Stifled Love – I Got The Best Gift Today (Chap. 15)

Happy Birthday To you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, Dear Michelle
Happy Birthday to you

Birthdays remind me of butterflies, a full cycle again.

“Okay okay so now i need to hear y’all say the princess one”
‘Today is your birthday and i want to let you know that you will be queen for the day whatever you say goessss‘ they sang, dragging every word.
“And it is stamped” I say, squealing from excitement. It’s my 25th birthday and I’m determined to make the best out of it, I invited a couple of friends overrrrr well just Ann, Ann’s cousin, Andrew from work, Andrew’s girlfriend (I didn’t invite her, she just showed up), and Jacob but Jacob isn’t here, go figures. However, I’m not letting his mediocre actions get to me. “What is stamped Michelle? You’re starting to scare off your guests” Ann says “calm down fun police, my reign is stamped and I have evidence of my claim” I say pointing the screen of my phone towards them showing the video I made of them singing a Barbie song.

Continuing my speech, “I command you all to take shots” I say. Andrew looks at me with bewilderment “I haven’t seen you like this ever wow I never thought you could party, pass me a shot glass” he says. “Me too” Jay, Ann’s cousin says. Ann shoots me a knowing look but i ignore her and pass him a shot. Everyone had their shots in hand except Ann. “Ann?” I say pushing a cup towards her “I’m driving” she says trying to excuse herself but I’m too persuasive for her so she ends up taking one as well.
“We’ll all do this together at the count of…. One” and everyone raised up their glasses and downed their vodka, laughter soon filled the air as we played game after game. “Another round” I say and we all did another round except Ann, she would be driving home. We even did truth or dare at some point and Ann dared me to eat an entire cupcake at a go, I bet she was desperate to get even, Andrew and his girlfriend french kissed, Jay took an extra round of shot because he could not say his truth in front of Ann. It was so much fun bit i was missing something, someone. As much as my face was happy and my dress brightly coloured, my soul was grieving. I stand up to start cleaning out the room as we were now mostly tired. It’s late andAndrew and his girlfriend excused themselves, standing up to leave and I ushered them outside, leaving Ann, Jay and I. They’re helping me clean up, I’m in the kitchen trying to clean out when Ann walks in. “Why isn’t Jacob here?” She asks “I don’t know” I say not bothering to look at her. “Did something happen between you two?” She asks again. I hate being questioned, I hate it. “You should ask him” I say “funny thing is I did ask him and he’s on his way here right now so I’ll leave you guys to settle your issue” she says. I turn around to face her but she was gone, I couldn’t mouth any words. I hear the front door open and Ann says “Aha speak of the Devil, she’s in the kitchen” I hear the door close again signalling that she had left and I’m standing in one place starstruck
“Michelle” he calls me. I could feel his presence behind me but i didn’t face him, I couldn’t. I wasn’t mad at him, I was in fact angry at myself, my body yearned for him and I hated it. “Michelle” he called again. This time I could feel him closer and his cold Palm brush against my skin. “You’re late” I managed to say as I turned to face him, we were too close, the air was tight and the room was getting smaller. “I’m sorry” he says but i say nothing “I didn’t forget” he says, handing me a plain blue gift bag. I take it from him and place it on the counter. “I don’t want this, I want you” I tell him, moving closer to him, not stopping until I could feel my breast touch the up of his abs “I want you” I say again looking him in the eye. “I do too, but..” he tries to protest “no buts this time, just us” I say. He pulls me into him, carrying me up against his body and placing me on the counter top. “You won’t stop talking to me?” He asks, I say “no”. “You will pick my calls?” He asks, “Yes, I would” I tell him. “You won’t go AWOL on me?” He asks again, “No, I won’t. Now shut up and make love to me”. “Wait! You have to open your gift first” he says to me, handing over the gift bag. I take a peek inside all while smiling or rather blushing to find a rectangle box and I look up at him again and he says “open it” I do just that and I found the most beautiful gift I ever saw, it was a silver wristwatch, thin strap, mature and there I was admiring my gift, running my hands through the pretty stones in the face of the watch and he goes on to say “It’s customized” Ahh icing on the cake, I exclaimed in my mind, wondering what he wrote I turn the back of the watch and find the initials M.M hmmm I know M is Michelle but what’s the other M… “What does this mean?” I say to him laughing at how corny it all looks and he goes takes my free arm, looking at the watch, he says, “Marry Me” running his lines through the imprinted letters. “Lol What?” I exclaimed and then he looks at me and says “M.M., Marry me. Will you marry me?” I must be in a trance because how is Jacob now asking me to marry him? Wait why? “You don’t have to say yes now, you can think about it” he says and he tries to leave. I’m processing a lot of information in my head at once and I didn’t know when I blurted out “Yes” he was almost out to door already. I almost missed him.

Author’s Note: Fellow lovers of love, you like?

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