I never thought there'd be you

Part 27

"You have never gone horse riding before?" Chris asks, astonished.

"Well not 'never', but I haven't really been for actual lessons." I correct him.

"Interesting..." Chris looks around, and then takes out his phone. To check the time? To tell his mother that we are nearly done?

"Anyway...Thank you for the outing today." I shift closer to Chris on the couch, grabbing the TV remote.

"I enjoyed it more than I thought I would have." Chris kisses my hand.

"More than you thought? How so?" I ask.

Chris shrugs. "Well, I have taken my previous girlfriends out and I didn't seem to enjoy their company. They were all about taking photos with me and posting it to their social media pages. It just felt like I was being recorded everywhere I went."

I take his hand in my own and I caress it.

Chris chuckles. "It's alright. I am here with you. That's all that matters now."

I cover my face instantly. My cheeks are crimson red.

"Gaby..." Chris whispers and uncovers my face. "Don't feel embarrassed."

"It's just...No guy has ever told me this before."

"Which is unbelievable."

"It isn't Chris. No guy in my grade wants to go out with me. I mean...Look at me." I laugh at myself, but it is more a nervous laugh.

Chris clenches his jaw and looks down.

"It's the truth Chris. One guy in my class went back to his ex girlfriend when he found out I had a crush on him."

Chris tugs at his earlobe. He still does not say anything, so I continue.

"I remember this one time, when I guy at my school found out I liked him, he went to tell the whole school."

"Stop...please stop." Chris pleads, scratching the back of his neck.

"I am just explaining no guy wants to date me. Let alone even look at me in a romantic way."

"Gaby! Please! Stop it!" Chris grabs my hands and squeezes it.

I however, keep speaking. "This one time, I –"

I am cut off by Chris crashing his lips onto mine. It feels so good to have his lips over mine. My lips don't completely fit his, but nonetheless, I enjoy kissing Chris.

Chris places his hands on either side of my cheeks and he breaks the kiss. "I'm sorry. That was the only way to make you stop talking." he sighs.

"I am the one who should be sorry." I whisper. "I brought up this subject. I am sorry." I look down.

"It's not your fault." Chris says.

"Yes it is." I mumble.

"Even if it was, you are not to blame here. What the one guy did to you was not right! Running back to his ex girlfriend. Is he still with his ex girlfriend?" Chris asks.

"Not anymore. It was after I lost interest in him."
"Oh." Chris shrugs his shoulders. "Anyway, let's see what is on TV." Chris suggests.

I turn on the TV and flip through the channels to see what to watch, while leaning into Christopher's chest.

***

"1 more sleep and then it is somebody's birthday." My mom talks to me like I am a child.

"Don't remind me." I cover my duvet over my face.

"You are not that old." My mother scoffs, pulling the duvet away from me.

"I'm tired mom. I want to sleep." I groan.

"Not before I give you this." My mom hands me a little gift box.

"We just spoke about my birthday mom. I won't open any gifts until tomorrow."

My mom shrugs her shoulders. "You can open it now, or tomorrow. Pick whichever."

I sense my mother is getting a little upset with me, so I give in and open the gift box. It's a charm to add onto my necklace. It's a rabbit engraved in the necklace, and then it this me. "THIS IS..." I look down at the pendant. "This is...this is granddad's pendant!" My eyes expand as I stare at the pendant.

"He told me that you can have this pendant on your next birthday." I can hear my mother's voice starting to shake, which makes me want to cry. I can already feel the lump in my throat and I know my tears are coming straight afterward.

"I miss him." I can feel the tears forming in my eyes already.

"I miss him too, but he isn't suffering anymore." My mom looks down and I can see her eyes looks glossy. She is going to cry. I spread out my arms and I embrace my mother. "Thank you. This is a wonderful gift." I kiss my mother's head.

My mom strokes my arm. "He is watching over us Gaby."

"I know he is, and he is not in pain anymore." I croak.

"Lie down." My mom orders, and she wraps her arms around me as we both silently cry.

***

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"AAAAAH!!! Dammit sister!" I jump just as I enter the kitchen, placing my hand over my heart.

"Gotcha!" My sister winks.

"Why did you want to get me back?" I look at my sister with a confused look.

She raises her shoulders. "We're sisters. It's what we do." She takes her bowl of cereal and leaves the kitchen.

I turn to the microwave and I see a box which is titled "GABY".

There's a card on the table. It reads:

"Happy Birthday Gaby!

I will see you later. For now, enjoy the cake!

Chris "

I see that Chris has drawn butterflies all over the birthday card."

I see Chris is getting better at drawing.

I smile at myself like a fool, and I open the box to see a cake. It has different colors on each layer and I taste the icing on the cake...its red velvet.

Yes!

He picked my favorite cake in the world.