Thanks To You || Alex Gaskarth

22. You Are My Only One

I sipped my pumpkin spice latte as I looked out the car window. The neighborhood was a show of sparkling lights and elaborate displays. It was Christmas Eve and Alex and I were driving around, looking at all the beautiful Christmas lights. The decorations were one of my favorite parts of Christmas. 

"Slow down," I said.

"I'm going like 5 miles per hour, as it is. I don't want people to think I'm a rapist," Alex defended.

"A rapist in a sports car?"

"It could happen."

I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back to the displays. Alex interlaced his fingers with mine, smiling at my rapt fascination. Alex and I drove through the suburban streets. The decorations ranged from bright and simple lights to complicated mangers and moving Santa Clauses on the front lawns. After almost an hour of driving in circles, Alex began to drove away from the suburbs and towards the city.

I gave him a confused look. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

I pouted, putting on my cutest puppy dog face. "Please tell me."

"Nope," Alex said, ignoring my pleading look.

I sighed, letting myself be dragged along for the ride and hoping his surprise wouldn't be too much. Through the two years that we'd been dating, I'd learned that Alex had a tendency to go overboard. Where most guys would get a bouquet of flowers and a nice dinner for their girlfriends on their anniversary, Alex would fly us to Paris. It was always extravagant and always overwhelming, but I couldn't complain. He liked expressing his love and I really appreciated that. 

It had been about a year and a half since I'd moved my life to Baltimore and the city had definitely grown on me. The freezing temperatures and snowy landscape of winter was a big change from the chilly but mild winters in South Carolina. I went from wearing jeans and t-shirts in the colder months to chunky scarves, fluffy snow boots, and thick sweaters. Everything about living in Baltimore was a change, but I loved it. I used to make fun of Alex for his devotion to the Maryland metropolis, but it was quickly growing on me.

We'd visited my parents for Thanksgiving and their reception to Alex hadn't been the warmest. I'd wanted them to love him, like I did, but all they saw was some irresponsible musician. It didn't matter that he was financially stable and in a very well-respected band. They'd always wanted me to marry someone from the South's upper class. We had dinner and we were all cordial, but I knew Alex and I wouldn't visit for a while. It was sad that they couldn't just accept who I was with. My parents had never been a big part of my life, so it wasn't very hard to choose Alex over them, not that either gave me an ultimatum. My heart belonged in Baltimore with Alex and Peyton and Baz. Before I met Alex, I never imagined being content anywhere but in South Carolina. It was crazy how things changed. 

I had started at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in the fall and I loved it. The campus was beautiful and the proximity to Alex's house made it easy for me to live with Alex and still get to my classes quickly. I was getting my undergraduate studies out of the way. I still had no idea what I wanted to do, but my advisors were really helpful. I was leaning towards the idea of teaching or maybe marketing even business. Alex didn't mind that I had no idea what I wanted to do, and told me that if I never decided, I could always just be an All Time Low groupie. As delightful as that sounded, I was sure I'd figure it out eventually. 

Last fall, Kathy drove up from South Carolina with Aphrodite and Hawk in the horse trailer. At first, we were only going to move Aphrodite up here. However, Alex's bond with Hawk was more than I'd estimated. He really loved the horse, in the same way I loved Aphrodite. It worked out for the best too because it gave each horse a sense of familiarity even in their new environment, a beautiful stables near our house. It also allowed Alex and I to go riding together frequently, something we really loved. Whenever he was home from tour, Alex and I made it a point to spend an abundance of time with our horses.