a deep breath and because I was so entranced in what he was saying
,
I did too.  “I put my signature on that ring for you as a commitment to you.  I don’t know what is going to happen in the future
,
but I promise you that whatever happens
,
I’m coming back to get you.  We will be together, I feel it.”

      Alright, so those tears I wasn’t going to cry earlier…they just ran down my cheeks.  I couldn’t help it.  This guy, the guy I loved and knew was the one for me
,
felt the same way about me.