LOVER TO LOVER ━ AHS Hotel

EIGHTEEN

"Okay, maybe you're right: my birthday is something to celebrate," he countered, "but my aging is not."

Hadley stifled a laugh. "Your aging? I think twenty-two might be a little young to start worrying about that. Wait until your twenty-nine, when your thirties approach."

"That's ..." He rubbed at his forehead. "That's not the point." Percy slowly sat up, which caused Hadley to move to his side. She kept a slight distance between them, as if his heart rate full of hot blood was too much to bear. "I'm twenty-two. What's that, like, two years older than you?"

"No, it isn't," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm thirty-seven, technically."

Percy's expression twisted. "You know, maybe I shouldn't be dating such an old woman. It's gross. I should be thoroughly repulsed, right?"

Hadley bared her pearly whites, lips pulling into a wide grin. She leaned in then, teeth knocking into his as she kissed him. Percy couldn't help his hands from immediately clutching the back of her head, bringing her even closer. She caressed the sides of his face, while he used his thumb to brush across the nape of her neck. For a second, he felt a scar near her collarbone – the wound from when Elizabeth turned her. A warmth pooled into his stomach, and he felt it all the way to his toes. He almost wished he didn't wear anything when he went to sleep, but that just made it easier for her to touch him in the morning, if she was feeling bold.

Percy took one of her hands in his, guiding it over and placing her fingers on his lap. She could feel him harden beneath the sheets, which caused her to pull away from the kiss. Spit dribbled onto Percy's chin, but he wiped it away quickly. Hadley was smiling big at him, refusing to remove her cold hand.

"You get birthday sex at the end of your birthday, silly." She chuckled, taking her hand away to run it through her hair. Sighing under her breath, she resumed their conversation: "So about those birthday plans?"

Percy covered his hands with his face.

"You can't get out of this that easy, Perce."

He peeked through his fingers, sending her a glare.

Hadley simply arched a brow. "I know! How about I made you cake and invite all the good people at the Cortez – which is, like, three people. James won't be invited, don't worry. I'm sure it'll be a blast –"

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

"Well, that's just your wrong opinion."

Percy smacked his hands onto the sheets. She looked so excited, and he would be a fool to deny her of something like this, no matter how much he didn't want to. He needed to stop being so whipped, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. His former friends would be so displeased with him. Maybe he couldn't blame them.

"Fine," he muttered, "you can make a party."

He would do anything to see the grin she gave him every day. He might even kill to see it.

•••

Percy had never liked his birthday. Truthfully, he didn't like a lot of things, but his birthday was definitely up there. Birthdays were a time of celebration; to rejoice in yet another year of living with your favorite people. He never quite had that.

His parents remembered his birthday – as any good parents would – but parties were out of the question. They didn't have the money to hold one. He never had one of those "Sweet 16" parties. His sixteenth birthday was spent in his room, playing Call of Duty with a slice of strawberry-vanilla cake in his lap.