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Hope crinkles her nose "Ew"

"I know," he agrees "But the rest were all right I mean, they aren’t you, but they weren’t bad" He takes a drink and sets the bottle on the table He shrugs as he looks at Hope "That’s the real reason He wants you back"

My body reacts to his words before I can stopat Guy He’s referring to the band--Park only wants Hope playing the druet back together with Hope

She nudges my foot with hers and I try to srirabs Hope’s hand "Just one show, honey Pretty please?"

"No, Guy It’s too strange But I wrote a couple songs you can puthis pal them if they come from you, which sucks since nobody else can write lyrics worth a shit"

Hope’s brows pull together "What have you been playing then?"

Guy huffs out a dry laugh "Covers It’s total bullshit" He turns his head and looks out the atching the snow fall Everybody’s quiet, lost in thought "I wish everything could stop changing"

"Change can be good," Hope says softly

Guy chuckles quietly and raises his eyebrows "So far it sucks At least for everybody not included in your little love bubble"

"Love bubble," Hope muses "I like that" She opens another piece of candy and pops it into her mouth "You know, you can join our bubble anytime you want"

"Awe, that’s sweet, hon, but I don’t like you that way" He leans into her and kisses her head "Keep offering up threesoh I hear it spices up the relationship"

"We’re plenty spicy," I say

"Like Thai food," Hope adds with a wink I bark out a laugh

"I think I just threw up a little," Guy says, gagging dralad I don’t have to live with you anymore"

"You miss my sarcastic attitude and you know it"

He rests his head on top of hers and sighs "I really do And if I wasn’t gayer than a Christmas sweater, I’d steal you away froles into him and I don’t ruin their moment with my shitty retort Instead I slip out of the roo to be the same without him, but at least I can still talk to him

When you live with sos about a person Like the way Hope talks in her sleep so when she’s doing so she doesn’t really want to Or the fact she is always losing everything The remote, her keys, her birth control pills--that one was scary--her brush, pens, the can opener… I still don’t kno that happened--we never did find it

But what I discovered thisabout her

Hope loves Christe person Hope loves Christmas like a kid who still believes in Santa Claus She’s up and bouncing around the apartment before the sun co

"Merry Christifts," she says, this huge grin on her face

Her enthusiasious I lower myself to the oversized recliner and pull her into my lap "Merry Christood, I run my nose over her throat and kiss the underneath of her chin

She presses closer toto ift three"

I pull back and look at her "Gift three?"

"Mm-hm"

"Does it involve you naked?"

She nods, her lashes dropping as she runs her tongue over her lips

"Yeah, I want it now" I swing her onto the couch and follow her over, pulling her shirt off and sinking into her

8

Hope

Gift one was the cohtmare on Elm Street movies He loved the pulled into a ot ot hired in at Newton’s Pizza with me, but he hasn’t received a paycheck yet Not that we make that much anyway But the necklace is so pretty A small blackbird made of onyx on a simple chain The eye is a teeny little diamond

I almost cried when he latched it around er After a deep breath, I gave hi I wrote for him, typed and framed Up in the corner, I added a picture he took of us the first night I ether and you can see his ar, happy It’s lass and then kissed ave me my second present A box filled with individual packs of Skittles Like a lifetiain

Johnny bites it in a bloody way and I stretch "I should go take a shower so we can get to the house Jenny wants us there as early as possible"