Love will find a way

Birthday

"I did have a life before you walked in" She teased him.

"Mine is just a fleeting memory before you." His thoughts revolved mostly around his work and he barely accommodated anything or anyone. Yet here he was making all sorts of compromises just to be with her.

It was the wedding of one of her roommates from her university days back here. A good opportunity to see all her friends, who otherwise were busy in their own lives. Only problem was she had to drive an hour and a half to a stately home far away from the city.

"Reached" He got her text and felt relieved that she got there safe. It also made him realise her concern behind asking him.

"Thank you" Nazli smiled as she saw the reply.

It was a good game. The team he supported won so it made it even more exciting. It seemed ages since Deniz and he saw a game together. Post match they went to a pub, but he started to miss her. As they planned to leave, Deniz met some of his work colleagues and decided to stay back. He came out and was trying to look for a cab when he saw a familiar car pull into the nearby parking bay.

"Stalking me, are you?" Ferit knocked on the window as she was grabbing her mobile. He was surprised to find her there.

"Yea your mobile has been tampered with a secret tracking app..." She laughed.

"I knew you guys would be hanging out in a pub nearby the stadium. I was about to text you when you popped up" She explained.

As he took his seat, he noticed her. She looked very pretty in her blue dress with minimal makeup. He noticed her earrings which matched her bracelet.

"Thanks for these." She said pointing to her earrings. She noticed them on her dressing table this morning and knew it had to be from him.

"How did you know I was going for a sapphire bracelet?" She asked him, surprised he could get it right.

"I knew you were wearing blue." He recalled how she went on and on about what to wear over the last week during their phone calls before setting on blue.

"Good to know you were paying attention then" She smiled as all she got in response from Ferit over her rants was that she would look great in anything she would pick.

"Why are you here Nazli?" He seemed serious.

"I was bored. I met everyone I had to and couldn't sit through the reception as well." She tried to sound casual.

"So, you decided to come back and then drive all the way around the city to pick me up?" He questioned her.

"You know most guys would be happy to know that" His anger made no sense.

"I know how stressful you find it to drive alone and I don't want you to take any stress." He chided her as she told him sometime back how much driving alone scared her as she was involved in a car accident. Though she was not the one driving and there was not much damage, it did manage to unsettle her.

"You're here now, relax... I missed you Ferit. You fly all the time to see me, but I can't drive across the city. You're crazy." It was her turn to be angry.

"Sorry" He kissed her hand and signalled her to drive home.

"Did you eat already?" She asked him as she concentrated on the road.

"No just had some snacks and a pint. We can pick up something on the way." He was looking at his emails.

"Get down" He looked up to see that she had parked the car in a parking lot.

"Where are we going?" She held his hand and took him with her as his questions increased.

"Happy birthday Ferit!!" She took him on a dinner cruise.

As they sailed under the multiple bridges that spanned across Thames each one with its own charm. The city had a different charm under nightlights. When they first met, she told him her favourite way to explore the city was through the river and he could see why. 

As they got off the boat, they walked along the riverside hand in hand enjoying the night breeze.

"The surprises don't seem to end. You've set the bar really high..." She made sure they celebrated his birthday properly though just being her was enough for him.

"You better start planning if you want to compete with me..." She winked.

"It's easy. I only need to sort my flight tickets... what better gift than me?" He smirked and ran ahead as he knew what followed.

"That's not fair..." She chased him.

They settled on a bench out of breath. She rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the full moon shine bright. She was the best present he could have hoped for this birthday and maybe it was time to make those tough decisions.