His Birthday Pt I

“Happy birthday”, I planted kisses all over his face and he slowly opened his eyes. A bright smile spreading on his lips as he pushed his body up and lifted me over his lap so that I straddled him and I leaned over to kiss him good morning.

“Happy birthday to me”

“Make a wish”, I was holding a chocolate cupcake with a little candle on top, and he chucked at the sight of it

“I'm a little too old for this, don't you think?”, he quirked up an eyebrow and I shook my head, pursuing him that he makes a wish until he finally agreed. He closed his eyes for a second before blowing out the candle and I clapped my hands a little.

“Yaayy”, I cooed enthusiastically, and he playfully rolled his eyes at me as we both started licking the icing of the chocolate icing off our fingers and I let him take the first bite...since it was his birthday, but he was kind enough to share

“I got you a little something-something”, I wiggled my eyebrows at him, and he howled excitedly as I crawled off him and bent over the edge of the bed to pull the paper bag with his gifts in under

“You really hid this under the bed? Really?”, he started laughing as I handed over the paper bag to him

“It's one of the places I was guaranteed you wouldn't look in, so yeah”, I gave a little shrug, and he made an unconvinced hum as he peeked in

“Okay there's a lot going on in here, not that I'm complaining though”, he pulled out the first gift box and opened it. His face started beaming a little as he took what was inside out and held it across him.

“I've always wanted this”, he seemed chuffed as he immediately threw it on. I got him a F.R.I.E.N.D.S pull over hoodie because it was his favorite sitcom on Netflix.

“Thank you so much baby”, he pulled me in for a tight hug

“You're very much welcome”

“Just so you know though, I'm not going to let you steal this one”

“I can't promise you that”, I laughed as he reached into the paper bag again. “It can go from being your hoodie to our hoodie real quick”.

“Yeah I don't think so- what do we have here?”, he pulled out the personalized leather watch box, and he smiled. “I'm assuming this is for my watches so that I stop misplacing them all over the place right?”

“Exactly”

“You're so thoughtful babe, thank you”, he winked at me as he pulled out the last item, which was a customized wood card

“You're the best boyfriend in the world”, he read out the crafted words and the smile on his face started getting infectious. “Okay this is going right here on the night stand, I'm going to need to be reminded just how great I am every morning”

I laughed, and he stretched out his hands, motioning I give him a hug and I laid on top of him. “Thank you for all the gifts' babe, I love them”, he planted kisses all over my face.

“Just so you know, you're also the best girlfriend in the whole wide world”, he rotated his arms in a full circle to measure the world and I laughed, kissing him on the lips

“I know”

Before leaving for work, I had to say bye to my baby Missy because I might not see her at all for the rest of today

“Bye sweetie, I hope you have a nice day today”. snuggle snuggle snuggle. “I'm gonna miss you soo much”. Kiss kiss kiss. “I'll see you soon, okay?”

She let out adorable tiny squeaks as I showered her with affection before I put her back down again, and she started licking off her paws. Nathan was sitting on the couch with his arms folded, clearly waiting on his turn to get some love.

“Bye”, I peaced out and his jaw literally dropped as he quickly jumped over the couch to block me from leaving, I started snickering as I looked at him

“Where do you think you're going?”

“To work”, I pointed out the obvious while shrugging my shoulders, and he looked amused for a second at my answer as he leaned against the door

“So Missy gets all the love and the well-wishes while I get a peace out?”

“You got a problem with that?”, I quirked up an eyebrow at him, and he looked seconds away from saying duh.

“Yes I do. I also want the hugs and the kisses and the you have a nice day, I'm gon' miss you”, he mimicked my voice childishly, and I laughed. “It's my birthday in case you forgot”

“How could I?”, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders in a hug, and he leaned us backwards, holding tightly onto me as I gave him a gentle squeeze

“Have yourself a great day at work today, okay?”, I said over his shoulder and I felt him nod his head as he bought us back to our balance. “Enjoy your day to the fullest”

“You have a great day yourself”, he said as broke away from the hug, grabbing my face with one hand to kiss me fully on the lips

“What time I'm I picking you up tonight?”

“Around seven-ish”

“Okay”, he pouted his bottom lip a little. “I would have loved to spend the day with only you today though”

“Aww I know sweetie, but a promise is a promise. You'll have me all to yourself tomorrow though”.

“I like the sound of that”, he opened the door for me. “I love you, okay?”

“I love you too, just as much”

Today was a little different from the rest. My phone was blowing up with well birthday wishes and calls from some of my old friends and distant relatives and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I loved my birthday because it's just one of those specials days I feel really appreciated by the people I love and care for.

Even though the more I grow, the less interested I get in celebrating birthdays and making them a huge thing, I was actually looking forward to tonight's party because I really had a good feeling about this one. Besides, all the important people in my life came together in making it a reality really counts a lot.... I couldn't ask for more.

Later that evening as I parked outside Olivia building, I took out my phone to text her and let her know I'm here, and she quickly texted back,

Bella♡: On my way.....

I sat patiently in the car for a few minutes before I caught a glimpse of her walking out of her building. My heart started beating faster from the sight of her and I slowly got out of the car so that I could see more of her as she instantly took all my breath away because she looked really beautiful tonight in that black knee

-length off shoulder cocktail dress with a sexy mid-thigh slit she had on, her hair styled in elegant bouncy curls.

She stopped in her tracks to look around for me because I had parked where it wasn't visible enough for her to see me, also because it was starting to get a little dark outside. I started waving my hand up in the air to get her attention, walking closer to her and when she finally noticed me, her lips turned up in a smile, and she fastened her pace, even though she was in heels to tightly wrap her arms around me.

“Wow”, I smiled as she withdrew from me and I took her hand in mine to twirl her around a little. “You look incredible”

“Thank you”, her cheeks started reddening a bit as she covered up an obvious blush by fixing the collar of my shirt. “You also look really handsome tonight birthday boy”

“It's only my birthday once a year, so I have to look the part”, I leaned for a quick kiss before opening the door for her, and she thanked me as she got in, with me shortly getting inside, and we drove off. On the way, she turned on the radio and a slowed version of Sure Thing by Miguel started playing on one of the stations, and she wheezed in excitement, snapping her fingers on the beat as she soulfully started singing along to the lyrics, singing her heart out.

I wasn't even paying attention to the road that much anymore, just looking at her because I could never get tired of watching her, no matter what she did, no matter how small it was always a thrill just looking at her. She made these little moments in life worth living and remembering...how I got so lucky with her, I'm still wondering even today.

She stopped mid-lyric when she saw I was stealing glances at her with a smile on my face

“What?”, she had a suspicions look on her face and I shrugged my shoulders

“I just enjoy watching you sing that's all, please carry on and don't stop on my account”

“Sing along with me baby”, she squeezed our intertwined hands

“I don't know all the lyrics through, but I'll try”

~•~•~•

Be the lover, I'll be the fighter baby

If I'm the blunt, you could be the lighter baby

Fire it up

Writer baby, you could be the quote

If I'm a lyric, you could be the note, record that

Saint I'm singer, prize I'm a winner, and it's you

What did I do to deserve that

Paper baby, I'll be the pen

Say I'm the one, cause you're a ten🎶

~•~•~•

We created our own little vibe in the car to the next couple songs until we reached our final destination, Tristan's restaurant

“Give me the keys”, she put out her hand as I closed the door behind her after she got out

“Why?”

“In case you tryna run off during the party”, she looked really looked serious, motioning I to hand over the keys

“I'm not gonna- Okay Finnneee”, I heaved a sigh when I realized nothing I say or do was going to change her mind while handing over the keys

“Thanks”, she grinned as she put them in her purse. “Remember to act surprised okay?”

“I'll try”, I huffed out a sigh while rolling my eyes a little. “Do I like to do a mini jump of shock or just faint?”

She laughed. “A mini jump sounds okay”

“A mini jump it is then”, I said, and I held her by the hand, and we walked towards the entrance and all the lights were turned off inside the restaurant, I could already imagine everyone hiding in their respective places, waiting to sprung on us as soon as we walked in

“This is so mysterious”, I faked a shudder and Liv gave me a little punch on the arm

“Act surprised-”

Then all of a sudden, these bright lights came on when we walked through the door with everyone jumping on their feet and screamed 'Surprise'

Okay I'm not going to lie, I did the mini jump of shock a little, not because I was pretending to be surprised, these damn lights were so freaking bright they pieced through my contacts, startling the vision out of me

“Happy birthday Nathan”, they all cheered while clapping their hands and I noticed almost everyone was here, including all my friends from collage

“Thank you so much everyone”, I smiled as I did a mini bow, and it was then the real party started, and we started socializing with other people, mostly them passing birthday wishes......that's how the night began

As the night went on, everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves, especially Nathan as he was reconciled with all his high school and college friends. I took my eyes of him for one second, the next I saw him whispering something to the DJ, to which he gave a short nod and salsa tropical song started playing loudly over the speakers, and he jumped off the stage and walked towards me, already holding his hand out, initiating a dance and I slowly shook my head no.

“Come dance with me”, he leaned closer to my face and I saw people were already paring up to dance to the music

“I'm not dancing in front of all those people”, I laughed nervously. “Besides, I don't even know salsa”

“I don't either, but I've always wanted to dance with someone to this song”, he begged desperately, and I was really fighting the urge of resisting his plea and cute face

“Uh”, I gave an uncertain shrug. “I really don't know”

He heaved a dramatic sigh. “I didn't want to do this but-”, a mischievous grin appeared on his face. “But it is my birthday”

“You really had to take it there”, the grin on his face brightened when I placed my hand in his, standing to my feet. He politely pushed people out of our way, and we made it to the center of the gathering of the couples dancing with each other. He took my hand in mine while the other hand travelled down to my waist, pulling me closer to him and I circled my arm around his neck.

“How do we even do this?”, I asked because I was really clueless on where we would start with the dancing

“Just dance to the rhythm and enjoy the music”

Wow, that's really specific

“Okay, I'm going to try my best here”, I looked at him, and he wiggled his eyebrows in agreement

“That's all I'm asking for”

I started swaying hips side to side in sync with the rhythm of the song, and he looked surprised at first as he started reciprocating my moves a little

“Okay, I thought you didn't know how to dance to a salsa song”, he sounded really impressed now as we moved against each other

“I don't even know if I'm doing it right, I'm just trying”, I said as our hip movements started matching the accelerated pace of the song, circling around the center stage. We didn't know what we were doing but at least we looked like we did. Both his hands were on my waist now as he pulled me closer and closer, pressing my body against his like if he were to let go I was going to escape from his hold as we continued moving side to side in sync, now a little slower and sexier.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his face closer to mine, and he buried the side of my neck to plant a soft kiss onto my shoulder. Having him close to me even through we were just dancing somehow completed me, it was the best feeling ever.

We got carried on with our own dance we just created to see some people were no longer dancing anymore, they were standing still just looking at us. It was now when Nathan thought it was a great time to twirl me around, lifted one of my legs up to his torso and claim his lips with mine while leaning us backwards. The guest started clapping as he bought us back to our balance and I distracted myself from looking around me even through I could feel all eyes were on us by wiping off the lipstick I smeared on his lips and he smiled contagiously as he spun me around so that we could bow to our audience.

“You're such a showoff”, I pushed him away from me playfully on the arm as some guests started dispatching to their seats once the song was over, and we made our way back to the table

“Don't act like you don't love me like this”, he wrapped his arm around me and I pushed him away a little

“Maybe a little”, I pinched my thumb and index finger together to measure the severity of the matter, and he laughed, leaning to claim his lips with mine again, and we got a little into it, causing me to lift my leg a little, and it's like we kinda forgot we were in a room full of people in that moment, nothing explicit though...only passionate

“Ahem, ahem”, Kevin cleared his throat loudly near us, causing us to break away from each other, giving him the you're interrupting here look

“Get a room”, he said walking past us while sipping his drink and we both narrowed our eyes at him. “Great party by the way”, he winked before he got absorbed in the circle of people still dancing.

“Thank you for throwing this awesome party for me, I'm really enjoying getting old”, he said playfully, and I laughed

“Anything for my favorite boyfriend”

“Correction- Your only boyfriend”, he pointed out as a matter of fact and I agreed along with him

“Of course, my only boyfriend”, we both laughed before he leaned in to peck me on the lips again and locked we locked eyes. He that glow in his eyes I could always see whenever he looked at me, making me feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

“You mean the world to me, Liv”, he rested his forehead against mine. “And I can't imagine my life without you”

He whispered softly, and I ran my hands up his arm to hold the side of his face

“Neither can I”, I whispered back. “You mean everything to me”

A group of his collage friends and former colleagues called him by his name and he looked at them, signaling he'll be with them in a second. I knew if I didn't push him to go he wouldn't, and so I motioned with my head he goes and join them.

“A few more minutes please”, he buried his head on the side of my face in a hug and drew a deep breath. I finally released him, and he looked like he didn't want to go anymore.

“Will you be okay?”

“I'll go chill by the table with the Cass and Sid, so I'll be fine”, I reassured him, and he gave a short nod

“Okay”, he kissed both my hands, hesitating to let go, but he finally did, and I watched him as he walked away

When it was nearing the time to cut the cake, I was looking all over for Olivia, but there was no sign of her and I started to get worried. Sidney and Cassy told me they didn't know where she disappeared to because she was just with them a few minutes prior, and they haven't seen her since.

“Tristan”, I walked up behind him as he was giving out orders to some of his stuff and he dismissed them before turning to look at me

“Hey man, what's up?”, he pocketed his hands as he faced me

“Have you seen Olivia?”

“She said something about going to fetch her check book at her apartment to give the baker for the remaining amount on the cake order”

“How long has it been since she left?”

He checked his wristwatch. “20-25 minutes, I think?”

Traffic wasn't that hectic tonight, so she was supposed to be back by now. I took out my phone to call her, but it just took me straight to voicemail.

“Fuck”, I hissed out loud when it took me to voicemail three times in a row before searching for my car keys in my pockets, then remembered that she must have taken my car since she had the keys

“Is there something wrong?”

“I don't know yet. Do you mind borrowing me your car?”, I put out my hand at him, and he seemed hesitant as he slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket.

“Uh, sure I guess. What's going on though?”

“I'll explain everything later, just give me the keys”, I demanded sternly, and he put them in my hands. Something didn't just feel right and if it was who and what I thought it was responsible for this, it really wasn't good at all.

Meanwhile...

Just when I was about to flick the lights in my apartment on, I saw a something quickly swing at me and I felt a powerful strike on the side of my head, sending me right to the floor shortly afterwards

Feeling this loud ringing in my ears as I opened my eyes to adjust to the bright light of the lights coming on while groaning in pain from the heavy blow that resulted in warm liquid to start running down the side of my face- slowly dripping onto my shoulder and the floor

My eyes felt heavily all of a sudden when I tried pushing myself up back on my two feet but then failed miserably, resulting in me sprawling on the floor again

Through my blurry vision, I saw a pair of feet standing above me and the last thing I remembered was hearing the sound of the door locking and seeing the face of this unfamiliar woman as she knelt next to me and softly brush the hair out my face

“Oh poor sweet Olivia”

I tried forcing my eyes open long enough to see who this person was but in a few seconds.....everything suddenly went black