Jingle Bells and Parallels

2. Jerome

Another quick note for those who've read the Protector series: Jerome refers to Chanel as his mom, so the mom in here is indeed Chanel.

Chapter 2

~Jerome~

       "Mom!" Mae called, standing at the bottom of the stairs since our mom was currently upstairs folding some laundry. "Jerome and I are going to the mall for some more Christmas shopping!"

       "Okay!" Mom called back. "Make sure to come back before six because Jerome's grandfather is coming over for dinner!"

       "Got it!" Mae turned to look at me. "Ready to go?"

       "Yep," I said so the two of us went outside of our house and to the driveway. 

       It took a while for the two of us to decide whose car we were going to take to the mall but in the end, we went with mine. That was only because I told Mae we were going to get lunch on the way and she realized she didn't have to try eating while she drove.

       "So who did you get for Secret Santa?" Mae asked as we were driving to the mall after getting lunch.

       "I'm not telling you," I said. "Because, you know, it's Secret Santa."

       "Okay, but if we go into some stores together, I'm going to see who you got judging by the present you get," Mae said.

       "What if I got your name?" I asked.

       "You didn't," Mae said.

       "And how can you be so sure?"

       "Because you're the one who asked if I wanted to go to the mall with you. You wouldn't have asked me if you wanted to go out to buy me a present."

       "Okay, fair point," I said. "So who did you get?"

       "I asked you first," Mae said.

       "Yes, I'm quite aware of that," I said. "Are you avoiding me asking you because you got my name?"

       "No, I didn't," Mae said. "I have Alan, so that's going to be interesting. I feel like he's an easy person to shop for if the person buying the present knows him well enough so I really hope I actually do know him well enough. So who did you get?"

       I hesitated for a bit before I sighed. "I got Nolan."

       Mae furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do you sound upset about that? He's your boyfriend and you buy him presents all the time. This should be easy for you."

       "Yeah, it should be, but it's not going to be," I said. "Nolan has been through a lot the past couple months. I know he's an easy person to please. I literally can get him a bunch of food and he'll cry about how thankful he is, but I don't want to settle for the easy option. I want to get him the perfect gifts."

       "Gifts?" Mae repeated. "You only have to buy one for Secret Santa."

       "I know that," I said. "I'm not just going to buy him one present for Christmas just because I got his name for Secret Santa. One will be my Secret Santa gift and one will be my amazing boyfriend gift."

       I just hoped I would be able to find two perfect presents for my sweet and living boyfriend that definitely needed to be showered with love this Christmas.

       I pulled into the parking lot of the mall, parking into a stall before Mae and I got out of the car. I locked it and then we headed into the mall. "So where should we go first?" Mae asked.