Path to Deciduous (Sequel to Road to Evergreen) | #Wattys2018

t w e n t y - s i x

"I know," he smiles.

"What are you up to, Adam Reindl? You have a devilish smile spread across your face."

He laughs and reaches out for my hand, tangling our fingers. "I thought of taking you on a date."

I gasp. "A date? Oh my God!" I squeal. "What did I do to deserve it?" I mock. He rolls his eyes in return.

"Don't be such a brat about it." He squints his eyes at me and I crinkle my nose in return.

Ten minutes into the drive, I break the silence. "You know the court is in a couple of days."

He doesn't reply but instead parks the car in front of the Chinese restaurant that I stopped at when my car broke down. I jerk my head in his direction and he holds my hand.

"I know that it's soon. But let's not think about it." He kisses it. "Besides, it's your birthday." I watch as he reaches his hand to the backseat and grabs a box. I just stare at him, totally fazed.

"Happy birthday, my love." He grins. I blink.

He watches me as I unwrap the blue wrapping to find a box having gold crowns printed as a pattern. I eye him. "Go on," he encourages.

I can't help but smile. Before opening it completely I reach out and plant a kiss on his cheek. His grin stretches.

I inhale and tear apart the wrapping paper while my charm bracelet jingles. I never took it off. And I never plan to. I open the box to find several things. I grab the book that has Anna Karenina written on it. I flip through the pages scanning them where there's yellow highlighted sentence.

"I wanted you to have it. I started highlighting the words of Tolstoy just after a month of when we met. It's when I realized that I love you."

I smile. It makes my heart ache. "Thank you," I say and mean it.

I place it aside and reach for the second item. I grab the ugly olive kaki baggy pants and hold it in front of me, to get a full view. I arch an eyebrow.

"It's to replace your yoga pants. Heard they have a good stretch."

I burst into laughter, unable to believe his gesture. "They're hideous," I state.

"Well, that's kind of the point," he smirks. He joins me and I shake my head reluctantly. "The gesture is so adorable." I tell him. "But I won't wear them," I crinkle my nose.

"Figured." He sighs.

Just there, lays a tiffany's box and my heart skips a beat. I slowly open it to find a gold infinity pendant that has little diamonds on its surface. My heart melts. I pace between him and the neckless in my hand as a grin is spread on his face.

I immediately crawl onto his lap and hold him, burying my nose in his neck as his warmth consumes my body. "Thank you," I whisper. He tightens his grip on me. "Thank you so much. I love it."

He pulls away and kisses me on my cheek, letting it tingle there for a while. The seat slides back, leaving space between is. He grabs the neckless and gestures for me to pull my hair up. I do as I'm told and my hand magnets to it, touching it to make sure that it's real. That this is real.

I kiss him. And he kisses me as if thanking him for everything he did for my life. He's consuming me and I'm consuming him. He took a piece of my heart and I want him to keep it.

We sit there, both smiling from ear to ear. He breaks the silence. "Let's go inside. Our day isn't over yet." He tugs a strand of my short hair behind my ear. I nod and crawl off. I watch as he jogs his way to my door and opens it as he bows slightly down. "My lady."

I give a small curtsy.  "Thank you, my man." He smirks. He entangles my hand in his as he slightly rubs my thumb. I smile.

As we enter the restaurant, I watch as Adam mumbles a few words to the hostess. My eyes dart around the restaurant, always passing it daily but never seen the inside. It has Chinese characters carved on the walls with a beige walls. It's quiet elegant and classy due to the brown mahogany tables with white tablecloths and red candles. It even has a scent of vanilla and sushi to it.

Adam stands beside me as he guides me in. "Our table is around the corner."

I walk there, my eyes watching the wooden floors as they creak under our steps.

"Surprise!"

My. Heart. Skips. A beat.

My eyes widen, darting everywhere. From left to right. To up and down. I feel tears welling up in my eyes.

Megan nears me as she takes me in for a hug. I hug her back. "Happy birthday," she squeals.

Spencer, Megan, Barry, Mom, Harry, Bob, even Kyan, take me in for a hug and wish me birthday wishes. I nod, taken out of guard. This whole time, Adam haven't left my side. I turn to him as I cover my mouth. "You did this?"

He smiles and steps closer, planting a kiss on my head. "Yes."

I throw myself at him and wrap my arms around his neck. I can't believe he went through all this trouble. It's all these little things that add up to make me love him even more. Few seconds ago, I didn't even know that was possible. I feel his skin on mine and I close my eyes. He just holds me for a while until my mother clears her throat beside us. I retract.

She's smiling. "Come on now, won't you? The rest of us want to share our gifts with you." I meet Adam's eyes and he nods.

"Sorry I didn't text you today. Didn't want to ruin the surprise." Megan winks at me. I feel Barry's eyes on us and I nudge her. She sighs. "I'll tell you later. He got into a fight with Jeremy."

"He what?" I gasp.

"He saw us together and Jeremy was being like the usual." She shrugs. "Call it self-defense or I don't know what, but I'm just tired of him always getting the hit."

"He needs to learn to throw punches harder."

She frowns. "Oh, he knows. Can't you see the swollen eye on Barry?" I immediately look and she was right. I cover my mouth as we both burst into laughter.

"There's my favorite birthday girl!" Spencer sneaks up on me and takes me in for a hug, again. "I got tickets." He shows the first then the second and third.

"For what?"

"To see Afremov's gallery." He smiles.

"No. You're kidding." I shake my head. "That's not possible."

"And the third ticket is for Megan. You know, I still remember our bar nights." He winks as Megan stands up so fast from the chair, that she nudges everyone in her way. She grabs her ticket and squeals.

We both burst into laughter.

Mom shared a gift with Bob of a luck charm bracelet. Harry drew me on a portrait. And Kyan handed me the key to my new office.

"I got an office! Can you believe it?" I say out load. Kyan laughs. "It's been almost a week, and you're showing outstanding potential. You deserve it." I smile. "Thank you." He nods and smiles back.

I watch as he walks away and my eyes dart to Adam who seems nervous. My eyebrows frown. I recognize Adam's father from the photographs at his house as he stands behind him. It's the first time I've ever seen them together. And hopefully, it won't be the last.