Once the plane had touched down and the seatbelt sign had finally been turned off, she twisted in her seat and smiled up at me. “Hey, have a nice sleep?” she teased, reaching up and wiping something from the corner of my eye.
I smiled sheepishly. Admittedly, I had dozed off during the flight. It wasn’t really my fault though; the first class seating was extremely luxurious and comfortable, and it was made even better by the fact that she’d been leaning all over me and snuggling into my side while she read her magazine. Plus, I’d barely slept the night before because I was so excited to take her home with me and show her off to my friends. I’d lain awake most of the night, watching her sleep peacefully in my arms. I couldn’t imagine an angel would look more beautiful than her.
“Yeah I did. Sorry I didn’t talk to you for the whole way,” I winced, hoping she didn’t mind. She was still smiling so I couldn’t have annoyed her too much.
She shrugged casually, shoving the last of her candy wrappers into her inflight bag. “Least you weren’t snoring.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t answer. I didn’t snore, but she was always trying to make me believe that I did.
As soon as we disembarked the aeroplane, we were ushered through the airport like royalty. Dean was with us because there always had to be two guards with her, but Peter had already started his weekend off. The helicopter was waiting for us a short car ride away and half an hour later, we arrived at the lake house.
I raised one eyebrow in awe as I looked up at the building. It looked even bigger than I remembered. Practically as soon as we were out of the chopper, Anna’s parents both hurried out of the house to greet us. In a seemingly unconscious move, she stepped closer to me and my heart leapt in my chest because she obviously needed my support. I smiled reassuringly and put my hand on the small of her back.
As they stopped in front of us, both grinning happily, Anna plastered on what seemed like a fake smile as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her mother. I watched as her mother’s eyes widened in surprise before her whole body relaxed and she threw her arms around her daughter and hugged her back like she was a long lost child. Anna’s dad was watching them both with his mouth hanging open and tears glistening in his eyes. When she broke the hug and engulfed her father in a hug too, his whole face showed his elation.
As soon as the embrace broke, she stepped back to my side again. I smiled and stuck out my hand towards her father. “It’s nice to see you again, sir.”
He cleared his throat, finally dragging his bewildered eyes away from Anna. “You too, Agent Taylor,” he replied, shaking my hand firmly in greeting. He turned to Dean who was standing slightly behind. “Agent Michaels, you have plans for this weekend?”
“Yes, sir, I’m going to visit my mother,” Dean answered.
“Good, sounds good,” Senator Spencer nodded.
I turned to Dean and smiled. Now that we were here, his vacation could finally start. “I guess I’ll see you at the airport Monday.”
“Yeah, have a good birthday tomorrow,” he replied, grinning and grabbing one of the two cases he’d brought with him.
I reached for the other one to give him a hand, but Anna was quicker. She gripped the handle and pulled it to her side. “This one’s mine.”
I frowned. “No it’s not, we shared,” I countered, shaking my head.
She smiled wickedly and shrugged. “This one has all my girlie stuff in it,” she replied, waving her hand dismissively. She turned to Dean, obviously wanting to change the subject. “Have a nice time,” she called as he was putting his case in the trunk of the car he was using.
“You too, Annabelle. Don’t give him too much grief, okay? I don’t want him whining to me about it on Monday,” he joked, waving as he slid into the car.
I looked down at the case, confused. She had plenty of clothes in with my stuff. What could she possibly need another case for? Her hand closed over mine, squeezing gently as she gave me a little tug towards the house. As I opened my mouth to ask what was in there, she shook her head and grinned. “Don’t ask. It’s none of your business.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled, letting her lead me along.
As we walked to the house, I noticed that her mother was looking at me as if I was some sort of God and at Anna like she was a total stranger. My back stiffened, praying they wouldn’t keep looking at us like that for the next couple of hours because it would surely make Anna uncomfortable.
Anna cleared her throat. “Um… I was wondering if anyone would mind if I went to see Jack?” she said quietly. “I could be back within half an hour. I just want to take some flowers; I haven’t been there for two months.” She chewed on her lip, her eyes tight with worry.
I knew that she felt guilty about not being able to go there to see him, but she thought of him a lot. He must have been a great guy to have her love him so much. I was a little sad that I didn’t get to meet him actually; my guess is that we would have gotten along.
Melissa recoiled as if expecting some sort of meltdown from her daughter at any moment. Admittedly, the last time that they had seen her, something like this may have caused one, but Anna was much stronger now.
Senator Spencer frowned, looking a little concerned. “Yeah, that’s a really great idea,” he agreed. “But you need to take guards with you though, Annabelle. You can’t just go on your own.”
She smiled and her shoulders seemed to relax, as if she’d been expecting a protest and for them to insist that she spent the whole two hours here with them. “Ashton will come with me.” She turned to me, and suddenly looked a little worried as if she doubted that I would. “Won’t you?” she asked, looking at me hopefully.
“Of course,” I agreed. She smiled gratefully and squeezed my hand.
Melissa cleared her throat nervously. “Maybe when you get back, we could have a coffee or something? You could tell me about your new school and your apartment,” she suggested hopefully.
Anna nodded easily. “Sure, I’d like that.” Both of her parents seemed shocked at her answer; I watched as slow smiles spread across their faces.
After finding another guard to come with us to replace Dean, we made our way to the cemetery, stopping to buy some flowers on the way. As we walked through the cemetery, she stooped to pick up any dandelions from the grass. There were a couple on my side of the path, so I bent and picked them for her. When I handed them to her, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Thank you,” she murmured gratefully.
“Sure,” I shrugged casually. Clearly she appreciated the small gesture. When we got level with Jack’s gravestone, I stopped on the edge of the path so that she could approach it on her own. I wasn’t allowed to give her any more privacy than this because no matter how close we got, I was first and foremost, her near guard. I felt awful that she would have to talk to him in front of me. For all I knew, maybe she wanted to talk to him about me. I stood silently and watched as she brushed all of the dead leaves and flowers from his grave before replacing them with hers and sprinkling the little yellow dandelions on top of his headstone.
As she sat down, she brushed her fingers across the lettering of his name. “Hey. I’m really sorry I couldn’t come sooner, I wanted to, but it’s just too far away from my new school.” She ran her hands over the grass absentmindedly. “I’m doing really good. I haven’t said that in a long time, but I really am.” My heart throbbed in my chest as I listened to her admit that. “I love my school. The teachers are great, and I’ve even made some friends,” she smiled weakly.
“I brought someone with me today. He’s my new near guard, the one I told you about the last time I came. He seems to be lasting well so far,” she joked, laughing quietly. “He’s really great, and I know you would’ve liked him if you’d gotten the chance to meet him. We’re going to Los Angeles for the weekend. I always wanted to go there, remember?”
When she sighed deeply, my heart started to race. This was it. This was the part where she would get upset and sob, and I would have to watch it while my heart broke in two.
“Jack, I know a lot of stuff has happened that you’ve probably seen from where you are, and I’m sorry, but I need him. He makes me feel better, so that’s not bad, right? You forgive me for trying to be happy, don’t you?” she asked quietly, picking a blade of grass and rolling it around between her fingers.
I winced, shifting on my feet uncomfortably. Had she forgotten I was here? Surely I wasn’t supposed to be hearing this one-sided conversation.
“People always say that you wouldn’t want me to be sad, but it’s really hard to believe that after what happened to you and then… after. I don’t know what to think anymore. Everything is so confusing now. I hope you forgive me for letting someone else make me happy.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn’t watch from a distance any longer; I walked up behind her and sat down, spreading my legs either side of her and scooting close to her back. As I was doing it, I was mentally shouting at myself for intruding on her private moment. No doubt she was going to freak out because I was doing this, being close to her in front of Jack’s grave.
But, much to my surprise, she didn’t freak out.
Instead, she pressed back into me and put her hands on my knees. I literally stopped breathing because she was showing me some affection in front of Jack’s grave. Was that supposed to mean something? I didn’t even know anymore.
“Hey, I’m nearly done.” She turned her head and smiled at me over her shoulder, her face inches from mine. I nodded, unable to speak. Even if I could force a word out, I wouldn’t know what to say. She turned back to the gravestone. “This is Ashton Taylor; he’s been looking after me for the last couple of months. He’s a great guy.” She squeezed my leg affectionately, but I still couldn’t speak. “So, my dad might get elected in a month and then I could officially be the President’s daughter. I guess I’d better shape up my act, huh?” she joked, chuckling to herself, changing the subject. “And Carter’s trial starts again in three months’ time, but you don’t need to worry about that, he won’t get out. There’s still a lot of evidence and stuff, so he’ll pay for what he did to you, don’t worry, okay?”
I scowled at the sound of his name. I silently wondered if she realised that she didn’t mention what Carter had done to her at all. It was a little scary how she just blocked everything out like that; it couldn’t be healthy for her.
She sighed deeply. “I’m sorry that I can’t stay longer, but my parents are insisting I spend some time with them before we leave.” She leant forward and trailed her fingertips across his name once more. “I’ll come back next time I’m here, okay? I miss you. Bye.” She pushed herself up and turned back to me, holding out a hand to help me up.
She didn’t look too bad as we made our way silently to the car. She didn’t look like the other two times we had walked away from here, like she was dying inside.
No one spoke as we climbed in the car, and I signalled to the other guard that we were ready to leave. After a couple of minutes of driving silently, she turned to me. “So, are you going to take me to this Denny’s place that you keep going on about?”
I looked at her smiling face, shocked. My insides started to hurt. We’d just visited Jack’s grave, she’d let me sit with her, and she didn’t look like her heart was breaking. Was she finally letting go of him? Was she finally ready to move on?
I gulped. “Yeah, I’ll take you to Denny’s at some point before we leave LA,” I promised. Anna would love it there; they served the best chilli cheese dogs in the world. After Nate, it was the thing I missed the most about not living in LA.
When we got back to the lake house, her parents had arranged lunch on the terrace for the three of them. As I was about to leave, Anna clung to my hand and silently begged me with her eyes, thwarting my escape. I smiled weakly as I sat down at the table with them, watching silently as her mother ordered another place setting because the table had only been laid for the three of them. I shuffled uncomfortably in my chair, knowing that they would probably prefer to have time alone with her, but the way Anna was clinging to my hand told me that she didn’t want me to leave.
For the first ten minutes, talk was a little strained as they caught up on how her course was going and what the apartment was like. After that though, she seemed to relax and her forced smile turned into a genuine one as her dad reeled off stuff about his campaign and her mother talked nonsense about the prize begonias she was growing.
By the end of the second hour that we were scheduled to stay at the lake house for, I was slightly less intimidated by her father, and actually having a nice time. It was heart-warming to see their reactions to her smile and her laugh. It was like they were seeing her for the first time in years – well, technically, they probably were. The happiness that I could see in her mother’s eyes made my skin prickle.
When the time was finally up, Maddy called Senator Spencer to tell him that the helicopter was ready for boarding. As we walked towards the noisy chopper, her father placed his hand on my arm, pulling me to a stop and letting the girls go ahead.
“Agent Taylor, I’ve not seen my daughter this happy in years. I don’t know how you’re doing it, but thank you,” he said, smiling gratefully.
I grinned and shook my head. “You don’t have to thank me, sir.” I didn’t do it for my job. Whenever she was happy, my heart would melt into a puddle on the floor, it was like this was the reason for my existence – to make her happy.
“Well, I want to. Anyway, have a nice weekend, and happy birthday for tomorrow.”
I smiled uncomfortably. Does everyone now remember my birthday? I mused. “Thank you, sir. And don’t worry about Anna, I promise to take care of her,” I vowed, wanting to add ‘forever’ on the end. I ran to catch up with her, and we climbed in the helicopter, setting off for the airport, both of us grinning excitedly.
The flight to LA was good. As we walked through the airport at the other end, I was careful to keep her close and check for danger. The thought of not having a far guard was a little worrying, but I didn’t doubt my ability to protect her. Also, it would help that no one knew she was here with me, apart from her parents and a few guards. As far as everyone else was concerned, she’d dropped off the face of the earth; even the name she travelled under today was fake.
As we made our way over to the car rentals desk, Anna was grinning like crazy. “Hi, we have a car reservation under the name of Taylor,” she informed the attendant.
His face lit up. “Ah, yes! Very unusual request for a rental. It’s right outside in bay two. Here, I’ll get the keys.” He turned and fished through the cupboard.
Once he’d found what he was looking for, he slid a form across the counter to me. I looked it over, noticing there were no details other than ‘special request’ written across the top. I signed it wearily, and he led us back through the depot. Anna was practically skipping at my side. I frowned, wondering why she looked so excited.
As we walked out of the door, I burst out laughing when I saw what she’d done. She’d rented me a brand spanking new yellow Camaro, an exact replica of the one from the Transformers movie. That was something else I had said to her when we’d joked around about buying a car for us to use at school. The car was beautiful, and my hands were itching to run across the top and feel the shiny paintwork.
“Seriously? You rented this for the weekend? Damn, these are expensive!” I laughed, shaking my head at her thoughtfulness.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn into a giant robot though. I tried my best…” she shook her head, faking sadness.
I pulled her into a hug. “You are too funny. This is incredible. Honestly, I’ve never met anyone as thoughtful as you. Thank you,” I gushed, holding her tightly against me.
She hugged me back. “You’re welcome. No speeding though,” she replied, giggling.
I grinned and popped the trunk, putting our suitcase inside. When I went to pick up the other one containing the ‘girlie stuff’, she pulled it away and lifted it herself, carefully setting it next to the one we were sharing. “That one’s mine, so hands off, okay?” she instructed, playfully tapping her finger on my nose.
“What the hell is in there?”
“None of your business,” she replied, grinning wildly.
I frowned but decided to let it go. “Let’s get to my place then, and we can order some food.”
She rolled her eyes. “You ate two hours ago.”
Pulling open her door for her, I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a growing boy.”
She chuckled, and I pushed her door closed before practically skipping around to the driver’s side.
As I drove down the familiar streets, worry started to settle into the pit of my stomach. My place wasn’t exactly a palace, and Anna was used to living in luxury, I definitely should have booked a hotel or something for the weekend. “Um, Anna, my place isn’t exactly what you’re used to. It’s not really what you’d call a nice place,” I said, grimacing.
“You think I care where you live?” she frowned, looking a little hurt because I was kind of implying that she was shallow.
I shook my head quickly. I didn’t think of her like that at all. “No, I know you don’t. It’s just a little embarrassing, that’s all. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s nothing like our place,” I explained, shrugging and pulling into an empty space in the parking lot outside my apartment block. I winced as I looked around at the other cars; this car was going to stick out like a sore thumb. “This car is insured, right?”
She laughed at me. “Yeah, Pretty Boy, don’t worry.”
I sighed as I climbed out; waving her out of the car after checking it was safe. When I popped the trunk, she was too preoccupied with looking around and smiling to notice me get her case out of the trunk too. My hand closed over hers, pulling her close to my back as I led her across the parking lot and towards the rickety, old elevator in the lobby of my apartment building.
When we got to the third floor, I guided her along and stopped outside the door to my place. I held my breath as I pushed the key into the lock, silently praying that Nate had tidied up a little. Once the door was open, she stepped in first, and I followed behind, barely able to breathe. Nate was a total slob and liked to live in his own filth. For the last few years that we’d shared a place, I’d been the one to tidy up. The images I had in my head of what we were going to walk in on were horrifying. But, much to my surprise, it actually didn’t look too bad.
As I stepped into the lounge, I felt my body relax. There were no dirty dishes or clothes anywhere, and no slutty magazines on the table; he even looked like he’d run the vacuum around. It wasn’t too bad at all for a bachelor pad; I was actually quite impressed with him.
Anna smiled as she looked around. “I thought you said it wasn’t a nice place, this is great.” She went straight over to the photos on the wall and started looking through them. “Are these your friends?” she asked, motioning to one of me and my boys at the races last year.
“Yeah. That one’s Nate,” I confirmed, pointing out my best friend.
She whistled appreciatively. “Right, I can see why he gets the girls.”
My heart stopped. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of her liking Nate. He was a good-looking guy and all the girls fell at his feet. I felt sick, jealousy coursing through me. What the hell would I do if she liked my best friend?
She turned back to me. “What’s wrong?” Concern coloured her tone as she reached up and touched my cheek.
“Nothing,” I lied, stepping away from her.
“Hey, don’t lie to me. I can see that something’s wrong. Tell me,” she demanded, grabbing my hand.
“Nothing. All the girls like Nate. He’s your typical heart throb – blond hair, blue eyes, every girl’s dream. Just your type,” I stated, shrugging, trying to appear unconcerned.
Understanding crossed her face as she giggled wickedly. “Are you jealous about what I said?”
I jumped. Shit! What the hell do I say to that? “No,” I lied.
“You’re a terrible liar,” she teased, stepping forward and putting her hands on my chest.
I groaned. “Okay fine. Yeah, I was jealous,” I admitted uncomfortably.
She smiled again. “You don’t need to be. He’s not right for me at all. Besides, I already have a boyfriend, and he’s extremely hot,” she flirted, running her hands down my chest and catching hold of my belt loops.
My body was going crazy at her casual, playful touch. “Right, yeah, I forgot you already had someone,” I grunted, my voice sounding thick with lust. I wanted her so badly that it was almost driving me insane.
“You forgot? Maybe I should remind you more often.”
I gritted my teeth. “Maybe you should.”
She smiled seductively and stepped closer, pushing me down onto the sofa, falling on top of me. She kissed my forehead and nose. “You don’t have anything to worry about, boyfriend. You’re the only one I could ever let this close to me,” she promised, kissing along my cheek. Her breathing was speeding up with excitement, making me long for things that I shouldn’t even think about.
How could I have been so stupid? She couldn’t even let other men close to her, that was how I knew I was the one for her. When her soft lips connected with mine, I kissed her back, hard, rolling so that she was trapped underneath me. As the kiss deepened, one of her legs wrapped around my waist and clamped me against her. I moaned into her mouth, enjoying the last few seconds before I knew I had to pull away.
“Anna, come on, Baby Girl, let’s stop now, huh? I can’t have you getting upset,” I rasped, breaking the intense kiss but staying on top of her.
She sighed dramatically. “Yeah, I know. Sometimes it’s just hard to resist you. You’re so goddamn sexy, Ashton,” she frowned, looking slightly annoyed about the fact that she couldn’t resist me.
I grinned at her comment. “Thank you, Baby Girl, and you’re so goddamn sexy too.” I sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late. How about we make some food and then unpack and go to bed?” I needed to get off her because my traitorous body was begging for me to upset her again.
“Yeah, okay.” She actually looked both sad and relieved at the same time.
After eating a grilled cheese sandwich that I’d burnt beyond recognition, we unpacked. While she went to the bathroom to change, I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into my bed. She strutted out a couple of minutes later in the tiny, little shorts and tight tank top pyjamas that I both loved and hated at the same time. I loved them because they clung to her body and made her look so freaking hot it was unreal, and I hated them for exactly the same reason. As she slipped into the bed next to me and scooted over against me, tangling her legs in with mine, I sighed as desire for her started to build. It looked like this was going to be another long night for me.
In the morning my eyes fluttered open, seeing Anna’s beautiful face just inches from mine. Smiling happily, I dipped my head and kissed her forehead gently before moving back so I could watch her sleep. About twenty minutes later, she stirred and moved closer, pressing herself to me and burying her face in my chest. This was my favourite part of everyday – the time when she was just waking up and she would always try to get closer to me, no matter how close she already was. This small little bit of attention got me through the whole day. I smiled to myself. Yep, best birthday ever! She opened her eyes, a slow smile spreading across her face.
“Morning,” I greeted, brushing the hair from her face.
“Good morning. Happy birthday,” she sang, happily.
I laughed. Those two words sounded a little weird to me. “Thanks. So, do I get a birthday kiss?” I asked hopefully.
She nodded, smiling teasingly. “Sure, who from?”
I grinned as I leant forward and kissed her softly. She responded immediately, kissing me back and tangling her fingers in my hair. I pulled away after a couple of seconds, not wanting to push my luck too far. She didn’t take her hand out of my hair as she looked at me excitedly. “Want your presents now?”
I groaned in exasperation. “Anna, you didn’t buy me anything, did you? Seriously, this was already too much,” I whined. I hated that she spent money on me, I didn’t need it, the only thing I needed was her.
She didn’t answer, just pulled out of my arms and jumped out of bed, skipping over to the suitcase that Dean had brought. She hadn’t unpacked it last night, and now I knew why – she’d hidden my gift in there. I sighed as she wheeled the case over and lifted it up onto the end of the bed.
My brow furrowed as she lifted the lid. I had known there would be a gift when she jumped out of the bed, but instead, the case was almost full. I could clearly see two large boxes, a medium sized one, and three smaller ones.
“I don’t want you to keep buying me things,” I grumbled.
She flopped down onto the bed beside me and leant in, kissing me softly on the mouth, silencing my protest. “Please don’t start. You’ll hurt my feelings. I put a lot of thought into each one, and I wanted to get you them, so please just shush,” she ordered, smirking at me. I groaned as she picked up the three smaller packages, placing them in my lap. “Open them, and smile please?” she pouted and gave me the damn face that I couldn’t resist.
I rolled my eyes and ripped open the first one. Out fell James Patterson’s new book. I grinned excitedly. We’d spoken about this a couple of weeks ago and I’d told her I wanted to read it. “This is great, thank you.” If she’d only bought me this, it would have been the best gift I’d ever had.
She smiled. “I thought you’d like that one. Open the next one,” she breathed excitedly, motioning towards my lap. I grinned and opened the next one; it was The Peacemaker on DVD. I laughed as I looked it over. “I didn’t know if you already had it, but I saw it and wanted to get it. I hope it’s the right one. You said it was your favourite movie,” she waffled, playing with her necklace like she did when she was a little nervous about something.
“It’s definitely the right one, and no, I don’t have it.” I turned it over, looking at the back. I genuinely loved this movie.
“Next one,” she prompted.
I laughed at her enthusiasm and tore the paper from the last small package, revealing a black square jewellery box. I frowned down at it curiously as I lifted the lid. A chunky silver watch was nestled inside. My eyes widened at how expensive it looked. I flicked my eyes up to her and shook my head because it was too much, I couldn’t accept it. Before I could say anything though, she held up one hand to halt my protest. “Before you say no, hear me out,” she pleaded. “You don’t have a watch. You’re always checking the time on your cell phone. I really wanted to get you something you could use, and I saw this and really wanted to get it for you. Everyone needs a watch. Please just accept it in the manner which it was given. I want you to have it.”
I gulped. “Anna…”
She pouted. “If you don’t like it, you can change it,” she offered.
I looked down at the watch. It was perfect, incredible even, and something I would never have purchased for myself in a million years because I’d never have this kind of money to spare. “I love it, it’s just-”
Her hand closed over my mouth. “If you love it, then just put it on and smile. I wanted to get it for you.”
I could see how much she wanted me to accept it, clearly it meant a lot to her, and she’d obviously put a great deal of effort into buying it and choosing it. I sighed and pulled her hand from my mouth. “Thank you,” I conceded.
She squealed happily, clapping her hands excitedly as she nodded towards the medium sized package. “Great! Now do that one.”
“These were enough, you shouldn’t have bought me anything else,” I scolded, leaning over and kissing her lips gently. In all honesty, that kiss would have been more than enough for me.
“Just open it or I will. I’m not good at waiting for presents to be unwrapped. You should see me at Christmas, I can do a pile of presents in like a minute flat,” she stated proudly. I didn’t doubt her words at all.
“Calm down, anyone would think it’s your birthday,” I joked.
Her face fell, and her eyes tightened. “I don’t like my birthday, so I like to celebrate other people’s.”
Understanding hit me like a ton of bricks. Her boyfriend had been murdered on her birthday, and she’d tried to kill herself for the last two years on the anniversary of it. Christ, how stupid could a guy get? “I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I shouldn’t have said that.” I took her hand, looking at her apologetically.
She shook her head and smiled again. “Just open it!” she cried, pointing excitedly at the present.
I laughed and ripped open the packet. My eyes went wide at the picture on the box. A camera. I couldn’t speak. This was just the perfect gift; no one could have picked anything better for me. I desperately wanted a photo of us two together, I had a couple of my cell phone but I couldn’t print them off.
“Oh shit, this is incredible. Thank you so much,” I gushed. “But you know I’m gonna be taking photos of you though, right?” I added.
“If you’re thinking I’m gonna be posing naked for you, you’re wrong,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at me.
I laughed wickedly. “Well, I wasn’t thinking that, but I definitely am now.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Whatever, pervert.” She slapped my arm playfully.
I leant over and kissed her lips, just once. “Thank you, I love this, it’s incredible.” I looked back at the box in my hands, not actually believing that this girl was real.
She picked up the last two boxes and put them in my lap. “These two go together, but open this one first,” she instructed, pointing to the flatter of the two. I was still in shock over the camera, I couldn’t wait to take it out tonight and get some photos of us together. I looked over at her and noticed that she was watching me expectantly, so I reluctantly dragged my eyes from her and ripped off the gift wrap.
My breath caught in my throat, and my body jerked – as would any red-blooded male that got this for their birthday. On my lap sat a PlayStation 4. They weren’t even out yet. “Anna, what the actual fuck? How did you get this?” I gasped.
“I had my dad pull a few strings. He’s old friends with someone who works for Sony,” she answered happily. “I knew your face would look like that!” she grinned smugly. “Open the other box. They go together.”
Still in shock, I unwrapped the other gift, tearing the tape off the cardboard box, seeing an extra controller and six games inside. She settled herself against my side and waved her hand at the box. “I didn’t know what games to get, so I asked the guy what a twenty-two year old male would like, and these are what he came up with. I hope they’re alright,” she winced, looking a little worried.
I grabbed her waist and pushed her down onto the bed, pinning her underneath me. Could I tell her that I loved her? Would it ruin everything? I couldn’t risk it, she’d undoubtedly freak out. “You are the sweetest, kindest and most thoughtful girl I’ve ever met, Anna. Thank you so much for everything, and for coming to LA, and for just being with me. I really, really appreciate it.”
She grinned. “You’re welcome. Happy birthday.”
I kissed her again, setting my body on fire as I pressed against her tightly, relishing in the feel of her curves. When I pulled away, we were both breathless. I sat up, looking back at the PS4. “I can’t believe you got me this,” I breathed, shaking my head in awe. I was already itching to play it and eyed the soccer game on the top of the pile.
“Actually, I didn’t buy these for you,” she replied, shrugging and pointing to the console and games.
“Oh yeah? Did you get it for yourself?” I grinned. I’d love to play against her. Girls playing videogames was sexy!
She shook her head. “No, I got this for Nate,” she answered, grinning smugly.
I raised one eyebrow. “For Nate? I don’t understand.”
She smiled and reached for the box that had contained the games. She tipped it up and a little headset thing fell out onto my lap. “You miss your friends, so I got this for Nate. The games are interactive which means you can play against other people. This little headset means you can talk to each other while you’re playing. I got one for Nate, which is this one, and I left your one at home. They’re exactly the same,” she explained.
Oh my freaking God! Not only did she buy me this, but she bought the same for my best friend so we could play against each other because she knew I missed him? Damn it, I need to marry this girl! Please let her fall in love with me, I promise I’ll make her happy, please! I begged silently.
“Anna, this is incredible. So thoughtful. I’m kinda speechless.”
She grinned and shrugged as if it was nothing. “I wanted to do something for you. I owe you more than I could ever give you for what you do for me. I just wanted to make up for that in some small way so you know I appreciate you.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” I countered, frowning. Everything I did for her, I did because I wanted to. I wanted to be there for her and make her happy; I knew deep down inside that was what I was made for.
“I feel like I do,” she shrugged.
I sighed and looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes, wishing I could make her see that we were made for each other. “Well you don’t,” I dismissed.
She smiled and shrugged, reaching for my book. “Let’s just agree to disagree.” She flopped back against the pillows, flicking through the pages.
I shook my head, wondering if she’d ever see how special she was. I didn’t think she would. I settled back against the pillows too, looking through the games with a huge grin on my face. They were all things that I would choose for myself, and I couldn’t wait to play them. After a couple of minutes, I rolled on to my side, resting my arm over her stomach, just taking her in.
“Thank you,” I whispered, snuggling closer to her.
She turned her head to the side and smiled that mesmerising smile that melted my heart every time. “You’re welcome, Pretty Boy.”
Closing the distance between us, I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her softly.