For The Love of a Greaser
Chapter 34
Christmas at the Curtis House
As the night passed away, so came morning, light pouring from the ice covered windows of winter. It made it's way into every window of the house, skimming the skin of anyone it could reach. It even managed to drape Abigail's face in a vail of sunshine, slowing coxing her to wake from her dreams.
T
I groaned, burying my face into the pillow. Light had managed to pour into the room from the draped window, shining down it me. I had hoped to sleep a bit longer, but apparently it wouldn't have that. I realized something else as I laid there though, eyes closed. The warmth that Darry normally had was gone and the space beside me was empty. Although as I rested my hand where he had been, I could still feel a faint warmth. This made me smile as I laid there trying to go back to sleep. I figured that he'd likely gotten up to use the bathroom or something, but I wasn't sure. My question was soon answered though by the sound of footsteps, our door opening a moment later. It was then that I was met with a surprise upon opening my eyes. I found Darry standing there in a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was a bit on the flat side from sleeping, but the smile he had, it warmed my insides.
"Darry, what's this?" I asked, yawning as I sat up slowly.
"I figured I'd bring you breakfast in bed," he chuckled, walking over to me with a small tray in his hands, crawling back onto the bed beside me.
I looked down at everything, a warm smile pulling onto my face. True, I was still tired, but this made my morning to say the least.
"This looks delicious," I smiled.
"Then I did my job, but why don't you take a bite first, just to be sure?" he suggested, leaning back against the headboard.
I nodded my head, doing as suggested and took a bit. He'd made eggs, along with biscuits and gravy. I swear though, once the gravy touched my tongue, I was in heaven. It tasted just as good as it look.
"Mmm," I moaned, leaning my head back and licking my lips. "Darry, this is delicious," I told him, turning toward him. "Have you even tasted it?"
"Nope," he shook his head.
"Seriously?"
I couldn't believe that he hadn't even tried his own cooking and yet he was giving it to me to eat.
"Alright Mr. you're trying some of this wonderful concoction," I said firmly, raking some of it onto the spoon and placing it in front of his mouth. "Now, open," I instructed.
He just chuckled at this, but opened his mouth nonetheless, allowing me to feed him. He seemed to enjoy it though, so that was good enough for me.
"You're right, it is good," he breathed.
I laughed at this, before raising my hand and wiping the corner of his mouth. He tried to bite back a grin, but failed miserably.
"Thank you, for everything Darry," I said softly, placing the tray to the side and hugging him.
His arms were wrapped around me in seconds, returning my embrace.
T
After eating and sharing the meal that he had made me, we laid there for a while in each others arms, my head resting against his bare chest. It was a comforting feeling, having his arms wrapped around me, but even that had to end after a while once we hearing footsteps. That meant that the others were up now and no doubt the rest of the gang would soon be joining us. It was just sad because Johnny was still in the hospital, but once he got out, I promised myself that I'd take him out somewhere.
"Hey, get up, I wanna open presents," Soda called, knocking on our door.
"I guess we should get up then, huh?"
Darry sighed at this, but nodded his head reluctantly, sitting up on the bed. I leaned up and kissed his cheek before getting out of bed. He followed right behind me after that, not even bothering to put a shirt on, not that I minded of course.
"Come on," Soda whined, sitting downstairs on the couch in his pajamas.
"Hold your horses," Darry called, running a hand through his hair as he walked down the steps with me.
I found Ponyboy and Eden sitting around the tree trying to take a peak at things once at the bottom of the stairs.
"Eden."
"Pony."
Our voices came out simultaneously as we scolded our sibling, causing both of them to turn around nervously.
"Why don't you guys at least grab a biscuit or something?" I suggested, moving toward the tree.
Everyone groaned at this, but with one look from Darry, they all got up and grabbed something to eat.
"The soon you guys eat, the sooner we can open presents," I told them, laughing as I watched Soda try to stuff food into his mouth.
"Don't forget to chew," Darry chuckled, sitting down on the couch and pulling me onto his lap.
He just held me there, allowing me to lean my back against him. You wouldn't believe how at home I felt at this moment, just sitting there with him on the couch and watching the kids eat. At the same time, it made my heart ache to a degree. Then again, I felt my heart ache every Christmas, but of course this year was different. As I sat there, I thought about everything that had happened these last few months. So much had changed, for better or for worse, I was still happy.
"I wish things could be like this everyday," I whispered, turning my head so that my nose was pressed into the crook of Darry's neck.
"So do I," he replied, bringing my hand up and pressing his lips against my knuckles.
Even though it made my face heat up a bit, it still felt nice, leaving a smile upon my face.
"Don't get too hot over there," Soda joked, downing some more of his milk.
"Shut it, Soda," Darry warned.
Before anything else could be said though, Steve and Two-Bit came barging into the house, Dally following behind shortly after. That left the house loaded with people. Well, not exactly load, but still, it was officially a full house with the gang here.
"Hey, Dal," I greeted from my spot on Darry's lap.
"Hey there princess," he grinned, before dropping a little box in my lap.
"What's this?" I asked curiously, looking down at the small bow topped box.
To be honest, it was so small that it fit in the palm of my hand.
"Open it and find out," he told me, moving over to lean against the wall.
At the same time, Steve jumped Soda, tackling him onto the ground in a wrestling match. At that point, Eden and Ponyboy made their way into the living room and over toward the couch away from the two wrestling maniacs.
"You gonna sit there all day or are you gonna open it man?" Dally asked, lighting a cigarette.
"You know the rules Dallas," Darry warned, watching as he lit the cigarette.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Dally muttered, walking out the front door onto the porch.
"Well, open it," Darry nudged.
"Alright already," I laughed, pulling the ribbon loose, along with the wrapping paper.
I then opened the box, setting the lid down on my lap. I saw surprised to see what was in the box, that was for sure. It was a little charm, a cross to be more specific, with a small diamond in the middle. This made me smile because I kind of know why he gave it to me.
"Hey, Dally?" I called getting up from Darry's lap and walking over to the door.
Dally had left it open a bit so that he could hear everything, that's how I knew he could hear what I had said.
"Hold on," he told me, putting his cigarette out and placing it behind his ear.
Within seconds he was back inside and standing in front of me.
"Thank you, it's beautiful," I told him, wrapping my arms around his waist in a hug.
He returned it after a moment, carefully wrapping his arms around me. I could tell that he still wasn't used to it, but even around the gang, we all knew he was a bit different. Like with Darry, it was just a bit easier to show it when it was just the two of us.
"You're welcome," he finally said, letting me go and moving to sit down in one of the chairs.
"Alright, who's next?" Two-Bit asked, looking around at everyone.
"Why don't you grab that yellow package right over there?" I said, pointing to a decent sized one under the right side of the tree.
"Ooh, is it mine?" he asked.
I nodded my head, watching as he tore into a moment later. It was like watching a little kid on Christmas day. Actually, scratch that, saying that is a contradictory. It still as if he was a small child though, happy as can moment that he found out what it was, he jumped off the floor and tackled me in a big bear hug. I'd gotten him a new Mickey Mouse t-shirt, along with a metal Mickey keychain that was also used for a beer opener. One of Joe's sons works with metal, so I'd had it custom made.
"Man, I could kiss you right now," he laughed, hugging me tighter.
"Two-Bit, I'm glad you like it, but I gotta breathe," I told him.
He let go after that, allowing me to collapse on the floor by Darry's feet. Man, that boy was stronger than he looked.
"Alright, which one is mine?" Soda asked, ready to rip into whatever was his.
"Try the purple one," Darry pipped up, leaning forward so that he could rest his chin on top of my head, his arms draping loosely around me from up top.
I just smiled at this, resting my cheek against his upper arm, while my hands gripped his lightly.
"I wonder what it is," Soda mused, shaking the box.
No sound came from it though, leaving him curious. He then looked at Darry and me for a moment with a questionable looking, before finally ripping into it, throwing the wrapping paper onto the living room floor. After that, he tore the box apart, sending
Two-Bit into a fit of laughter. It was only made worse when Soda pulled out the comb that had been inside.
"Aw, you guys remembered," he said cheesily, but that was just him being silly.
"Hey, we could have gotten you underwear," Darry pointed out.
At that, Dally had to bite back a laugh, but it had nothing to do with Soda. No, it actually had to do with Darry.
"Why don't you open this then Dar," Dally suggest, tossing a package this way.
"Dallas!" I cried, giving him a look. "You really want him opening that first?" I asked, looking at him like he was nuts.
"Hey, you got it for him," he chuckled, a smirk pulling onto his thin lips.
"Fine then," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I won't open it if you don't want me to Abby," Darry told me, using my nickname.
It wasn't exactly something that he used very often. I don't know why, but he seemed to like calling me by my first name for the most part. That was neither here nor there though.
"No, go ahead," I told him. "Besides, I think Dally just wants a laugh is all."
You see, Dally had gone out with me when I got Darry's stuff, so he knew exactly what it was.
"Alright then," he shrugged, leaning back into the couch so that he could open it.
I tried to keep my composer as I sat there on the floor, but Two-Bit seemed to catch on, sending his eyes Darry's way to watch. He burst out laughing though upon seeing what Darry had pulled from the box, inevitably rolling around on the floor.
"Golly," Ponyboy choked out, placing a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Even Eden tried to stifle a laugh. Steve didn't really bother hiding his though, laughing out loud instead.
"Well, I wasn't expecting this," Darry admitted, holding the black and red material in his hands.
I'd given him a pair of black boxers with red hearts on them. Personally, I thought that they looked nice, but that was me.
"Hey, Superman, why don't you go put 'em on and show 'em off," Dally chuckled, before turning his eyes toward me.
"If you're not careful, I might actually start thinking that you like seeing me with practically nothing on," Darry commented, before getting up and walking over to the bathroom.
To be honest, I couldn't believe that he was really going to do it. Then again, he was among friends, so I guess it didn't really matter to be honest.
"Ponyboy, yours is the little green one," I pointed out, letting a yawn escape me.
As Ponyboy went to grab his gift, I saw Two-Bit whispering something to Steve. Steve nearly choked, before trying to cover up a laugh. He then turned to Soda and relayed the message, ending up in the same result, save for the fact that he now had a grin on his face.
"What are you guys whispering about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"N-nothing," Steve choked out.
"Which one is mine?" Eden asked, getting a bit impatient.
"The red on with the black ribbon," I told her.
She grabbed it immediately, ripping into much like Soda had, while Ponyboy took his time. Then again, he probably knew what his was, so that might have had something to do with that. That also meant he didn't want to risk tearing what was inside.
"I thought..." Eden couldn't really finish her sentence as she looked over at me.
For the last two years, she been asking me for a certain pair of shoes, but I never had the money to do it. She'd wanted these pretty low heel shoes with rose print all over them. Now, she held them in her hands, a smile on her face.
"Thank you!" she squealed, rushing over to hug me.
I couldn't help, but to smile at this. It'd been so long since she had hugged me and now, I felt a tug at my heart. How I had missed the little girl that was behind my sister. The sweet innocent young girl.
Our moment was ended though when Darry walked back out of the bathroom, clad in his new boxers. I could feel my cheeks heating up just a bit as I stared at him.
"Man, lookin' good," Dally teased, earning a dry look from Darry.
"Lay off Dallas," Darry told him, pulling his sweatpants on over them and taking a seat back down on the couch behind me like before.
I had expected as much to happen, but still.
"Hey, Two-Bit, give me that little blue one over there," I said, pointing to the one at the base of the tree.
"Alright," he laughed, before tossing it to me.
I swear, if I hadn't caught it, then it would have hit Darry.
"This one is yours Dal," I announced, tossing it his way.
He caught it in one hand, easily taking the wrapping off. The box itself was actually only a bit bigger than the one that he'd given me. He didn't really seem to care though about the size, tossing the lid on the floor. I watched though as the corner of his lips pulled and tugged into a small smile, pulling the object from the safety of the box. It was a Zippo lighter with a wispy feather design on it. I'd even taken to have his name scribed on the name space on the front of the lighter, but just Dallas.
"How much did this cost you?" he asked, holding it up.
"Don't worry about it," I told him, leaning back against Darry's leg. "Besides, I think it makes you look more tuff," I added, a smile on my face. "What do you think guys?"
"She's got a point Dal," Soda shrugged.
"Think of the looks he'd get with a lighter like that," Two-Bit laughed. "Ain't a Greaser around with a lighter like that," he exclaimed happily.
"I guess," Dally shrugged, but I knew he was happy. "Thanks man."
"Okay, now that that's outta the way," Two-Bit started, grabbing a red wrapped gift from behind the tree.
He was trying to stifle as laugh as he slide it over to me, catching everyone's attention.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Just open it," he grinned, biting back a laugh.
I gave him a wary look, but nodded all the same, pulling the ribbon and wrapping paper from the box. It was a clothing box, but that's all that I knew. I then took the lid off and set it to the side, removing the tissue paper. The moment I did though, my face went bright red.
"T-Two-Bit!" I cried, eyes wide as I held the clothing my hand.
The kid had given me a pair of black and red lacy panties and bra. I'd never been so embarrassed in my life. Everyone in the house burst out laughing to my dismay, save to Darry. His face was red as well as he saw the garments I was holding, so if that told you anything at all, then you knew he really was well mannered as I thought. What was worse though, was that the stuff was my size exactly. I was so going to kill that kid because it meant that he'd messed with my stuff at some point, either that or Eden had opened her mouth. Now that I thought about it, that made perfect sense.
"I'm gonna kill both of you," I pointed out, eyeing Eden and Two-Bit, whom were both grinning at me.
"Hey, Princess, why don't you go try 'em on?" Dally suggested, a smirk on his face.
"To hell with you!" I yelled, throwing the box at him.
There was no way in hell I was putting that stuff on for their amusement.
"It's lingerie for crying out loud!"
"Isn't that the point?" Two-Bit chuckled.
"You are so dead!" I cried, lunging at him.
At that point, we were both on the floor wrestling around. I was so pissed at this point, even though I was still more embarrassed than anything. He actually had the gal to pull something like that on me.
"You are terrible!" I yelled, smacking at his arm.
He merely laughed at this, continuing to roll around on the floor with me as the others watched, laughing at us. Darry just sat on the couch though, a hand over his face. He was still red and it didn't help when Dally opened his mouth.
"Man, I bet that'd be a real turn on in the bedroom, huh?" Dally nudged, making Darry's face go red.
"Damnit Dallas!" Darry yelled, pushing him away.
I never understood why the guys liked to torment us so much. They seriously got kicks out of doing it and it annoyed me to no end.
"Got ya!" Two-Bit announce, finally pinning me to the ground.
"Get off!" I yelled, kicking at him.
It did me little good though.
"Hey, Stevie, grab me that bra would ya?" Two-Bit chuckled.
"Oh, hell no!" I screamed, trying to squirm my way out.
Before I knew it, the bra was pressed to my front on top of my shirt, my face beat red.
"Would you get off a her!" Darry groaned, pulling him off of me.
After that, I slapped Two-Bit, but he just laughed it not. I knew he'd never be hurt by something like that, especially after what he'd done. He'd just laugh it off like always.
"Man, I wish I were you Dar, getting to see all that," Two-Bit howled with laughter.
I swear, my face was so red that I stomped off upstairs to our room, burying my face in the pillow. I had never been so embarrassed.
T
Darry watched as Abigail ran up the steps, her face redder than ever. If he had to take a guess, then he'd say that she'd never been that embarrassed in her entire life. Being around the gang didn't help matters either. He still couldn't believe that Two-Bit had given her such a gift. Something like that was only used for one thing and one thing only, private matters. That in itself made his face heat up. Yes, Abigail had gotten him a pair of boxers, but that was acceptable in his mind. What wasn't acceptable was someone giving Abigail something like Two-Bit had done. Darry wouldn't even do something like that to her, not in a million years. Not to mention, suggestive underwear was the last thing he needed to be imagining her in. Last thing he needed was her killing him for it. The whole thing was embarrassing for both of them, not just her.
"I oughta knock your heads in," Darry told them, standing up from the couch and walking up the stairs after her.
"Two-Bit, why'd you have to do that to her?" Ponyboy asked, looking up from his new book.
"Come on, you gotta admit it was funny," Two-Bit laughed.
"That may be, but still. I think that was a bit much, putting her through all of that. I mean, you know how Darry is about that stuff," Pony told him.
"Oh, come on, he needs to live a little," Two-Bit complained.
"Yeah. Besides, it's not like he was doing any harm by it. Just embarrassed her is all," Soda chuckled.
Even as he did this, Soda still knew that Ponyboy was right. Two-Bit really had no right doing that to Abigail after everything that she'd done for them. He also knew for a fact that Darry didn't appreciate being put in a situation like that. Darry was modest with things, he had more manners than the rest of them at times. Darry also respected Abigail far too much put up with something like that. After all, he loved her a lot, and that was something that Soda was all too aware of.
T
"Abigail?" I heard Darry call from the doorway.
My face was still buried in the pillow and I was unwilling to look him in the eye. I was just too embarrassed.
"You okay?" he asked, walking toward me, his footsteps echoing lightly against the walls.
"I'm fine," I mumbled, trying to stay hidden.
"Look at me," he said softly, sitting down beside me.
I just shook my head, still laying there on my stomach.
"Please?" he begged.
I swear, begging definitely did not suit him at all, not one bit. So with that, I pulled my face out of the pillow, looking over at him.
"You're red as a cherry," he pointed out, running his hand lightly over my cheek.
"I hate them," I muttered, plopping my face back down against the pillow.
"They can be a pain," Darry agreed.
"I just don't understand why he did that to me," I groaned, replaying the whole thing over in my head.
It was down right terrible. Two-Bit got a kick out of everything and this time, Eden had helped him with it. They seemed to think that the whole thing was just one big joke or something, but it wasn't, far from it. I wasn't comfortable with the idea that they were trying to put on. Yes, I loved Darry, loved being around him, even slept in the same bed as him, but still. What they did, that was going too far.
"Neither do I," Darry breathed. "Just to let you know though, I really didn't mind the boxers you gave me," he told me, putting me in a bit of a better mood.
"Really?" I asked, turning over onto my side to look at him.
"Really," he nodded, leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine in a soft sweet kiss.
I then wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him just a bit closer as he moved to hover over me, putting most of his weight on his elbows.
"How is it, that you always put me in a better mood?" I asked, pressing my lips to his.
"I don't know," he admitted after a moment, caressing my cheek gently.
I closed my eyes at this, enjoying the feeling of his touch.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered, pressing his lips to mine once more. "So beautiful," he murmured.
Hearing those words flow from his lips tugged at me, tugging a small smile on my face. Unlike others who had said that at times, Darry's words were pure and meaningful, touching my soul. He was sincere about the whole thing.
"You really think so?" I whispered, running a hand through his hair.
"Of course," he smiled, capturing my lips with his again in a spine tingling kiss.
I swear, the things this man did to me. If only he knew. Then again, I had a feeling that he might know because there was a chance that I did the exact same thing to him.
After a few more minutes, we heard the door push open, and before we knew it Sparky was on top of us.
"Sparky!" I groaned, feeling Darry's full weight on top of me now.
It didn't help because Sparky was probably about an extra 80 to 90 pounds.
"Get off," Darry groaned, trying to sit up.
This did him little good as Sparky laid there licking the back of Darry's neck. The bed wasn't exactly the easiest thing to push off on with Sparky on his upper back.
"Soda!" Darry yelled, turning his head away from my ear as best he could.
Within minutes, Soda was standing in front of the doorway, his face betraying his emotions. He thought it was funny as heck, Darry laying there on top of me with Sparky keeping us there. Personally, it was uncomfortable. Honestly, I could stand Darry's weight on top of me, but not what Sparky added to it.
"Oh, so you won't let me join, but you'll let the dog join?"
"Soda," Darry warned. "Get him off."
"Nah, I kinda like the look of this," he grinned.
"Darry, can you move an inch to your left?" I asked quietly.
He nodded after a moment, dragging himself to the left, his chest pressing against mine. I then reached my hand out, gripping the base of Sparky's tail and tugged. He whined a few times, but finally got off, allowing Darry to jump up and run after Soda. I just sat there on the bed looking down at Sparky, while at the same time rubbing my chest.
"Man, that hurt," I groaned.
It wasn't until I heard a chair being knocked over downstairs that I got up, carefully walking down the stairs. I was met by Darry and Soda wrestling around.
"Hey! If we're gonna do that, then take it outside," I told then, pointing toward the door.
This gave Soda just enough time to get away from Darry and run up the stairs passed me to his room. I could already see where this was going and walked back into our room, moving to grab another pair of sweatpants. If there was going to be a fight outside, then I was going to be warm.
T
"Come on, get him!" Two-Bit cheered, pumping his fist in the air.
"You can do it Soda!" Steve called out, a grin on his face.
Lord have mercy, these guys were nuts.
Darry and Soda were going at it just like they had inside, wrestling around in the snow. It was definitely a sight, that was for sure.
"So, who do you thinks gonna win man?" Dally asked, coming up behind me.
I jumped as his sudden presence, shoving him.
"Don't scare me like that," I groaned, turning back toward the little wrestling match. "I don't know, Darry probably," I shrugged, rubbing my arms for warmth.
Even with boots, two pairs of socks, two pairs of sweatpants, a sweater, and a jacket, I was still cold. I even had a hat on along with gloves. Sadly enough, most of the stuff was Darry's, if not all of it. I still hadn't gotten around to restocking what little clothes that I had, but I knew I'd have to do it soon.
"Hey!" Darry cried, causing me to look his way.
Two-Bit had just gotten him in the face with a snowball, the cold biting at his skin. Two-Bit merely laughed at this, holding his gut. He thought everything was funny for some reason. Then, just as I was getting ready to say something, I was tackled to the ground. When I looked, Soda was on top of me, knocking my hat off of my head.
"Get off!" Darry told him.
"Fine, but first," he didn't even finished his sentence, before putting snow down the back of my sweater, causing me to scream and push him off.
Unfortunately for him, I accidentally got him on the cheek, but he just rubbed it and laughed.
"I hate you guys!" I cried, shivering as I tried to shake it out.
Everyone was laughing at this, putting me in a sour mood to the point that I picked up some snow and threw it at Two-Bit, hitting him right in the face.
"War!" Steve cried out, scooping up snow and throwing it.
It didn't take long after that for snowballs to start flying all over the place. I found myself ducking behind one of the cars in an attempt at safety, before being chased out by Steve. Man could he throw.
"Hey, Abby!"
I turned toward Pony's voice, only to get a snowball in the face, watching Darry tackle him afterward in a headlock.
"Come on, Darry!" Pony cried, trying to get free.
That only happened after Darry was tackled by Soda, all three boys rolling around with Soda and Pony trying to get at Darry. I couldn't help, but to laugh at this, a smile on my face.
"Hey, Winters!"
"Huh?"
I got ready to turn around, only to be picked up by Steve, a squeal escaping my lips.
"Steve, put me down!" I yelled, squirming in his arms.
"Hey, guys, free for all!" Steve grinned, keeping hold of me.
My eyes went wide as snowballs came flying my way, hitting me all over the place.
"Let go!" I cried, elbowing him in the gut.
He let go after that, allowing me to drop to the snowy ground on my butt. I then threw my leg out and tripped him, watching him fall to the ground. After that, I tackled him, shoving snow in his face. I didn't get very far though, before we were both wrestling around. Just like the others, he had the upper hand because he was stronger than me, ending up in me being pinned.
"Got ya!" he grinned, shoving snow in my face in revenge.
"Darry!" I cried, trying to push him off.
It didn't take long, before Darry grabbed Steve and tossed him into the snow, pulling me up into his arms. It felt so much better than the cold ground, the snow already soaking into my clothes.
"Get 'em!" Soda exclaimed, helping with an assault of snowballs being thrown upon us.
Darry wrapped his arms around me immediately, holding me close as he turned his back to them, his back being pummeled instead.
"Hey, Dally, heads up!" Steve called, throwing a snowball in his face.
"Alright, that's it!" he yelled, leaning down and scooping up a handful of snow.
Man, he was pissed.
T
After hours and countless snowballs later, we were back inside. The gang had stayed over for diner which had consisted of ham, beans, mashed potatoes, and pie. We'd even had hot chocolate to drink. At this point though, the others had gone home, leaving behind only the residents of the meant Darry, Soda, Pony, Eden, and myself. It also left me and Darry to ourselves in our room.
"I'm still cold," I breathed, rubbing my arms.
Even after being out of the cold air and snow, I could still feel it and it was driving me nuts.
"Come here," Darry chuckled, gesturing me over with a finger.
I walked over to him, allowing him to take me into his arms, feeling him wrap them around me. I felt myself leaning against him, soaking up the warmth that he was putting out and enjoying it.
"Mmm..." I breathed, resting my cheek against his chest.
I felt his hand moving up and down my back, rubbing it. The feeling itself was soothing, putting me at ease. There was no doubt that I'd sleep easy tonight.
"You like that, don't you?" he asked, a gentle smile pulling onto his face.
I nodded my head, closing my eyes as I stood there in his arms, merely listening to the sound of his heartbeat. It was something so simple, something so common, but listening to this sent of wave of peace washing over me. It was more comforting than he knew, letting me know that I wasn't alone. He then gave me a small squeeze, before pulling away, leaving me confused.
"I have something for you," he told me, moving over to his nightstand.
I watched as he pulled out a small box with a ribbon tied around it, holding it in his hand. He then came back over to me, placing it in my hands.
"What's this?" I asked, my brows furrowing as I looked up at him.
He'd already gotten me a new jacket, so I wasn't exactly expecting anything else.
"Just open it," he told me, nudging me, before sitting down on the edge of the bed.
I sat down beside him, before tugging at the ribbon, watching it fall away from the box and onto my lap. I then tore off the little bit of paper that had been wrapped around it. I looked over a Darry once more, biting by bottom lip.
"Go on," he chuckled.
That was all the encouragement I needed to open the lid, but when I did, I found myself at a loss.
"Darry?"
I tilted my head to the side, not sure what to make of the object inside of the box. It was obvious what it was; his class ring. That was beside the point though. I saw the slightly nervous look on his face as if he wasn't completely sure of himself.
"Well, I figured that after everything we'd been through, it was only right to give that to you. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you wear my ring around your neck?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
I didn't say anything at first, merely wrapping my arms around his neck. This was definitely wasn't what I was expecting, but I knew that coming from Darry, this was big. His class ring was something special with significant meaning, possibly something short of proposing, which of course would have made me just a bit nervous to say the least. Not that I'm saying I'd reject him if he were to ask, but it'd still be a big leap for me.
"Of course I will," I smiled, pulling back to press my lips to his.
I felt his lips twitch into a smile against mine, his hand coming up to the back of my head, pulling me a bit closer. This was the time with him that we were both looking for, just the two of us alone, the kids asleep. We'd be able to lay there together without interruption or anything. This was definitely a Christmas that I'd remember for years to come, one of the best that I'd ever had.
"I love you Darry," I whispered, running a hand through his hair as I laid back on the bed, allowing him to crawl up along side me.
"I love you too," he smiled, pulling me against him.
I laughed lightly at this, kissing him once more as I allowed my arms to wrap around his neck, while his went around my waist. At this point, I was more than comfortable.
Yay! Chapter 34 if finally out and it's a lot longer! I really do hope that everyone liked it? Please let me know what your favorite part was? Also, don't forget to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and feelings on this chapter/ story. I LOVE hearing FEEDBACK! It helps me write and keeps me happy. Anyway, thanks everyone and if you have ANY IDEAS please let me know.