The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa nudged him affectionately, not wanting him to worry about the details. She was just glad that he was here with her.

She didn\'t even care about what they did. As long as they were together, she was happy.

"I just want to be with you," she told him, hearing his car rumble to life.

That was the thing that she was sure of the most. He didn\'t have to worry about anything else.

"You\'ve got me," Elias assured her as he pulled out of the parking lot. He glanced over at her. "Next year, we\'ll have to decorate my place."

Alyssa perked up at that. That would be so fun! She could hang garland and lights, and they could put up a Christmas tree.

Probably just a small one, though. Those things were insanely expensive for some reason.

"I\'d love that," she told him. "We\'ll just pretend it\'s decorated this year."

Elias chuckled as he nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. I should\'ve picked up some stuff, like cookie dough or a gingerbread house," he muttered the last part to himself.

Alyssa liked that he was thoughtful, but they could always plan and do that stuff next year. They only had tonight, so she wanted to spend it being as close to him as possible.

"Next year. We can just watch movies and cuddle tonight," she said before bringing her hand over to rest on his thigh. "Maybe something more."

Elias\' eyes widened slightly as he glanced down at her hand and then at her.

"Wow. What happened to that sweet, shy girl?" Elias teased her as he held her hand.

Alyssa shrugged with a bold smile.

"She met you," she replied. It was pretty much the truth. A lot changed when she met him. She faced life more instead of shying away from it so much.

She liked that about herself now, and she was glad that she liked herself more in general.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Elias smirked as he turned down the road leading to his apartment.

"It\'s a good thing," Alyssa assured him. "I\'ve never felt more like myself than when I\'m with you."

Elias\' face softened as he listened to her.

"Well, I really like you for who you are," he replied as he pulled through the gates to his apartment complex. "This is the perfect age to learn who you are."

Alyssa agreed with him. They were in the midst of early adulthood. They would make so many mistakes and have so many new experiences. It was the perfect time to test the waters and find her limits.

"Do you think you\'re done figuring yourself out yet?" she asked him as he parked.

Elias took a few moments to answer.

"I hope not. I want there to be more to me," he replied before getting out of the car. He reached into the back and grabbed her backpack before leading her toward his apartment.

"I really like who you are so far," Alyssa said, jumping on his compliment from earlier. She meant the words, though.

There were so many layers to him, and there were some that she hadn\'t even revealed yet. She had faith that he would grow into an amazing man, though. He was already on his way there.

Elias put his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hallway toward his door.

"If I change, I hope it\'s for the better," he replied.

Alyssa hoped that was the same for her too. She worked so hard to get to this point. She didn\'t want to regress or head down the wrong path. She worked too hard to fall back now.

"Right now… are you naughty or nice?" Alyssa asked him as she lifted her eyebrows at him playfully.

Elias laughed softly as he unlocked his door. He let her inside his apartment before following her.

"Depends," he murmured as he came up behind her. His hands grabbed her hips to pull her back against him. "What do you want me to be?"

Alyssa didn\'t even have to answer that question. She whipped around to face him, reaching out to grab the back of his neck and pull his lips to hers.

She reveled in the warmth of his mouth. This was way better than drinking microwave hot chocolate in her dorm. This was way sweeter.

Elias backed her up toward the kitchen before pulling away with a loose smile.

"I didn\'t only come back for sex, but if that\'s on your Christmas list…" Elias trailed off with a chuckle.

Alyssa smirked and shrugged.

"It may be one of the things," she replied before reaching into her backpack that he was still holding. She pulled out two wrapped gift boxes and handed them to him.

"I don\'t know if these were on your Christmas list, but I hope you like them."

She was a bit worried when it came to gifts. She didn\'t have much experience giving them or getting them, so her expertise was low. She hoped that she did okay.

She picked things that she had a good feeling he would like, but she could always be wrong. She kept the receipts just in case because she was that paranoid.

Elias unwrapped the first box, which was the smallest one. He slid off the lid and reached inside to pull out a silver ring in the shape of a snake.

"That is so cool," he said, looking awed as he slipped the ring onto his finger. He glanced down at his hand and admired how it looked. "That\'s badass, baby."

"Open the other," Alyssa coaxed him with a warm smile. Her stomach and heart felt all fluttery as she watched him open the next gift.

She liked doing things for him. He seemed genuinely grateful.

Elias tore off the red wrapping paper to reveal a wooden box. He lifted the top to reveal four rows of different tea bags.

"No way. Where did you find this?" he asked her.

"There\'s a little tea shop in the mall. They had this box as a holiday special so that you can sample all kinds of different teas,"

Alyssa replied with a proud smile. She thought she did really good with that one. It was the perfect gift for a tea lover.