Forgotten

Part 20

Nichole's POV:

Things were going good between Alexis and I.  Almost too good.  Ever since Christmas, almost a month ago, we had been practically inseparable and literally had no problems between us.  We were closer than ever.  Of course, we still had the unresolved issues of her past luming over us, but we had decided to let it alone for now.  At least, until after birthday.  Right now, she was doing good.  She was happy and adjusting well to her new life with me.  And we just thought it was best to put things on the back burner for now.

Alexis' 20th birthday was today.  And I was determined to make it her best birthday ever.  And even though I had gone small on her Christmas present, only because she had asked me to, because that what she had felt comfortable with, I wasn't going to go small on her birthday present.  At all.  And this, she had no say over.  

I went over to my dresser drawer and pulled out a small black box and opened it, wanting to see it one more time before I wrapped it. It was a sapphire necklace encrusted with diamonds.  I specifically chose it because she looked absolutely stunning in blue, and it made her eyes look absolutely amazing.  It was a simple, but elegant design, and I  knew she would love it.  But needless to say, it was expensive.  $15,000 to be exact.  But I didn't care.  The expense was not an issue.  I made plenty of money.  That was one perk of my job.  And she was worth every cent.

A smile spread across my face, as I carefully wrapped it in silver paper.  I literally couldn't wait to see her expression when she opened it.  I was certain she would love it and just knew it would look beautiful on her.  After wrapping it, I then put it in my pocket, for safe keeping for later.  

I then took some flowers that I had bought this morning, off of the top of the dresser: a dozen longstem red roses.  It was her favorite flower.  

I then headed downstairs, only to find Lexi painting in the living room.  She looked up at me, smiling, as I sat down beside her.  I leaned over and kissed her full lips, and handed her the flowers.

"Happy birthday", I said, grinning.

She took the flowers and her face immediately lite up.  "Oh my goodness!  Thank you!  They're beautiful!" she said, smelling them.

"You're welcome", I said, as she kissed me again, before turning her attention back to what she was doing.

"What are your painting?" I asked, after watching for a few minutes.

She looked up from her canvas, after having been completely emerged in what she was doing. She was so cute when she painted.  She would get so involved, focused, and absorbed in her work, that it was as if nothing else in the world existed.

"I'm painting a picture of the beach", she said, her blue eyes looking up at me.  

"It's really good", I said, looking at what she had done so far.  And as usual, she never ceased to amaze me with her artistic ability.  "I like how you used different tones of blue for the water.  And it's blended really good too", I said honestly.

"Thank you", she said, smiling, pleased with herself.  As she should be.

"How would you feel about taking art lessons?" I asked, thinking ahead, as something she could perhaps do in the future.

She thought about it for a minute, then asked worriedly.  "Lessons?  But... wouldn't that be hard?  Don't you have to be good to do that?"

I laughed.  "No silly.  There's all kinds of different levels of lessons.  There's beginners and advanced lessons.  We could sign you up for whatever you felt comfortable with.  But I think it would be a good idea.  You would really learn a lot.  Especially if, at some point, you want to get into using different mediums, like oil and acrylic", I said, knowing that they were much more difficult to master then water color or gauche.