I wake up to the smell of coffee, Gabriel’s famous waffles, and freshly cut fruits. My eyes open to find my boyfriend sitting in front of me with a tray of food and, thankfully, no shirt on his body. There are at least five gifts next to me on the bed, and I frown when I see them.
“Gabriel, you shouldn’t have bought this many presents!” I bring my attention back to him, but instead of answering, he leans forward to press his lips to mine.
“Happy Birthday. It’s ten in the morning, I hope I didn’t wake you too early,” he says, and I let out a short laugh. God, he makes me sound so lazy. “I made you some breakfast, but before you eat, open your presents,” he commands, but I shake my head.
“Before I open them and eat, I want to do something else.”
I cock an eyebrow, and Gabriel smirks at me. He puts the tray with the food on the nightstand, and I remove the blanket from my chest. His delicious body moves between my legs and his tongue enters my mouth.
We make out for a while before he pulls back to look at me.
“Open your presents,” he says, and I laugh.
I groan a ‘fine’, and he hands me the first gift. It’s an envelope, and I retrieve a single piece of paper that reads ‘Andrea, Lucie, and Haru are coming to your party’. My jaw drops, and I look at Gabriel in disbelief. All of them told me they were busy and couldn’t make it only a couple of days ago.
“Yes, they are all coming. I called them again, and they were easily convinced when I told them food and drinks will be served,” he jokes, and I let out a small laugh. “I’m teasing. They were trying to figure out a way to come before I contacted them. Andrea is particularly excited to see you, and I can’t imagine how happy they will be when you tell them you’re racing for Alfa next season,” he says, and a wave of excitement courses through me.
“Thank you, mon amour. This has already made my day.” Gabriel nods, the smile on his face enchanting.
He leans over me to get the second present, and I take it from him with a grin. This one is much bigger, and I have to put it on my lap to open it. Inside the box is the most beautiful blue, silk dress. It has white flowers at the bottom and will reach just above my knees. It’s quite poofy, but not too much that it’d look silly.
“It’s for your party tonight,” he explains, and I beam up at him.
“It’s gorgeous. Thank you.”
He hands me another box without wasting any time. This one is small, and inside of it lies a dried sunflower.
“It’s from the first day I brought you into my room. Remember? When I had dozens of sunflowers?” he asks with a shy laugh while I pick up the dried flower.
“Baby,” is all I can say.
Before I get too emotional, he hands me another present. In it are fitting shoes to the dress.
“Where did you get the dress and shoes? They are stunning,” I tell him, and he offers me a mischievous smile.
“Evangelin and I picked them out for you. So, I can’t take all the credit.” He chuckles, and I put my hand on his cheek. The stubble on it is rough against my skin. “Okay, last one,” he says and hands me the biggest package of all of them. “I stole this idea from James, kind of,” he admits, and I furrow my brows.
The all too familiar helmet I designed when I was a child lies inside the box, sucking the breath from my lungs. It is the full-sized one, not the small version that stands on my desk in my room.
“At first, I got this because you are going to need your own helmet when you drive with me around the track, like we did in Maranello, but now—” Gabriel cuts off, joy glistening in his green-brown eyes. “Now you get to wear it when you test drive, reserve drive, or next year.”
I swallow down the tears. It’s starting to feel less surreal with this gift in my hands. I’m speechless as I look at the helmet covered in flowers. Everything is in its proper spot.
“I don’t know what to say.”
We both let out a short laugh, and he wipes away the tears I’m no longer able to hold back.
“This is freaking amazing.” I put the helmet on, and it fits my head perfectly. “I can’t believe you did this,” I say, but I can barely hear myself, and I’m convinced he can’t either.
I get up from the bed and walk into the bathroom to look at myself. A warm feeling spreads through my chest at the sight in the mirror. I never want to take it off, but I do. The smile on my face, however, doesn’t fade.
I run back into Gabriel’s room, put the helmet down on the bed, and kiss him to say thank you until I’m convinced it’s enough.
“What do you want to do today?” he asks while we eat the breakfast he made.
“Uhmm,” I say as I think about what to do, popping another piece of waffle into my mouth. Gabriel watches me with an amused expression, and I grin. “Maybe we can go mini-golfing,” I tell him and clap my hands together in excitement. He chuckles and nods.
“All right. We’ll go mini-golfing. We just have to be back by four because I’ve got some preparations to do.”
Gabriel leans forward and touches his lips to my forehead before he gets up, and I remind him I have to go home and change. He assures me he will come with me and disappears into his bathroom to get ready.
I wait for him on his bed while putting on my clothes from yesterday. Gabriel comes out again, completely naked. There is water dripping from his hair and it’s curlier than ever before. My eyes fall to the moon tattoo on his ass cheek, and they linger there until I find the faint scar on the side of his thigh.
I wonder if he will ever speak to Denis again, but I don’t ask. The last thing I want is to bring up a painful time of his life on a day that is meant for celebration.
Gabriel and I walk to my house, and when Adrian sees me come through the door, he jumps up from the couch. He sings ‘Happy Birthday’ and hugs me, pulling me into the air. When he drops me back onto my feet and leans away, tears glisten in his eyes. He composes himself when he remembers that Gabriel is right behind me.
“I’ll give you your present later,” he says, but I scold him with my eyes for spending money.
He gives me a kiss on the cheek before telling me to take a shower because, according to him, I stink.
“It’s my birthday, you have to be nice to me,” I remind my brother, who rolls his eyes with a smile. I poke his stomach, which only makes him laugh. “We’re going to play mini-golf, asshole. Are you going to be nice or should I not invite you?” I ask, and he straightens out his back until he stands before me like a soldier.
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am, I will behave,” he promises, and I shake my head at his silly behavior.
Gabriel stays downstairs with Adrian while I rush through my routine. After my shower, I put on a short, green dress that brings out my eyes. I leave off the makeup, too lazy and comfortable to bother.
My eyes shift to the necklace Gabriel gave me, but I doubt my reflection does it justice. I’ve never owned a jewelry piece as special and meaningful as this one.
When I step outside onto the veranda, Gabriel and Adrian are in a heated argument. I have no idea what it’s about, but I see my boyfriend’s hands balled up into fists and my brother’s face redder than a tomato. They are glaring at each other like they haven’t been becoming close friends, as if they’ve been rivals this entire time.
“You are buying people now, is that what it is? You buy them so they prioritize you?” Adrian is beyond angry.
“I am not buying anyone. They may prioritize me because I have more fucking points than you, but other than that, I have no explanation. How dare you accuse me of bribing the team?” Gabriel asks.
With every heartbeat, they get closer to each other, and so do I.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I say as I step between the two angry men.
There is one motivation able to calm down their fury, which is my safety. They might hit each other, but they’d die before anything happens to me.
“Your boyfriend is getting special treatment because he’s been paying people,” Adrian says, and Gabriel takes another step closer to the guy who is accusing him.
When his chest touches my arm, he takes a step back again.
“You got proof?” I challenge, and Adrian’s expression changes.
“No,” he admits, and I frown at him.
“Then what the hell are you doing? Why are you starting a fight with him, a fight you know neither of you will win? Control yourself,” I warn him, and he looks at me with a guilty expression.
Gabriel’s breathing is still heavy next to me, so I take his fist in my hand, and he opens it so I can put my palm against his.
“We are going mini-golfing. Will you be able to drop this and pick it back up tomorrow?” If it wasn’t easy to tell how defeated Adrian was before, it definitely is now.
“I’m sorry, Val, but I don’t want to be in his presence right now.” A wave of sadness storms through me for a brief moment, but I shove it away.
“Fine, we’ll see you later.” Gabriel squeezes my hand, and we leave my brother standing by himself on the veranda.
I get the keys to the Mustang, and as soon as we leave my driveway, I turn to Gabriel.
“Why would he think you bribed the team?” I ask, needing more information.
“Because there have been a couple of meetings now where the strategists have favored me, but I don’t have anything to do with it. I swear on us, and that is the highest swear I could ever make.”
I look at him again, sensing there is more he wants to say.
“I know why they do it,” he admits, and I cock an eyebrow, waiting for him to tell me. “They think I have the potential to win the championship this year, they think I’m faster than Adrian, stronger.” I forget to breathe as soon as the words leave him. “I promise, I will talk to them—”
“Don’t,” I say, and, from the corner of my eye, I can see the confusion on his face. “If Adrian has a problem with the strategists, he has to talk to them. This isn’t your problem, as noble as it would be. Adrian is a big boy.”
I look over my shoulder while I make a left turn.
“It took a lot out of you not to punch him in the face, didn’t it?” I ask, curiosity in my voice.
I’d like to think they’re both mature enough to get upset without starting physical fights, even if I hadn’t shown up.
“I don’t cheat, and he was questioning my integrity. So, yes, I wanted to punch him for doing so. He has this way of pushing my buttons.” I park the car at the mini-golf spot.
The Princess Antoinette Park is where Grandpa used to take Adrian and me, and I have those memories stored securely in my mind. They’ve been packed away for a while, but now, they all come crashing to the front of my mind, filling me with nostalgia.
“He would have deserved it,” I joke, and we both laugh. “But please, don’t hit my brother, ever. I’d have to kick your ass, and we both know I can,” I say, and Gabriel licks his bottom lip in response, making a wave of shivers run down my spine.
“I’d take any punishment from you,” he replies with a smirk, and I touch my tongue to the roof of my mouth.
“Do you think you could handle a punishment from me?” I lean closer to him, teasing him with my hand as it glides up his leg and toward his groin.
“Depends. How would you punish me? Spank me?” The smirk on his lips deepens, but I shake my head.
“No, that wouldn’t be a punishment. You’d probably enjoy that.” He gives me a shameless nod, bringing a smile to my lips. “Yeah, so I’d have to do something to drive you crazy.” I think for a moment, getting closer to his lips and my fingers to his crotch. “Maybe tie you to a chair and make you watch while I fuck myself,” I say, noticing his breathing hitch.
“I guess I better not do it then,” he says and clears his throat.
I peck his lips before I open my door and get out of the car, leaving him with that image.
The hot summer air almost instantly makes me sweat. It must be at least thirty degrees outside.
I wrap my fingers around my new charm and enjoy how it feels in my hand.
“I knew the necklace would be much better than a ring,” he mumbles when he stands next to me. I smile at the man who makes me the happiest woman in the world.
“It is,” I say with pride.
Gabriel presses a kiss to my temple and wraps his arm around my shoulders, letting out a content ‘hmm’ into my ear.
“But, don’t worry, it will come,” he says, and I let out a nervous laugh.
“Eventually,” I remind him, and he rubs his nose against mine.
“Eventually,” he whispers, returning my smile.
