I.

Lucy stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, looking at the oven and trying to think of anything she might have forgotten. She wanted everything to be perfect. She and Ricky had been married for just over six months and today was his birthday, the first they would spend together. She knew that his favorite meal was chicken and rice, but she'd never made it before today. She bit her lip and decided that she needed to let it cook; she'd done all she could for now.

She looked at her watch and gasped. Ricky would be home from rehearsal soon. He had said he didn't want her to go to any trouble for his birthday, but she made him promise to take the night off. With time running short, Lucy went quickly to the bedroom to get dressed. She had bought a new dress for him to see her in.

Lucy pulled her read curls up and freshened her makeup. She smiled as she put on the new, champagne colored dress and twirled in front of the mirror. She knew Ricky would love it.

"Lucy, I'm home!"

She was excited to hear him and hurried out to greet him. As she rushed out to the front room, her dress caught on a splinter of wood that was sticking out of the door frame. It ripped the material of her skirt with a loud tearing sound. Lucy stopped and looked down at the skirt to see a large swath of fabric torn, hanging limply from the dress. She bent down to touch it. "Oh, no!"

Ricky walked into the hallway. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I ripped my dress! Just look at it. I wanted to look so nice…"

Ricky smiled and drew her closer to him, kissing her gently. "You look beautiful. Dun't worry about it."

Lucy sighed. "Well…let me change into something else." She turned back to the bedroom as Ricky put his hands in his pockets and went back to the front room. He sat on the sofa and flipped through the newspaper.

After a few moments, he looked up from the paper and sniffed the air. Ricky stood up slowly, dropping the paper on the coffee table. He followed the scent into the kitchen and opened the oven door. A billowing cloud of black smoke flew out into his face. He coughed and waved his arms to clear the smoke.

He turned when Lucy entered the kitchen. "My dinner!" She grabbed two potholders and pulled the pan of chicken and rice out of the oven, setting it down on the stove in frustration. "It's ruined!"

Ricky looked into the pan at the charred chicken, raising his eyebrows. Seeing how upset Lucy was, he stifled a laugh. "Honey, what was it?"

"Oh, Ricky, I tried to make chicken and rice for your birthday. I guess it's harder to make than I thought."

Despite his attempts not to laugh, he released a small chuckle as he put an arm around her shoulder. "Aw, honey. That was very sweet. It's alright, I wasn't very hungry."

Lucy's face showed her disappointment, but she suddenly looked up, her eyes bright. "Oh, I almost forgot! I have something for you!"

Ricky smiled. "You do?"

"Yes, come on!" She took him by the hand and led him out to the front room, guiding him to the sofa. "Sit here, I'll be right back!"

Ricky waited for her to return from the bedroom, laughing softly to himself.

When Lucy returned to the front room, she was crestfallen. Ricky looked at her, a gentle smile crossing his face. "What's the matter, honey?"

"Oh!" She looked into the small box she held in her hands. "I should've checked these before I left the store…they made a mistake."

"What mistake? What are they?"

Lucy sat on the sofa and showed him the contents of the box. "They're cufflinks. They're supposed to have your initial engraved in them, but they have MINE instead…"

Ricky peeked into the box and burst into a loud laugh. Lucy put the box onto the coffee table, tears welling up in her eyes. He covered his mouth with his hand to quiet his laughing when she began to cry. "Awwww, Lucy! I'm sorry, honey, I'm not laughin' at you. Why are you cryin'?"

"Oh, Ricky, I wanted your birthday to be special. It's the first one you're having with me. But I messed everything up…"

"Aw, sweetheart…" Ricky moved closer to her on the sofa and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "This is the best birthday I ever had."

Lucy looked at him, puzzled. "It is?"

"Sure! Because you're the sweetest, most wonderful girl in the whole wide world and I love you."

She smiled softly. "Aw, Ricky." She picked up the box of cufflinks. "But I am going to get these fixed! I wanted to give you the most beautiful thing you ever saw for your birthday…"

Ricky's eyes flashed with mischief. He took the little box out of her hands and placed it back on the coffee table. Lucy giggled as he gathered her up in his arms and lifted her off the sofa, carrying her out of the room. "What are you doing?"

"Well, you just said you want me to have the most beautiful thin' I ever saw for my birthday."

"So?"

Ricky lowered her onto the bed and hovered over her. He placed his lips close to her ear, whispering sweetly. "That's you, baby…"

Lucy smiled and put her arms around his neck. "How did you get so sweet?"

He looked into her eyes, his face close to hers. "I fell in love." His lips touched hers very softly as he tugged the light fabric of her dress. She sighed happily as he moved over her, his hands gliding over the curves of her body.

Ricky's kisses travelled down Lucy's neck and around the swell of her breasts. He kissed her stomach as he made quick work of pulling the silk panties from her hips. She laughed as he slowly made his way back up to her, resting between her thighs, the cotton of his open shirt grazing her bare skin.

Lucy slipped the shirt off his shoulders as he kissed her again and ran his hands along her skin. She reached down and lowered his pants, his erection touching the inside of her thigh. He stayed over her for a long time, kissing her and enjoying the feeling of her skin against his. She traced her fingers along his back and looked at him intently. "What did you do for your last birthday?"

Ricky smiled, a bit surprised by the question. His hands passed over her breasts as he remembered. "I was lookin' for musicians." Lucy kissed his neck. "You didn't do anything fun?"

Ricky kissed her shoulder. "No. I was alone here."

"Did you have happy birthdays in Cuba?" She smiled as his tip moved toward her the space between her thighs and teased her.

"Sure. When I was a child…" Ricky looked at her warmly. "Why are you askin'?"

"Are you happy here with me?"

Ricky answered with a deep, passionate kiss. With his hands lightly touching the smooth skin of her thighs, he entered her, slowly and deliberately.

She cried out softly with each of his thrusts as his tongue circled her stiffened nipples. He slowed his pace and put a hand behind her head, his fingers running through her soft red curls. He pulled her face close to his as he continued to push into her.

"Esto es lo mas feliz que he estado en mi vida…" Ricky kissed her again, nearing his climax. Lucy wrapped her arms around him, moving with him urgently. She tossed her head back and gasped with her release, his lips on her neck as he came into her.

As they breathed silently against each other, Ricky looked into Lucy's eyes. "Lucy, honey, this is the most wonderful birthday of my life…"