“Relax, Rian. I’m a big girl.” I put my hand on her shoulder.
All three of us look at Ethan and Adrian talking. A man who I thought was my future at one time and now dates my best friend is talking to the man who’s occupying my bed and quickly stealing my heart. I don’t tell either of my friends that though, because if they knew how much I care for Adrian already, they’ll know how badly it will hurt if he leaves me.
The pizza box is empty, and the cake plate has been licked clean by Dylan.
“Strawberries and everything,” I say to Adrian as we lie on a blanket under the stars.
To make my night even dreamier, he set up an air mattress and candles all over the roof, the heater to our side. He even blocked the entrance to the roof like he did earlier so no one can bother us.
Pulling out a bottle of champagne, he pops the cork, and nothing sprays out. A perfect pour into two flutes later and he’s on the mattress with me, handing me my glass.
“Happy birthday, Sierra,” he says, holding up his glass.
“Thanks for all this,” I say for what I feel is the millionth time. But not many people have gone to this much trouble for me.
“I’ll always celebrate the day you were born. It’s like a national holiday to me.” We clink glasses and sip our champagne.
I nuzzle into his chest and try to remember the names of the stars.
“What are you thinking about?” he whispers.
“Just my last birthday with my mom. She did the superhero thing. She was big on celebrating birthdays. I’d wake up and she’d tell me about the day she found out she was pregnant and how horrible of a delivery she had, but how when she saw me, it made up for all the pain. The usual mom stories. But she’d come up with the theme for my birthday months in advance. I’d been so into Wonder Woman when she planned that party, but when my birthday got closer, I didn’t want it anymore. Some girls at school said it was lame.” I laugh, remember Blanca telling one of them off at the lunch table.
“I didn’t want to ruin it for her, so I went through the day, not as happy as I should’ve been. When she tucked me in that night, she asked me what was wrong. I told her about the teasing, and she told me never to be afraid to tell her anything and we could’ve changed the theme.”
“She sounds amazing,” Adrian says.
I nod and clear my throat, resting my chin on his chest. “I don’t want to relive those memories and get sad. I want to celebrate my twenty-eighth birthday with you.” I run my hand down his cheek.
I get up, set our champagne glasses to the side of the air mattress, and straddle him, his hands landing on my hips. “I think I need to thank you properly for the party.”
His hand moves to my chest, finding the zipper and lowering it down the bodice of my costume, making the top fall down between us. He flips me on my back and his hands make quick work of my costume.
“I’m not done with the birthday gifts yet.” He slides down my body, sprinkling small kisses on my stomach. “And the boots are staying on,” he orders, licking a path from my navel to clit.
“Oh, Adrian,” I moan, my head falling back so I’m looking at the night sky.
He picks up his head. “It’s Superman tonight.”
“By all means, show me how super you can be.”
A devilish expression lands on his face and he dives between my thighs.
Then Adrian, or Superman, gave me a birthday I’ll never forget.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Adrian
A knock sounds on Sierra’s bedroom door. She grumbles and rolls her naked body off of mine. “What?”
“Um…” Rian clears her throat. “There’s someone here to see Adrian.”
Sierra peeks one eye open at me, and I shrug.
“I have no idea,” I whisper to her. “Give me a minute,” I call to Rian.
I fling my legs off the bed and grab a pair of sweatpants while dread settles in my stomach. I talked to my mom the other day and everything was still a go for another month. The boulder gaining weight in the pit of my stomach says this is bad. That the hesitation in Rian’s voice is a warning.
Sierra whines but sits up.
I rush to her side. “Just sleep, babe, I’ll be right back.”
“Who could it be?”
I shake my head. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll come get you if I need you.”
She falls back down to the bed, more hungover than I am.
Grabbing my phone, I take one last look to see if something there will warn me of the surprise waiting for me on the other side of the door. There’s a text from Evan.
Evan: You’re not fired. Come in for your afternoon shift tomorrow. See you then.
I hammer a text right back, but as I’m in the middle of “cool, I’ll see you then,” another knock lands on the door.
“Adrian!” Rian yells.
Sierra stands, and I salivate from watching her stretch her naked body. I’m not sure I’ll ever grow tired of that visual. She grabs her robe off the hanger in her closet, covering up her beautiful self.
“Let’s see what this is all about,” she mumbles and opens the door.
After snatching a T-shirt from the foot of the bed, I follow her. I’m throwing it over my head when my omission comes crashing down on me like Mount Vesuvius.
“Who are you?” Sierra asks.
“I’m Princess Adelaide, Prince Adrian’s fiancée.”
Oh fuck.
Rian is in the kitchen, preparing breakfast loudly, every movement exaggerated.
“Rian, can you please keep it down? I have a headache.” Sierra rubs her temples.
Did she not hear Adelaide?
“Are you a telegram or something? I mean, this has to be a joke.” Sierra looks at me over her shoulder. Her face falls when she takes in my stricken expression.
“Excuse me. A telegram?” Adelaide says in a haughty tone.
She’s wearing a conservative dress that lands mid-calf and doesn’t mold to her curves. Her hair is blonde, straight, and sleek. Studded earrings and a single chain necklace with her family’s emblem on it. She couldn’t be more opposite of Sierra if she tried.
“What are you doing here? How did you find me?” I ask.
“I knew it!” Rian points her spatula at me. “I knew it was too good to be true. ‘Oh, Rian, I’ll go get strawberries.’” She mimics my words from yesterday in a horrible version of my accent. “‘Let’s do a surprise party for her.’”
Sierra sits on a chair and I’m worried she hasn’t even processed this.
Adelaide raises her chin and looks down her nose at me. “Declan.”
“Declan told you where I was? What kind of security is that?”
She smirks and her hands run down her dress as if she’s preventing it from having even one wrinkle on it. “The kind who understands that you disappearing for a month has everyone in a frenzy. Your parents said you were volunteering in Uganda or something. I knew when there were no pictures of you that something was fishy, but I didn’t think I’d find you in bed with another woman.”