Labeled Love (34 page)

“Kiss me, baby.”

I stand up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. “When do I get my presents?”

“Not yet. Let’s go say good-bye to your parents. I want to take you somewhere.” He winks, putting his hand in mine.

“Okay.” I turn around, making my way to the front door. As we walk into the house, the twins are fighting. Mom is yelling for my dad, and my dad is coming around the corner.

“Hi, Jace,” they both yell in unison. Jace walks up to my mom and gives her a hug and then shakes my dad’s hand.

“If it’s okay, I’d like to take Shay for a ride.”

“Sure,” Dad says. “Please be careful with my girl on the back of that bike.”

“Always,” Jace says.

Mom yells over the twins that have not acknowledged anyone else in the room. “Don’t be gone too long. I’d like to have birthday cake with you.”

“For sure, Mom.” I look at Jace. He smiles, takes my hand, and we go back outside. “God, it must be nice to be an only child,” I say, half-kidding. I wouldn’t change my family, but sometimes it’s chaos.

“You wouldn’t want to be an only child, baby. It’s very boring. I would’ve loved to have someone else around.”

“I guess you’re right, but you won’t be lonely forever. One day we will be together every day. You will probably get sick of me.”

He puts my helmet on me, giving me a soft look. “I will never get sick of you, pretty girl. Ever.” He fastens the helmet, like he always does, making sure it’s nice and snug. He leans down and picks up the backpack off the ground. After putting it on my back, he tightens the straps. He gets on the bike. I swing my leg over and snuggle up against his back.

“Where are we going?”

“For a hike.”

“Yay!”

I hear him chuckle in front of me. “Hold on tight,” he says seriously. He doesn’t have to tell me that. I’ve been hanging on tight to him for years.

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL
day. Jace parks at the bottom of Runyon Canyon, takes the backpack from me, and then puts it on. Grabbing my hand, we start up the trail. Usually, you can find lots of people walking up and down. Families with their dogs and a celebrity or two are common, but today it’s quiet. We walk hand in hand and talk. I realize at this very moment that the things I worked so hard on when I was growing up are nothing compared to how hard Jace and I have worked to be together. Most couples would have given up already. They would have seen the differences and thought it was too much work, but not us.

I look over at him as he carefully leads us up the trail, making sure I don’t slip. My heart picks up. Not from the hill we’re climbing, but from how Jace guides me to the top. “What are you thinking about, baby? You have such a serious look on your face.”

I’m feeling choked up. I just love him so much. I’d go anywhere with him. “I just love you.”

He stops walking. “Do you know the definition of love?”

“Do you mean the actual definition?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever looked that up before.”

“I have,” he says with a hint of embarrassment.

“You have?”

“Yes, I did the day I met you.”

I tilt my head to the side. “You did?”

“I had to. I felt something the day I met you that I’d never felt before. I just wanted to know what love was.”

“What did it say?”

“Well, there were a few definitions that I knew didn’t really apply to what I was feeling. Not at that time, anyway,” he says with a devilish grin. “But, one thing stood out to me.”

“What’s that?”

“It said love is a feeling of deep affection. That you always want to be with that person. That you always think about them. I remember my whole body felt warm the day I met you. When I heard your voice, my ears wanted to get closer to you. My heart beat faster the closer I got to you. And, when my eyes met yours, they didn’t want to look away. I spent every day I was away from you wanting desperately to see you again. I didn’t even know you, but I was so afraid I would never see you again. That feeling has never stopped. I can’t get close enough, can’t see you enough, and can’t hear your voice enough.”

“I feel the same way about you. Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe. I just want to be with you all the time. I even get angry with you that you won’t allow me the simple pleasure of surprising you at your house just so I can say hi. Just so I can show you how much I love you when I’ve had a long few days at school. I just wish sometimes you’d give that to me.”

“Shay, you don’t have to show up at my house for me to know you love me. I know your heart, baby.”

“I just feel like there are so many times you’ve needed me, and I wasn’t there for you.”

He exhales a big breath. “You’re too good, too special to me. I don’t want you around that environment,” he says, gently caressing my hand. We continue walking, but our conversation still lingers.

He leads us to the top of Inspiration Point, and we sit on a wooden bench. Looking down, we can see the whole city. Jace sets the backpack down next to us as I look out. The rolling hills seem lost when you’re in the city below, so it’s nice to come here and feel nature.

“Please know that I do everything to protect you.”

“What do I need protection from?”

“Baby, not that long ago I had to get a junkie away from you, and that was at the community center. Where I live is worse.” His face goes from soft to hard.

“Don’t you want your mom to meet me?”

“You won’t ever meet her.”

“Why? How bad can she possibly be that I can’t even meet her? If we’re going to be together forever, how will I never meet her?”

“She’s… she’s… just not good enough for you. I don’t want you to be exposed to the kind of person she is.”

“Jace, you make her sound like a monster.”

Jumping off the bench, he puts his hands in his hair and looks out over the city. “Every day I’m away from you, I dream about a life with you. Just you and me. I picture us living in a pretty house with lots of pictures plastered on the walls of us and kids, lots of kids. I picture us so happy. I want that life with you. I don’t want you to look at my mom and see the life I’ve had. I just want you to see me. Just me.”

I get up and walk toward him, putting my arms around him, pressing my front to his back. “I want everything you dream about, but seeing where you came from and whom you came from would never change how I feel about you. Nothing will ever change how I feel about you. You kind of own my heart.”

He turns around and pulls me into him. “I love you, baby. Are you ready for your birthday presents?”

“Yes, please.”

He brings his beautiful hands to my face, kissing me slowly. It’s a simple kiss, but there is so much emotion. Promises of love are all over his lips. Every touch, every lick of his tongue meshing with mine is slow, like he’s savoring every piece of me. Our tongues slowly sweep over each other as his hands rub my back and my hands move straight to his sexy hair. I lightly run my fingers through his soft black strands. He murmurs against my mouth, sending flutters to my belly. In a struggled breath, he breaks the kiss.

“Come here, birthday girl.” He leads me back to the bench. The heaviness is gone. Jace’s face lights up as he grabs the backpack. Opening it, he looks at me with a big grin on his face “This is your first surprise.” As soon as he pulls out a piece of paper, my eyes fill will tears.

“You made me a card.”

“It’s been a while. I promise I will start making them again. Cell phones are great, but I want you to always have something to hold on to.”

“Thank you. I miss my cards. I love your text messages, too, but you make the best cards.” I smile at him before looking down at my card. He used bright colors, and all the hearts are colored pink. It says, “
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRETTY GIRL
” in big, bold letters, along with a sweet saying. I swallow slowly, trying not to be a big baby. He puts his arms around me, seeing my inner struggle.

“Read the inside.”

Opening it slowly, I see his adorable handwriting, which is a mixture of both print and cursive. It makes me giggle. “I love your handwriting.”

“Yeah, I try. I’m just not good at it.”

“Yes, you are. It’s perfect,” I tell him, because to me it is. After reading only the first three words written inside the card, a tear escapes my eyes.

I love you. I love your smile. I love your eyes. I love the way you smell like the rays of sunshine. I don’t know if that makes sense, but to me you are the sun that warms my sky. I love the way you put your hands on your hips when you try to be sassy. It was cute when you were young, but now, damn, it’s so sweet. I love your voice. I love the way you look at me, the way you hold me, the way you love me. I love you, pretty girl, more than I could ever truly articulate in words. You’re everything to me.

Happy 18th Birthday, baby. I love you, Jace

“I love it.” I hold the card to my chest. “Thank you.”

Reaching into his backpack, he pulls out a bag of trail mix. “This isn’t as sentimental.” He laughs, handing it to me.

“My favorite,” I say, opening the bag.

“Wait, baby,” he orders, stopping me. “That’s not all.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope. A couple more.” Reaching back inside the backpack, he pulls out a stainless steel cookie cutter. I get all giddy.

“How did you know I needed a new heart cookie cutter?”

“I remember everything you tell me. You said the other one broke the last time you made me a sandwich. I love when you make me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“Aw, I love it.”

“Okay, one more.” He puts his hand inside the backpack.

“Jace, you already did enough,” I say as he rolls his eyes.

“You’re right. I’ll save this for when you graduate instead.” He takes his hand out of the backpack.

“Um… I don’t think so, buddy.”

He kisses my cheek and puts his hand back inside, taking out a small box that is wrapped in paper with flowers on it. He hands it to me. I notice his eyes focused intently on it as I unwrap it slowly. “Baby, just rip it,” he says impatiently.

“I want to save the wrapping paper.”

“There is barely any paper.”

“I don’t care. This is the first time you’ve wrapped something for me.” He sits back on the bench as I carefully remove the tape. When I’ve unwrapped the gift perfectly, I set the paper down next to me and open the top of the box. I lose my breath. “Oh, Jace, it’s so beautiful.” Before I can even get the gift out of the box, he takes it. I set the box down.

“Open your hand,” he says as I comply. He places the bracelet onto my open palm.

“It’s a charm bracelet,” I say quietly.

“Yes, it’s a charm bracelet,” he answers. “I want you to have something to signify our love.” I stare at each charm as he describes its significance to me. “I only started with a few, so you can build on it over the years.” I nod my head in agreement. “The first one is a football. That’s how we met.” My eyes fill with tears. “The second one is a heart, because you had my heart that very first day.” I nod again as one tear falls. “The third one is a surfboard for our days getting wet together.” This time he smiles. “The fourth one is a sun.”

“What’s the sun for?” I ask him.

“When I’m with you, I feel like you warm my soul. I always want you surrounded by my love, like the sun warms the sky.”

I shake my head as I wipe the tears on my cheeks. “You’ve always told me how you feel, and now I get to look at how you feel on my wrist every day.” He looks down at my bracelet. “Put it on me, please.”

He takes the dainty rose gold bracelet from my palm. It takes him a few tries to clasp it together with his fingers. When he finally gets it on me, I twist my wrist around, admiring its beauty. “It looks so pretty on your wrist,” he says.

“I’m never taking it off.”

“You’ll have to take it off sometime, baby.”

“Nope, I’m not taking it off.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He kisses my temple, bringing me closer to him.

“I don’t like it. I love it. Thank you so much. Best birthday present, ever.” I run my hand over the wooden bench, looking down and seeing several names etched into the wood. “Look, Jace.” He looks down. “Look at the names.” Taking his arm off my shoulder, he reaches into his backpack, bringing out a little pocketknife. Not asking why he has it, a huge grin spreads across my face when he motions for me to scoot over.

“Where do you want our names, pretty girl?”

“Wherever you can find space.”

He studies it for a minute and then opens the pocketknife and carves our names into the wood, making the letters large enough to carve a large heart around them. Then he engraves “Forever” above the heart and positions his body so he can write below it. I watch as he writes with no hesitation the word “Love”. Putting the knife away, he takes my hand and runs my fingertips over the words. Looking at me intently, he says, “Jace and Shay Forever Love.” Then he swallows, and I swear I see his eyes water as his lips tremble. “You are my forever love, Shay.” I want to cry again, but I manage to hold in the tears. I’m so crazy for this boy. I just look into his emotion-filled eyes. “Do you love me, baby?” he asks sweetly.