TENACITY

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Thursday, August 18, 2016
Trey's House
28 weeks...
7:53 pm

Their friends had come over to spend a small part of the anniversary with them. They'd had dinner outside under the guys' nice setup, 'danced' though they sucked at it and joined Sam and Lexi in the lounge where they sat propped on several pillows.

"So," Melissa began once they'd all sat, getting his and everyone else's attention, "as you know, we came bearing gifts. You two might also want to exchange gifts..." she trailed off, unsure, continuing when they both nodded.

"So, how about we offer ours first, then you seal it? Then after that, we leave you to enjoy the rest of your day alone."

Trey shrugged, "Sounds good to me." He looked down at Lexi, whose form he'd wrapped an arm around. "Is it okay?"

"Yes," she smiled, "it's fine with me."

At that, everyone dispersed to get the stuff they'd brought. In about three minutes, they'd settled down again, and the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement.

"Can I go first? In case I fall asleep?" Samantha said, eliciting chuckles. Mitch smiled, rubbing her back softly.

Trey nodded with a smile. "Go first." He paused, then added, "I also remember saying nothing expensive when you all insisted on getting us something, so anything overly costly won't be accepted. Thank you."

That got a few chuckles as well, then Sam sat up as much as she could, holding her box over to Alexandra. "Little things for the couple who showed us love."

Lexi smiled as she took the box, and since Trey was still holding her, she let him take the lid off the small box. "Tassel wine charms and matching bracelets." Then she looked up, grinning brightly at Sam who shrugged in response.

"You host a lot of people at your house from time to time, like you did us. So, the wine charms are to help keep your guests' drinks organized and make your whole setup colorful," she explained.

Lexi pouted. "I wish you'd given them to Mitchell, so we'd have used them during dinner," she muttered. Lexi looked up at Samantha. "Still, I would rather you spent your money on the coming baby."

"Both of you," Sam began, pointing at Lexi and Trey, "literally brought things to fit my whole nursery for my baby when you have kids on the way yourself. Why didn't you spend it on yourself too then?"

Trey watched the interaction, his lips twitching with amusement. "Well, we have things from the previous baby shopping we've done," she defended, smiling a little. "I love these anyway."

"I'm glad. I had trouble coming up with something to give you because I felt like you had everything you needed." Then before either of them could say anything, she continued, "The bracelets are yours, of course. I just can't say who gets what color."

"Thank you so much," Lexi murmured, her eyes suspiciously wet as she realized how much thought was put into these simple gifts. She detached the bracelets from each other, holding one of the two colors in each hand. "I like both colors, so I don't know which one to pick."

"Since Trey is wearing red, give him the red and you take the black to match your outfit color. It's perfect!" Jason exclaimed.