| December 27 | Wednesday |
~ Megan's POV ~
"Megan..."
I groaned as I rolled over.
"Megan... wake up..."
"Why...?" I mumbled into my pillow.
"Because..." Sam planted a kiss on my neck. "It's your birthday and I have to give you twenty-five kisses."
I couldn't help but smile at her adorableness before rolling over to look at her. There was a smirk on her lips as she moved in and planted them on my own.
"Two down... twenty-three to go," she mocked.
"You're so cheesy."
"You love it."
Suddenly, Sam was eagerly climbing on top of me as my body began to awake. I sighed heavily as her soft lips pressed against my neck again, but this time with a bit more haste.
"I need to hurry if I want to beat Charlie," she whispered.
"Beat Charlie?"
"You know she's gonna hear us and barge in here."
Her skilled lips traveled to the crook of my neck. "That's five..."
A small moan escaped my lips.
"Shh, you have to be quiet, too," she joked.
"Well that's not really fair."
A relentless heat began to travel through my body as I counted the kisses Sam was leaving all over my torso. And if she was trying to turn me on, well, it was surely working.
She lifted my t-shirt and kissed between my ribs. "What number is that?"
"You expect me to know?" I panted.
"I think twenty..." Her mouth traveled slowly over my belly button. "But honestly, I can just start over if you want..."
I closed my eyes as her hot breath danced against my skin. Sometimes, Sam could be a real tease if she wanted to.
An electric current ran up my spine as I felt her hands tease against the edge of my shorts. I looked down only to see her planting kisses all along my lower stomach, and then look up at me lovingly, which caused me to nearly lose it.
"Sam..." I sighed.
"Hmm?" she hummed against my stomach.
I allowed my hand to travel to her tousled waves that were spread over my exposed skin. Those deep blues were locked with mine as she smirked.
"I was gonna wait till tonight, but an early gift couldn't hurt..." she whispered.
And as soon as Sam said that, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Charlie came bounding down the hall and stood in the door of our room. Her tail wagging excitedly as her brown eyes found mine. Sam groaned at the sound of our dog running towards us.
Charlie jumped onto the bed and trampled over Sam's head before coming straight for my face. I caught her before she made it, but couldn't stop laughing at the situation.
As Charlie gave me good morning kisses, Sam just stared up at me from my stomach with a look of disapproval.
"Charlie, we talked about this," she complained.
"Oh, have you?" I teased.
"Yes," Sam answered. "Multiple times. But she doesn't seem to retain anything."
"She's a lot like you then."
Sam's mouth just hung open.
I laughed as I reached down to close it with a finger.
"We should get up."
Sam rolled her eyes. "I guess."
All three of us exited the bedroom as Sam proceeded to cook breakfast, which was a skill she had developed since moving to Columbia. And I had to admit, she was getting quite good at it.
She set the plate in front of me along with a mug of coffee.
"This looks great," I complimented.
"Yeah, well, hopefully it tastes as good as it looks," she replied with a smile. "But I'm sure it will."
I took a bite of my eggs. "So, did you have any plans for today?"
"You know I have plans."
"Staying in bed all day is not a plan."
"I'm sure I could change your mind."
I blushed.
"But I actually made reservations at Giordano's," Sam informed.
"Oh really?"
"Yup." She looked at me. "I know you've been dying to go back but I was saving it for a special occasion."
"My birthday isn't a special occasion," I protested. "It's just another year down."
"I disagree." Sam leaned forward. "It was the day you were born, and if you hadn't been born, I wouldn't be this happy. So therefor, it's a special occasion."
All I could do was admire her from across the table.
"But I was also thinking we could go to the mall to shop, or go see that movie that's in the theater you've been raving about..."
"What about Charlie?" I wondered.
"Blair and Tony agreed to babysit," Sam said.
"Well, you've certainly thought of everything."
She smiled. "Your good traits must be rubbing off on me."
My chest grew warm as I leaned in to kiss my girlfriend. Sam really had grown into someone I wouldn't even recognize if I hadn't been by her side since I had met her.
We readied for the day and packed up Charlie and her things before heading out to drop her off at Blair and Tony's. Luckily, she really enjoyed going there, so I wouldn't have to worry about being gone all day.
"There's my favorite niece!" Blair yelled from the door.
"She's your only niece," Sam protested.
"And? She's still my favorite."
I laughed as we joined our friends in their apartment and escaped the cold.
"Happy birthday, from me and Tony," Blair claimed as she held out a gift.
I sighed. "You really shouldn't have gotten me anything."
"Oh please," Blair said. "Did you really think I had a choice? Sam would've had an aneurism if I hadn't."
Sam nodded. "She's right."
I just shook my head and opened it up, only to reveal a picture frame with our small family in front of the Christmas tree with our matching sweaters.
"Oh my God," I said with a laugh. "This is great."
Sam took the frame from me. "Really? I told you not to print this picture."
Blair took the frame from her. "And I do what I want. Besides, Megan loves it."
"I really do." I hugged Blair. "Thank you, so much."
"Ready?" Sam wondered.
I grabbed her hand. "I am."
"Well, you two have fun. Charlie and I have a full day of plans," Blair said.
Then there was a moment before I turned away that I saw a look in Blair's eyes that was met by Sam's. It wasn't a bad look. But it made me unsettled because there seemed to be an unspoken conversation going on.
I decided to ignore it for the sake of the day.
It didn't take us long to make it to the mall and for me to drag Sam through about half the stores within a few hours. On a normal day, she would be complaining under her breath and asking me if I was ready to leave every ten minutes, but today was different and I was grateful.
"What about this one?" I asked as I looked at Sam through the dressing room mirror.
"You look really hot," Sam said.
"You said that about the last twenty things I tried on."
"And?"
I rolled my eyes. "It's a sweater."
"I said what I said."
I turned towards her with a smile. "This color, or the black one?"
"Get both."
"They're fifty each," I complained.
"And? It's your birthday. Get both."
I raised my brow as I stepped closer to her. "Are you sure?"
She just sat on the bench and stared up at me with a smile.
I sighed and leaned down to kiss her.
"You're the best."
Our lips parted. "You deserve it, babe."
We left the last of the clothing stores and I dragged Sam to the jewelry store I always stopped at before leaving. She usually resisted, but this time she didn't, which was odd, but I enjoyed the changed behavior.
I walked straight up to the familiar case that held my favorite ring. It wasn't an engagement ring, it was something lighter, because I knew Sam would freak out even more if I went there. It had been there last time I had come here with her and had almost bought it for myself, but decided against it.
Now I just wanted to see if it was still there.
But when I peered down through the glass and searched, I realized it wasn't. My heart sunk.
"What's wrong?" Sam wondered.
I sighed heavily. "The ring. Remember last time? The one that was right here... Someone bought it."
She looked back at the case. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," I replied.
I felt her hand slip into mine and give it a squeeze. "There are others...? If you want to look...?"
I realized how childish I sounded and shook my head. "No, it's fine. I just really liked it is all."
"It was a pretty one," she agreed.
We left the mall and headed to the movies, but I couldn't seem to shake the disappointment off of my shoulders.
I had wanted to buy it, but I had also hoped Sam would've bought it for Christmas for me. It would've been the perfect gift, but I knew Sam wasn't the one for grand gestures like that. It would've meant something big to her, and I wasn't sure if she was ready for that, even if I was.
I hadn't been able to get out of my head for the movie, and I felt bad, but hopefully dinner would make up for it. I knew Sam could tell there was something going on, and I was trying not to be a downer. After all, she had planned this whole day for me to enjoy myself. Not to mope over some silly ring.
When we arrived at Giordano's Sam walked up to the hostess stand.
"Reservation for Carson, please," she said.
"Right this way."
I followed Sam as she held my hand in hers and was surprised when we were led into a small private room.
"Enjoy."
"Thanks," Sam responded.
I raised my brow in confusion.
"What?" she asked.
"A private room?" I questioned.
"Yeah? I wanted some privacy."
We took our seats and ordered wine as I wondered what had inspired Sam to do this, but tried not to think too much.
"So, how was your day overall?"
I snapped out of my thoughts. "It was great. Really. Thank you for bearing with me."
"You say it like today was a task rather than a celebration."
I shrugged. "I just know you don't particularly like the mall, or shopping... and the whole ring thing..."
Sam tilted her head with a small smile, but never said anything. It looked at if she was holding back something big, but didn't want to spill yet.
I sighed. "What?"
"I was gonna wait, but I don't want to," she claimed.
I furrowed my brows in confusion as he reached into her jacket pocket and revealed a small black box. She set it on the table with a shaky hand and slid it over to me.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Your last gift of the day," she said. "Or, if you really like it, your second to last gift."
For some reason my heart began to pound as I grabbed the box and opened it. And when I saw what sat inside, my insides grew warm.
"You bought it..." I whispered.
"I did," she said. "And judging by your reaction, I'm glad I did."
I took the ring out of the box and studied it in silent awe.
"I know it's not an engagement ring, but it's definitely a promise, because I know one day I will propose to you, Megan Adams. Mark my words." Sam paused as she looked at me. "But for now, I got this for you to wear as a reminder of that promise."
Then she grabbed my hands and slipped the ring onto my ring finger. My heart stuttered in my chest at the sight, and I couldn't stop smiling.
"It's perfect," I said.
"Just like you."
I looked up. "I love you so much, Samantha Carson."
A smile pulled at her lips. "I love you too."
I leaned over to kiss her as she met me halfway. Just the sensation of the ring on my finger made me light up inside.
The fact that Sam had said those things just made every painful moment worth it. All the hard work we had done to get to this point was all worth it, and I felt renewed. Like this was something I needed, and she had known that all along.
And I really couldn't have asked for a better birthday.
* * A/N * *
Hey guys! So sorry for the lack of postings. I promise there is a valid excuse, which I will address in a separate posting outside of "Everyday Adventures". You can head over to my "Announcements" story to see what has kept me away from writing. It's pretty exciting news, if I say so myself.
Hang out to read more of Sam and Megan's story!
Happy Reading!
Lauryn