"Happy Birthday!" Soph's loud voice pierces through my ears as she tackles me in a hug the moment I come inside the store. A single balloon with the words 'It's party time' with graduation cap emojis hanging by the counter.
"You really went all out for this," I chuckle, holding her tightly.
"You're one year away from being legally allowed to adopt a child in Delaware, Colorado, and Oklahoma."
"That's...Uhm, how about drinking? Hitting the casino? Becoming an Uber Driver? Nope, Adopting a child in the 3 states we don't live in, that's what does it," I chuckle, earning a slap on the shoulder from her. "What does that even mean? Why adopt a child?"
"To make me an Aunt," she says simply, letting me go. "You know I'm never getting any children of my own, those nasty things."
I have the impulse to ask if Jenny feels the same way but I stop myself — there is no point in bringing up these kinds of touchy subjects when I know that Soph would just avoid the topic. And it's not like I don't know the answer. I simply hum. "Right."
"So, what did the Misses get you for your birthday?"
"She let me sleep for five minutes more than usual," I smirk, heading to the back room. "I'm not sure yet, she won't budge. The suspense is killing me."
"And that's why you're 10 minutes late?" she follows me inside, leaning on the door frame. "You gave her a promise ring on her birthday, maybe she will step up and propose?"
"I highly doubt that," I chuckle. "I mean, it's not that I don't want to marry her, I do more than anything, but I feel like it's too early to even talk about it. We haven't even been together for a year Soph, and this is Daniella we're talking about."
"You guys are no fun," she groans.
"If you're so excited about marriage why don't you propose to Jenny?"
"I will when you and Daniella do, we can have a double wedding."
"I take it you two are doing well?"
"I mean, yeah, we're okay," she shrugs, walking with me to the front. "It's amazing when we're together, it feels like she never left for college at all. But then she leaves and I can't help but feel like I'm in the way," she sighs.
"Don't you think she feels the same way? As in, do you feel like she's in your way?"
"Of course not."
"Then why would she? It's clear she loves you as much as you do — she wouldn't have agreed to all of this if she didn't. Just trust in the relationship that you know you signed up for."
"Well, what's 3 years of long distance, right?" she chuckles humorlessly. "I mean, it's fine, we can make it work, and who knows? Maybe we'll have that double wedding."
I don't know what to say to her — I know how much Jenny means to her, but it's hard to convince her when she's so insecure. A side I never thought I'd see of her. It's so weird to think that Soph has changed so much since last year, in a good way, I think — she has grown in many ways. "Let's just hope both of them say yes."
⁂
"You have to give me a hint!"
"You didn't give me any hints. Why should I?" she raises her eyebrows as I get into her car. She wanted to drive me and pick me up from work today, just like the old times, even if at the cost of both of us coming in late — her fault for allowing me to sleep in as she went on her morning run, knowing damn well I need at least half an hour of sitting at the end of the bed for spacing out purposes. "Are you sure you don't want to throw at least a small dinner party? You know my mom and I don't mind hosting."
"And who exactly am I supposed to call? I only have Soph, Jenny is back in California, and I'm not inviting my dad," I shake my head. "Did he try to reach out to you?"
"He messaged me about wanting to drop off a gift for you," she says as she pulls out of the parking lot. "I didn't reply. He then asked me if I could let you know."
"I haven't talked to him since Thanksgiving day," I say, pulling out my phone and looking through the unread messages from him. I open them up and read through them, he does mention a gift he left with Lucia. I don't know how to feel about that.
"It's your decision whether to see him or not, I advised you to give him a chance on Thanksgiving day and it didn't amount to anything, if anything it just upset you," she looks over at me for a moment before putting her eyes back on the road. "I'll be there for you if you decide to, and if you don't I'll respect it."
I nod. "You still think I'm being too harsh."
She doesn't answer for a moment, thinking about her words before saying anything. "I understand your feelings, I really do. I would have probably done the same in your shoes — I didn't exactly have the best relationship with my father either. I just don't want you to regret it later on. Especially when we both know he has always been an excellent father."
I hum. "I just don't know what to do. I'm not willing to tolerate his relationship with a person who can single-handedly ruin everything we have fought for, and he isn't willing to give it up for me. It's not like I haven't given him the chance to explain himself or haven't shared my feelings," I sigh. "I know I'll regret keeping him out of my life, but I can't find it in me to accept this."
"You don't have to accept it," she says, taking my hand in hers and giving it a comforting squeeze as she parks her car in front of her house. "Sometimes it takes years for people to come around — sometimes they never do, but I know he will, sooner or later. And it's up to you to give him another chance when that happens."
I let out a deep breath, nodding my head. "Thank you."
"Come on, let's see your gifts," she says, tugging at my hand.
Lucia was waiting for us when we came into the house, a small box in her hands. "Happy Birthday, sweetheart," she says, hugging me tightly before handing me the box. "I hope you like it."
"Thank you, I'm sure I will," I say, giving her a quick smile before opening it. It's a pair of earrings — I don't remember the last time I wore such fancy earrings, but it's not like I'm going to complain, and I can style them with the dresses I got. "It's beautiful, thank you."
She gives me a small smile before giving Daniella a quick hug, whispering something to her. She nods, turning to me. "Do you want to see what your father got you?"
"Sure," I sigh, sitting on the couch with Slippers as Daniella brings over a larger box, placing it on the coffee table. "Is it a pony?"
"A horse, maybe," she smirks, sitting next to me as I open the box, pulling out a birthday card. From Dad and Denise, I internally groan before looking down at what was inside the box. I frown.
"What is it?" Daniella asks, peeking over my shoulder.
"An Instant camera," I turn it around in my hand. It's a pretty nice one.
"That's nice of him," she hums, wrapping her arm around my waist. "Do you not like the fact it came from both of them?"
"Well, I doubt Denise had any input in it, but no, I don't," I sigh, putting everything back inside the box and closing it.
"Let's move on," she kisses my cheek. "You haven't opened my gift yet."
"You're my gift," I smile.
"You know what I meant."
"Fine, where is it?" I chuckle as she gets up, pulling me along with her.
"Bedroom," she says simply.
I smirk. "Oh."
"Not that," she shakes her head, tugging at my hand. "At least not for now," she whispers in my ear, making my cheeks flush.
I follow her inside the bedroom, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see it," I say as she closes the door, grabbing me by the waist and pushing me against it, her lips crashing on mine.
I hum as she runs her tongue over my lips, her hands roaming over my body as she deepens the kiss. My mind goes blank and I almost forget why we came here in the first place. "I thought you said not that," I breathe out as she pulls away, a smug grin on her face.
"What do you mean? I'm just kissing my girlfriend, a birthday kiss, that's all," she whispers, brushing her lips against mine.
"Right," I say, swallowing hard.
She pulls away from me, walking to her desk and opening a drawer. "Here," she smiles, holding a small wrapped box in her hands.
I walk over to her, taking the box from her hands and giving her a quick kiss before unwrapping it. I open it, a keychain with a tiny picture of us attached to it — along with a key. "I know you told me you would rather look for a place for you and Soph, and I know it's too soon for you to move in with me but..." she trails off. "I want you to know that I'm serious about this relationship, so if you want to, whenever you're ready... What I mean is that I want you to have a key to my house — so you can feel like this is your home too."
"I already have a key to your house," I chuckle, taking the keys in my hands, the picture we took at the lake dangling, showing me both sides — on one side, us smiling to the camera and us kissing on the other.
"This is supposed to be symbolic," she rolls her eyes. "Idiot."
"I love you," I smile, pulling her in for another kiss. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," she whispers, wrapping her arms around me.
"So, do I get a copy of your car keys?" I tease.
"Absolutely not," she chuckles, shaking her head. "But I do have something else."
I raise my eyebrows. "Oh?"
A/N: take a guess?
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