Chapter 18

“Bye Geno! Thanks for helping Sid out,” I said as he got his coat and was walking out the door.

“You welcome,” he said with his signature chipped-tooth grin before shutting the door. I turned my attention to Sid who was busying himself over the stove getting everything ready.

“I’m not really dressed for a nice dinner…” I said, looking down at my hoodie and sweatpants.

“I took care of that,” he said with a smile as he turned around, roast in hand. It looked absolutely delicious and I wanted to eat it right then and there.

“You know, I don’t think I actually need to look too nice,” I said, crutching myself closer to the plate of food, and trying to grab some before Sid pulled it out of my reach and glared at me.

“Upstairs, in my room. Go,” he barked at me.

“Fine… What’s in your room?” I asked as I headed up the stairs one at a time on my crutches.

“You’ll see,” was all I heard him say. I got myself up the stairs, grumbling about how he was making me go all the way up the stairs for some stupid surprise. I didn’t realize how beautiful his stupid surprise was until I got myself in his room where a cream dress was waiting for me on his bed. It was a strapless, knee length, form fitting dress with cream flowers embroidered around the bust area. It was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t believe he would go to such lengths to make me happy. I sat on the side of his bed and proceeded to wrestle with the dress to get it on. Once I did, I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. Even with my hair pulled back in a greasy ponytail, and a huge knee brace occupying my right leg, I thought I looked gorgeous. I got myself down the stairs as quickly as possible by sliding down on my butt, causing the dress to ride up. I crutched myself into the kitchen where Sid was still standing over the stove with something in his hand. I didn’t care what he was doing, I needed to say this.“I love you.” He turned around to look at me, and I thought he was about to say something, but I had to get this out before I thought better of it. “You go out and buy me this dress while I’m a lump on the couch. You feed me everyday and make sure I get to the bathroom OK. You held my puke bags for me and I can never re-pay you for what you’ve done,” I gasped, on the verge of tears. I legitimately hate Mother Nature and hormones.

“You just did,” he said, before coming over to me. “Why do you think I’ve done all this for you?” he asked, looking me in the eyes. “I love you. Just hearing you say those words makes everything I’ve done worth it.”

“Thank you,” I whispered into his chest as he pulled me into a hug, being careful of my leg.“Now, I helped make the roast, and I made the mashed potatoes and corn all by myself,” he said like a little kid, and led me into the dining room. I was still a sniffling mess and I had to stop for a second to wipe my eyes. I always thought saying I love you would be cute and romantic. At least that’s how it was when I said it to Steven, but thanks to my period, I could no longer control my emotions.

“This is so nice Sid!” I gushed when I saw his dining room done up with candles and roses.

“All for you,” he said in my ear and kissed me on the cheek.

“Thank you,” I whispered for the second time in five minutes. I could feel the tears coming on again. I stifled them and sat in the chair he indicated.

“To us,” he said when he had poured both of us a flute of champagne.

“To us,” I echoed before digging into what looked like a delicious meal.

After dinner, I laid out on the couch, Sid right next to me for the first time in a week. We were lying face to face, his arms around me, making sure I wouldn’t topple off the couch at any given moment. It wasn’t one of those make-out moments, it was more like a moment of understanding, just lying on the couch. Words weren’t needed for the understanding we had. Despite the fact that I had known him for a little more than a month, there was no doubt that I loved him. He’s the cheese to my macaroni, and without his help, I would be nowhere. Behind me on the TV, I heard “FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!” By the time I craned my neck around to look, the ball had already dropped. I looked back at Sid, inches from me.

“Happy New Year,” he whispered before he kissed me sweetly.