"Doll face, do you have the red shirt still? I wanna wear it tonight." Candy poked her head into Dolly's room, seeing the blonde laying on her bed looking at a picture. "Hey girlie…come on, we got to get ready. Our dinner is in 20 minutes."
Dolly put the picture back behind her pillow, turning over on her side to look at her roommate, "it's in my closet…somewhere," she told her. "Take what you want; I'm not going out tonight."
Candy rolled her eyes, pulling Dolly up from her laying position. "Yes you are because tonight is about you! Come on, put your knee brace on, throw on a pair of jeans and come celebrate your birthday! You're only nineteen once, sweetie." The red head tossed a pair of jeans and a pink shirt at Dolly, "put that on and do your hair! Look pretty for that guy you have a crush on…what's his name?"
"There is no guy, and I'm not going out," Dolly argued, throwing her knee brace across the room. "Just leave me alone." She took the picture out from underneath her pillow and stared at it, holding it up so Candy was out of her view.
Sighing, she peeked over the picture. "You're still here," she mumbled.
"So are you. Come on Dolly…it's your birthday, we have the entire bar booked just for you, and everyone is going to be there. Everyone! The class, our co-workers…Austin…"
"You're annoying me. Leave." Rolling her eyes, Candy flopped on the bed, leaning her head against Dolly's shoulder and stared at the picture with her.
She was a blonde as well, sitting in front of a garden filled with colourful tulips. A white sundress surrounded her, showing off a very pregnant stomach. Her green eyes were staring off in a distance, but a very soft smile was on her face as she had her hand over her stomach. "It's my mom," Dolly whispered. "It's the only picture I have of us together. Dad took it…it was taken in October. He was amazed at the flowers and how colourful they still were, especially for tulips. So, he took the picture."
"You look just like her," Candy whispered back. "Your hair, your eyes…"
"Thankfully, I got my Dad's nose," Dolly joked. "She left when I was four months old, just upped and left. Wrote my Dad a note, and that was that. I have no idea what happened after that, I don't even know if she's still alive…" She sniffled back a tear as Candy threw an arm around her waist.
"Birthday's must be hard," she finally spoke. "Take your time, sweetie. Everyone will be at The Den, just take your time." Candy gave her a kiss on the cheek before she stood up, snatching the red shirt from her closet. "If I don't see you there, then I'll bring all your gifts home and see you then." With a wink, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Dolly smiled to herself once Candy was gone, and rolled over to her dresser that was beside her bed, pulling out the top drawer to grab her cell phone. Quickly finding his number, she hit the sent button.
"Yeah?" he answered, tired and sounding very bored.
"Hey, she's leaving in about ten minutes; think you can come over for a little…appetizer?" Dolly asked with a grin.
Austin chuckled. "Are you trying to get us caught?" he asked jokingly.
"She's leaving in ten, it takes twenty to get to The Den, and it takes you a whole five minutes to drive here. And since The Den and your apartment are on opposite sides of the city, I highly doubt you'll run into each other."
"How long have you had this plan?"
"Since Candy convinced me I need to get a Brazilian bikini wax so I can wear skimpy wrestling gear, which was…last week. Come on baby, it's my birthday."
"Yeah, I saw the pink post it notes you left around my office and the rest of the building. Everyone knows it's your birthday," he reminded her as he paused his game and stood up from his chair, "speaking of which, happy birthday."
"Are you alone?" Dolly asked, flipping over so she was on her stomach, flinging her feet in the air.
Austin sat on top of the kitchen counter, leaning his head on the back cupboards, "yes Dolly, I'm alone."
She turned over on her back, running her finger nails over her bare stomach. "Austin, I'm thinking of you," she whispered.
She heard his laugh on the receiving end of the cell phone, making her bite her bottom lip. "I'll leave in twenty minutes; I still need to wrap your gift," he responded before hanging up.
Hoping off the counter, he walked to the door and put his shoes on. Not only did he still have wrap her gift, he still had to buy her one.
Dolly smiled to herself, sitting up on the bed and touching her toes for a quick stretch. She got off of her bed and put the knee brace on like Candy had asked her to do earlier, and walked out of her room, wearing her shorts and sports bra.
"Ah, there is a human being inside that room," Candy commented from the couch as she finished strapping her shoes on. "Are you coming tonight?"
"I'll be there in a few hours; I need to shower and stuff. Can I wear that pink mini skirt you have?" she asked, sitting next to Candy on the couch.
"Yes, you can wear my pink skirt that is in your closet and has been there since the last time your borrowed it. Oh my God…" The red head looked at her friend, her eyes wide, and "you plan on getting laid tonight, aren't you? Every time you wear that skirt, you get action…"
"It's my birthday!" Dolly grinned, standing up from the couch. "Besides, who doesn't want to go to Brazil in January?" She stood in front of the washroom and lowered her shorts so they went past her hips, then pulled them back up quickly, laughing. Candy fell off the couch laughing, ignoring the numerous knocks on their door.
The knocks got louder and louder until finally Dolly, who was on the other side of the room, answered the door, only to be greeted by a giant bouquet of flowers. "Miss. Dolly Paliti?" the delivery man asked.
"Yes, that's me," she said, taking the flowers away from him. He shoved a clipboard in her direction, telling her to sign on the line; her signature was quick and sloppy, hardly eligible.
He left after Dolly shoved the clipboard back into his chest, shutting the door in his face.
"Prick," she mumbled, turning around to see Candy still on the ground. "Hey girlie, look at these flowers! Aren't they awesome? Sunflowers, pansies…and tulips." She paused as she placed them on the counter, taking the card out.
"Who are they from?" Candy questioned, looking over her shoulder. She took the card out of her hand and read it herself, "'Happy 19th.' That's it? No name?"
"I guess not," Dolly mumbled. Looking around the room, her eyes fell on the clock: Austin was going to be there in ten minutes. "Well, I'm going to go hop in the shower now, so I'll see you in a few hours," she said suddenly, giving Candy a quick hug.
Candy left, leaving Dolly all by herself. By the time she had the water running and blocked the tulips out of her memory, another knock was on the door. Throwing a towel around her naked form, she opened the door, frustrated.
Austin grinned when he saw Dolly in her pink towel. "Happy birthday," he said, holding out a pink wrapped package. "And," he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box, "happy eight months."
Throwing her present and box behind her, she wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him into the room and kissing him. His arms wrapped around her waist, carrying her as she squealed into the living room, laying her down on the couch. His lips traced her jaw, letting his goatee tickle her neck. She began to squirm underneath him, trying to submit as his fingers tickled her ribs, "stop, stop!" she giggled, trying to move over to her side.
He stopped immediately, sitting up and giving her bare knee a kiss. "You haven't even showered yet?" he asked, reaching up to the top of her towel.
"I was trying to be clean before Candy left, but then we started giggling and I got a delivery of flowers…"
"So they came just in time then, good. Did you like them?"
Dolly sat up on the couch, leaning against the arm rest, "yeah…they were lovely…" her eyes gazed around the room, avoiding eye contact.
"You didn't like them? What was wrong with them? They were bright, and pink…"
"Tulips, Austin. You put tulips in there!" She didn't mean to yell at him like that, or wanted the tears to escape, but she found herself cradled in his arms, listening him to apologize repeatedly.
He kissed the top of her head, holding her as close as possible to him. "I'm sorry," he said again, once she stopped sobbing. "I forgot…it didn't ruin your birthday, did it?"
"No," she answered, lifting her head up and wiping a tear away. "It just made it crummy." Standing up, she left his lap quietly and headed to the washroom to have her shower.
She forgot she had left the water running as she disrobed from her towel. Sticking her hand in the shower to test the water, Dolly turned around at the sound of knocking on the door.
"Hey," Austin whispered, allowing himself in. "You aren't angry, are you?"
Dolly shook her head. "No, I'm just trying to have a shower for the love of God…"
"Let me make it up to you. Please, I feel terrible." He sat on the toilet, listening to Dolly hum a tune. "Dolly…can you at least open this?" In his hand was the box that he had showed her earlier.
Turning off the water, she gave her head one more shake before she picked up her towel and covered herself, exiting the shower. She sat down on the floor leaned against the bath tub as Austin handed her the box.
Opening it, she gave him a smile. "You won't buy me a ring, but a toe ring…"
"Hey, that is costumed made. Didn't you notice the pink heart in the middle?" he pointed out, sitting next to her on the floor.
Dolly took the ring out of the box, and handed it to him. "Pick a toe," she said with a giggle.
He sat at her feet, holding her left foot in his hand and putting the ring on the toe next to her biggest. "Beautiful," he whispered, leaning up for a kiss. "Now open your real gift." He held out his hand for her to accept, and they walked into the living room.
Austin picked up the pink box that was still on the ground and handed it to her. "Happy birthday," he said again. Dolly smiled as she took the bow off carefully, then the wrapping paper which she made sure she didn't rip it. Folding the paper and putting it off to the side, she took off the top, finding pink tissue paper.
"Once, I've mentioned I like the colour pink once," she said with a laugh, taking the tissue paper out, discovering her real gift. Holding up a pink bra and matching thong, she grinned at him. "This," she said, motioning towards the new underwear set, "will be for special occasions."
He grinned back at her, giving her another kiss. She moaned at his touch as his hands trailed up her legs, discarding the towel and throwing it to the floor. Her body arched into him as his kisses trailed across her stomach and up to her heaving chest. Reaching her hands to above her head, she felt his jeans rub against her, releasing a small squeak.
"Austin…" she moaned, letting his hands roam across her bare skin. He stopped kissing her and moving his hands. Supporting herself on her elbows, Dolly looked down at him. "Baby, that was feeling good, why'd you stop?" she asked quickly, running her fingers through his hair.
"I'm saving it for later tonight," he told her. "See, I have this plan…"
"A plan?"
"Yes, a plan. See, tonight, Candy is going home with my roommate." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, "that way, we can have your apartment all," kiss on the stomach, "to our," kiss on the throat, "selves."
She pulled him closer, giving him a kiss on the lips. "I love you," she mumbled against his lips, pulling him close by his goatee.
When all he did was kiss her back, she left the couch and went to her room, sighing as she closed the door.
He never says it back.
LegendSpeaking: All right, here you go. ANOTHER chapter. Every Saturday people, every Saturday is when this will be updated. So no more "Update soon!" or "Need another chapter ASAP!", because it's only updated on Saturdays. As for the actual story...trust me. There won't be any hidden messeges in these notes on what's happening next, you'll just have to wait and see. No hidden messeges. Check all you want, but there are no hidden messeges in this note. None. Zero. Stop looking and review.