MERRITT #2
Elliott tugs on the sleeve of my sweatshirt, and I tear my gaze from Bennett and back to him. “Can I please go play for just a little while? We can do our movie marathon a little bit later. Please? Please, please?”
“Duh.” I nod, giving him a smile. “Of course. Yeah, go, go, go. We’ll be here when you’re ready. But you can’t be mad that we’re starting Krampus without you.”
“Krampus?” Bennett squeaks beside me. “Isn’t that the creepy, weird Santa?”
I don’t even bother hiding my smirk.
“He’s a demon who accompanies Santa,” I say matter-of-factly, and Bennett groans, dropping his head back onto the couch.
“You said Christmas movies.”
I shrug. “Well, you didn’t ask for specifics.”
“Going now, bye!” Elliott says, but he’s already halfway up the stairs. He pauses on the fifth step and leans over the railing. “Thanks, Bennett. You’re the freaking GOAT.”
I can practically feel Bennett preening beside me as he says it, and I laugh, turning to face him.
“You know you didn’t have to do that, right?
I know it was so expensive, and I mean, obviously, judging by his reaction, he loves it, and I know he appreciates it, but you didn’t have to spend so much money. I feel bad.”
He shakes his head. “Do not feel bad. Look how happy it made him. I’d do it ten times over if I knew that it would make him that happy.
Baby, it’s not just you that I care about.
I care about Elliott and your dad too. Plus, I had some endorsement money come through for something I did over the summer, and it was nothing. ”
Lifting onto my knees, I lean forward and grab the present off the coffee table that I hastily wrapped for him earlier today.
It took me forever to think about what to actually get him because he feels like the kind of person who would love anything.
Gift giving is absolutely my love language, and it’s my favorite way to show those around me that I love and appreciate them.
And I wanted this one to be special.
I tuck my hair behind my ear, holding it in my hands. “Okay. This could be totally dumb, and you could totally hate it, but this is for you.” I hold out the box toward him.
He takes it from me, and he shakes the box a little bit, trying to figure out what’s inside.
“No shaking it!” I laugh. “Just open it.”
The smile that he gives me has butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
The wrapping paper I used is some that I found buried in the back of the hall closet that’s bright green and has video game controllers on it.
A paper I used to help Dad wrap Santa presents for Elliott a few years back.
Not my best work, but I made do with what I had.
I watch as he carefully tears the paper off, taking care to pull off the tape and open the box, clearly heeding my no-shaking warning. And when he gets to the gold tissue paper inside, he gingerly picks it up and starts to unwrap it.
He lifts his eyes to mine in question.
“It’s your very own good luck charm.”
He picks up the small goalie mask inside and smiles. God, the smile lights up his entire face, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never been so proud of anything in my life.
It’s warming my insides.
It’s making me feel like I’m melting into a puddle on the floor beside him.
“You made this?” he asks, his thumb sweeping over the top of the small charm.
I nod. “I did. It was my first time ever working with this type of clay, but it came out exactly as I imagined. I thought for all the times that I can’t be there…
this would be perfect. You can put it on the zipper of your hockey bag, or anywhere really.
And I’m not an expert on superstitions or luck, but I’m pretty sure since I’m the one who made it, that luck will transfer right over. ”
I hope, at least?
A low chuckle rumbles out of him, and he shrugs, pulling his endless blue eyes back to mine. “I have a feeling that anything you touch is magic, Merritt.”
The way his words make my heart race is criminal. Who knew this big, burly hockey player would be one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met?
“You really like it?” I ask.
“Merritt, I fucking love it. Might be my favorite gift I’ve ever gotten. I can’t wait to put it on my bag.”
I move closer, sliding into his lap. I get a whiff of his clean, woodsy bodywash as I press my lips to his.
His hand moves to my jaw and cups it, stroking the edge with his thumb. “I really love it, baby.” He murmurs softly, “It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten. It means a lot to me. Thank you for putting so much thought into it.”
I nod, but I don’t say anything back because it kind of feels like I might do something insane like burst into tears, which is not me at all, but I just feel overwhelmed with emotion.
Swallowing roughly, I pull back and clear my throat. “I’m glad you like it. There is… one more thing in the box that you didn’t see yet.”
His expression morphs into surprise. “Oh, yeah?”
“Mhm. It’s at the bottom.”
He grabs the box off the floor and opens it back up, digging past the tissue paper till he finds the small card I put at the bottom.
I’m quiet as his eyes scan the paper, reading what’s on it. And when he lifts his gaze to mine, I roll my lips together. “That is one coupon…” My voice lowers to a soft, sexy rasp. “To do whatever you want to me. For one night.”
Bennett makes a choked sound at the back of his throat. A combination of a groan and a whimper at the same time, somehow. “Jesus fucking Christ, Merritt. Okay, I lied. I think this might be the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”
I tip my head back and laugh.
God, I hope this is how it always is between us.
Laughter and making fun of each other and being silly.
“I’m going to have to cash in on this real soon,” he mutters, folding the paper in half and shoving it into the pocket of his sweatpants. “Maybe later tonight, but you still have to open yours.”
He glances past me at the boxes sitting on the coffee table. “This one first.” He reaches out and grabs the smaller square present sitting on the very top.
The one that’s got a pretty white bow that I honestly cannot believe he did.
I’m not even sure I could tie a bow like that.
“I’m very impressed,” I say to him, taking the present, “by your impeccable present-wrapping skills. Who knew you had so many hidden talents, Goalie?”
The corner of his lip curves up into a playful lilt, and he shrugs. “You haven’t even seen half of them yet.”
I quickly tear the paper off and open the box, feeling his eyes on me as I do.
Inside are a series of different fidget toys, and my chest pulls tight.
I look up at him, and he smiles. “I did some research, and a lot of people with ADHD said that these are really helpful. I wasn’t sure which one would work best for you, so I got a few options.”
I’m still processing it when he keeps going. “And there’s more in the box.”
Don’t cry, Merritt. Don’t cry. Don’t you fucking cry.
I bite the inside of my lip as he takes the fidget toy from me, and I reach into the box, pulling out a small black cube timer and a… sticker?
“So in my research, I also discovered that a lot of people with neurodivergence use something called the Pomodoro Method for time management, and they said that physically seeing the timer and having it in front of them was helpful.” The words rush out of him, and I can tell he’s so proud of himself, and also nervous, and I don’t know which is more adorable.
He grabs the sticker and holds it up with his free hand.
“And this is a sensory sticker. It’s good for helping to ground yourself. ”
Don’t cry. Do not cr—
“Baby, don’t cry,” he murmurs, gathering the things in my arms and setting them beside us on the floor. “Shit. Don’t cry. I mean, if it helps, please cry, but why are you crying?”
My watery gaze finds his, and I sniffle. “Because this is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever gotten me, Bennett. It’s… perfect.”
The truth is, I don’t think I have ever felt as seen as I do right now, in this moment, by a man who is determined to steal my heart.
“It’s nothing. I just want to always do things to make you happy and to make sure that I’m being supportive in any way that I can. My girl’s got big dreams, and I want to be the one to help you reach them.”
I nod as a tear tracks down my cheek. He lifts his thumb and tenderly swipes it away.
“Thank you, Bennett.” I swallow hard. “For seeing all of me.”
He shakes his head and presses an achingly soft kiss against my lips. “Thank you for trusting me enough to show me.”
It’s the first Christmas I’ve ever spent with a boyfriend. The first time I’ve ever had fast food for dinner on Christmas Eve and decorated cookies that we gave up on halfway through. The first time anyone has cared about my brother with the same thoughtfulness that they care about me.
And it’s undoubtedly the best Christmas I’ve ever had. One I’ll never forget.
The Christmas that I started falling in love.