“Forme? I’m so excited.” I fold my legs under my butt and rifle through my purse, finding the two gift bags I put together before I left my apartment. “Here you go.”
“You first.” Brody motions for me to open my hand. “Hold out your palm, please.”
“Please don’t tell me it’s an animal. I will scream if a spider touches me.”
“No animals. And don’t put that idea in Liv’s head. She’s begging me for a cat, and I know if we go down to the shelter,we’re going to come home with a kitten.” He sits next to me and puts a small object in my hold. “There you go.”
“Wait.” I blink, looking down at the two metal keychains in my hand. My thumb runs along the grooved edges of the design. “These are for me?”
“You mentioned you like to collect them. I saw a store at the mall and thought I’d get you a couple. I know they’re not from France or Beijing or wherever else you might have competed, but I thought maybe you could start a new collection with keychains you find when you’re just… living your life. Having a good day. Skating doesn’t have to be involved.”
“Brody.” I don’t know if I want to smile or cry. They’re perfectly hysterical, unique in a special way because I understand the joke. “They’re perfect.”
“Do you like them?”
“I love them.” I clutch them tight to my chest, a laugh bubbling out of me. “They’re going on my wall.”
“You have a whole wall dedicated to keychains? Please tell me I can see it one of these days,” Brody says.
“Only if you don’t make fun of me,” I warn.
“I’d never make fun of something that makes you happy.”
The moment feels too heavy, too important for something so small, so I shove the gift bags his way. I watch him pluck the festive paper from the bag, nervous when he pulls out the gift.
“It’s a whistle,” I say. “I thought you could use it at practice or during one of our sessions. Yours looked old and rusty, but now I’m realizing coaches probably have emotional attachment to their whistles, so?—”
Brody cuts me off with a kiss. “I have been needing a new whistle for a very long time. Thank you, Hannah.”
“You’re welcome.” I smile when he rests his forehead against mine. “I’ll let you give Liv her present. It’s new laces for her skates. Pink, because she told me that’s her favorite color.”
“She’s going to be ecstatic. Thanks for thinking of her too.” He moves the gifts out of the way, and I set the keychains down, not wanting to scratch them. “How do you feel about pancakes?"
"In general? I’m a fan.”
“And for breakfast in the morning?”
I have to hide my smile in his bicep. “Sounds perfect.”
Brody drags me to the shower and cleans me up. After, he wraps me in a big, fluffy towel before giving me one of his old Boston College shirts with his name on the back. I curl up in his arms, and right before I drift off to sleep, I feel him press a kiss to my cheek.
TWENTY-FIVE
BRODY
H.E.
Merry Christmas, Brody!!
Me
Merry Christmas, Hannah.
H.E.
How is the movie marathon with Liv going?
Me
