Chapter 4

"Happy birthday B. Davis!" Peyton almost shouted joyfully to Brooke as she greeted her over the phone.

"P Sawyer! It must be my birthday, it's not everyday I hear from my best friend." Brooke responded playfully in her raspy voice.

"I know, and I'm sorry I can't be with you for you're birthday, but maybe we can come and see you sometime next month." Peyton said, smiling to herself. She wanted to surprise Brooke by being there for the surprise party in two days, so she had lead Brooke to believe she was to busy to see her.

"Oh don't worry about that Peyton, I'm just so glad to hear from you. It feels like it's been months rather than days since we last spoke." Brooke said, thinking about how busy these past few months had been for her a work, and how she hadn't had the time to keep up with her best friend.

" I guess we have both been busy lately, but I will see you as soon as I can. I hope you have a lovely birthday with Haley and Nathan, and of course Julian." Peyton giggled.

" Well you will have to wait until we next see each other to know all the gossip with me and Julian." Brooke teased.

"God we all miss you, and you know I love you B Davis." Peyton laughed softly.

"Thanks Peyton, I miss you all too, and I love you P Sawyer. Bye." Brooke said, with a smile.

Brooke put down the phone, and got up off the sofa. She checked the time again, like she had been doing every 5 minutes since she woke up, one hour ago. Her watched revealed it was 8:30am.

"Hum" She sighed, placing her hand on her hips.

She started pacing back and forth, wondering where Julian was. When she woke up this morning Julian wasn't there. Brooke had tried to call his cell phone several times, but it remained switched off.

She checked her watch one last time, before grabbing her keys from the counter, and headed for the door. She was about to open it, but Julian got there first, and opened the door to their apartment on a startled Brooke.

"Oh you scared the hell out of me then." Brooke giggled, slightly embarrassed.

She stepped back, letting Julian come in, before shutting the door behind him. In his hands he carried a bouquet of red roses, and a rather large bag with the words 'Happy Birthday' on it.

"Happy Birthday Brooke." He said, as he kissed her forehead. He walked over to the sofa, grabbing her hand on the way, pulling her along with him. They both took a seat as Julian handed Brooke her flowers.

Brooke took the flowers from him, and put them to her nose so she could smell the sweet fragrance. She sighed lightly, as she lifted her head up to see Julian.

"Thank you. They're gorgeous." She sighed smiling, before taking another quick smell of the flowers. She then placed them down on the coffee table next to her.

"Now for the rest of your presents." Julian told her, excited to what she would think about all the gifts he had got her.

He handed her the bag, and she took it of him shaking her head in disapproval. Brooke didn't like it much when people spent money and made a fuss over her. Julian just laughed back and urged her to open her presents. She sighed and opened the gift bag. Five packages, all different sizes, wrapped in pink paper. She took a parcel out, and gently ripped the paper off. She took the item out and held it up in front of her. In her hands she held a red, long cocktail dress.

"Julian, you shouldn't have. It gorgeous but this must have cost you a fortune!" Brooke said, shaking her head. She couldn't stop herself from smiling though as she continued to look at the fabric she was holding.

Julian just smiled as he passed her another gift.

Eventually Brooke had finished opening her presents and she had admired them all. Julian had given Brooke, a red dress, earrings, a heart necklace, her favourite perfume and shoes that matched her new dress. Haley had gone with Julian a couple of weeks before Brooke's birthday, to help him pick Brooke's presents.

"You really didn't have to spend all this money on me. I love all my gifts though. Thank you." Brooke smiled, as she put her arms around his neck and hugged him. Julian hugged her back, pleased that she liked her presents.

"Oh, before I forget, where were you this morning?" Brooke asked, remembering how she had been pacing around the apartment, wondering where he was, just half an hour ago.

"I left the presents at Nathan and Haley's, because I wanted them to be a surprise." Julian answered, standing up as he heard the door bell ring. It was Nathan, Haley and Jamie, with a bag of birthday presents for Brooke.

"Speak of the devils." Julian laughed, as he greeted them inside.

...

"To Brooke!" Julian, Nathan, Haley and Jamie all cheered, raising their glasses together.

Everyone was enjoying their meal at the Italian restaurant, celebrating Brooke's 23rd birthday. Haley had taken Brooke out, shopping, they had a good day, buying clothes, and catching up on all the latest gossip. Brooke didn't know that she and her friends were going out for dinner, so she was surprised when Haley drove her to the restaurant, instead of to her apartment, after they had finished their day out.

An embarrassed Brooke took a sip of her wine, before clearing her throat.

"Well, this has been an amazing day, and I want to thank you all, not only for my beautiful gifts, but mostly for being my friends, as corny as it sounds, I love you guys, and I don't know where I'd be without you all. Thank you for making today special for me." Brooke softly said, after everyone had finished their meals.

Julian stood, kissed Brooke on the forehead, and walked to the waiter to pay for the meal. In his absents, the conversation rapidly turned to Brooke and Julian.

"Brooke, you and Julian and perfect, everything seems to be going so good for you both, and we couldn't be happier." Haley said, with Nathan and Jamie nodding along in agreement.

"I know, things have been so great, I don't know what to say, I love him." Brooke said with a smile.

Haley grabbed Brooke's hand and gave it a light squeeze, smiling back.