Dysarthria | Dialogue Story ✔

Bonus Chapter 2: "I Have A Surprise."

Author's note:

This bonus chapter is dedicated to acetylcholinee! I hope you enjoy this!

Also, I hadn't added anything to the Dysarthria world in a while so if I slipped from third person's POV and forgot to fix it, please let me know.

Bonus Chapter 2: "𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓮."

Gracie used to not care so much about Valentine's Day. She didn't have someone to spoil her that day. The only person giving her chocolate was her mom. Not that she didn't appreciate the candy that she would give her, but she always wanted to feel loved by someone other than a member of her family. Someone who would take her out to dinner and buy her flowers or write her a card.

She was shamefully a hopeless romantic and thanks to the romance books she read on Wattpad, her expectations were astronomical. Even though she finally had a boyfriend to celebrate it with, she knew that Cory was still riding off the high of winning the Superbowl.

She wouldn't be surprised if he spent the day with his teammates to celebrate rather than with her. However, when she received a text from Cory telling her to meet her at his house, her hopes went sky high.

My Man ❤
Sent 11:25am

Meet me at my house. I'll venmo you for your Uber. I have a surprise for you, love ❤

Gracie Summers:
Sent 11:31am

Can you give me a hint?

My Man ❤:
Sent 11:32am

What do you think I'm gonna say to that?

Gracie Summers:
Sent 11:36am

Pweeaaassseee?? 🥺

Gracie added a gif of a baby's quivering lips and pleading eyes with the intent of getting, at least, the smallest of hints.

My Man ❤:

That's very cute but........no.

She couldn't believe that Cory was hers now. She had a boyfriend. Cory Walker was her boyfriend. 'I have a boyfriend,' she repeatedly chanted in her head.

With his present in hand, she ordered an Uber and arrived at Cory's house within the next half hour. When he answered the door, he was in an Arizona Cardinals t-shirt with his sweats that were low enough that you could see the waistband of his boxers.

"Happy Valentine's Day, love." He pulled her in with his arms snaked around her lower back and held her face in a kiss.

Butterflies and confetti burst out of Gracie's racing heart at the feeling of his lips on hers. She could feel the passion in the kiss with his hand dangerously close to her butt and she imagined fireworks going off all around her like they did in movies. She was hit with a pang of disappointment when he pulled away, but the sparks remained as he held her hand.

She muttered a happy Valentine's Day in return as he left a feather-light kiss on her forehead. Before she could side-step past him, he blocked her view of the living room and instructed her to cover her eyes. Once her eyes were closed, he guided her steps to where he wanted her to stand.

There was electricity shooting throughout her body at the simple touch of his hands on her wrist, but she covered it up with a blossoming smile spreading across her face.

The first thing that greeted Gracie when he told her to open her eyes was a basket of Ghirardelli chocolate and Hershey Kisses with a pink envelope inside, there was a vase of red roses leaning against it and a red teddy bear with a pink heart sewed on his belly.

Gracie turned to Cory with curved lips and a bright twinkle in her eyes.

"Thank you, baby!"

She was hit with guilt when she realized that all she got him was a cheesy card and a bag of Skittles which was his favorite candy. She had the hardest time looking for a present for him.

This was the first time she had to shop for a man she really liked and she didn't have a clue what else to get him. Her mom suggested a gift card to a sports store, but gift cards felt impersonal and she wanted to give him a gift that showed how much she liked him.

"I'm sorry, baby. All I got you was a card and candy. Now I feel like shit."

"Hey, no, no, no. That's the last thing I want you to feel like. You're my girlfriend now. That's enough for a gift. You don't need to give me something big."

"Easy for you to say! You bought me chocolates, flowers and a cute little teddy bear. All I got you was a cheap card I found at The Dollar Tree and Skittles."

Gracie shamefully handed him a heart-decorated gift bag with the envelope taped to the front. She knew that she didn't have to tell him what she got for him, but she figured she might as well tell him to lighten the load of disappointment when he opened it.

She wasn't even sure if they were supposed to exchange presents at the time she bought them seeing that, at the time, they weren't official yet. This was her first experience with dating and she was unsure of the 'dating' stage of a relationship.

"Don't feel bad. This is great! I love this! Thank you, love!" He took the bag of Skittles out of the bag and immediately dug into them to emphasize his gratitude.

Gracie crossed her arms with the tint of guilt remaining in her eyes.

Cory noted her position and pulled her closer by the waist. "I really love this present, love. I do. I just wanted to make this day special because I know you haven't had a real boyfriend before. I wanted you to experience dating a gentleman."

He pulled a strand of hair behind her ear and passed her a wink. "Like me." He lightly chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Gracie didn't move a muscle. "Hey." His fingers lifted the corners of her lips upward into a smile. "You know I hate it when you make that face."

Gracie's smile looked more genuine, the guilt in her eyes slowly fading away.

"Thank you so much. Not just for the gift but for agreeing to be my girlfriend."

The corner of her lips curved upward.

"Thank you too."