𝐌 𝐀 𝐓 𝐈 𝐋 𝐃 𝐀 ; 𝐣𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫

𝟗: 𝐔𝐬 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚

"I'll go." Laurel hands Belly a wrapped gift and she rips the paper open.

"It's a first edition. I got it from a rare book dealer." Collected Poems by E. E. Cummings.

"Oh wow, thanks mom." Belly smiles.

"Turn to the bookmarked page." Laurel scoffs, knowing her daughter wouldn't have an interest in this unless it was for a specific reason.

Belly turns to a tabbed page and laughs. "It's your favorite poem."

"Yeah I remember Susannah teaching us how to recite this."

"For whatever we lose..."

"Like a you and me..." Jeremiah joins.

"It's always ourselves we find in the sea." We all day together, laughs flowing through the room. At that moment, I think I could see a slight smile on Conrad's face.

"Ok, open mine Belly." Susannah hands her a small box. Inside was a pearl necklace.

"Oh wow. It's gorgeous! Thank you Susannah." She sits next to Belly and helps her put it on.

"My mom gave me these pearls for my sweet 16. Radiant isn't she?" I smile.

"She's looks beautiful." Belly give me a side hug.

"They look great on you sweetheart."

"Oh! My turn!" Jeremiah gets up and hands Belly a small box. There's a green box.

"It's a good luck charm to help you pass your driver's test." She giggle.

"It's perfect. Thank you." She dangles it from her bracelet.

"Think fast Belly!"

"What-" Steven throws a wrapped package at her. There's a Princeton sweater inside.

"Wow-Steven, I can't believe you actually spent money on me." I laugh.

"Neither can I-last year you re-wrapped my present and gave it to her." He shakes his head and puts his hands up.

"Everyone relax. I just didn't want you stealing mine next year when I get in."

"I didn't know you were still considering Princeton." Laurel looks at Steven.

"I think I'm gonna apply for some scholarships you know? And dad says I might be able to get some financial aid." Laurel looks confused.

"Ok um-" Awkward.

"Tilly why don't you go next?" I nod.

"Sure." I give the box to Belly. Jeremiah is staring at it intensely.

"It's a little fragile so careful." I warn and she looks at me funny.

She gets to the box and opens the lid. All the sides come apart and the layers of pictures show. Everyone gasps and peers over.

"That must've taken forever!" Steven groaned.

"It did take a long time, but it was worth it." Belly opens the smallest box and pulls out the locket. She bursts out laughing when she opens it.

"Tilly you didn't!" I chuckle, nodding.

"I did." I scrunch my face as I laugh.

"You swore you would never put that picture out."

"But I had to! It was a special occasion!" I defend. Me and Belly were giving each other piggy back rides in the photo. Except Belly was slipping down my back and was halfway to the floor when Laurel had snapped the picture.

"This is amazing. I love it. Thank you Tills." She turns around and I put the locket on. She gives me a big teddy bear hug.

"Of course." The last person was Conrad. And I had seen him pull out a small pouch earlier so I was waiting to know what was inside.

"Conrad, your turn." Susannah says.

"Sorry, I forgot." I look at him confused.

"Uh, that's cool. I wasn't expecting anything anyway." He sits up and begins to stand.

"Oh I got to go, um, I promised Cleveland I'd show him some knots today." He walks out with nothing else.

"Happy Birthday Belly." We sit in silence.

"Hey why don't we take my car and practice driving before we have to pick up Taylor from the bus station?" I smile, appreciating what Jeremiah was doing for Belly.

"Sure." Belly folds up her sweater and stands up. I begin to gather the trash and help clean up. I take the bag and walk outside to throw them away.

"Hey." A voice whispers next to me. I jump and turn around.

"God Jere, you need to stop doing that." He laughs.

"I can't." I chuckle, playfully hitting him.

"So you wanna come with us?" He asks, wrapping his arms around my waist. I turn my back towards the wall and make sure we're not near the windows.

"It's ok. Belly needs her Jere time." I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Plus, the last time I drove with Belly I almost threw up so-I'm perfectly fine with staying here." I smile, running my fingers through his hair.

"Are you sure? You can't even come to keep me company while I teach Belly how to fill up gas?" He smirks and I shove him.

"No, I can't. I'm gonna stay and help the mom's prepare dinner." He nods, smiling down at me.

"What?" I say, quietly.

"Nothing, I just know that when we get married someday my mom's gonna be so happy." My cheeks start to feel hot.

"Shut up Jere, we're 16." I laugh.

"I'm just saying!"

"Well, we'll see."

"I should go. Belly's waiting for me in the car." I nod.

"Ok." He inches closer to my mouth and kisses me softly. We pull each other closer. It feels like eternity has passed by when I kiss Jeremiah and that's not even enough. When he pulls away, we're both breathing hard.

"Ok." He repeats, both of us laughing.

"You should go." He gives me a long peck on my forehead.

"Ok. But I will be doing more of that later." He backs away pointing at me. I laugh and shake my head.

"Remember to wear your seat belt! And tell Belly to wear her's too!" I shout to him while he's in the front yard.

I lean back on the wall. My finger grazes my lips lightly, replaying the last 5 minutes in my head. I've kissed Jere so much, now I don't even know what it's like to not kiss him. That's when it hits me. It's no longer a crush. I think I'm really falling for him.