That Stupid Little L-Word:

Chapter Thirty One:

The next few weeks are, for the lack of a better word, absolutely and utterly amazing. I've never really had a serious boyfriend before, and am not accustomed to someone being so sweet and attentive to me twenty four seven. Blue-Eyes can read my expressions like an open book. If I didn't like something, he knew immediately, and rushed to change it to my liking. He doted on me, and made me feel like a queen. 

And I liked it.

Any remnants of the suspicion that I'd harbored toward him vanished entirely throughout the weeks that passed. 

"Guess what today is," Blue-Eyes currently sits beside me on a peeling, plastic red swing, his hands clutching the two metal chains like a lifeline. He stares at me with the expression of an excited two year old who is about to pick out a new toy. 

I arch an eyebrow and lean against one of my own metal chains, "Do tell me, dear." 

He shakes his head and grins mischievously, "No, no. I want you to guess." 

I make a face. I hate guessing games almost as much as I hate the people who stand several yards away from us, throwing perfectly good cereal at a flock of demon geese. With a sigh, I swing a little, my broken leg doing little to help that effort, as I mull the possibilities over. 

"Your birthday?" I chance a guess. 

"Nope." 

"Your mother's birthday?" 

He mimics the sound of a buzzer, "Err, wrong. Try again." 

I shoot him a glare, and fold my arms across my chest. "Tell me, or I will resort to violence, and it will not fair well for your handsome face," I demand. 

Blue-Eyes sticks his tongue out at me and snickers, "You'd have to catch me first, oh-wounded-one," as he stares pointedly at my leg and then toward the crutches that lie a few feet away from us. 

"Hey," I jab a finger at him, "I'm pretty fast for someone on crutches."

A wary smile twitches across his features, and Blue-Eyes arches a brow at me, waiting for me to continue to guess. I press my lips together and skewer him with a pleading look. I refuse to guess anymore. I mean, he was either going to tell me, or not. I don't like playing games. 

But I really want to know what today is. 

Blue-Eyes rolls his eyes and stands. His abandoned seat swings back and forth at the sudden movement, and he side-steps it to avoid getting smacked in the booty by it. I watch him curiously as he stops in front of my swing and presses his lips to my forehead. 'What are you doing?" I ask as he squats down in front of me. 

"Shh," he pokes my stomach, "You'll ruin it." 

My eyebrows crinkle in confusion. He sits down in front of me and pulls his backpack into his lap. He starts to fish around inside the main pocket until he pulls a small chocolate brown stuffed dragon out, a bright red ribbon tied around its neck. Then he pulls out a heart shaped box. 

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off with a narrowed look. I press my lips together into a tight line and take the items as he passes them to me.

"Happy one month anniversary," he smiles hesitantly. 

 My eyes widen to roughly the size of golf balls and my mouth drops open as I flounder around for a coherent thought. My gaze shifts from the gifts in my hands to his face, and then back again. He points at the dragon, "I didn't think that a normal teddy bear would really mean anything to you, so I went to Toys R Us and found a dragon because I know you like them. I hope you like it."