Before I Met You

26: "All of You."

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚂𝚒𝚡

𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚈𝚘𝚞

The past two weeks of being home have been the best I've had in years. I can't remember laughing with my dad in I don't know how long, and the best part about everything is that I get to share all of this with Elena. She and I have grown closer than anyone in my life, surpassing Dion and even Mia.

"Aren't they supposed to be fluffier than this?" Elena scrunches up her nose as she analyzes the sheet of chocolate chip cookies she's attempted to bake.

 My mom takes a look and lets out a slight laugh before she picks up one of them and studies it herself. "I think they look fine. I think we should have Xavier be the taste tester."

The cookie lands in my hand as I send a joking expression towards Elena's way and arch my eyebrows up. "You're wanting me to taste this to see if I die first? Real nice."

"Shut up." She teases. "Just taste it, please."

My eyes become alive in humor from her sentence, and almost as if she can read my mind she bites on her lip to keep from smiling. The cookie goes into my mouth and it's actually way better than I expected it to be. I take another bite and nod my head. "It's really good." I tell her. "Honestly."

She and my mom both take one for themselves before my dad strolls into the kitchen and peers onto the counter. "I smelled those all the way from the bedroom." He chuckles. "Mind if I grab one too?"

"Oh, go ahead." Elena smiles at him. "They're for everyone."

My mom licks chocolate off of her fingers and goes in for another one. "So what are you two planning on doing while you're up here?"

Elena looks at me before she shrugs her shoulders. "I'm honestly fine with whatever. This past week has been great. I'd be fine just kind of hanging out. I know it's been awhile since you've seen Xavier."

"Yeah. I mean, we didn't really have anything planned. We don't have money to do anything else anyways." I chime in. "I blew through the money you gave us to come up here already, mom."

"I think I have an excellent idea for you guys." My dad suddenly beams and grabs his wallet that's sitting on the dining room table. "This is Elena's first time in New York, right?"

We both nod.

"How about you guys go down to Niagara Falls for the weekend? You can't come upstate without seeing the falls. Plus, I know the guy that owns the Marriott there. He can get the two of you a room."

Before I'm able to ask how that's even possible, he pulls five hundred dollars out of his wallet and passes it over to me. I'm gawking at all of the bills before my gaze meets his. It's not like my parents are poor, but I know that five hundred dollars is a lot of money for them.

"Dad, don't you guys need this?" I push it back but he immediately shakes his head.

"Xavier, it's the least I can do." He sends me an apologetic stare and clasps my hand around the money. "Go have a fun weekend. Take the truck."

Elena cheers with excitement as she claps her hands and does this little dance. "Thank you so much!" She smiles. "I can't wait to see the falls. I've heard so much about them."

When Elena looks at me I can't say anything back to her. We've both been so giddy and happy around each other lately. It's impossible to ignore the chemistry between us. After what happened last week, after we did more than we ever have, I can't help but be infatuated with her. Before her, I never would've imagined myself dating anyone else ever again, but here I am wanting more than anything to make this girl mine.