I woke up on Thursday morning to a room completely decorated with streamers and balloons. I blinked at them in confusion because I had no idea how Cam managed to decorate my room while I was sleeping and never once managed to wake me up. The fact he'd cared enough to do it, made me smile. And the big gold 21 mylar balloons floating in my window made me laugh. I scrambled out of bed, dislodging Eiffel from her warm sleeping spot at the foot of my bed and pulled on my light robe before I shoved my glasses on my face and left my room.
"Happy Birthday!"
I blinked at Cam's grinning face. "You got me. How in the world did you do it?"
"I can't divulge my secrets." He teased. "Come on, birthday girl. Get settled quick so you can enjoy your birthday breakfast before you have to get ready to go to your shift."
I stared at him. "You made me breakfast?"
"But of course!" He said, coming over and dropping a kiss on the tip of my nose. "You're my best friend and the best roommate ever. And it's your birthday, can't let you be 21 without a bit of fanfare." He put his hands on my shoulders and steered me over to take a seat at the breakfast bar.
"I'm stunned. You've already done so much with only two day notice." I said, shifting to settle on the chair.
He winked. "Don't underestimate me when I have motivation. We are going to have the best birthday weekend ever and it has to start today, it's your birthday. Your actual birthday."
I rolled my eyes at him and reached for the coffee mug at my plate. "Mmm. Fantastic. You've learned the best way to use that machine you insisted on." I said, sipping the vanilla cappuccino and savoring how it tasted.
"Again, only the best for you." He said, pulling a plate out of the oven and setting it in front of me. "Strawberry chocolate stuffed French toast and crispy bacon."
"Oh..." I breathed, leaning down to smell the deliciousness that was crispy bacon and stuffed French toast. "This looks perfect." I said.
He placed a dish of sliced strawberries near me and reached over to quickly dust my plate with powdered sugar before he let me have it again. "Thank you, mon ami." He leaned on his elbows, watching as I picked up my knife and fork and cut into it.
"Mmm, perfect." I agreed with my earlier declaration.
"Mimosa for breakfast or do we need to wait for Saturday morning for that?"
I considered the offer. "I'm good with my cappuccino." I said. "I'll take another one to go when I'm leaving though."
"On it." He smiled, picking up a piece of bacon and munching on it while I basically bulldozed my way through my food.
"You should eat." I said, words slightly distorted due to the French toast in my mouth.
"Need anything else?"
I shook my head. "This is more than enough." I said, taking a sip of my coffee and swallowing. "Please, eat with me."
"Done." He winked, turning to grab his own plate from the oven. He came around and took the seat next to me. He dug into his breakfast and we talked about past birthday breakfasts while we ate.
"Gotta get ready." I said, apologetically, taking a last swallow of coffee and popping a strawberry into my mouth.
"Okay." He said. "Go on, I've definitely got clean up. It's your birthday, you're not doing anything around here today."
I grinned at him. "Thank you." I said, leaning over and brushing my lips gently against his. "You sure know how to spoil a girl." I said before heading to my room to gather what I needed to shower and get dressed for my day. I came out of the bathroom, pulling my hair back into a tight bun once I was finished.
"Beautiful. How's 21 feeling?" He asked, handing me a travel mug of coffee and my lunch bag.
"No different than 20 other than the amazing breakfast my roommate made me. He's something else."
His eyes flared, twinkling at me. "Well, I suspect that has to do with you, roomie of mine. You're something else for sure." He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me for a moment before dropping a kiss on my lips. "Have a great day, birthday girl."
"I'll see you later." I said, stepping back.
"I'll be here. Dinner will be served about an hour after you get home as long as you're home at the usual time."
"I will be." I nodded. "Have a good day." I said, opening the door and heading out, happy and ready to face whatever came my way today.
~ ~ ~~ ~
I walked in the door, juggling the gift bag Tasha had given me, the box of pastries management sent home with me and the large bouquet of flowers that had arrived mid shift from Cam. "Well, this has certainly been a birthday." I craned my neck, peering around the flowers as I looked at him.
"Was it a good birthday?" he asked, coming over to lighten my load a bit. He took the flowers and set them on the end of the bar.
"It was a great birthday." I said, dropping my bag and the gift bag by the door. I gently shook the pastry box at him. "And we're totally set for baked goods. At least for the foreseeable future." I stashed the box in the fridge.
"Dinner's waiting. Did you want to change or shower or anything first?" he asked.
"I'll go change." I smiled. "Thank you very much for the flowers. They're lovely."
"Only the best for my bestie." He winked.
I laughed, scooping up my purse and gift bag before heading to my room. I changed into a pair of shorts and a flirty peach sleeveless top. I shook my hair out of the bun it had been in all day, running my fingers through it to loosen the waves that had been created before heading back out to the kitchen. "Excellent." I said, eyeing the Thai food he'd ordered for dinner. "Just what I wanted."
"I knew that." He said. "Just kidding. It's just been a couple weeks since we had Thai food so I figured it would work out okay."
I laughed. "It's good." I said, settling in my usual bar stool as he put a plate in front of me and set the plate with the extra additions between our plates. He poured wine and delivered my glass to me before coming to sit on his chair. I squeezed lime over the top of my pad thai and sprinkled it liberally with crushed peanuts.
He fixed his own plate in much the same manner before raising his glass. "Happiest of birthdays to you." He said.
I clinked my glass to his before we took a sip. "Thank you. It's been, honestly, one of the best birthdays even if I am away from home."
"I'm glad to hear that." He said before we both picked up chopsticks and started to eat.
We skipped slicing the cake. After I blew out the candles, he put on it, we grabbed forks and started to eat. "I think this may be my new favorite way to treat a birthday." I laughed.
"With shoving forkfuls of cake in your mouth as fast as possible?" he teased.
"Of course. And washing it down with wine." I took a sip of my wine. "That's lovely." I said, waiting until he'd followed my example.
"Agreed." He nodded, swiping his fork through one of the rosettes on the top of the cake. "The cake was awesome, by the way. Looked totally great."
"Thanks." I smiled. "I love birthday cakes. I mean, I love making cakes in general. Wedding cakes are fun, baby shower cakes are fun. First birthday smash cakes are awesome, but birthdays are the best because you're just trying to make things fit to the birthday person's likes."
"I think all cakes must be rewarding to bakers." He said.
"Probably."
"I mean, unless you'd prefer to not deal in cakes."
"Right. Because a birthday pie or cookie tray is just as fun." I smiled.
"If that's what you like." He leaned over and surprised me with a gentle kiss. "I hope today hasn't been disappointing."
"I told you, it's been great. For what it had to be with working and all." I said. "You're getting no complaints from me."
He relaxed. "Good."
"Don't slack off now." I cautioned. "I'm expecting a totally fantastic night out tomorrow night. I don't want to be able to feel my feet by the time we get home."
He laughed. "Right, I'll just pencil in your foot massage right now."
"Sold." I grinned at him before shoving another bite of cake in my mouth.
We moved, with the cake and wine, to the couch and he indulged me by sitting through a viewing of Hunger Games.
~ ~ ~ ~
The next day after work, I grabbed a quick shower, curling my hair after I dried it so that it fell down my back. I made sure to stick a clip in my purse because I was sure that I would get hot while we were dancing and my hair would probably end up mostly up by the time we got home. I turned in front of my mirror, studying the black dress I'd put on. It had thin straps across my shoulders and a square cut neckline. It was fitted at the waist but had a slim skirt that ended above my knees.
It had arrived as part of my birthday present. Sang had probably roped Gabriel into shopping for it with her but it was perfect and fit like a glove. I pulled out the black stilettos that I hadn't thought about for almost a year, having worn them when I went dancing with my ex, Josh. I considered the shoes for a long moment. I hadn't meant to think about exes today.
I should probably spend some time, at some point, to consider them. To consider the way that I had the same butterflies for each of them that I have now when it comes to Cam. That I still have those butterflies fluttering around inside which meant that I really was not as over any of them as I told myself I was. "Another year older." I stared at myself in the mirror as I reminded myself. I gave myself a nod and sat on the edge of my bed to slip the shoes on.
It was August, so obviously I wasn't going to need a wrap or sweater. It had been quite warm in Paris this week. I grabbed my clutch bag and headed out to see if Cam was ready. "My god, you're gorgeous." He said, eyes locked on my face before he let them trail down my body. He twirled a finger in the air and I obliged his request, turning slowly so that he could see. "I'm going to fight off so many people on the dance floor tonight."
I laughed. "No, you're not. I won't be looking at anyone else." I raised an eyebrow at him. "This girl knows who she's there with." I smiled.
"Oh good." He rolled his eyes at me. "Got everything you need?"
I raised the clutch. "Ready."
He smiled, opening our front door for me and waiting until I'd gone out before he shut the door, locking it. "On our way then, Miss." He placed a hand on my lower back, guiding me down the hall to the elevator.
~ ~ ~~ ~
Dinner was great. The club was amazing. The drinks were refreshing.
The dancing?
Hot.
We never left the floor unless we needed a drink, something about the music and the lights... the way his hands settled on my hips when he spun me around so that I faced the crowd while we danced. There was something.
Something more.
Something heated and desirable about being with Cam tonight.
He kissed me in the club. Pressed up against the wall in the hall that went to the restrooms. In the darkened hall, his eyes met mine. It was almost too much to take, he glanced away after I blinked. "Cam." I rested a hand on his chest, reaching up to touch his face, guiding his eyes back down to meet mine. "I think it's time to go home."
"Feet numb?"
"Yeah, but..." I licked my lips and his gaze tracked the movement of my tongue.
"God, I want you." He said, voice raspy with heat and desire, eyes flaring at me, allowing me to make no mistake about what was going through his mind.
I tilted my head and studied him. Watched him fight to regain control of himself and the situation. "It's time to go." I said. I grabbed his hand and turned, leading him out of the club and out to the street.
"Okay." He mumbled before hailing a cab to take us home. I sat as close to him as I dared, never letting go of his hand until I got out of the cab and waited for him to join me on the sidewalk outside our place. His eyes locked on mine as the cab drove away. "Upstairs."
"Yes." I barely kept on my feet as he rushed us inside the building and into the, surprisingly, waiting elevator. Tension was high between us as we got off the elevator and he fumbled the key for a moment before we were able to get into the flat. I kicked off my shoes and set my clutch down before he latched on to my shoulders and turned me around as he locked our door. "Cam..."
His lips crashed down on mine and he kissed me fiercely. I sighed against his lips and raised my arms to wrap around his neck, kissing him back. He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. "Jessica..." He murmured.
"Cameron..." I smiled at him. "This has been the best birthday celebration ever." I said, running my hands down his arms as he lowered his hands to my waist.
He smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." He said, lowering his head to kiss me again.
"Oh..." I breathed against his lips, practically climbing into his arms. He chuckled softly before moving us over towards the couch. He settled me on his lap. I stared at him before leaning into him, hands cupping his face as I kissed him. He swept his hands down my sides and back up again. I vaguely recognized the feeling of the straps of my dress falling off my shoulders as we kissed. Our hands were kind of all over the place and clothing was definitely on the verge of being abandoned completely. I broke the kiss, pulling back to look at him. I looked down at his chest, his shirt having been seemingly unbuttoned rather than torn open, which was probably a good thing because at least I wouldn't owe him a new shirt. I reached out to caress his cheek before I placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I think we're ready for a few advancement measures in our relationship."
His hand stilled on my waist as he was about to move it. "Yeah?" He asked, eyes searching mine. "You want to invoke the relationship advancement protocol with regards to the benefit portion of being roommates with benefits?" His eyes were serious as they locked on mine.
"Yeah." I nodded slightly. "Do you, uh... do you have condoms?" I stammered.
His eyes widened, and he scowled. "No. I wasn't thinking we were ending our evening like this." He said, sheepishly.
"First time for everything." I teased before kissing him lightly. His gaze strayed to the cleavage revealed by the drooping of the dress I was wearing, at my breasts that were almost falling out of my bra.
He raised his gaze back to meet my eyes. "I can run down to the store on the corner and get some." He said, desire barely held back from flooding his words with his longing for me. His eyes were smoldering as he searched my gaze.
"Okay." I found myself saying.
Maybe it was time for us to fully make some moves in our relationship and this would be the first step in making this relationship even more different than any of my previous ones.
"Okay?" he looked slightly surprised. I nodded. He kissed me again and got up, settling me back down on the couch as he shed the shirt he was wearing and dashed to his room to grab a t-shirt. He pulled it on as he went to the door. "Be right back. Don't move."
I felt awkward just sitting there, waiting for him to get back. As I waited, the more I started to second guess myself. I got up and started to pace a bit before grabbing his shirt. I shimmied out of the dress and pulled his shirt on. I buttoned it before taking my dress to my room and hanging it up. I added a pair of boxer shorts I'd stolen from his laundry and went back to settle on the couch again. Eiffel jumped on the couch and made herself at home in my lap.
When Cam opened the door with a 'Honey, I'm home..." call and laugh, I was curled up on the couch with the kitten, wearing his shirt. He tilted his head and looked at me for a long moment as he set the box of condoms down and added his keys and stuff to the table by the door. "You moved." He smiled. "Sudden attack of nerves." He guessed.
I winced and stroked the top of Eiffel's head. "I'm sorry." I said, honestly. "I had time to think. I just... I guess I'm not as ready as I thought I was."
Cam shrugged and toed off his shoes. "It's okay, Jess. This is at your pace, remember? It's perfectly acceptable. And normal." He said, coming over and settling next to me on the couch. "Or we can just proceed like I promised last night. I owe you a foot massage for making you dance at the club until your feet were numb." He put his arm around my shoulders and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on my lips.
"Thanks, Cam." I murmured before kissing him back, Eiffel shifting to make herself comfortable in the spot where our legs met.