Decorated with Love

3

The next day went by quickly, and much to Ivy's surprise, she hadn't seen Ender while she had been decorating. He had said he had prior obligations, but that he would see her for dinner. She silently wished she hadn't agreed to anything, and thought of texting him to let him know she couldn't make it. For some reason, though, she could never bring herself to send it.

"He'll understand. It's not like it's a date. If it were a date he'd bring you flowers and try to hold your hand. And he'd probably want to kiss you." She whispered to herself as she held onto her phone. Thankfully, Blair was not there to force her to go through with it, "OH gosh. I can't do this," I have a headache-- She typed, but quickly erased it, "No... hmm," I am super tired from a long day of work that I had to do alone. She sighed, "NO, it's your job, Ivy, of course, you were alone." Ivy was about to type something else when she heard the doorbell ring. It was too late now.

She made her way to the door and gathered herself before opening it. Not only was Ivy greeted with his grin, but he promptly handed her a bouquet of flowers clearly arranged for the season, "For me?"

Ender nodded and leaned forward to hug her sweetly, "Well, they're not for your neighbor. You look gorgeous."

She sniffed the flowers and told herself that flowers alone did not make this a date, "You clean up nicely yourself. Let me put these in water. Come in-"

He nodded and stepped inside. She disappeared only for a second, "Beautiful home."

"Thanks," She slipped her coat on, "My roommate and I have worked hard on it. We're pretty proud."

"Roommate? The one I met at lunch the other day?"

"Blair. Yes. The one with the odd obsession with gold bats or whatever.." She frowned, "Anyway, what do you have planned for us?" She waited for him to open the truck door and thanked him as he closed it.

"You'll see."

The ride to their destination was spent talking about decorations, and Ivy was actually glad. She could tell Ender was nervous to make it about anything else, but that was okay by her. When they parked, she stared over at him in disbelief, "I believe your words were, We could find something fun to do, take a break from all the decorations."

"Well yeah," Ender hopped out and made his way around to open her door. He reached for her hand, and smiled, "Take a break from us decorating. We don't have to do a thing here. It's already finished."

"Right," She arched her eyebrow and stared him down as she placed her hand in his and climbed out of the truck. The pair was halfway up to the entrance before Ivy realized they were still holding hands. It had felt so natural, she hadn't even noticed. She shyly pulled her hand away as he stepped up to the window. They waved them through and he led her inside.

"I wanted a picnic in the garden, but. It's a little chilly tonight," Ender turned on the lights and watched as she marveled the decor in the small room. He had asked for it to be decorated with a hint of elegance and Christmas. It was everything and then some, "I hope you like it."

The picnic blanket was spread out on the floor as if it were outdoors. The lights were not overdone, just enough to make it intimate. She couldn't believe a guy had taken the time to do all of this for her, not to mention, a guy who had only known her for a couple of days, "It's.... It's...."

"Too much?" Ender nervously ran his hand down the back of his neck and shifted a little, "I'm sorry-"

"No, no!" She turned around to face him, "It's perfect. I actually... love it. You're so sweet, Ender."