41. Elijah
41
Elijah
I was on a roll. Gwen executed that kidnapping perfectly. I was able to pick up groceries for the week, drive here, set up my final surprise that I’ve been working on for what feels like forever, and be completely ready by the time Tobias gets back here.
I’d say that was a success for phase one.
Now that I had the target secured (I really had to stop with this comparison, or it was going to be a long week inside of my head), the next phase was to replicate some of the things we loved to do together as kids in the winter.
Nothing makes Tobias giggle more than playing out in the snow. For some reason, he loves it, which makes me love it.
“You better hold on to me right now,” I said, gripping his jacket. Thankfully, the lakehouse had extra cold-weather clothing if we needed it. Some winters, dad would rent it out on Airbnb, so it was perfect that it was stocked with everything we’d need.
Tobias and I were both wearing winter jackets, gloves, and snug hats. Thankfully, the sun was shining bright, so it wasn’t too cold out.
“Come on, Elijah. You know how to skate.” He laughed, skating backward. We were on the ice behind the lakehouse. We used to do this every winter, so I’m certain the ice wouldn’t crack, but we stayed closer to the dock just in case. The snowmobiles that whizzed by gave us security, at least.
“I haven’t done this in years.”
“So why’d you get us to skate?” Tobias laughed, pulling me in.
“Because you love skating.” I smiled, looking into his eyes.
He rolled his eyes jokingly before nuzzling his lips into my hair. “Are you just going to do whatever I love for the rest of your life?” He whispered.
“That’s the plan.” I squeezed his arms around me. “Now come on, I want to be a pro skater once we’re done here.”
“Well, to be a pro skater. You first gotta catch up—” He very quickly dropped his arms from around me and started skating off.
“You dick!” I laughed, following behind him. I was going to catch him if it was the last thing I do.
***
“Why does it look unfinished?” Tobias asked, taking a step back. We looked over the jolly round snowman looking back at us. Only, it wasn’t jolly or round since each base was more lopsided than the last, and we had nothing but rocks and twigs to make his face, which looked odd…
I tilted my face, looking over our masterpiece. “I think it’s perfect.” I shrugged.
“I think it looks like Stewie Griffin.” Tobias shook his head. “Here, this is what was missing.” He bent down and packed some snow to look like a carrot.
“Aw, his nose.” I smiled. My smile dropped immediately once I realized Tobias stuck it to his lower half, not his top one. “Oh, you horn dog.” I nudged him on his arm.
“You were thinking of doing it. I just beat you to it.” Tobias smirked, dusting off his gloves.
“You know what,” I looked over his newest addition. “Looks pretty accurate.” I shrugged.
Tobias’s eyebrow shot up. “If this is supposed to be me, I’m going to need to add at least two more inches.” He huffed.
“Modest.” I acted shocked.
“Just truthful. I’d never lie to you.” He smiled, pulling me in for a hug. I love that he’s constantly searching to touch me. I’ll never get tired of it.
“We’re leaving out our little friend,” I said, holding my arm out. He understood the message and shuffled us closer to our snowman. We both wrapped an arm around him, too.
“He’s so cold.” I shivered.
“And I think he’s hard. That perv.” Tobias looked down between us to see that the snowman was, in fact, poking him in his leg.
“That’s enough snowman for you today.” I laughed, pulling him towards the house. “I’ve got a special dinner planned for us.”
“I’m intrigued.” Tobias smiled, following me.
***
“I wanted to make you something I know you love,” I said, walking him backward until he sat right on the chair.
“I’d love whatever you make me.” He breathed, staring up at me. I love when he looks at me like I’m the hottest person in the world.
I bit my lip, dragging my hand down his neck and curling it in his shirt collar. He was wearing his infamous white T-shirt, which hugged his muscles perfectly.
“It’s something I know you’re always in the mood for.”I leaned down to purr in his ear while my hands explored up and down his chest.
His breathing turned choppy. I was so happy to get this effect from him that I couldn’t help but stifle a smile.
“What is it?” He swallowed harshly, wrapping his hands around my waist.
“A big…thick…” I started. I felt his hands slowly dip towards my waistband. “Grilled cheese.” I finished, pulling his head back gently with my hands.
His mouth parted open as he stared at me, shocked. “Bastard.” He shook his head, shoving me away gently.
I shook my head. “I can’t believe I got you a second time with that. You’ve got to stay more on guard.”
“You’re cruel. So cruel.” He said, sitting back in his chair to adjust himself.
***
“Do you remember that time we hid in the boathouse loft all night when we were 8?” I laughed, stuffing another bite into my mouth.
Tobias couldn’t help but join in my laughing fit. “Dad searched around the house for us for hours, he said. We thought we could live off of Twizzlers and Cool Ranch Doritos.
I gave Elijah my most serious face. “Oh, I definitely would’ve. If it weren’t for having to go to the bathroom, we never would’ve gotten caught.” I shook my head.
Tobias nodded, licking his fingers clean. He thankfully loved the grilled cheese dinner. I knew he would. I have some more dinners planned for the rest of the week, but I thought the night before his birthday was a perfect time to whip out our inside joke.
“Do you remember the last time we ate grilled cheese?” I smiled, pushing my plate away.
Tobias popped the last bite of his grilled cheese in his mouth before dusting off his hands over his plate. “You mean when we had our hot makeout session interrupted by dad and Gwen? Noooo. You mean to tell me this dinner had something to do with that?” He asked sarcastically.
I smiled and slowly nodded my head.
He smiled back. “Of course. It’s sweet.” He said, leaning in to kiss me softly on the cheek. He leaned back in his chair and looked me over. “Is it weird? Being here?”
I understood immediately what he was asking. I looked around the kitchen. It was so warm and comforting being here. “At first,” I answered, slowly nodding my head. “But then I realized I had only happy memories here, and that’s how I want to remember it. This place is so full of love and happiness; dad wouldn’t want it any other way.” I looked back at Tobias, reaching out to hold his hand.
He nodded his head, leaning his arm on the table. “You know…I think he would’ve wanted that, too.”
“Yeah…” I bit my lip. “I have one more thing for you before we set up camp in the living room and watch movies all night.”
His eyebrows shot up. “More? Elijah, you’ve been spoiling me all day, and it’s not even officially my birthday yet.” He laughed.
“This is your birthday week, baby. This is just the beginning.” I stood up from my chair.
His eyes squinted at me, clearly confused about what I had planned next.
“I’ll be right back. Stay here.” I bit my lip, exiting the kitchen.