The Perfect Gift.

I was new to the whole girlfriend thing, but I wanted to do it right. It was my girl’s birthday tomorrow, and I dragged Garrett and Eric along with me to pick out a gift. They said I could never go wrong with shoes. So I almost felt proud when I remembered the shoes ________ had been gushing over for weeks.
As we pulled up on the driveway, I left the shopping bag in the car and raced inside to see if she was home. I didn’t want her to see.
The microwave goes off and I curse under my breath. So she was home.
She grins when I enter the kitchen, taking a seat at the island table. “Hey. You’re home a bit late.”
"Am I?" I give her a quick peck on the cheek, silently praying the guys wouldn’t bring the bag in.
"Yeah. You’re usually here before me." She giggles as she picks up her fork and crosses her legs. I instantly freeze. Were those-
"What’s wrong?" she asks as she pops some food in her mouth. I was too focused to see what she was eating, too busy trying to figure out if those weren’t the shoes I’d just bought.
I clear my throat. “Your shoes. They’re new?”
"Oh," she says, looking down. "Yeah, I ordered them online the other day. A birthday present to myself." Her smile grows wider.
"Aren’t those the ones you were telling me about? The ones we saw at the mall?"
She wiggles her foot. “Yep. I didn’t feel like going back to buy them, so I ordered them. I’m surprised you remembered.”
God fucking dammit.
I run a hand through my hair, planning about how I would have to drive back to the store and return them and look for something else.
She raises an eyebrow. “Is everything okay? You look a bit tense.”
Just then, Eric comes up behind me and cups my shoulder. “Hey, you left the keys in the truck. You planning to shut it off sometime this century?”
I roll my eyes and mutter under my breath, “Yeah, I’ll go.”
"Oh, _______, didn’t see ya there." He takes one look at her and smirks. "You look lovely today."
"I’ll, uh, be right back," I huff, sprinting back to the truck outside, brushing past Garrett, hearing him as I pass by. "What’s his problem? Oh, what’s up, ________?"
Those dicks better not saying anything.
I open up the car door and climb inside, shoving the now useless bag into the corner and yanking my keys out of the ignition. I take a moment to recollect myself, taking a deep breath as my mind starts racing and coming up with possible ideas or solutions. Now what I was going to get her? Some lame ass flowers? I wanted to show that I actually tried, that I appreciated her. This was my first serious relationship in a long time and I didn’t want to mess it up.
My thoughts don’t slow down even as I turn to walk up the steps, where Eric and Gare are making their way out. “We’re gonna head out and find something else for you to get her,” Garrett chuckles and I flip him off.
Closing the front door and joining _______ in the kitchen, I defeatedly plop down next to her. She sends me a sympathetic look and rests her chin in her hand. “Are you okay?”
"Yeah," I lie. "Why wouldn’t I be okay."
She bites her lip. “Halvo told me what happened.”
I sigh. Well, there was no use lying now. So much for trying to surprise her.
"It’s fine. I just have bad luck."
"Is the truck alright? I know you get worked up when anything happens to it."
My eyebrows furrow. “My truck?”
"He said there was an incident on the road."
"Oh," I mutter, relieved. So I still had the chance to surprise her with something. I nod, trying to go along with it. "Yeah, it’s nothing major. Just a small fender bender."
She narrows her eyes. “He said they cracked your windshield in the parking lot.”
Really? Fucking Halvo couldn’t even come up with an easy enough lie for me to make believable?
I bite my lip. “Well, I was pissed when I was pulling out, so I-“
She stands up. “John. There’s nothing wrong with the truck. You’ve been acting weird since you got home. You were just fine until you saw me. What’s going on?”
I slowly rise from my seat, rubbing the back of my neck. I sigh, feeling pathetic. I failed to get her a simple birthday present and keep it hidden. How much more of an idiot can I be?
"I’m so bad at this," I mumble, dropping my hand and not quite meeting her eyes. "The reason I’m late is because I was at the mall getting you those shoes for your birthday."
Her eyes widen and she suppresses a laugh. “Oh.”
"I know," I say, frowning. "I’m sorry. If I had known you’d ordered them already, I would have gotten you something else-"
She giggles. “You didn’t need to go through the trouble to get me a present.”
"But I knew how much you wanted them," I insist. "Now I just feel like a jackass because I have no idea what else to get you." I sit back down with my hands resting loosely on her hips. She steps between my legs and wraps her arms around my neck, smiling. "You don’t have to get me anything. The fact that you even remembered is sweet. You can take me out to dinner or something for my birthday tomorrow. We can order take out for all I care. I don’t mind as long as you spend it with me."
"Really?" I pull her closer, exhausted from the long day of shopping I had to do. All I wanted was to fall into bed with her.
"Yeah. It makes it special that way." Her smile broadens before softening to press her lips to mine.
I chuckle and murmur against her lips, “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you feel bad that I have to go all the way back to return those expensive shoes?”
She laughs, her fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of my neck. “John, those shoes were fourty bucks.”
"But the ones I bought were like one-fifty…"
Her eyes widen in horror before she chuckles. “Oh, God. You must really love me.”
A smirk teases my lips before I pull her in for another kiss. “You know it, baby.”