15 Inside Jokes

"She got you a present?!" Samantha screeched.

It was the day after Christmas and now that the festivities were over Aunt Rhonda brought her family to visit and gorge on leftover cookies. His mom always made way too many for a family of three.

Justin showed her the picture of the mug he had on his phone. It was sitting in a place of honor next to his computer on his desk back in L.A.

"Great, isn't it?" he asked happily.

"She must know you pretty well," she said suspiciously. "I thought you said you were only giving her rides to and from school."

"I was. We usually talked but it was about simple day to day stuff. I never said much about myself. She knows I have a cat and am majoring in computer science though."

Samantha laughed. "She probably took the only two things she actually knew about you and combined it into a present."

She sobered quickly. "Wait, did you get her anything?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to as soon as she gave it to me but I couldn't think of anything and then there were finals and she went back to Montana."

His cousin's eyes glinted. "Well. You have a professional female at your service to help you pick the perfect gift before you go back! What does she like?"

"Lots of stuff. The last time I got her a present it was cat earrings and she seems to like those…"

"Are cats the only thing you two have in common?!"

"No! We have similar senses of humor. She thinks I'm funny," Justin said in his defense.

"That's something," she sighed. "But what does she like aside from cats? She just gave you a cat thing so you can't get her one in return. That's unoriginal."

Justin thought for a moment. Cats…gardening…books…TV shows…

"Sam, most of the things I know she likes are from Blogr, not us actually talking. How would I explain that?"

"What's something she likes that you've talked about in person?"

"She likes Italian food. I could get a gift card but that seems too impersonal." She gave him something thoughtful. He had to return the favor.

"Yeah, that's a no. What sorts of things do you guys even talk about in the car, anyway?"

"Mostly she talks about funny stories from her day and I respond," he said fondly.

Samantha scoffed. "You're hopeless. I have nothing more to tell you." She turned to leave the room.

"No wait!" Justin begged. "Please, you're the only other girl I know. You have to help me!"

"Do you guys have any inside jokes? It could be something silly and sentimental if it brings back a funny memory between the two of you. Girls love that stuff."

Inside jokes…he had it. Hopefully, it would make her laugh the way his mug did.

"Sam, you're a genius!" he crowed before seizing her in a hug.

She was not prepared. "Ack! Justin, put me down!"

Setting her down, Justin cocked his head. "You're about her size. What shirt size do you wear?"

"You want to get her a shirt?" Sam asked skeptically.

"It'll be good, I promise."

Justin had the shirt shipped to his apartment in L.A. because the break was nearly over. By the time he headed back he was thoroughly done with his mother's fussing, his father's insistence that he needed to get a girlfriend, and his cat's habit of sleeping on his face. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

The first thing he did when he got back was leave the present for Emily on her doorstep and rush upstairs. Her door was still open so he could hear her shriek of "JUSTIN COSTA!" all the way up the stairs.

He cackled to himself, not expecting such a strong reaction. And yet he knew she liked it because not a full day later she posted a picture on InstaFace.

She was wearing a red beret, a red and black striped skirt, black ankle boots, and the shirt he had gotten her. It was white with a picture of a seductively lounging Pepe le Pew on it.

The caption on the picture was 'Viva l'amour' with a heart emoji. It already had tons of likes and comments.

The moment Sam said to do something with inside jokes, this was the first thing he thought of. Emily had been so embarrassed that day but it was too funny.

Justin had looked up the episode she was talking about as soon as he got home and enjoyed it, considering it was a cartoon. Now whenever she thought of Looney Tunes or wore that shirt she would think of him.

Emily surprised him with a text. 'Thanks for the shirt. It was pretty funny…once I stopped being mad'

He smiled to himself before responding. 'What's your schedule this semester? Do you still want a ride to school?'

'Yes please! It's about the same as before'

Figuring that would be the case, he decided to adjust his schedule to earlier in the day so he could just go home and be done with it after. Having it confirmed didn't make him feel any better though.

'So is mine. See you Monday'

'See ya!'