There was nothing quite like waking up to a tangle of sheets that smelled like Jay while his fingers tickled down my spine.

"Hi," I greeted, opening my eyes and turning over to face him.

"Good morning," he replied, grinning at me. He was on his side, propped up on his elbow and still naked. Well, I guessed he was- the sheets covered the area south of his navel.

"How long have you been awake?" I took in the sight of him when I turned. I didn't even think of that fact I probably had morning breath, bad bed hair and a hundred missed calls on my cell, everything else was far from my mind. The only thing I was thinking about was the hot beyond mind-blowing sex we'd shared last night.

I was gonna be in the moment and enjoy it.

"Not long," Jay replied, his hand he wasn't leaning on sliding a bit of my hair behind my ear. "I can't remember the last time I slept that good."

I lifted my eyebrow. "Yeah, I wonder why…"

Jay laughed. "Well there's certainly that. But I swear I could feel you next to me even in my sleep." His mouth dropped to my forehead and kissed it.

His touch made my insides tingle.

"How are you feeling this morning, Brooke?" He asked, an apprehensive expression on his face. I wasn't sure which part of me he was referring to, because he could be asking about a looming hangover or…

"Great," I replied. "That whole painkiller and water chugging thing words miracles when you don't want a hangover."

He laughed. "I'm glad to know your head isn't throbbing, but what about your…" His eyes scanned the area between my legs. "I tried to be gentle with you, but as soon as I got inside of you… I don't know, I lost control. I'm sorry," his laughter disappeared and there was concern in his eyes. "Are you hurting?"

I fumbled slightly with myself. Nope, nothing hurting there.

"Jay," I said, letting one of my hands trace patterns on his bare torso. "Last night was amazing. You weren't exactly gentle with me, but I wanted it just the way we did it. I didn't really want gentle. I'm not hurt, not even a little bit so maybe we could…" It was my turn to raise my eyebrows again.

His smile curved wickedly. "I am all for that brilliant idea, but I told you I have plans." He looked away and checked the numbers on his digital clock. "And we are not spending your birthday in bed."

I grinned, he was probably right. I'd just had sex for the first time less than eight hours go, I probably wasn't ready to do it again. But as Jay shuffled further towards me on the mattress, all my reservations went up in flames.

I pulled his face towards mine and traced the line of his bottom lip with my tongue. He got into it after a few seconds, his palms cupping at my jaw and I ran my hands down the muscles of his stomach.

He rolled over and pulled me on top of him, our bare bodies tangling together again.

Then, much too quick for my liking, his hands moved away from my face and he groaned. "Damn Brooke, if you don't stop that we're never going to get out of this bed," He laughed against my mouth. "And I told you, I have plans." He emphasized the last word and pulled himself from underneath me.

The comforter was still pulled to my waist, and I propped on an elbow to look as he got out of the bed.

"Don't look at me like that," he groaned.

"Like what?" I chewed my lip. I didn't even realize I'd been looking at him in a particular way…

"Like you don't want me to get out of bed," he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against my lips. "I'm going to shower, I'll be back soon."

I nodded my response and watched as he walked from the room, not even bothering to cover himself with clothes. That's when I remembered the bathroom he was using was actually down here, because this space was practically an apartment itself.

I pushed myself up and wrapped myself in the comforter. I reached down to the bottom of the bed, looking for my purse (and very much not remembering where the hell I'd put it last night). It was at the other end of Jay's bed so I pulled it towards myself and checked my cell.

There wasn't anybody I'd rather be spending my birthday with, but I wanted to make sure Peyton was okay. Last night, I was drunk but Peyton was wasted. I'd never seen her like that before, the only other time she was near that level of drunk was the bonfire party. My best friend was a liability when it came to alcohol.

She'd text me. It was this morning, not the drunk text I'd expected to receive. But then my mind went back to last night, where she'd not been able to stand on her own feet and Jay had put her to bed.

What the hell happened last night? How did we get home? I'm never drinking that much again.

And then two minutes later,

Happy Birthday best friend! Are you hanging with your boyfriend today? That's totally cool if you are, I'll see you later or tomorrow! Anyway, call or text me to let me know!

I laughed at her message, typed out a reply. Tried to answer all of her questions in it.

Hey P. Sawyer thank you! Me and Jay brought you home, can't believe you don't remember! Hanging with Jay today, although I have no idea what we're doing… He hasn't told me. Btw, not my boyfriend! See you later x

I shoved my phone back into my purse just as Jay came back into the room. He walked towards his closet and pulled out a towel, throwing it in my direction.

"I left the shower running for you," he smiled. I watched for a second as the water dripped slowly from his body onto the carpet.

Damn. I climbed free from the mattress and wrapped the towel around myself. I went into Jay's bathroom and stepped straight into the shower. He'd left it on a fairly hot temperature for me, but from the way I was feeling I needed a cold one. I turned the switch, gasping slightly as the cold water came into contact with my skin.

The water felt insanely good as it ran the length of my body. I pressed my hands against the tiles and let the shower cleanse my skin and my hair. I turned it off when I was done and stepped free, walking back into Jay's bedroom wrapped in the towel.

It suddenly occurred to me that the only clothes I had with me was the dress I had on last night. And I also had to locate my panties that Jay had flung across the room last night.

They were waiting for me on the bed though, Jay having tidied his comforter and put my clothes on top of it. He'd put clothes on and was lounging on the opposite side of the bed. His hands were behind his head, and he was looking through his phone.

I grabbed my underwear and dressed myself in them, then slipped into my dress.

"Brooke, Mom probably made breakfast. Did you want a sweater or something to go over the dress?" He grinned, and I nodded. I knew the dress was pretty low cut, and it wouldn't be the best attire to wear if I was gonna see Ashley this morning.

He jumped from the bed and ran back to the closet, reaching into one of the drawers and pulling out a hooded sweater. "Here," he walked back over to me and pulled it on over my head. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded again, who wouldn't be hungry after that crazy insane work-out we'd done last night?

Jay grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs, towards the kitchen. There was music coming from the kitchen so I knew Jay's Mom was already in there. I could also smell breakfast cooking, which made my stomach grumble.

"Morning, Mom." Jay spoke, pulling me into the kitchen after him.

"Oh hey, there you are? What are you-" She spun, her eyes growing wider as she saw me. "Oh hey Brooke! I didn't know you were staying over."

That answered my question as to whether she'd heard us and she hadn't, thank GOD.

"Hi Ashley," I waved.

I'd noticed before that Jay's Mom was pretty, but I'd never expected her to look so good especially in the morning. She was still dressed in a bath robe and she managed to look flawless.

She glanced down at our joined hands, but didn't say anything. I got the feeling she was one of those "Are you guys hungry? I made breakfast because Will said he was coming home this morning but alas, he's not here."

Jay walked me to the kitchen chairs and took the plates of food from his Mom.

"Thanks Mom, this looks great." Jay said as he took the seat next to me.

"Well it's gonna go to waste otherwise. What are you kids up to today?" Ashley turned from the stove and sat at the opposite side of the counter.

"It's Brooke's birthday," he said between mouthfuls.

Ashley's eyes grew wide. "Oh, happy birthday Brooke!" She ran from the other side to hug me, and I wasn't that surprised because I remember Jay telling me she was a hugger. "Wait, is this why you wanted the key for-"

"Hey Mom." Jay raised his eyebrows and spoke through gritted teeth. Ashley seemed to take his hint and shut her mouth quickly.

"Oh, ohhh. I'm just, uh, gonna take a shower. I'll see you guys in a little while," Ashley smiled and wandered out of the kitchen.

I frowned at Jay. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Jay grinned. "My mom just has a big mouth."

I figured she was about to say something about whatever Jay had planned for today. Which I still had no clue about.

"So Brooke," he finished the last of his food and turned towards me. "I love I mean I love the sight of you in this dress, but I don't think it's the most practical outfit for what I've got planned for today. We should swing by your place and you can get changed?"

He made me laugh, of course I didn't want to spend the day in last night's dress either. "That sounds like a good idea," I nodded. "Although I have no idea what's happening today, what should I change into?"

"We can cross that bridge when we get to your place," he smiled. "Did you leave anything in my bedroom?"

"My purse," I replied. "I think my shoes are up here."

"They are," he grinned, obviously remembering where I'd taken them off last night. "I'll grab your purse, pick up my stuff that I need and then we can go?"

"Sure," I smiled as he stood from his stool and brushed his lips against my temple.

"I'll be right back," then he ran across the hall and back down to his bedroom.

I wandered through the hallway myself, vaguely remembering where I'd taken off my shoes. I spotted them but then remembered they were high and I couldn't walk in them right now, so placed them under my arm. I waited for Jay in the corridor that led to the door of his house.

He appeared from his room soon after with my purse, and a large rucksack of his. Where the hell were we going for him to need a rucksack? And I couldn't even decipher any clues from what he was wearing, he had a shirt and jeans on with a pair of sneaker so it was giving me mixed signals. I didn't have the faintest idea what he had planned.

Jay left the house first and I followed him. He gave me my purse then threw his bag into the back of his Jeep. I climbed into the passenger side and shut the door behind me.

It took him just a little time to reach the outside of my house and he pulled up onto the driveway. It was the weekend (and my birthday) so I wasn't surprised to see a car that wasn't mine on the driveway. Just my luck, Mom was home.

I pulled a face before we got out of the car.

"My Mom's home," I said with no emotion at all, because that was how I felt about my mother. The one time she was home it was my day and I didn't particularly want to see her.

I hadn't gone into detail with Jay about my strained relationship with my parents, but I think he gathered how I felt from the way I spoke about her. She hadn't been there for the majority of my life, and she wasn't about to start now.

Jay looked slightly worried when I spoke. "She isn't going to want you to stay home, is she? Because we could totally rearrange this if-"

I silenced his words with my finger. "I've never spent my birthday with either of my parents. I don't think that's about to change." I sighed.

"Did you want me to come in? Or should I wait for you here?"

I thought about it, he could tell me what I needed to pack for wherever we were going, but coming inside meant he'd be faced with the bitch that was Victoria Davis. I shrugged, but I knew there wasn't confidence in my tone. "It's up to you," I said.

He undid his seatbelt and began to open the car door. Thank God.

Jay followed me to the front door and I turned my key in the lock. Straight away, voices travelled from the kitchen. Mom's voice and a man's voice, that wasn't my Dad.

She'd clearly thought I wasn't going to be here today.

I opened the kitchen door slowly, Jay was following close behind me.

I was right: she wasn't expecting me. Mom turned suddenly when we entered the room.

"Brooke? What are you doing here?"

"I live here," I narrowed my eyes towards her. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I had a few free days from work, so I thought I'd come and see you but you weren't here this morning." I saw Mom's eyes turn to Jay. "Where's Brad?"

Great fucking timing Mom, now was a really good time to bring him up. I wanted to cringe.

"I don't know, and I don't care. This is Jay. Jay, this is my mom Victoria."

He moved from behind me and stuck out a palm towards her. She smiled over-elaborately and shook it. "Well it's nice to meet you Jay." She dropped his grip and reached towards her purse. "Oh I almost forgot Brooke," I watched as her fingers found her cheque-book. "Happy Birthday," she handed me a torn cheque with a couple of 0's at the end.

I held it into the air with a grimace and walked out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Out!" I pushed Jay out of the kitchen and shut the door behind me, shutting Mom from my view in the process.

"Brooke," Jay mumbled as he followed me up the stairs. "Brooke, I think your Mom wants to see you."

"Yeah, well I don't want to see her." There was no way she was gonna spoil my birthday. I wasn't going to let her. "She only wants to see me when it suits."

I refused to let her get to me, especially today.

"Brooke," his tone was sympathetic.

"Don't. Please, don't." I turned back to him. If I wasn't already emotional, the look on his face made me want to cry. I couldn't believe I'd had to introduce him to her this morning.

He didn't say anything else but followed me quietly into my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed while I searched through the closet. I threw the cheque onto the bed while I looked for clothes.

I saw Jay pick it up from the corner of my eye. His jaw dropped.

"Holy shit Brooke, do you always get this many zeros on your birthday cheques?"

"Pretty much," I replied.

"Damn, I wish your Mom was my mom." He said.

"Trust me, no you don't. Now what do I need?" I turned to him, hoping he'd give me some sort of clue as to where we were going.

"Wear jeans or something," he smiled. "Oh, do you have a swimming costume?"

"Yes?" I frowned. "Do I need it?"

"That would be a good idea." He nodded.

I hated that he was being so cryptic. But at the same time it kinda made me excited. "Anything else?"

"Something to sleep in. Underwear. You know, stuff."

I laughed. "So, like an overnight bag?" I turned around to face him. "Wait, am I not coming home tonight?"

"No, you are not." He teased.

"So I have all of those things, do I need anything else?"

"I think we're good," He moved from the bed towards where I was standing and wrapped his arms around me in an embrace. "I think we're good to go," he whispered.

"Okay," I spun in his arms so I was facing him. "Can we go then?"

He nodded. "Sure," A hand left my waist and caressed my face. "Are you alright?"

I returned his nod. "I'm fine," I kissed his lips lightly. "Let's get out of here."

I threw my clothes into a bag, going to throw it over my shoulder but Jay grabbed it and carried it instead. He followed me back down the stairs and out of the main door.

When we were back in his car, he turned up the radio. I saw his hands tapping along to the tunes on the station. I switched my eyes between watching him driving and looking out of the window.

It felt like we were driving for forever. I felt like my birthday was almost over by the time Jay eventually stopped the car. When he did, I had absolutely no idea where we were but it looked good.

We were surrounded by wood cabins, spaced so there was huge amounts of green between them. Jay stopped in front of one of them, killing the engine.

"Where are we?" I asked as I gazed out of the window.

"My Mom's log cabin," he grinned. "Come on, we'll go inside."

I jumped from the Jeep and felt the soft grass beneath my feet. Jay got both of our bags from the trunk and I followed him towards the door.

I'd never seen anything like them before. They looked like vacation cabins meant for families to occupy them.

Families that stuck together like Jay's.

"Brooke?" His voice was faint in my ear. "Are you coming?"

I followed him through the door and gasped.

He'd obviously already been here and had it planned, the inside was decorated with banners, balloons and candles.

"Jay, I love this." I said truthfully, dropping my purse onto one of the counters and wandering around the room. "You did this?"

He nodded. "I told you I wanted you to have a good birthday, I-"

A loud bang came from one of the rooms. He jumped in front of me just as one of the (I guessed?) bedroom doors opened. The older Halstead and his girlfriend tumbled out, much to the dismay and (I think) anger of his little brother.

"Will, what the hell are you doing here?" Jay sounded pissed off. "I told Mom me and Brooke were coming up here tonight."

"Relax, there's room for the four of us," Will seemed to find it funny that Jay was so angry. "We don't even have to be at the same end of the cabin, it'll be like me and Megan aren't even here. Oh, hey Brooke."

I waved.

"Bro, you are such a jack-ass. Mom expected you for breakfast this morning too, I don't need a fucking baby-sitter. Aren't you going home?"

Megan pulled on her boyfriend's arm. "Maybe we should go? We were here last night, too."

"See? Your girlfriend speaks a lot of sense." Jay said.

"Jay, can you chill?" Will walked towards us and opened one of the kitchen cupboards. "Besides, if I wasn't here would you have been able to get this?" He pointed onto the counter where there was a lot of alcohol.

Jay's face softened a bit. "Okay, fair enough. But you can stay at that end of the cabin because it's Brooke's birthday and me and her have this end." He narrowed his eyes at his brother.

Will's mouth opened and closed. "But that means-"

Jay smirked. "That's right, we get the hot tub."

More to come for Brooke's birthday, it was just super long so the rest will be in the next update :)

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