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I squealed and dropped the letter onto the counter before jumping around my kitchen like a lunatic. My doorbell went off at that moment, and I rushed to see who it was, only to come face-to-face with an Amazon delivery driver. He smiled at me, handed me the box, and waved as he walked away.
I ripped open the package, tears welling in my eyes at the Squishmallow Nik had sent me. It was SpongeBob. I squeezed it to me, sniffling as I struggled to hold in my tears.
He’dactuallytaken the time to do something so sweet for me. He hadn’t judged me for what I liked. Instead, he’d embraced it.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and settled on the couch, SpongeBob wrapped in my arms with Nik’s letter clutched in my hand.
“Jay?” Cam asked first once he and Draven were both on the line.
I sniffled. “He sent me a Squishmallow.”
“Ah, Jay,” Cam said softly. “He turned out to be nice, huh?”
He and Drake both knew how nervous I was for Nik’s letter—if it ever came. And not only had it come, but he hadn’t judged me. He’d teased me a little and called me sweet boy and sent me this very cuddly Squishmallow.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
Draven hummed. “Want us to come over?” he finally asked.
“Please?” I croaked. “I’m a little overwhelmed.”
“We’re coming,” Cam told me. “Wrap yourself up, and we’ll be there in a jiffy.”
I grabbed my blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped myself up in it like a burrito before laying on my side, still cuddling SpongeBob. And then with a watery smile on my face from pure happiness, I read through Nik’s letter again, wondering if he would be this perfect in person, too.
CHAPTER2
Nikolai
Ismiled down at the envelope with Jayden’s neat scrawl on it. He had the neatest handwriting I’d seen in a long time. I absently traced the letters before flipping the envelope over and gently pulling out his latest letter.
We’d been writing back and forth for a few weeks now, and his letter just boosted the good mood I was in today. A few hours earlier, we’d found out we were going home two days before Christmas and would land in Augusta early Christmas Eve morning.
I was hoping this sweet boy I had fallen head over heels for through letters would agree to pick me up. I was desperate to meet him, and it only made it better knowing that he lived in Augusta, where I was stationed at. And though my best friends, Amree and Ethan, had gotten letters from boys in Augusta as well, none of us had outright asked if they were friends, though we assumed, considering they mentioned the others quite frequently.
“You got a letter, too?” Amree asked as he settled on his bunk, ripping open the letter Cameron had sent him.
I nodded, pulling Jayden’s letter out of the envelope. “Yeah. Did Ethan get one?”
“Mhm,” Ethan grunted, stepping into the room. He climbed to the top bunk, the bed shaking as he got comfortable on his back.
My lips tilted up at the corners again as I glanced over Jayden’s neat handwriting.
Nik,
I can’t believe Christmas is only a week away. The guys and I have been doing a lot of Christmas shopping, and I even got you a few things, though I’m not sure if you want me to mail them yet since you don’t know when you’re coming home. I’d hate for them to get all the way there and then you’re no longer there to receive them.
Draven helped me hang lights up around my living room ceiling yesterday and then told me they weren’t coming down because he refused to put them up again. He’s so grumpy, but I know he’d do anything in the world for me if it made me happy. He has me spoiled rotten.
I’m off work until after the New Year. I took a vacation to spend more time with the guys, since it’s been just us for so many years now. How cool would it be if you got to come home for Christmas, too? I know that may be wishful thinking, but I can’t help but dream about the day I get to meet you. We’ve discussed it so much that it feels so tangible—just right there—yet still so far away.
It makes me sad, honestly. I really want to meet you, Nikky.
I don’t know what it is, but something about you makes me feel like I’ve known you forever, though we haven’t even met yet. When I open one of your letters, I feel like I’m at home. And that doesn’t make a lick of sense to me, but that’s how I feel. It sounds crazy. I know that. But I won’t apologize for how I feel.
I’m about to be a blubbering mess, which is ridiculous, but I’ve never been one to feel anything lightly. I feel it all the way to my bones and down into my soul.
I look forward to your next letter.
