"Really?" He said, flashing me the biggest smile I had ever seen. I nodded, gently caressing his face as I felt him hold me tighter, pulling me in closer. I could feel his heart beating through his shirt, only making me smile that much more at the idea that he thought there was even a possibility of me saying no.

I could never say no to him.

"Of course." I laughed, pulling him into another passionate kiss. He kissed me back, despite his permanent smile. How much I loved that smile. What I would do to make him smile like this for the rest of his life, because no one deserved happiness like this as much as him. And if he wanted it from me, then I would give my all every day to make sure he got it. No matter what.

"I want to be yours forever." I sighed. He shook his head, smirking back at me.

"As much as I love that." He said, gently running his fingers through my hair. "I think that's just the alcohol talking." I shook my head, my smile growing.

"It's not." I said, kissing him again. "I've only had one drink." He held his stare on me for a moment, as if mentally counting how many I had actually had.

But I had made sure to stop early, not wanting to give him any excuse to not want to be with me in.. whatever way we decided we were comfortable with.

"You have, haven't you.." He finally said, accepting that it had to be true. I nodded.

"I wanted to remember everything tonight." I muttered, hoping he knew what I was really referring to. He bit down on his lip, his cheeks burning red.

"So, I was kind of hoping-"

"That you would stay here." He said. I nodded, feeling my heart beat faster.

"I was kind of hoping.. you would too." He added.

"I just.. well, my mom-"

"We've got time." He laughed, pulling me into a quick kiss. "There's still plenty of party left before I take you upstairs." My heart jumped.

"O-oh yeah?" I asked, now feeling nervous at how confident he suddenly sounded. He shrugged, playfully rolling his eyes.

"I don't know." He giggled to himself. "I'm not gonna pretend like I know what I'm doing, but.. I just want us to figure it out together, so.. you'll have to show me."

I was instantly hit with a pang of regret, knowing what he was referring to. But little did he know, I didn't know what I was doing either. And everything I did know, I just wanted to forget.

All I wanted were memories with him.

"I don't know either." I sighed, unable to contain my smile. "We'll just.. have to practice." His eyes instantly lit up, his cheeks burning red again. He held his stare on me, only managing a flustered nod.

"O-okay."

"And what's going on here?" I heard from behind me, my body instantly feeling like it was on fire as I quickly moved out of his lap when I saw my mom in the doorway.

"N-nothing." I managed, trying to hide my smile, but it was no use. And she could tell.

"I don't want to interrupt anything." She said. "I just hadn't seen you in a bit."

"It's okay. I have.. um.. well, Josh and I.. we have some news."

"And what's that?" She asked, her eyes getting wider as she made her way over to us, sitting down on the couch. I turned back to him, motioning towards the envelopes. He nodded, his smile growing as he grabbed them, handing them over to her.

She hesitated for a moment before taking them, quickly scanning the page.

"Oh my goodness.. Jaime." She sighed.

"I got in!" I exclaimed, unable to contain my excitement anymore. She nodded, keeping her eyes on the letter as she kept reading before she shot Josh a look. He instantly nodded flashing her a smile.

What was that about?

"Oh, Jaime I am so proud of you." She finally said, reaching over for me and pulling me into a tight hug. I climbed up onto the couch, squeezing her tighter. With her seeming like she was at least getting a little better, I felt somewhat okay with leaving now, but even still, I was always going to worry about her. But knowing she was happy about it too was a giant weight off of my shoulders.

"And.. I know it's expensive but I can figure out all of the student loans and everything and we won't have to worry and-"

"Oh, Jaime I don't want you to worry about that. Not yet. You should just be excited right now. You worked hard and you did it and I'm so proud and I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you." I muttered, not wanting to start crying again, but it seemed like everything was finally coming together, and as hard as it was for me to get excited about things, because they always seemed to be ripped away from me the second I was able to grab onto them, I really wanted to let myself be excited about this.

Especially because he was coming with me.

"And.. Josh and I are back together." I blurted out. She smirked back at me, shooting him another quick look.

"I guess we're telling people already." He laughed, his cheeks burning red. I nodded, giggling to myself.

"So you two are going together." She said, turning towards him. He nodded, shooting her another look.

What was going on with them?

"Yeah, so.. I know it's still early but.. we'll have to find some place to stay, and well-"

"Don't worry about that. We can figure all of that out together. Just.. enjoy right now." I nodded, forcing another smile, but I couldn't help but feel like the two of them were keeping something from me now.

"Well, I don't want to interrupt your celebration, I just wanted to see you one last time before I head back home."

"Home? You're leaving already?" I asked, now starting to worry. She nodded, giving me another gentle smile.

"Yeah, it's okay, it's just late for me, you know how I get. But please stay here, enjoy yourself and I'll see you when you get back home." I nodded, biting down on my lip, still not fully convinced that she was as okay as she was leading on. But I had no other choice but to believe her.

"I can walk you home." Josh said, hopping up from the floor and holding his arm out for her. She held on tight, pushing herself up from the couch, grabbing onto his arm.

"Thank you."

"Mom, I can he-"

"It's okay." He said, waving me off. "I got her, why don't you.. go tell Sam the good news. I know he'll be excited for you."

"O-okay.." I said, moving out of their way as he guided her to the door. I followed them, pulling her into another long hug before she left.

"Thank you for coming." I whispered. I felt her try to squeeze me tighter.

"Of course, honey. Thank you for including me." I nodded, keeping my face hidden in her chest as I felt her gently rub my back. I suddenly felt like I was five years old again.

"If you need anything, please call me."

"I will." She said. But I knew she wouldn't.

As I finally moved away, Josh leaned in, gently kissing my cheek.

"I'll be right back." He said, before leading her out the front door and shutting it behind them,

She barely waited until we were at the bottom of the steps to turn to me.

"You're going to take care of her, right?" She asked. I nodded.

"Of course." I said, peeking back at the door to make sure she wasn't listening. "I told you I would." She nodded.

"I know, it's just.. I know a lot has happened, and.. I'm sorry about that. But you're back together now and she seems happy and.. that's all that matters to me."

"Me too." I heard her sigh as she tried holding on tighter to my arm, finally making our way over to her house.

I guided her up the steps, going through her bag as she held it out for me, looking around for her keys. After finally finding them, I let her in, waiting in the doorway as she made her way inside.

"She doesn't know.." She finally said. My heart sunk.

"Okay."

"And with all of this happening.. I don't want her to know. Not yet. I want her to enjoy this. She deserves to enjoy this." I nodding, biting down on my lip.

"I just.. what if she finds out that I knew.." I muttered. She shook her head.

"She won't find out. But if she knew, she'd be too worried about me to leave. And I need her to go. For her."

I hated the idea of keeping anything from Jaime, let alone something like this.

"And if god forbid, something happens-"

"I know.." I sighed. "You know I'll always take care of her." She nodded, her face finally relaxing into a gentle smile. She reached out for me, gently touching my cheek.

"She really is so lucky to have you, Josh." I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm pretty lucky too." I muttered, looking down to try and hide my now blushing face.

"And she loves you."

"I can only hope." I shrugged. She shook her head, giggling to herself.

"Trust me. She does. More than you know."

"I love her too."

"I know you do. And that's why I trust you with this."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Adams."

"Goodnight, Josh. Merry Christmas."