Nine

Before I knew it, it was already late on Thursday night. Sam and I had never talked about the "sleeping in my bed together" thing again; we were clearly good at avoiding awkward conversations, so none of us had brought it up again. But I would be lying if I said I hadn't enjoyed it, or if I said I didn't want to do it again. I hadn't slept so well as that night in ages. Even though his body so close to mine could ignite every nerve in my body, his warmth embracing me or his captivating scent could completely relax me at the same time. For the following nights after that one, all I wished was to have him knocking on my bedroom door and asking to cuddle to sleep together again.

But it never happened.

We hadn't mentioned my conversation with Josh either. I just knew because of Danny that Sam had told his brother I wasn't attending the show, and that was it. I felt pretty bummed though, because, in spite of clearly being a flirt, Josh had sounded like a nice and fun guy on the phone. Before, I had tried convincing myself that Sam's brothers were assesX and that it was the reason why he didn't want me to meet them. But Danny and himself were the sweetest guys I knew, and I found it hard to believe that the rest of the guys weren't at least decent behaving. After my conversation with Josh, I actually found him entertaining, and not a dickhead at all.

Sam had come back from practice around 7PM that day, and locked himself up in his room after we had dinner, isolating to do who knows what. I could hear the faint sound of music coming from his door at the beginning, but it had died down with time, as he had probably already fallen asleep. I was so caught up finishing a sketch for one of my classes, that I never realised it had turned into 12:00AM. I never stayed up until that late to finish an assignment, but I was apparently really inspired for this one. However, my phone ringing brought me back to the real world, making me wonder who could be calling at those hours of the night. Of course, my screen showed Brooke's name, and I picked up immediately.

- HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUINEVERE! - she practically screamed through the phone, making me tilt my head away from it so that her voice wouldn't leave me deaf.

- Thank you, Brooke – I smiled even though she couldn't see it, pressing my phone against my eat again – But couldn't you wait till tomorrow? - I asked through a stifled laugh, as we would see each other the following day. We didn't share any classes nor had to work on Fridays, but she had promised me to meet me before school after lunch.

- Of course not, I wanted to be the first person to say "happy birthday" to you – she replied, and I could picture her rolling her eyes.

- Don't worry, you'll always be the first one, even if you don't call at 12AM – I laughed, knowing no-one else would be counting the minutes till my birthday began – And anyways, you'll always beat my parents to it – I added jokingly, making her chuckle back.

My parents had a history of not exactly remembering about my birthday, especially since I had started college. They always called the day after it with a lame excuse and a rather fake apology.

- I would have gone downstairs and jumped at you, singing "Happy Birthday" at the top of my lungs, but I've got a lazy ass – she yawned – And I should get some sleep anyways, we both know I'd fall asleep in class tomorrow if I stay up all night with you.

- Of course you would – I smiled, appreciating she had phoned all the same – Thanks for calling, Brooke, see you in the morning.

- I love you girl, see you tomorrow – she said before finally hanging up.

I sighed, tossing my phone on my bed and turning on my spinning chair in front of my desk. Would my parents remember about my birthday this year? I knew Carter, my brother, would, and maybe he would remind my father and mother of it. But I was pretty sure they wouldn't realise it was my birthday on their own. And even though I had been on a constant fight with them for the past years, I couldn't help but still feel a little disappointed whenever they forgot about me.

Before I could give much thought to it, there was a knock on my door, which startled me. Sam was supposedly asleep, and even if he weren't, he would never knock on my door this late at night. I stood up hesitantly and walked to the door, opening it to reveal the sleepy but still beaming long haired boy on the other side.

- Happy birthday, Gwenny – he said in a somewhat sleepy voice, smiling all the same before he hugged me. It was a short embrace, though, as I pulled away after some seconds.

- Thank you, Sammy, but you could have waited till the morning to tell me – I laughed, looking at his tired face. He had clearly fallen asleep and woken up just for this.

- I wanted to be the first to say it to you – he smiled timidly, making my heart jump at his sweet confession.

- Oh, Brooke has just called, I'm sorry, you know how she is – I chuckled, slowly breaking my own heart by having to tell him this, but he rolled his eyes playfully, not really feeling sad about it.

- May I come in? – he asked after some seconds, making me realise we were still standing on my doorway.

- You owe me three visits to your room – I joked, stepping aside to let him in while he laughed at my comment. After the night in which he had slept here, I didn't find it weird to have him in my room anymore. He grabbed a box and a bag that laid on the floor beside him before stepping in, and then made his way to my bed, sitting on it as I closed the door.

- I did get you a present, you know... – he said playfully, knowing I hadn't believed him when he had told me about it. He extended his arms, showing me the plain, white box he had brought with him as well as the paper bag – I actually got you two. Wrapping paper is not my thing, as you can see, so I apologise in advance – he chuckled as I walked closer to him, taking the box and bag from his hands while I bit down on my lip.

- Sam, you really didn't have to – I started, but he gave me a look that told me to shut up and open the damn presents. Sighing in defeat, I peeked inside the bag first, and I immediately saw a record inside as he hadn't wrapped it. I took it out and examined its cover in awe, feeling my cheeks strain at how much I was smiling.

- I thought I should get you your very first record – Sam smiled, looking at my astonished face as I turned it over to see its back – And there's nothing better than George Harrison to start your own collection – he added. I knew he had to have a copy of "All Things Must Pass" himself, but he had got me one of my own anyways.

- Don't you have this already? – I asked curiously, turning it around to examine the back.

- Yeah, but this one is yours. And it's a special edition actually, look – he said pointing to some features on the cover – I mean, I'm more than happy to share my records with you but I want you to have your own. I would have failed as your roommate if I didn't get you into this whole thing. But c'mon, now check the box – he urged me, clearly being more excited about the other present than this one.

I looked at him with a shy but thankful smile before I lifted the lid of the not too big but yet not small box, revealing tons of tissue paper inside covering the actual thing. Once I removed it all, I couldn't stop myself from covering my mouth with my hand, not believing what I was seeing. Inside the box laid a vintage Polaroid camera, along with film for it. I had been wanting one of those cameras for ages, but had never brought myself to buy one, always spending the little money I could save in art supplies instead. But he had got me one, and I couldn't be more thankful for it.

- Oh my god, Sam – I managed to say, looking up at him with a mix of emotions swirling in my eyes. He was smiling widely, clearly proud of his present.

- You mentioned some time ago you had always wanted one... – he happily said, knowing he had hit the nail on the head.

- Sam, it's perfect – I said softly, still processing the fact that he had got me this camera – But I can't take it, this is too much – I insisted.

I had not expected him to actually get me something in the first place, and I knew that original, vintage cameras like this one weren't anywhere near cheap. Plus, he had got me the special record too, so there was no need of giving me two presents.

- Of course you can – he frowned, trying to make me let it go – Here, let's try it – he said, taking the box from my hands and grabbing the camera. He handed it to me as he fumbled with the tissue paper, delicately grabbing the film. He then gave it to me as well, and excitedly motioned for me to put it inside the camera the right way.

- You really didn't have to buy me this – I said one more time as I finished setting it, but he shushed me with excitement, watching as I finished adjusting everything.

- Stop whining and take a picture already – he chuckled, clearly as happy as I was with his present.

I sighed in defeat and looked around, trying to find something worth of shooting. My room looked quite messy, as I had been finishing my painting some minutes before, so I decided to take a picture of him instead.

- Look over here – I said while I brought the camera up to my face, looking at him through the lens as I analysed his features.

His hair was quite dishevelled and his eyes kind of sleepy, but he looked gorgeous all the same. He was in a pair of tiny shorts with a tie-dye t-shirt, being the only man on Earth who could make such an outfit look extremely hot. Focusing back on what I was doing, and realising he had finally looked towards the camera, I snapped the picture, the machine making some weird noise with the flash before it started printing the image.

I sat next to Sam on the bed, eagerly waiting for the thing to be printed. After some seconds of fanning it, the picture revealed itself on the paper, making us both look at it. He looked as hot as ever in the image, and I couldn't prevent myself from biting down on my lip.

- You can keep it – he chuckled, nudging me with his elbow– You know, for when you miss this beautiful face – he added playfully, making me glare at him and shove his shoulder.

- Thank you for this, Sammy – I said after some seconds, as I set the camera and the picture aside on the bed – For real – I added, looking back at him and meeting his smile.

My body moving on its own accord, I scooted closer, and hugged him tightly. His arms mimicked my actions right away while I buried my face in his neck, breathing him in as I relaxed into his embrace. He rubbed my back for a couple of seconds, enjoying the moments as well, before we pulled away, with him placing a soft kiss to my forehead.

- Happy birthday, Gwenny – he whispered one last time, tenderly looking at me. He then stood up  and turned to look at me one last time before he finally walked out of my room.

The rest of the day wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. I had allowed myself to sleep until midday, waking up to find that Sam had made a tower of blueberry pancakes, my favourites, putting a little candle on the whipped cream on top of it for me to blow. I was actually shocked at how attentive he was being with all the birthday thing ,when he had claimed to be against all the big deal and celebrations. He liked to party from time to time, but he had made very clear birthdays weren't his thing.

After thanking him and eating my breakfast, I had quickly changed and gone to my classes, which I had actually enjoyed as I always did. Brooke of course hade made sure to make a fuss before class when I had walked into the building, embarrassing me like only she could. She had given me my presents, which consisted of a book I had been looking for and hadn't found for months, and a Victoria Secret's bag which had held nothing else than a tiny set of red lace lingerie, which had made me roll my eyes. "To get back in the game, we need to get you a new man" she had said when I had opened that bag, wiggling her eyebrows to me in a suggestive way. I hadn't bumped into Matt that day, but I had invited him and a couple of his friends, along with some of my classmates to the bar at night, so I would see them all later.

I allowed myself to take a long, relaxing bath when I got back home, treating myself with a glass of wine and some soft music in the background as I enjoyed the hot water and vanilla-smelling bubbles. I decided to play the George Harrison record Sam had got me while I did so, and knowing it was my own actually made it sound even better.

Danny, Brooke, Sam and I would go out for dinner before heading to the bar to meet everybody else, so when I walked out of the bathroom, I directly headed to my wardrobe to change into the night's outfit. It wasn't too elaborate, consisting of a black spaghetti strap dress with a straight neckline, which reached my mid-thigh and hugged my tiny frame perfectly. The fabric wasn't too fancy, as I would have hated to wear something too sumptuous, so it paired perfectly with my Dr Martens. I let my long hair hang lose and did my makeup as I always would, just adding some mascara and lip-gloss, not bothering with the rest of it.

After grabbing my purse and phone, I went to the living room to wait for Brooke, who would be walking to the restaurant with both Sam and I. Said boy was already sitting on the couch reading when I had walked in, looking damn fine as he always did. As soon as he sensed my presence, his eyes were glued to me, and I couldn't help but blush at the attention.

- Gwen, you look beautiful – he smiled, closing his book and tossing it on the coffee table as I joined him.

- Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself – I winked jokingly before unlocking my phone to text Brooke to hurry up.

I checked all of my messages, hoping to come across one from any of my parents, after not receiving any calls or texts from them throughout the day. But there was nothing. Of course, Carter had remembered, calling me first hour in the morning, but with him being away in California he had probably forgotten to remind our parents about my birthday.

- Hey, what's wrong? – Sam asked with a frown, making me realise that my face had significantly dropped, enough for him to realise, and letting him know that something was going on.

- It's nothing – I shrugged locking my phone quickly and putting it back inside my black purse.

- C'mon Gwenny, you know you can talk to me, right? – he elbowed me with the sweetest look on his face as he scooted closer on the couch, his warmth already soothing me – I don't want you to feel down tonight. I took in a deep breath, debating wether to just let it go, or open up about it instead.

- It's my parents... – I sighed in defeat after some seconds of silence, his expectant stare eventually prying the truth out of me – Once again, they forgot about my birthday. But it's not a big deal. I mean, it's not as if we were on the best of terms for these past years, anyways – I lied.

Sam was clearly lost of words, so he just limited himself to put his arm around my shoulders and push me into his chest in a reassuring hug, rubbing my back slowly. We stayed like that for some minutes, his fingers skimming over the soft skin of my exposed shoulders, until we heard a knock on the door, indicating Brooke was ready to go.

- At least your friend knows how to knock, not like mine – Sam chuckled, pulling a tiny smile from my lips with his attempt to ease the mood – C'mon, we'll have fun tonight, okay? – he asked one last time, pulling me closer to leave a tender kiss on my forehead before he let go.

Ten minutes later, the both of us and Brooke were walking down the street, meeting the strong breeze that enhanced that chilly Friday night. We hadn't walked for long, but I was already shivering as I hadn't taken any jacket with me to cover my body, just having the tiny dress to protect me. Sam, as the gentleman he was, took off his leather jacket and placed it over my shoulders. It earned me a questioning look from Brooke, who raised her eyebrows questioningly, staring at me as I tightened the cloth around me in an attempt warm up. But luckily, she didn't say anything, and we all kept on walking with a light conversation towards our destination.

It wasn't long till we reached the restaurant, where Danny was already waiting for us outside. He hugged me tightly as soon as he had seen me, and gave me a small bag with the present he had got me. It was a handmade bracelet made by him, which I completely adored, so I clung onto his neck and thanked him. Being me, I had chosen nothing less than a Chinese restaurant to have dinner, the one we always bought take-out food from. I had wanted to go out, but hadn't wanted to go somewhere too fancy either. And we were all suckers for Asian food, so I thought this place was perfect.

The dinner went on quickly, as we couldn't stop laughing and talking through the whole of it. I had given Sam his jacket back as soon as we had walked in, but when we were leaving the restaurant, he made sure to place it back on my shoulders again before we started our walk towards the bar.

When we got closer, I could already see the place was packed, people cueing on the street to get in and everything. Thankfully, Danny and Sam had talked with the owner, and had managed to get us some separate tables, reassuring us a spot inside. They had also got us drinks for half the price, so I was more than happy.

I knew this place was popular among students, not only for the awesome cocktails but for the unique vibe it had. It was decorated with stuff from all the different decades, and each night they played different music from all the genres you could imagine, making it really interesting and fun. As most of the people around campus were tired of the same old bars with the same old mainstream songs, a lot of them started gravitating towards this bar, and it soon gained its fame among students.

After talking for a bit with the bodyguards, Danny and Sam got us in without problem, skipping the long line that almost reached the end of the block. I gave the latter his jacket back as we walked in, making our way to the tables where Matt, a couple of his teammates and some of my classmates already were. Layla, Brooke's sister, was there too with a friend, as well as Chase, and they all got up from their seats to hug me and wish me a happy birthday.

- Haven't seen you in days, Gwen, I even started to miss you – Matt said as he let go of our hug, looking down at me tenderly - Here, I got you a little something – he added, handing me a bag as the rest of the guys sat back on their spots. It was a beautiful long floral dress, which suited my day-to-day style perfectly.

- It's beautiful Matt, thank you – I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him one last time.

- A beautiful dress for a beautiful girl – he winked teasingly before he pulled away. I caught both Brooke and Sam staring at me as I walked back to take a seat, the blonde one wiggling her eyebrows, and the other with a rather stern face, looking down to the table as soon as I had caught him staring.

We all ordered our drinks and started talking after that, the music being at the perfect volume on this side of the room for us to be able to chat. I caught up with Layla, whom I got along with well, but hadn't had the chance to see in the past weeks. Her friend was really nice too, though she was kind of shy, probably intimidated by all the football players sitting at the table with us, as she couldn't stop nervously looking at them.

Mackenzie, Danny's girlfriend, joined us after half an hour. I had begged him to bring her after we hadn't got to meet properly at his party, given how events turned out that night. She had another dinner to attend this same Friday, but had promised to come, and I was really happy to see her. We instantly got on amazingly; she was super cool and we had tons of things in common. In the background, The Rolling Stone's music played, making the night ten times better than it could ever be.

I was already four drinks and some shots in when a cake was brought to the table along with more shots glasses for everybody. I looked up at Brooke in shock and thankfulness, as the cake was clearly a homemade cheesecake, my favourite desert to ever exist. I couldn't believe she had cooked it for me, given the fact that she dreaded the mere idea of getting close to a kitchen. But she looked back at me with the same shocked expression, shrugging to let me know she wasn't responsible for it.

The waitress lit up the candles on top of it and everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to me, all of us tossing back the liquid in the shot glasses as soon as the chanting had finished. The waitress brought some extra shots for me, claiming they were a "birthday treat on the house", and I was already feeling tipsy when I was almost forced to take them.

Some people from other tables had moved over to the sort of dance floor the bar had and, naturally, started to dance, more customers following after them. Some of the people from our table joined them, Brooke included, as they enjoyed the music blasting from the speakers. I stayed at the table, taking the opportunity to talk with Matt after so long. He was one of my best friends, but given his complicated schedule and my job, we found it really hard to hang out when we weren't on holidays. We chatted for what seemed like hours, Danny and Mackenzie joining our conversation after a while.

But suddenly, the music changed its vibe drastically, from the catchy Stones' tunes to a rather slower but still cheerful one. I recognised it immediately, it was "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", the same Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song I had dragged Sam to dance to on our infamous smoking session. I smiled instantly, really liking the song and the memory of our silly dancing to it. Naturally, I started looking around the table to find him, spotting him on the far end of it talking to one of Matt's teammates.

- He really tried – Danny suddenly said to me, making me look away from his friend and back at him – He spent the whole afternoon trying to cook that damn cake, and begged the bar's owner all day to play some CSNY music for you, even if it was a Stone's night. And don't get me started on the tantrum he almost threw once he got here with the cake just in time before our dinner, and realised he had forgotten about the candles – he added casually as he sipped from his drink. My eyes widened in surprise, processing the fact that he had indeed tried to make everything perfect for me, going as far as baking my favourite cake, to get the bar to play the music I liked.

- Did he really do all of that? – I asked shyly in spite of my tipsy state. Mackenzie nodded at me, making me look back to the other end of the table, to the guy that would never fail to make my knees weak.

I suddenly felt guilty. He had made all of that effort for me to have the best birthday, first with the presents, then the special breakfast, and now this. I really appreciated it, but never actually expected him to do any of it. And in spite of it all, I had unconsciously spent the whole night talking to everybody at the table except him, not exchanging a single word since we had got to the bar.

I quickly stood up from my stool and stumbled with determination towards the other end of the table, draping my arm around his shoulders as soon as I got to him, clearly startling him.

- Hey Gwen – he smiled at me, his hand timidly meeting my waist to help me keep my balance.

- You sir, are going to dance with me – I said, not giving him much option, and took his hand in mine, dragging him to the dancefloor as the song he had picked for me was still playing. I could see Brooke's skeptic eyes on me from the far corner where she was dancing, clearly suspecting my actions. But I decided to ignore her, to happy and grateful for the man I had managed to pull to the dance-floor with me to put much thought into it.

I took hold of both of Sam's hands once we got to an empty spot, and started shamelessly dancing as we had done that day back in our living room. He hesitated a bit, definitely not as drunk as I was, but gave up after some seconds, laughing away with me.

In that moment, as we danced around not giving a damn about anything around us, I realised that I really cared for him. That I really appreciated having him as a roommate, but most of it all as a friend. All the day's events made me think about how he actually acted this way every single day, with tons of little actions that showed nothing more than true care. Offering to cook when it was actually my turn, doing the silliest of things to cheer me up whenever I had a bad day, letting me pick first when we had movie nights as he knew I dreaded most of the ones he liked, and always dedicating some time of his day to show me some new record, or just asking about how my week had been.

I was too lost in my thoughts, so I never realised the song had eventually ended and they started playing the Stones again until Sam had started to head us back to the now almost empty table, his hand lightly resting on the small of my back to guide the way. He plopped down on one of the free stools in front of Chase, one of Matt's teammates called Landon, and two of my classmates. They were all in deep in conversation, but greeted us once we got there, letting us join their discussion right away.

But instead of sitting, I stood behind Sam and wrapped my arms around his shoulders in a fond embrace. I tightened the grip around him, hugging his neck as I nuzzled my face further into it, and placed a soft kiss behind his ear, swatting his long hair away so that my lips could meet his tender skin.

- Thank you – I mumbled in a low voice, but still audible enough for it to be heard with the music in the background, completely ignoring the conversation in front of us – For everything - I clarified, pressing my lips to his neck once again before I let them hover over his skin, closing my eyes go enjoy his scent and the feeling of having him so close to me.

He didn't reply, but instead brought his hands up my forearms wrapped around his neck, and clung onto them tightly. I placed two more tiny but lingering kisses to the warm skin behind his ear before he leaned his head slightly back so that his temple rested against mine, and our cheeks remained pressed together. His thumbs started to draw circles on my arms, before he turned his face to sweetly kiss my cheek, making me bite down on my lip as he let his nose run over my skin afterwards.

- Anything for you – he whispered in my ear, before he rested his head on mine again to go back to the funny anecdote Chase was drunkenly telling to the group.

But I knew none of us were really paying attention to the conversation in front of us. Not while his thumbs still traced patterns over my skin, and my chest kept on being pressed to his back, our skin alive on every inch where it met, reminding us that no matter how badly we fought it, it was meant to be this way.