It was the morning of my birthday and I awoke with a giddy feeling in my heart. Mum had said Kate and Angie would take me out later in the day, and I couldn't wait.
After a few hours, I was all ready and prepped for my day out with the girls. I wore a white shirt, plaid skirt and thigh high boots.
Soon after, the bell rang and two minutes later, the girls came bursting into my room.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" they screamed and tackled me into such a tight hug that I couldn't breathe.
Finally they let go and we set off towards the main part of the city, where they said they'd take me to eat and do some shopping.
We ate at a fancy café until our stomachs were full and then they dragged me to a high end designer store.
I laughed. "Girls, I already have enough dresses to last me a lifetime."
Angie gave me a firm look. "No, today's your birthday, and we're going to jointly give you this gift. Choose anything you want from this store, and it's yours."
I gaped. "Are you serious? You two can't be spending so much on me!"
Kate gave me a light shove in the direction of the clothes. "What we do with our money is up to us. And our parents," she added as an afterthought. "Now go."
I tried to protest some more, but they wouldn't listen. I finally accepted defeat and walked towards the expensive clothes, dazed.
After browsing and trying on various outfits for forty five minutes, I finally settled on a navy blue dress, which was sheer at the back and had a very classy look about it. The good thing was it was one of the least costly items in that store, so I felt a little less guilty.
I hugged my two best friends and said 'thank you' until they were ready to kill me. Katie then suggested I wear the dress then and there.
I frowned. "What? No, I'll save this for a special occasion."
Katie and Angie looked at me like I'd gone bonkers. "Viv, you turned 18 today. If this isn't a special occasion to you, we don't know what is."
I sighed and decided it was high time I indulged myself a little. So I went into the trial room and put on the dress, which fit me perfectly, thank god.
After I came out, the girls let out hoots. "You look so gorgeous, Viv! Ugh, why can't I look like you?"
I gave Angie a look. "Shut up, you're one to talk. Look at you!"
After this, we headed home. It was evening already by the time we reached my house. Kate and Angie had agreed to come with me.
I rang the bell and waited for Pip or someone else to open it. To my surprise, no one did. I rang twice, thrice, to no avail.
"Why isn't anyone answering?" I was really confused.
Kate motioned towards the door. "Try and see if the door is unlocked."
I tried, and to my amazement, the door swung open. It was never kept unlocked like this, then why...?
I turned towards Kate to ask her how she'd known, when suddenly, I was greeted by an erupting noise.
"Happy Birthday!!"
All around me, fairy lights started twinkling as my parents, Pippa, many of my friends and classmates from school (including Beth) rose up from where they were hiding and clapped for me.
I stood stunned in my place, too shocked to say anything.
After a few seconds, I stammered, "All of you...this...surprise...Mum?"
Everyone laughed at the gibberish I said, and Mum came forward and hugged me. "Happy Birthday, Viv," she smiled softly at me. "I know due to our work commitments, your dad and I could never throw a surprise party for you, but now you've turned 18, and this deserves special celebration."
"Oh my god," I whispered. "I can't believe this. You planned all this and I didn't even know! And today..." My mind started spinning as I connected the dots. "That means Kate and Angie taking me out today was a ploy to get me out of the house? So you could set up the party? But how come I didn't see any cars parked outside?"
"That's because all of them were asked to park at the back of the house, so you wouldn't suspect anything."
I could only stare in bewilderment. "Oh my god. And--and this dress? This dress was also...?"
"Yes, Viv," Angie smiled, while Kate gave me a wide, cheeky grin. "We bought you the dress specifically for this party. Happy Birthday!"
I couldn't help it. I started crying into my parents' arms. It was too overwhelming. I couldn't believe my parents and best friends had gone to such lengths for me.
It was then that I noticed Archer, standing a few feet away, grinning at me. He looked so fit in a white shirt and jeans, with his hair slightly messy, and eyes twinkling with amusement, and something else. Something I couldn't quite place.
After I cut the birthday cake, and everyone dispersed to dance and revel, I walked over to Archer.
"So this was what you were hiding from me yesterday night?"
He smirked. "Yeah, and something else. I've got a gift for you but I wanna show it to you in private, not in front of so mamy people."
I looked around myself. All my friends were having a great time, dancing or talking to each other or drinking (non-alcoholic stuff; my parents had organised this party, after all). Mum and Dad were animatedly chatting with some of my relatives who'd also come.
I looked back at Archer. No one would notice if we were gone for a while. "Come on, let's go to my room."
He nodded and we went up the stairs. Archer was entering my room after a long, long time. It felt highly personal to let him in again, but I knew it was high time I did.
We walked over and sat down on my bed, facing each other. I hadn't even realised he was holding a bag in his hand before he pulled out two boxes from it, a small one and a longer one.
I grinned with excitement. He laughed, seeing my face.
"So," he began, "since I missed your last birthday and didn't give you anything then, I got you two gifts this year. Hope you'll like them," he added nervously.
He handed me the first small box. I opened it gingerly, to find a beautiful, delicate pendant staring up at me. It was a diamond-encrusted V.
I gasped. "Arch, you didn't..."
He smiled. "I did. And you can't say anything about how expensive it is, blah blah blah. Just take it."
I stared at it with adoration. "Oh my god, this is perfect. I--Thanks Arch. Thank you."
He laughed. "Open the second one first!"
I took the second box from him and opened it. My jaw dropped as I saw what was inside.
Two sleek, beautiful paintbrushes lay in the velvet interior, with very fine horse hair, I could tell.
I looked up at Archer. "Arch...this is the best gift ever! Oh my god!"
He motioned towards the brushes. "Take them in your hand and look at them once more."
Frowning in confusion, I lifted one of the brushes and turned it around in my fingers. I gasped once I realised what he was referring to.
My name was engraved on each brush. Vivian.
"Wow," I breathed. "This is...just...I don't know what to say."
He leaned his forehead against mine. "You don't have to say anything."
I breathed in his familiar cologne, and revelled in his warmth. This felt so so good, and I could sense how much he truly cared, especially after seeing how thoughtful his gifts were.
This time, it was me who reached forward to kiss him. I didn't hold back anymore. I wanted him, I was certain.
The kiss was gentle at first, barely a feather touch. But then he took my face in his hands and pulled me even closer, and I knew I was done for.
As we kissed with a fiery intensity, I pulled back just long enough to say breathlessly, "Arch, I'm wearing lipstick."
"I don't care."
"But I do!"
He groaned as he pulled me onto his lap and held my waist in place. "I'll help you put on more lipstick after we're done, okay? Just forget about it for now."
I could only nod as I dipped my head to catch his mouth in mine, kissing no holds barred, as if we didn't have any restraints, anything to worry about, as if this moment was going to end very soon.
But it felt infinite.
He gripped my waist with one hand and held my cheek with the other, angling his face to deepen the kiss. I tugged softly at the hair on the nape of his neck and his grip tightened. It was like we were continuing what had remained unfinished at the ice skating rink.
"Nena," he whispered hoarsely, and I swear I forgot how to breathe.
He dipped his head lower to kiss my collarbone as I tilted my head back. He left a trail of butterfly kisses on my neck as I pulled up his face to find his lips again.
All this kissing was making me dizzy; I didn't even know how much time had passed, and frankly, I didn't give a shite.
But as we were kissing, I did realise something. I wanted this. I wanted this all the damn time, with him. I wanted to live a life where he'd be in the picture, and we'd be happy and in love. We'd never confessed we loved each other, but I wanted us to say it, sometime in the future. I longed for that life, where he and I would be together, no matter what, building our own home, our own future, our own family, even. I wanted it all.
So I didn't surprise myself when I blurted out breathlessly mid-kiss, "Archer."
"Hm?"
"Will you be my boyfriend?"
He stopped. I panicked for a second, and started rambling.
"I mean, I know I'd said no labels at Bloomwood and that we should take things slow, but it's been quite a while and I think I want this to go on, I want to keep on kissing you like this, but it's okay if you don't want it right now, I get it if you want to go slow, it's--"
"Shh," He put a finger to my lips. His own lips had my lipstick smudged on them. He gave me a heart-stopping grin.
"Vi, I'd love to be your boyfriend, and I can't believe you had a doubt that I wouldn't want it."
I grinned wide and hugged him. He put his arms around me in a wholehearted embrace.
Suddenly, he whispered, "But Vi, you've... you've forgiven me right? For my mistake? I swear I won't mess things up again."
I nodded. "I have, Arch. Everyone deserves a second chance, and I've forgiven you quite some time back actually. Now let's just focus on the present. And future."
He nodded and gave me one last kiss, filled with all our unsaid emotions, before he got up, and pulled me up with him. "Come on, now let's get your lipstick redone before we go down again."
I looked in the mirror and blushed deep red. My hair was a mess and lipstick smudged. They'd definitely know what I'd been doing up here.
I quickly combed my hair back neatly and washed my face. Archer too washed his to rid himself of the lipstick stains, and then, true to his word, he carefully re-applied the colour on my lips.
I had to say, I was impressed with his make-up skills. "Nice work, Arch. Didn't know you had it in you."
He smirked. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents."
I snorted. "Of course."
Like this, our banter continued as we walked downstairs, looking just like before.
Kate and Angie rushed up to me. "Hey, where were you all this while?"
I shrugged innocently. "Archer was giving me my birthday gift."
"Ooh, what did he get you?"
I smiled excitedly as I told them about the necklace and the brushes. Their eyes widened with admiration as they aw'ed.
I chose to omit the part where we made out. That felt like something just between me and him, and as we locked eyes from across the hall, I could see it in his stare too.
We had something electric between us, and it wasn't going to fizzle out anytime soon.
a/n: please please leave your thoughts on this chapter in the inline comments, I'd love to know what you think! tbh i don't feel too comfortable with scenes which are like heavily mature and r-rated, but i love the in-between types, which are not too mature, but at the same time they're able to communicate the passion & feelings between 2 people. hope i could do this scene similar justice xx