I hadn’t moved from my spot on the busy Amtrak platform since the message came in. Swarms of people passed by me as my eyes stayed glued to one word: Sunday.
Sunday.
Sunday was January eigth.
My birthday.
Her birthday.
We had the same birthday?
That was friggin wild. She was two years younger than me, so she’d be turning twenty-three. My reaction quickly turned from amazement to disappointment that Ryan knew about her birthday when I didn’t. She’d never mentioned it to me. It dawned on me that it probably had something to do with guilt over Jimmy. I understood too well the feeling of not wanting to celebrate a birthday when you lost a sibling who would never have the privilege of marking that milestone again. I’d never told her about mine because I never fussed about my birthday. The eighth of January was historically just another day to me. Not anymore. Now, it would always be Nina’s birthday. If for some reason we were not together, I still knew I’d think of nothing but Nina on my birthday for the rest of my life.
Even though I normally left Boston late on Sundays, I wasn’t going to miss Nina’s party for anything. I’d have to catch a train by three in the afternoon to get there in time.
This development would now change a couple of other things. My family had planned a little get together for me at Allison’s since this birthday was my twenty-fifth. They would have to postpone it now. Also, my original plan was to have the Ivy talk with Nina the next time we saw each other. There was no way I was going to ruin her birthday, though. Our birthday.
Now that I’d be seeing her earlier than planned, the extra time we’d be spending together Sunday night before the talk would mean having to exercise a lot of control. The sexual dynamic of our relationship had changed since New Year’s Eve, but I still vowed not to touch her until she knew everything. Even though we’d experienced that amazing phone sex, it was hard to believe we still hadn’t even kissed.
I returned Tarah’s text.
Jake: I’ll be there.
Tarah: Great! That’s gonna mean a lot to her.
The bracelet I’d ordered her on Christmas Eve was delivered to the apartment yesterday. The plan was to give it to her down the line if things worked out between us. I now knew I wanted to give it to her Sunday for her birthday instead.
***
Frigid air nearly choked me as I ran down Lincoln Street. I missed the 2:30 train, and that meant arriving at the apartment an hour later than planned. Since Nina didn’t know I was coming, I didn’t bother to text anyone.
As I passed by the entrance to the restaurant, my pulse raced because I knew she was inside. Still needing to shower and get dressed, I couldn’t join the party yet. It would be close to eight by the time I finally got downstairs.
I practically flew through the door to the apartment and took the quickest shower of my life. After slicking my wet hair back, I threw on some jeans and a navy button down shirt, rolling the sleeves up. After a couple of spritzes of cologne and a quick look in the mirror, I had to admit that I looked pretty damn good considering the time it took me to get dressed.
Before heading downstairs, I stopped in the hallway outside Nina’s empty room then walked inside. Sitting on her bed, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, but it had the opposite effect because the air was filled with her vanilla scent, and that just made my body react when I should have been trying to calm my dick. I’d quit smoking weeks ago. Otherwise, this would have been the opportune time for a cigarette. My eyes landed on one of her lace bras that had fallen on the floor, and my body buzzed again with an urgent need to see her. Probably not a good idea to make my entrance downstairs with a hard on. Under the circumstances tonight, the buffer of other people being around us would probably be a good thing.
My feet hurriedly skipped down the steps. The faint sound of Mrs. Ballsworthy’s television could be heard on my way down.
The cold air that hit me as I stepped outside was replaced seconds later by the heat of the crowd as I entered the restaurant. Eleni’s was packed. A live Greek band played in the corner while a belly dancer stood in the other corner as she prepared to perform. The smell of garlic and barbecued meat filled the air, causing my stomach to rumble in hunger despite my nerves. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
Squinting my eyes, I looked around for the right table. When I spotted the back of her, my heartbeat accelerated, almost rivaling the drumbeat vibrating through the room.
Her long hair was draped over the back of the chair. She didn’t see me.
I heard Ryan shout, “Jake!”
Nina quickly turned around, and all of the action in the room seemed to fade away when our eyes met. Unable to get to her fast enough, my stride got bigger with each step forward.
It had been so fucking long, too long.
“Sorry I’m late. Happy birthday, Nina.”
She stood up, revealing a strapless red dress that hugged her body in a way that made me never want to let her out of my sight again. One look at her, and all of my rules about physical contact went straight down the tubes.
Rules? I could barely remember my own fucking name.
Without a second thought, I leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, my tongue ever so lightly grazing her skin. Two thin braids wrapped around each side of her head as the rest of her hair fell down her shoulders. She looked like a goddess. But she seemed tense.
I had to practically pry my eyes away from her. When I did, I immediately regretted it, because it was then that I realized Nina had been sitting across from someone. My head turned slowly to the left, taking note of Ryan’s position across from Tarah. My gaze then moved back to the right, to the spot where a tall redheaded guy was sitting opposite Nina—ogling her.