Page 39 of Everything In Between

THIRTY-TWO

jersey

When Hayes’s doorbell rings not long later—after we’ve both showered and put on presentable clothes—I pop up from the couch. “I’ll get it.” I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited to see his mom again and finally have the chance to meet Riley.

A flutter of butterflies takes flight in my stomach, but I chalk it up to anticipation.

Throwing the door open, I’m immediately greeted by a hug from Hayes’s mom. “Oh, Jersey! Merry Christmas!”

I wrap my arms around her shoulders and grin from ear to ear. As soon as she lets me go, I’m engulfed by a similar hug from his dad. He pats my back and then lets me go, placing his large hands on my shoulders and holding me at arm’s length.

He smiles, his eyes crinkling in the corner. He pats my shoulders again before letting me go. Then he bends down to pick up a large tote bag full of ornately wrapped presents. Eyeing the Christmas tree, Andy heads into the living room to deliver the gifts, like a younger, trimmer, Santa Claus.

Following closely behind him is a young woman, watching me with wide eyes, as if she can’t believe that I’m standing there in front of her. I step forward and hold out my hand.

“You must be Riley. I’m Jersey.”

She blinks a few times, looking down at my hand before taking it. “Wow, you’re shorter than I thought you’d be. Not that you’re short . . . but—I’ll stop talking now.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Most people are surprised by that. My show costumes are all paired with either high-heeled boots or tall platform shoes, so I don’t look small compared to my backup dancers.”

“Uh, how tall are you?” Riley asks, amusement sparkling in her eyes and looking a bit dazed.

“Five-foot six.”

“Right, that’s not really that short. I’m only a few inches taller than you. I get it from my dad,” she tells me.

“Riley, stop fangirling over Jersey,” Hayes calls from the living room, ribbing his sister.

She drops my hand like it’s made of molten lava and her cheeks heat as she glances at me nervously. “I’m not!”

“Don’t listen to him,” I tell her, conspiratorially. “Maybe I’m fangirling over you.”

Riley rolls her eyes. “Please.”

“Come in here, squirt,” Hayes calls, wanting to see his sister.

She shakes her head at me as if to say “brothers” but walks into the living room, bending over the couch and giving Hayes a big hug.

I can’t help but appreciate the small gesture. It’s clear they’re fond of each other, and it makes me miss my brother. Distantly, I wonder what Roman’s doing for Christmas. I know he’s on site for a movie shoot, but I have no idea what that looks like while on set.

I decide I’ll have to send him a text later, wish the menace a Merry Christmas.

The rest of us follow Riley’s lead, moving into the living room to sit by the Christmas tree.

It appears Hayes’s mom has helped herself to a cup of coffee and she holds it in both hands as she settles down on the couch at the opposite end of Hayes.

She catches my eye and pats the seat between her and her son.

My chest flutters and I take her up on her offer, settling into my position. Hayes rests his arm across the back of the couch, opening up his side for me to fit into.

Cheeks heating, I scoot closer to him. Even though I was in a serious relationship before, there were never many personal displays of affection. Not that Hayes is going over the top, but even still, his assumption that I would curl into his side while his family is here speaks volumes.

A warmth settles inside of me once I’m pressed to his side. He meets my eyes and gives me a soft smile and a wink before looking away.

“I’m impressed, Riley,” Hayes says.

“With what?” She tilts her head sideways.

“No screaming, no hyperventilating, no nothing? What gives? I thought for sure you’d trip over your words or your feet when you met her." I elbow Hayes in the side, rolling my eyes.

Riley’s cheeks flush a little, but she holds her own against her brother. “I’m not you. ‘Oh please Jersey take my phone number. Please, Jersey, date me.’” She puts on her best imitation of Hayes, lowering her voice a few octaves.

I cover my mouth with my hand, stifling my laughter. Hayes playfully glowers at her. “That’s not what happened. Is it, Jersey?”

“I don’t know. Sounds pretty spot on to me.”

The group busts into laughter as Riley reaches over to give me a fist bump. Hayes pretends to look wounded. “I have the feeling you two are going to be ganging up on me from now on.”

“You know we will.” I wink at him and lean into him more.

We all chat for a while, eating some of the snacks Hayes’s chef prepared for us before Riley takes it upon herself to play Santa.

She crawls closer to the tree on her knees, reaching under the fluffy branches and pulling out a package.

She reads the tag and then hands it to her mom.

The process continues until each of us has a small pile of three to four presents in front of us.

I learn the Vogt family are very orderly when it comes to opening presents.

In my family, as soon as the presents are divvied out, it’s a free for all and everyone opens their gifts at their own pace, tossing out quick thank you’s before moving onto the next one.

I always take my time, unwrapping the gifts leisurely and appreciating the care that went into the wrapping—a habit I inherited from my mother.

With the Vogt family, every person gets a chance to open one, and everyone takes turns.

I’m finding I like the orderliness of the Vogts’ traditions, despite having grown up with the chaos and appreciating the sentimentality of those memories.

Even though they all take turns with their process, they don’t waste time on the wrapping paper, ripping right into it just like Hayes had me do earlier.

Hayes’s family turns out to be excellent at giving gifts.

They don’t go over the top, but I can tell all of their gifts have had a lot of thought put into them.

From his parents and Riley, I receive a personalized yearly planner that I can customize and a gift basket full of personal spa-day items like bath bombs, candles, and lotions.

My phone chimes with an incoming text. I pull it out of my back pocket and can’t fight the smile off my face when I see the most awkward selfie of my twin giving me a thumbs up while wearing a Santa hat.

He probably picked up on my curiosity as to what he was doing today via twin telepathy—which we don’t have, but often joke that we do.

Roman

Merry Christmas, little sis!

Jersey

Merry Christmas! Miss you!

Still smiling, I type out a similar message to my mother and hit send.

After, I set my phone down on the table and look around the room at Hayes and his family, feeling just as welcomed with them as I would my own.

Over the last few years, it’s been a rare occurrence that I would be with my family for any major holidays.

Even though it was something I requested, more times than not, the schedule got in the way and I was somewhere else, far away from my family, celebrating on my own or with my close friends.

I might not be with my family this year, but Hayes’s family easily welcomes me into their circle as if I’m one of their own. Their love fills me to the brim and reminds me exactly what this holiday is all about.

When the presents have been opened and the discarded wrapping paper is cleared away, Hayes’s father stands and rubs his hands together. “All right. Onto the next tradition.”

I sit up straighter, watching with interest, when Riley hops up from the couch and bolts into the kitchen. Hayes leans forward, grabbing the remote off the coffee table and turns on his TV, opening up a streaming app.

“What’s the next tradition?” I ask, not patient enough to wait and see.

“We always watch The Santa Clause after opening presents,” Hayes explains. He finds the movie on the app and clicks on it, hitting pause before it starts playing.

“I’ve never seen that one,” I admit sheepishly, and Hayes turns to me with wide, surprised eyes.

“How?”

I shrug, feeling a little embarrassed. “We’re more of a Christmas Vacation and Home Alone kind of family.”

Hayes nods, as if that’s permissible. “Also classics. Can’t go wrong with either of them. You’ll love this one, though.”

Riley comes back moments later with more snacks, a bowl of fresh popcorn and a plate of Christmas cookies. “Here, Jersey, you’ve got to try these Oreo Balls.”

“Better grab the peanut butter for her,” Hayes says to his sister.

“What?” Riley asks, and I fight off a smile. “Why peanut butter?”

“Don’t ask questions, just do it.”

Riley groans but does what he asks, returning with the jar of peanut butter. “Okay, weirdo. I got her the peanut butter. Happy?”

“Exceptionally,” Hayes says, rubbing his hand over my back affectionately. My cheeks flush, but my heart sings.

That evening, after the movie and a family dinner, his family gathers their things to return to their hotel.

After giving everyone big hugs and sending them off, Hayes and I head back to his room.

As soon as Hayes is comfortably in the bed, he opens his arms for me and I snuggle right in, closing my eyes and breathing in his scent.

There’s still a hint of cologne on his skin from this morning, that clean, fresh smell lingering and surrounding me like a warm blanket.

I don’t know when or how it happened, but he’s become my home.

Pressing my face against his chest, I listen to the steady thump of his heart, letting it quiet my thoughts.

“Did you have a good Christmas?” Hayes whispers into the darkness. I shift a little bit, hoping to get a glimpse of him in the dark.

“I really did. I’ll have to convince my family to watch that movie next year too. I loved it.”

“I’ll be your backup. They can’t say no to both of us.” He runs his hand over my hair and my heart aches in a tender way, thinking about all the future Christmases we’ll have together. I nestle further into him and sigh.

“I think you made my mom’s day,” he murmurs quietly.

“How so?”

“She was really worried about what to get you. I told her over and over again that you’d be grateful for anything.”

“I loved her gifts,” I say, and I mean it. “Really, I don’t think I’ve had such a good Christmas in a long, long time.”

“It feels right, having you here with my family.” Hayes’s voice drops into a tender register and he turns his head a bit, nuzzling his nose against my temple.

The words bubble out of me before I can stop them. I tighten my hold around his torso and say with all of my heart, “I love you, Hayes.”

He breaths me in, his hand flexing against my hip to hold me close. “I love you too, Jersey. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life.”

I close my eyes and focus on the beat of his heart, slightly faster now than it was before. His thumb on my hip rubs smooth circles. It blows my mind a little bit that Hayes is the one thanking me, when really, I should be the one thanking him.

All it took was a Post-it note and a purpose, and now I can’t imagine what my life would look like without him. Without me even realizing it, he has woven himself into the center of my being, and I’m not sure who Jersey Matthews is without the support of Hayes Vogt behind her.

With Hayes on my team, I am stronger than I ever have before. With Hayes, I can be unstoppable.