Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback on the first part, I'm glad people are liking it for the most part! I understand that not everyone can be pleased but I'm going to try my best. I've also received a lot of feedback asking for longer parts so I'm testing that out here. If it's too long or okay, please let me know. If you like/dislike this part please do comment below or email me at my profile and give me suggestions on where to take the story.
And now, let's get back into it...
*****
The next morning I'm woken up to a chorus of 'Happy Birthday To You' from my Dad, Anthony and Sean. Nick plops himself down on my bed with the same look of embarrassment on his face as I do. As my Dad approaches my bed, I bury my face in my pillow but, secretly loving the cheesiness of it, I grin against the fabric.
"Happy birthday, Princess." I hear him say in my ear and then he kisses the top of my head.
The feeling of his breathe on my ear sends a shiver down my spine and the touch of his lips makes the hair on my back of my neck rise, almost as if trying to reach for him.
"Thanks, Dad," I mumble back at him, through the pillow, "But aren't we getting a bit old for this?"
"Old? Never! You'll always be my special little girl."
The thought of me being my father's 'special little girl', as he calls it, brings the grin back to my face. I sit up and plant a kiss on my Dad's cheek. And just to make it saucy enough, yet still innocent, I make sure that my lips land close enough to his mouth but still technically his cheek.
Looking around the room, I see that Anthony and Sean have already left. Anthony will have to be leaving for work soon and Sean will be leaving for school. Dad looks lovingly at myself and Nick and makes towards the door.
"Do either of you have plans for the day? I've a table at the Italian booked for seven tonight so make sure you're ready for that, your uncle Brian will be there to see you both!"
"I'm just going to go catch up with my friends but that's about it," replies Nick.
"I've made plans to go shopping with Hannah, but we can finish up early," I say.
With that, Dad leaves the room and closes the door. Nick looks over at me and grins.
"Happy birthday, Becks."
"Happy birthday, Nicky."
"Oh," he winces, pretending to be in pain, "Not 'Nicky'. I think we're old enough now to leave that nickname behind!"
"As Dad said, we'll never be too old," I laugh.
Nick scoots towards me on the bed and leans down over me.
"So, did you get me a birthday present?" he asks and kisses me.
"Maybe" I respond and I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down on top of me, bringing his lips back to mine.
***
A little over an hour later I get out of bed, in search of clothes. I feel Nick's eyes raking over my body as I bend down and open back up my suitcase. I empty the contents onto the floor and, item by item, I hang or fold the clothes back into my closet and drawers.
"You know, if you keep bending over like that without any clothes on, we'll be here for another hour," Nick states matter-of-factly from my bed.
"Sorry, bro, but I've somewhere to be," I respond as I throw on a bra and underwear, followed by a light summer dress.
I quickly run my brush through my hair to brush out all the knots, tie my hair up into a ponytail and put on a little bit of makeup. I blow a kiss at a naked, and hard, Nick and head downstairs.
In the kitchen I find a stack of envelopes. I put two slices of bread into the toaster and sort through the stack, making a pile with Nick's cards and a pile with mine. The toast pops up in the holder and I put the slices on a plate. As I sit down at the table and apply some Nutella I hear the shower running upstairs. I eat my breakfast and make a start on my birthday cards. I'm not having a birthday party this year so the stack also has my friend's cards and presents for me.
After breakfast I move into the living room and look outside for any sign of Hannah. The street outside is quiet, with no signs of my best friend, so I decide to give her a ring and see if she's all right. After what feels like an eternity, she picks up.
"Hey, girl. Happy birthday!" she exclaims. Well, that is if you can sound groggy and excited at the same time.
"Aww thanks, Sweet Cheeks, where are you?"
"Babes, I'm so sorry but I can't make it. I'm dying in bed with a chest infection. Can we rain check for next week, I need to be looking my best for my fav girl in the world?"
Given that Hannah does have a weak immune system I forgive her and we make plans to meet up when she's feeling better. After we finish chatting, I grab my car keys and my bag and I head to out to do a bit of shopping. When Nick asked me if I had a present for me, I genuinely hadn't gotten him any. I didn't have the time with studying for finals and all that. Anyways, boys are so hard to please!
I find parking reasonably easily and mentally prepare myself for the slow death both my arms and my bank card will soon be subject to. I browse through the shops, picking up some new bikini's and summer wear. Without doing too much damage, I find myself outside of Forever 21. I head inside and go into the men's section. I figure, you can never go wrong with a nice plain t-shirt as a present. I pick up a few items, because I'm such a loving sister, and head towards the cashiers to pay. As I'm heading up to pay I have the idea to look into buying some new lingerie. It can be a present for both me and Nick. I browse through the options and pick up a few. I head to the dressing room to try them on.
While walking I hear a voice behind me say, "I hope you're planning on paying for all those." I turn around and see my uncle Brian grinning at me. My uncle is the store manager here. Brian is 33 years old, is 6ft2 and has the same dark brown hair and eyes as my Dad. Brian was kind of my grandparents' surprise child. They had only planned on having one child, my Dad, and then just as they were settling into the idea of having a teenager, next thing a new baby came along. But my grandparents would never openly admit to all that because they love their whole family to bits.
"Hey, uncle Brian!" I respond, giving his a hug, "I like your suit, real nice!"
It actually was a very nice suit. The fitted light grey coat and trousers paired with the white shirt and navy tie really made my uncle look very attractive. And he knows it. Uncle Brian always seems to have a new woman on his arm every time I see him. He's a reformed womanizer but still gets around.
"Why, thank you, my dear. And how is my twenty-one year old niece doing today?"
"I'm really good, thanks. You're still coming to dinner later, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it!"