I Think I Love You

Ez and I went for a drive around the block, then went back to the house. We got out of my car and raced each other inside. Abby was in the kitchen putting cinnamon rolls in the oven. I grabbed my gifts and took them up to my room to be put away. My phone rang and I checked to see it was daddy. "Merry Christmas!" I answered.

"Merry Christmas, baby girl!"

"Dad, you'll never believe what they got me."

"A car?"

"How did you know?" Then it registered.

"Abby," we said in unison. I laughed.

"What else did you get?" daddy asked.

"I got Ray Bans, Hello Kitty Docs, a Gucci purse and makeup."

"In other words, you had a good Christmas."

"Yeah."

"Well we sent your gift in the mail yesterday, so it should be there within the next week. It's no Gucci purse, but I know you'll like it."

"Of course I will, it's coming from you and mom." Daddy laughed.

"I'm glad you had a good Christmas, honey. I have to go, we're getting ready to go visit your grandparents."

"Okay, daddy. Tell mom-mom and pop-pop I said hi."

"I will. Have a great day, I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." I hung up and went back downstairs. I flopped down on the sofa next to Ez, who was listening to his iPod. He smiled at me, but didn't say anything. I smiled back, then got up to go in the kitchen. The smell of baking cinnamon rolls became stronger the closer I got to the kitchen. I sat down on a bar stool and just watched Abby work. Without turning around to see me, she said,

"Tonight is our Christmas party. It starts at eight, so be ready by seven-thirty."

"Okay."

"Oh, and pack a suitcase. We leave tomorrow night for New York." I lit up.

"We're going to New York?"

"Yeah. We go every year to watch the ball drop." I grinned. I've watched the ball drop on TV and have always wanted to go to see it live. I never actually thought it would happen though. The oven beeped and Abby pulled out the cinnamon rolls. She iced them and called everyone to the kitchen. We each got two, and I didn't hesitate to scarf mine down. My mom used to make cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. I wonder if she did it for just her and daddy today. When everyone was finished eating, we threw away our paper towels and went on about our business. Ez was laughing at me.

"What?"

"You've got some icing right there." He pointed to my lips.

"Oh." I blushed. He took his thumb and wiped away the icing. I smiled and said, "Thanks." I noticed Abby was watching us, so I asked Ez, "I'm going to go to the store to pick up some things for my car. Do you want to come with me?" He smiled.

"Sure."

"Cool." I went up to my room to change my clothes and do my hair and make-up. When I was done, I stuck my phone in my purse and went back downstairs. Ez was in the kitchen talking to Abby, so I hid and listened in.

"Mom, nothing happened, I swear. Nikki doesn't like me that way."

"I don't understand! She's been here for a month and she still doesn't want you. How is that even possible? Every girl in town wants you."

"I don't know, mom. Maybe it's the fact that she was forced into this with no choice or say in the matter. That's reason enough for her not to want me."

"Well don't you want her?"

"You know I do, but it doesn't matter what I want. I'm not going to force her to love me. We're going to get married as planned and hopefully with time, she'll start to love me on her own." Holy shit. I just heard way more than I cared to know. I need to learn to stop eavesdropping on people. I walked into the kitchen and said,

"I'm ready when you are." as if I heard nothing.

"Cool, lets go."

When I turned my car on, Set Fire To The Rain by Adele was on, so I rolled my window down and started to sing.

We went to Cars 'R' Us (yeah, I didn't know it existed either) to pick up accesories for my car. I browsed the seat covers, choosing from pink zebra print covers or black Hello Kitty covers. I went with the pink zebra print covers and matching floor mats. I picked out pink Hello Kitty license plate covers, a pink Hello Kitty steering wheel cover and a matching CD sun visor. I also picked up an iPod dock, a treble clef window decal and a Hello Kitty lanyard.

After I paid, I went out and set everything up, leaving the trash in the back seat until we got home. I brought the engine to life and Ez said, "Do you want to get some coffee?" I smiled and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." He directed me to the nearest Starbucks. We went inside and ordered two coffees and a cheesecake brownie to split. As we drank our coffees and picked at the brownie, we talked. "So, you guys go to New York every year. I bet that's awesome. I've always wanted to go."

"Yeah, we do. It's been boring these last few years though." I looked at him confused.

"How could going to Times Square on New Years Eve be boring? That's like, the ultimate thrill!"

"Well, we took Valerie each year we were dating. At first it was nice to have someone there to kiss at midnight, but with each year that passed, Val became less interested. Last year she didn't even go with us to watch the ball drop. She just stayed in the hotel." He sounded so heartbroken and I couldn't help but feel bad.

"I'm sorry." I was genuinely hurting for him.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine."

"No, it's not! I don't know Valerie that well, but I can sure say she's a spoiled, ungrateful bitch. She took you for granted. I can assure you that I will never treat you the way she did. I am the luckiest girl on Earth right now. I mean, I don't want to be married, but since I have to be, I'm glad it's to you." I felt tears well in my eyes. He was grinning, but wasn't looking at me. "Ezekiel, you are an extraordinary individual. I hate to see people I care about in pain. What Valerie did to you is unacceptable. I don't know how you put up with her. I can tell you're hurting." I reached over and took his hand as tears spilled out of my eyes. That made him look up at me. "Please, don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you in so much pain. I've had my heart broken before, so I can relate to what you're feeling. Trust me when I say I will never hurt you. Ever. I wouldn't want someone to feel that awful feeling of being unwanted." I wiped the tears that had stained my cheeks and laughed. "I'm such a wreck." He laughed at this.

"Thank you, Nikki. You don't know how much that means to me." I smiled.

"That's what friends are for." His smile became fake just like that.

"Yeah." He finished off the cheesecake brownie and took the tray up. I went out to start my car. Get Stoned by Hinder was playing and I laughed. This was the shit back in the day! When Ez climbed in the car, he wasn't smiling. I could tell I'd upset him, and that hurt.