Accepting You

Chapter 20 - Happy Birthday Chris!

Chris hands a 24 pack of beer to Lily to add to the cart. They had gone to the liquor store to prepare for the party that night. Lily had offered to help out since she wanted to talk to Chris anyway.

"So you're telling me you like Lizzie, but you rejected her?" Chris clarifies, making sure he understood her.

Lily takes the drinks from him and adds it to the cart among three other packs of drinks. "I know it doesn't make sense."

"You have your reasons," Chris says simply. Lily is like a younger sister to him and he's come to know that she puts everyone else before herself, even if it meant she would be sacrificing her own happiness for it. It admirable but also heartbreaking to see. And he knows she doesn't do something for no reason. Lily's always guarded and conscious of her words and actions.

"Yeah, but now things with Lizzie are so weird," Lily says. "Oh, I want this." She adds a pack of white claws to the cart.

"It'll only be weird if you make it weird," Chris advises. "And besides, I don't think Lizzie's going down without a fight. You might think it's settled but Lizzie's pretty stubborn. She gets what she wants."

"Who's side are you on?" Lily scoffs. "I literally just said I can't be with her."

"I know what you said," Chris says. He pushes the cart to the next aisle. "But I know you both like you're my own sisters."

"Yeah – sisters who kissed each other," Lily comments, making a barfing face.

"Okay, knock it off," Chris says. "What I mean to say is that I know you both and I'm just stating the facts. No matter how much you push her away, she's only going to come back to knock you off your feet. So either keep your guard up or just give in."

"That's not reassuring in the slightest," Lily mutters.

"Honestly, I'm rooting for Lizzie."

"Chris!" Lily complains.

"You two would be so good for each other," Chris says with a shrug. "I thought you two would have come back from London as a couple."

"Wait –" Lily stops him and the cart from moving down the aisle any further. "London? Why would you think that?"

Chris is unable to hide the guilty look on his face. "Nothing," he says but it's not convincing.

"Tell me," Lily demands.

"Nothing!" Chris repeats. "I just thought since you both were in London, something might have happened seeing that you both have feelings for each other now."

Lily could tell he wasn't telling the whole truth but she also knew she wouldn't be able to get anything out of him here. She'll get to the bottom of it later.

They finish up their shopping just in time for the for the pizza they ordered earlier to be delivered to the front of Chris' house. While Lily brings in the drinks, Chris pays for the pizza and brings them inside.

"Where do these two extra packs of beer go?" Lily asks.

"They can go in the garage. I'll bring them out when we run out here," Chris tells her. "Careful of the door though. Don't let it close behind you. It gets locked and you can only open it from the outside and I haven't gotten it fixed yet."

"Got it," Lily calls behind her as she is already walking down the hall with the packs of beer in each hand. She's been in Chris' house before so she's familiar with the layout and has no issue finding it. She kicks the door open and sets the two packs by the door before meeting Chris back in the kitchen.

Chris is there holding up Lily's gift for him. It's wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper. "Can I open it?"

"It's your birthday," Lily says with a smile. "Go for it."