Chapter 8

After Sam drops Emily off at her house we go back to mine. Before playing any video games we go up to my room and I give Sam his presents.

First he unwraps a picture of him, Derek, and me after they won the hockey championship the week before. I painted a frame and had it fired and it looks really good. Sam says he'll put it by his bed, so he can see it every morning. I make a joke about how I wouldn't want Derek to be the first thing I see every morning and he laughs and promises that it isn't his best friend that he's looking forward to seeing as soon as he wakes up.

Then he opens his second gift. As he pulls the green hat out of the bag, identical to the blue one just new, I'm worried that he'll think that I don't like his blue one.

"I know you have the one in blue," I start to explain, "but when you look really close you have a little green in your eyes and I thought that this would help bring out the color."

"Casey, you don't have to explain, it's a great gift. I love it; I love both of them. Thank you." And then he smiles at me, the smile that lights up his whole face and his eyes. "Come here."

I walk over to where he's sitting on my bed and he reaches out and holds on to my waist to draw me closer. I put my hands on his shoulders, and lean down to kiss him. We only kiss for a few seconds before he pulls back.

"And thanks for helping me stand up to Derek. I really appreciate it."

"Why did you really agree to go to the mall if you didn't want to?"

"Honestly, I knew Derek was kind of uncomfortable about the two of us dating and I wanted him to know that he's still my best friend. I may come over here to hang out with him or hang out with you but seeing the other person is always a bonus. I just wanted him to know that not everything is changing and that he'll always be my friend, and I thought that if I let him plan tonight like he always does he would know how much our friendship means to me. He's having a hard time adjusting and I didn't want to make it any worse."

"You're a really good friend Sam. Derek's lucky to have you."

"Thanks. I think I'm pretty lucky to have both you and Derek. Although, you're way more to me than just a friend."

"Oh good, I'm glad to hear it." And with that I lean down and kiss Sam again.

Later we go downstairs and play Babe Raider for awhile. Sam kicks butt, but he lets me win a couple times. I've got a long way to go, but I'm convinced that one day I will beat him for real.

After video games we watch a movie that we don't really see. During one of our kisses Sam pulls back, looks me in the eye, smiles, and says, "Thanks for a great birthday Casey, it's everything I wanted it to be. And happy anniversary." I smile back and he leans in to kiss me some more. Although it wasn't my exact plan for Sam's birthday, the night has gone remarkably well. Way better than I had thought it would, based off of the day at school. But I guess it doesn't matter how I had planned the evening. All that mattered was that Sam had spent time with the people he cared about and that everyone had ended up enjoying themselves.