Reaching Out for You (15 page)

“You’re so nosy.” Adam gets in and closes the door. He starts laughing and it
fills the night air. I love to hear him laugh.

I turn to him
and point to my picture in his wallet. “You have my picture, from when?”

“
Ummm
… I stole it from
Erin
.” I see his face blushing and I feel bad
that I’m embarrassing him. I take his hand and smile.

“You’re too
much.” I take out my phone and get right next to him, “Smile.” I take the
picture with my phone and look at it. The picture came out great. Anyone can
see the happiness between us, and the love we both share for each other. I am
not sure how much longer I can wait, but I know I want to be his girlfriend.

“Alright, ready
to go?”

“Yes!”

It is a short
drive to the ice rink. There aren’t that many people out which is great because
I want to spend time with Adam. “Where’s Connor?”

“He is helping
mom with some things. He says hi and to not punch me.” I punch him in the arm
and giggle. “There is that laugh I miss.” He takes my hand and kisses it.
“Promise me you’ll always laugh when we’re together?”
“Always,” I promise.

We get to the
rink and find a spot to put on our skates. It has been ages since I went
skating and I am scared. Adam takes my hand and leads us out onto the ice. At
first it is hard but after a few moments we are both going at a good speed.
Hand in hand we skate around the rink and the feeling is unforgettable. I want
to ask him when we can become official, but I don’t want to scare him off. Just
this feeling of being with him makes everything feel amazing. Everything makes
sense with him. Everything in life is clearer. I put aside my fears and let
myself go with him.
 
I know that this is
the feeling of true love and I hope he feels the same way.

We skate for a
little while longer before collapsing on the ground. The skies are clear
tonight and the stars are out. It is beautiful outside. We hear carolers in the
distance and I get excited for Christmas. Adam gets up and pulls me into his
arms. I will never get tired of being with him. He looks down at me and smiles,
“Do you know how much I care about you?”

“Nope, I don’t!” I hold him tighter and feel his chin resting on my head. He
lets me go and I look at him with question in my eyes. I know he is thinking
and I wonder what he is thinking about.

“I know we said
to take it slow, but I can’t anymore.” Adam brings his lips to mine as we share
a sweet kiss. This feeling is incredible and I never want it to end. The kiss
is gentle and I love how his lips feel on mine. I put my arms around his neck
and pull him down to me. I part my lips and let his tongue in. At first, it is
slow and gentle but when I start to moan, I feel him pull me in closer. His
kisses are full of want and urgency. He pulls away leaving me breathless. “I
don’t want to scare you away and you know I’m not going to turn my back on you.
I just don’t want to be your friend anymore.” I gasp and cover my mouth. A part
of me is ready to be with him but the other part still feels damaged. He looks
down into my eyes. “Sophia you are all I think about. When we aren’t together,
I miss you. I count down the minutes until I get to see you again. Do you know
how hard it was to stay away from you? Or how hard it was to see you with Kyle?
I wanted to punch him every time I saw you two together.”

I take his
hands. “Adam you know I feel the same way, but I have so many issues and I
don’t want to drag you down with my issues.” I look down and feel ashamed. This
is what I want but for some reason I can’t accept him or his feelings. I look
up and see hurt in his eyes. “I’m sorry Adam but I don’t want to ruin you.”

“Sophia,” he
starts to say, “I don’t care if you have a lot going on in your life. I will be
here to help you.” He cradles my face and kisses me again. “I want to be here
for you. I came back for you. I couldn’t stay away from you any longer.”

“Yeah but you
turned your back when my mom died and when I got angry.” I start to cry. “You
never even tried to come back even after I saved you after your accident.” I
wipe the tears away and turn my back toward him. I don’t want him to see me
cry.

“I know I messed
up and I’m sorry. I will do everything I can to make it up to you Sophia.
Please just give us a chance.” I look away from him. A part of me is jumping
for joy but the other part is crying in the dark corner. I’m nervous that if I
let him in again, I’ll just get hurt. “I love you. I think I’ve always loved
you. You are the only one for me pretty girl, and I want to be with you. Please
be
mine
forever.”

I pull away from
his arms. I don’t know what to do. Should I run? Should I just take this
chance? “I’m scared Adam.” I feel like a child. He slowly walks toward me and
when he is standing in front of me, I close my eyes and feel everything around
me; the quietness of the night and the cold breeze going through us. His lips
brush mine as his hands stroke my back. I push forward a little and intensify
the kiss. I want him now and forever. Something in me breaks and I know that
Adam is
the one
for me. I
cradle his face and smile. “I love you too Adam and I’ve
always
been yours.” He picks me up
laughing and spins me around. When he slowly brings me back down, we kiss again
and my heart beats uncontrollably.

This is the best
Christmas Eve and I know my life will be much better now that Adam is
officially mine.

Its Christmas
morning! I wake up in a jolt and am so excited. Christmas has always been a
happy holiday for us. Even though my mom isn’t here with us physically, I can
feel her around me. I walk over to my desk and pick up Adam’s gift. I slowly
slide my finger across the envelope and unfold the letter:

Merry Christmas Pretty Girl!

I bet you couldn’t wait to open up my
gift and letter but thank you for waiting. If you’re reading this then that
means you came back to me. You’ve made this the best Christmas yet. I know
you’re probably wondering how I know we’re together but you underestimate me. I
believe in us. When I first saw you, I knew we’d be back together soon. And if
we aren’t well this is pretty embarrassing. I know our lives have changed and
it has been years since we last talked. What I want you to know is that I love
you pretty girl; I always have. You mean more to me than life itself. I regret
leaving you that night and never coming back to you. I hope that you are able
to forgive me and realize how I will do whatever I can to keep you in my life.
You are an amazing woman and I’m proud of you. I hope that one day you will
love me just as much as I love you. I hope you like your gift because it
symbolizes my love for you. A piece of me will be with you forever.

I love you pretty girl.

Yours forever,

Adam

I clench the
letter in my hands and hold it to my heart. I can’t believe he just poured his
heart and soul into this letter to me. It is funny how he knew we’d be back
together. I am glad that his predictions were right. I put the letter down and
then pick up the box. I go back to my bed and sit cross-legged examining the
box. I gently peel back the tape and wrapping paper. The box is black and
light. I open the box and see the most stunning diamond heart silver pendant. I
put my hand over my mouth and I am amazed. I put on the necklace and look at
myself in the mirror and smile. The necklace is beautiful and I feel so lucky
to have a great love like Adam. I grab my phone and text him:

Me: Merry Christmas boyfriend. I love you
and my present.

Adam: Merry Christmas pretty girl. I love
you too and I’m glad you like your gift. Can’t wait to see you and kiss your
beautiful lips. I had a dream about you last night.

Me: Oh yeah? What about?

Adam: Maybe one night I can show you.

I start laughing
and think about what he could be talking about. I feel my body getting tight
and there is warmth spreading through me. I touch my lips as I think about Adam
and how his lips feel on mine. For a moment I forget where I am and get lost in
thoughts of Adam’s lips all over me. I want to feel his hands on me and the
weight of his body on mine. I want our first time to be special. I want to make
love with him and for him to be my first and last.

Me: Maybe ;)

I put my phone
away and remember I have to help Sarah prepare and make breakfast. I can’t move
from my bed. I throw a pillow to cover my face and bite down. Adam makes me
feel all sorts of feelings and I want him now. My hands start going down my
body but I can’t do this today! I sit up on my bed and shake out those
thoughts.
 

I open my
bedroom door and walk down to the kitchen. It is a Christmas tradition in my
family where Sarah and I make breakfast. We always go overboard and make too
much. This year we decide to make strawberry and blueberry pancakes topped with
whipped cream, sausage, bacon, cinnamon buns and eggs. It feels great to be at
home with my family, “How’d you sleep last night?”

“Really well,
actually,” I’m whipping the eggs in a bowl, “You?”

“I was up all
night wrapping the rest of the presents and watching TV.” Sarah always has
problems sleeping so she keeps herself busy with errands and chores to do
around the house, “But I’m glad that the Simpson’s are coming over today.”

“Oh you mean
my
boyfriend
is coming over?”

Sarah nearly drops
the bowl on the floor. “What?”

“Yep, Adam and I
are official!”

We start jumping
and squealing. It is exciting to tell her the news. Just saying that he is my
boyfriend makes me feel like I’m on cloud nine. Adam’s finally mine and I don’t
want to do anything to mess it up. He brightens up my life and keeps me
smiling.
 
“Oh my God, finally,” Sarah
shouts!

“I know. Best
Christmas ever!”

We get
everything ready to serve, “Wow, girls this smells great,” Dad says while
shoving a cinnamon bun in his mouth.

“Daddy, stop! We
can’t eat until the
Simpsons
get here.” I motion for
him to sit down, “They’ll be here any minute.” The doorbell rings and I start
running to the door. When I open the door, Adam and Connor both come barreling
in the door, they take me in their arms, “Merry Christmas
Soph
!”

“Oh my God, put
me down now.” I really do not want them to put me down but I am embarrassed
they are acting like this. As they put me down, Adam looks down at the necklace
and I feel my heart dancing, “Thank you for my gift.”

“It looks good
on you.” His mood is quite cheerful as they make their way into the kitchen.

“Mr. and Mrs.
Simpson, Merry Christmas!” I go over and give them both a hug.

“Merry Christmas
to you as well, I am so glad the three of you are friends again. Adam cannot
stop talking about you since he has been back from school, you know. And thank
you for telling me the news, my darling.” I can hear the sarcasm in her voice.

“I’m sorry!
Everything happened so fast.”

She brings me in
for a hug. “Well it is about time!”

“Merry
Christmas, Sophia, where’s your father?” Mr. Simpson asks. I point over to the
kitchen. He comes toward me and picks me up in his arms. I feel weird giving
him a hug but that feeling disappears. He has been like a second dad to me and
I’ve known him all my life. “Thank you Sophia for making both of my boys
happy.” He whispers in my ear. When he puts me down, he smiles, “Sophia you can
call me Frank! No more Mr. Simpson!” He waves his finger in my face and laughs.
“Don’t make me feel old now. Ah, before I go where do you want us to put these
gifts?”

I can’t help but
laugh, “Alright, sounds like a plan!” I look behind him and see dozens of
boxes. The
Simpsons
are very generous and wealthy
people but I feel guilty while looking at the gifts. Sometimes I think they
feel bad for us and do this out of pity but I know better than that. The
Simpsons
have been our rock since the beginning. Ever since
my mom passed away, they would come over to visit my dad and keep him company.
It made me feel better about my decision to leave home. “Here let me help you.”

Frank shakes his
head, “Nonsense! Boys come out here and bring in the gifts.”