Chapter 32

“Thank you everyone. Everything is so beautiful. I am going to head off to bed now. I appreciate all of the gifts. I love you guys,” I said, looking at Keegan a little too long when I said those words.

Him no longer being in love with me was more difficult for me to grasp than I thought. I thought perhaps he was lying when he took those words back, but with the lack of a present this year, it was obvious that it was no mistake that he denied me those eight little letters.

Everyone headed off to their rooms, except for Keegan. He gave the girls the guest room and he took the couch for the night, which was respectable.

I sat looking at all of the gifts I had received after I washed my face and tied down my hair for the night. I loved everything, even the wrapping paper that everyone used. It was all so thoughtful. Casey refused to send my gift the day before my birthday. She always gave it to me the day of my birthday. I was excited to see her. I sent her a quick text, letting her know that Keegan hadn’t even given me a present. Before I got her response, I heard a knock at my door.

My bedroom was at the far end of the hallway near the bathroom, so I was sure one of the twins was scared to head back down the dark hallway alone to the guest room. I walked quietly along my dark oak floor boards. My soft socks left no audible noise on the floor. I made sure I did not disturb anyone that was already sleeping. I opened the heavy wooden door with care. Standing there in my doorway was Keegan. He had his curls brushed back loosely into a ponytail. His red hoodie had one string that was pulled way too long. His black shorts revealed the top of his boxers. He was holding a present.

I moved aside so he could come into my room. I closed the door behind him as he walked inside.

”Sorry to bother you so late, Brees. I wanted to give you this. I wrestled back and forth in my mind as to whether or not I should give this to you,” he said, pushing the box in my direction.

My hand slowly rose to grab the small pink box. I carefully pulled the black polka dotted ribbon. As I lifted off the top of the box, I could see a small necklace inside with a note.

The note read, “Look back on all of our memories whenever you miss me. Love, Keegan.”

My face was puzzled. I wasn’t sure what the note meant.

Noticing my confusion, Keegan grabbed the necklace and turned on his camera in his phone. He placed the lense of the camera up to the round glass ball in the necklace and gestured with his head for me to come and look. As I looked at his screen, I could see photos of us from when we were little, up to the time that we fell in love. I smiled at him. My eyes softened and he knew what they were saying.

”Kee, I absolutely love this!” I said, trying to keep my voice down.

”I was nervous to give it to you. I know we aren’t together any more and it seemed more romantic than friendly, and I didn’t want to give off the wrong idea,” he said, turning off his phone.

”I don’t think that at all, Kee. We are friends and we will always be friends,” I said, taking the necklace from him and hugging him.

I attempted to clasp the necklace around my neck from the front, but I could not get it with the low lighting. Keegan saw me struggling and put his phone down to assist me. He grabbed both ends of the silver rope and proceeded to clasp the ends together. He pulled the clasp around the back of my neck and fixed the pendant. His hand was so warm against my skin. I felt his labored breathing on my face as he focused on the task.

“It looks beautiful on you,” he said, still holding the pendant.

His hand was pressed firmly against my collarbone. My eyes met his and we stayed that way for a while. I caught myself and looked away. He moved his hand.

“Thank you for this, Kee. I’ll really cherish it.” I smiled down at the necklace, my fingers curling around it. “I’m seriously exhausted, though, so you should probably get some sleep too. I’ll see you in the morning for my eighteenth birthday, and, I guess, Christmas,” I added, giving him a cheesy grin at my own joke.

He smiled and nodded towards the clock, “Happy birthday, Brees,” he said, tapping my chin.

“Oh my gosh, it is my birthday already,” I said, excitedly.

“I'm happy I am here to share it with you,” he said, fixing my curl.

His hand ran down the side of my cheek. I got goosebumps as it did.

“I am too Kee. Umm, thank you again. Honestly, this is beautiful. I will see you in the morning,” I said, walking towards my bed, still holding the pendant.

Keegan grabbed my wrist and turned me back around. My body whipped around quickly as he pulled me close to him.

”What if I don’t want to leave just yet,” he said, holding my waist.

“Kee…” I said, my voice trailing off.

I knew this was a bad idea and if he stayed, this would be a mistake for both of us. I wanted him to stay more than anything. But I needed to convince him to go.

”Brees, I just need five more minutes. I think I have always needed five more minutes. Five more minutes without this chaos. Five more minutes to get to know us. Five more minutes to hold you. Five more minutes to show you how much I loved you. I just needed you for five more minutes,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine.

We swayed that way for a moment and then he rubbed his thumb on my bottom lip. He didn’t speak, but I knew what he was saying.

”Can I just get five more minutes with you, Brees?” he asked.

His voice trembled. He sounded as if he would cry if he spoke another word. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. The silence was so incredibly loud. I could hear our hearts beating. Our energy pulled us in like a whirlwind. He grabbed my face in his hands and took a deep breath. His eyes were pleading with my lips.