"Aren't you supposed to be watching the stars?” She asked me after several minutes.
"You are my stars."
"Oh my god. Stop, you cheese!" She slapped my arm playfully.
I chuckled. ”You can't blame a guy for trying."
"I swear, your romance levels are off the charts. All of you, today, every day since I’ve woken up. It's almost too much.” She said, her gaze turning away from me to look back up at the sky.
“Yeah, I hear men are like that sometimes. Too much.”
"It's almost scary."
I was quiet for a minute before saying, ”That's what love is like, Atalanta. Overwhelming, scary.”
Her eyes snapped back to mine.
"You can't be serious. You can't all love me. We hardly know each other.” She said shaking her head.
“You're not wrong, but I can be serious. Do I love you? Perhaps. I don't know, but how I feel about you, how drawn I am to you, it is overwhelming. As for the others, I don't know, but I guess we will have to see, won't we?” I sat up. "As for getting to know each other better."
I reached into the basket I brought and pulled out a white box and a smaller black box. I willed the water back out of one of the bottles and brought it down to light up the boxes I held out to her. Staring at it, Atalanta also sat up, and under the orb’s glow she opened the white box. I knew she could read the inscription on the small cake inside the box when she started to tremble.
"You heard me."
"I did. Happy Birthday, Atalanta."
Chapter Fifteen
Atalanta
I shuddered as I stared at the beautifully written words inscribed onto what was clearly a birthday cake.
He had heard me. He knew. Of everything, that was one of the most important things no one was supposed to know. If they knew your birthday, it was easier to trace you, find out your real identity, know who you really were. Track you down.
Did it matter? They already knew so much. They themselves were entrusting me with their secrets.
But if this got out, they could be in danger. He would come. Yet, this was also the sweetest thing any human being had ever done for me. Well, I suppose Hip’s lack of humanity held a factor in that.
The warring emotions in me pushed the tears to the surface. I covered my mouth as if it could somehow hold the emotions in.
“Why?”
"Because everyone should celebrate their birthday.” He whispered.
“Today isn’t my birthday, Hip. It hasn’t been in a long time. Atalanta North’s birthday is in November.
“No, that file said your birthday is in November. Your birthday is today.”
"No! Hip, no one can know!" I clasped his jacket hard and looked up into his eyes. "Hip, no one can know it's my real birthday. Something like that…it could…just, please don’t tell anyone!”
“Atalanta, look around. You and I are the only ones here, you don’t have to hide. Not from me and not from the others. We aren’t going to go around and spill your secrets.”
"Why is this so important to you?”
“Beyond the fact that you’re supposed to be learning to trust us?” I winced at that but he continued. “I don't know my real birthday, Atalanta. Yeah, every year my parents bring out a cake and there’s singing and birthday wishes, but deep down, I know it’s not really my birthday. It’s a lie. Celebrating a fake day? I know what that’s like.”
He poked my chest near my heart. “I know that it hurts. So I’m doing something about it. We don’t need to tell the others right now, though you should consider it, but for now, you and I are going to celebrate your birthday like we should have been doing.”
He pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit a candle that he placed in the birthday cake and began to sing happy birthday to me. It was really sweet, but I broke into a fit of giggles. My golden boy was a horrible singer. I blew out the candle all the same, though.
"Sooo, what did you wish for?" He asked as he pulled out forks for us.
"Not telling. You’re not supposed to tell your wishes."
Just before I was about to scoop up a bite of cake, he held it out of my reach. “Well, that's not fair. I brought the cake."
"And it's my wish!"
He scoffed and held the cake further away. Pulling out the lighter, he quickly relit the candle before blowing it out again. "I wished for you to tell me your wish. So now you have to tell me or it won't come true."
"Telling me your wish makes the wish null and void." Lunging forward, I successfully sunk my fork into the cake and pulled away a huge bite.
Quickly, I shoved the bite into my mouth. My cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as I chewed the giant piece of cake. It was delicious. Not just plain vanilla or chocolate. Was that raspberry?
Swallowing, I looked over to Hip, who was watching me with a heated gaze. "Did you make this?"
"Not this time." His hand came up and used his thumb to wipe away some chocolate off my cheek.
I watched as he stuck his finger into his mouth and licked it clean. I watched in fascination as he slowly pulled his finger out of his mouth and used his own fork to get a bite of cake. He ate it before scooping another bite and holding the fork out for me. Leaning forward, I slowly took it into my mouth and savored the sweet chocolate and raspberry flavor before pulling back. Keeping his eyes locked on me, he licked the fork clean before putting it down. The wicked grin he was giving me sent shivers over my entire body.
“Now, time to open your birthday present.” He held out the little black box that I had forgotten about.
Taking it, I slowly opened it, the glowing orbs once again floating in close so that my eyes could clearly see its contents.
“Is that a snow drop?” I asked pulling out the necklace.
It was a pendant, a flower encased in resin and polished until it shined. It was beautiful.
Hip nodded.“Ajax helped me make it. So, technically, it’s a gift from him as well.”
“How could you have made this so quickly?”
“I asked him to do it after our first date.”
Our first date? The one where he took me up to see one of his family’s orchards after that fight? The memory was fuzzy, but I did remember the little patch of snowdrops.
I stared at the necklace. Hip knew they were my favorite flower and had this made for me. Slowly I hooked it around my neck and stared lovingly at the little flower which would now be preserved, frozen in time for eternity.
“I love it.” I said, looking back up at Hip.
“I’m glad.” His smile was so genuine, the rare golden article.
Standing, Hip held his hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me swiftly to my feet and flush against his body. I stared into those blazing eyes of his that looked a silver blue in this light.
Kiss me.
Damn it, Hip, kiss me.
He didn’t, though. Instead, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to play music. The two of us swayed slowly together. His hands on my hips, mine placed firmly on his chest. The singer spoke of dancing with his lover in the dark and how perfect she looked, despite her being a mess. Hip's eyes told me that he believed the same thing.
He made me feel so cherished. They all had.
"Today was more than I could hope for. Actually, considering I've never been in an actual relationship, it's hard to imagine that this is real.” I said, laying my head against his chest.
"Now who's being the cheesy one?" He whispered.