Page 9 of Unwrapping His Gift
“Okay!” I reply, reaching for my debit card. But Craig quickly shakes his head and puts his hand out to stop me.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it. Same as yesterday, right?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Are you sure? I can get my own drink–”
“Of course I’m sure.” He smiles. “Be right back.”
What is even happening right now?I’m tingling all over, taking deep breaths as I find a comfortable couch in the corner surrounded by nice Christmas lights. I take a seat and watch as Craig orders for us and makes his way over to the spot I’ve chosen.
He towers over every other man in the shop. I guess I’d forgotten just how tall he was back in high school. Either that or he’s grown even more since then and I just wasn’t paying enough attention last night, but he must be at least six-two. I do my best not to stare, but I simply cannot take my eyes off him as he walks over to me.
“All right, one peppermint-mocha-latte coming up.” He smiles as he takes a seat beside me.
“What did you get?” I ask.
“Just a green tea. I’m a simple guy when it comes to coffee and teas.”
“Are you a simple guy when it comes to using mobile devices?” I counter with a bit of a biting quip. “Because you do know how they work, I’m pretty sure. And you have had my number for the last five years.”
Craig sighs and looks down at his lap. “All right, you want to launch right into it, huh? Okay.”
I can see he’s not eager to get into this conversation this early into our…date…or whatever this is right now, but I’m starting to feel things inside for him that I haven’t felt in years, and I have to hear what he has to say before I let him unleash any more of his incredible charm on me. I may have already gone against Marissa’s advice and met up with him just like she told me not to, but that doesn’t mean I completely disregarded everything she said.
I’m still hesitant. I want to know why he ghosted me and what he has to say for himself before I give any more of myself to him.
Or at least, that’s what I’m trying to do.
“Well, Daisy, would you believe me if I told you it was all my parents’ fault?”
“Really, Craig?” I scoff. “That’s what you’re going with?”
He sort of laughs and sort of sighs at the same time, then shrugs. “I know, I know, it sounds incredibly lame, but at the same time, it’s kind of the truth.”
“How?” I ask.
“Craig! Daisy!” one of the baristas calls out, jolting us both out of the moment. Craig rolls his eyes and quickly gets up and brings our drinks back to the couch. I can tell by just feeling the cup that mine’s way too hot (as they usually are at coffee shops), so I set it on the table beside us and give him a look for him to keep going.
“Okay, so…this is hard for me to say,” Craig continues, taking a deep breath. “So try not to gettoomad at me.”
“I’ll try.”
“My parents…are snobs. And you know this.”
“Well…” It’s true, but I don’t want to just come right out and say that.
“It’s okay, Daisy, they are.” Craig nods, as though we’re sharing in a secret only a handful of people know. “And my parents never particularly liked your mom, the fact that she never re-married, or how she…behaved sometimes.”
Yep, Craig was right. I’m finding it pretty hard not to get mad at him right now.
“How shebehaved?” I ask. “You mean how she’d get drunk for most of December, you mean?”
Craig’s not even looking at me now, but he nods. “Yeah. They were okay with me dating you for a while, but when it was approaching time for me to go to college, they started not being okay with it.”
“You mean…they didn’t want us dating?”
“Right,” he replies. “And just to be clear, I fought them on that. I told them I’d date whoever I wanted, and they could fuck right off!”
I snicker. “Yeah, that sounds like you back then.”