Before the party really got started, I pulled Noah aside.

He held on to my hand and said, “What is it?”

I etched his easy-going smile into my mind, not believing I had once found it so annoying. “I want to give you your Christmas present,” I said.

He looked around the kitchen. “It’s not something ridiculous like a golf cart or something, is it?” he teased.

I laughed. “I’m saving that for your birthday,” I replied. After a second, I took his hands. “Close your eyes.”

Curiosity swept across his face, but he did as I said.

When I was sure he wasn’t looking, I walked over to our takeout menu drawer and dug out what I was looking for. “Still got them closed?” I asked, his present behind my back.

“Yes,” he said, jutting his chin out and keeping his eyelids pressed together.

“Good.” I walked right up to him. I took his right hand and placed his gift in it. His fingers closed around it. “Open your eyes,” I whispered.

He did, immediately looking down at what he held in his hands. Glancing at me, a smile grew on his face as he shuffled through the brochures. “Are you serious?” he asked with an incredulous laugh.

“Very,” I said. “I’ve got it all arranged. Think road trip, with snacks and amazing music and—” But I couldn’t finish my sentence because Noah wrapped his arms around me.

He pulled me in close, and I did the same. “This is the best gift ever,” he said in my ear. His lips pressed against mine, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, he said, “It’s perfect.”

I smiled up at him like I had just gotten the best gift ever. Because that’s what it felt like. “I hoped you would like it.”

He exhaled and looked back down at the different colleges and universities featured in the brochures. “We’re really going to visit all of these?”

I nodded. “Every single one. Together.”

His grin practically reached his ears, and that’s how I knew I had nailed his present. “I can’t wait for this.”

“Just the two of us,” I added. I thought about us touring campuses, sitting in on classes, trying out the cafeteria food of all these different schools. “I have no idea where we’ll be next year, but maybe we can find out together.”

I hoped we ended up at the same school, but if we didn’t, I had a feeling we would be okay. For now, I just wanted us to enjoy every single moment of our senior year, including figuring out where we’d go to school in the fall.

Noah set the brochures on the counter, his eyes dancing with a secret of his own. “I got you something too.”

I clasped my hands with excitement, definitely not expecting those words. “Really?”

“Really,” he said softly. His hand went to his back pocket, but then he stopped. “Close your eyes.”

Holding back a squeal, I bit my lip and shut my eyes.

One second passed, then two and three, and I wondered how much longer I would have to wait.

Just as I opened my mouth to ask Noah what was taking him so long, his lips gently touched mine. “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded, still speechless from the contact.

He took my hands and placed a small box in them. I could feel the smooth wrapping paper under my fingers.

“Open it,” he said.

I opened my eyes and took in the bright red wrapping paper and small green bow. Just the right shade of green. Slowly peeling away the paper, I wondered what it could be.

It was about as big as my phone, but square instead of rectangular.

Then I saw the box and looked up at Noah. Was this what I thought it was? “I’ve always wanted one of these,” I confessed.

Inside the box was one of those cute, colorful cameras which instantly printed out pictures. This one was teal. Just my style. “Thank you,” I said, putting the camera down on the counter and taking his face in my hands so I could kiss him on the lips.

“So you like it?” he asked, still seeming a little unsure.

I smiled, picking up the camera again. “Are you kidding? This is going to be great for when we visit those colleges. I love it.”

A minute later, we had figured out how to set it up. I held it a few inches from our faces, selfie-style, for our first picture. Noah smiled wide at the lens, and my chest filled with joy for this moment. “Here we go,” I said, looking back toward the camera.

But right before I clicked the button, I turned back to Noah and kissed him on the cheek.

The picture printed out, our moment from just a minute ago now made tangible.

We studied it, and I could have floated away like a balloon from how happy this photo made me. “You’re perfect,” I told Noah.

“You are,” he managed, pressing his forehead against mine.

It turned out I didn’t need much for Christmas to be perfect. Just moments like these with the people I loved most.