After Gemma had wrapped for the day, she headed back to her trailer to pack up her belongings before leaving for the night. All she wanted right now was a drink and her couch.
As she stepped into the main lounge, Gemma found a bouquet of white lilies sitting next to a small square box on the round table. She silently walked over and peered through the clear window on the top, as if the gift might get spooked and run. A cake, its sides dripping with rainbow sprinkles, sat inside the box. Across the top, two words were written in a chic script.
HappyBirthday.
There was no note, but that didn’t matter. Tears pooled at the edges of Gemma’s vision until they spilled over. She had always hated her birthday. She had transferred schools so often as a kid that her parties usually went unattended. After a few years in a row of crying into an uncut cake, her parents patting her back as balloons sank to the ground around her, Gemma had decided to stop having a birthday.
Until her seventeenth birthday had come along, of course. That’s when Caitlin had swooped in, horrified at the idea of not celebrating Gemma’s birthday. During the following years together, Caitlin had never missed a single one, making sure that Gemma would spend the entire day surrounded by people who loved her.
In the nine years since Caitlin, Gemma had never told anyone her birthday. Now that she thought about it, nobody ever asked.
“Gemma, what’s wrong?” Caitlin threw open the trailer door, running up the steps to where Gemma stood sobbing. Without hesitation, she wrapped Gemma in her arms. But it was already too late. The dam had broken, and now Gemma was forced to succumb to the surge of tears.
“The gifts weren’tthatgood,” Caitlin said lightly, trying to make Gemma smile. It worked.
Gemma giggled as her glassy red eyes met Caitlin’s. “You remembered.”
“Your birthday? Favorite flower? Favorite cake flavor? Of course I did.”
Salt and snot dripped down Gemma’s face, even as she smiled up at Caitlin. Caitlin hadn’t said anything earlier in the day, so Gemma assumed that she had forgotten her birthday. She wouldn’t have blamed her, really.
“Thank you, this means a lot.” Gemma pointed to the spotsof mucous on Caitlin’s shoulder. “Sorry about that.”
Caitlin shrugged and waved her off.
“I’m sure you already have plans tonight…” Caitlin bounced from one foot to the other, suddenly nervous.
Gemma thought it was the cutest thing, seeing Caitin so embarrassed as she tried to finish her sentence. Gemma considered lying. She really had been looking forward to a quiet night alone to digest the weight of the past week. But even more than that, Gemma was shocked to realize that she would rather spend more time with Caitlin.
“I actually don’t have any plans.”
Caitlin beamed, and Gemma felt her heart flutter at being the cause. “Can I take you out for your birthday? We can jump in my car and drop off your things at your place on the way.”
“That sounds great.”
Gemma knew Hayley had an unavoidable business meeting that night, so there would be no risk of running into her while with Caitlin. Hayley would undoubtedly give Gemma an earful for hanging out with Caitlin off the clock. Then again, Hayley still didn’t know that Gemma hadsleptwith Caitlin, so there would be bigger topics to unpack at their next coffee date than this.
After swinging by Gemma’s apartment building to drop off the birthday cake and bouquet, they arrived at Caitlin’s surprise destination.
“Dave & Buster’s.” Gemma burst into a raw, unfiltered laugh. “This is where you decided to take me for my twenty-ninth birthday?”
Caitlin gave a sly, knowing smirk as she climbed out of the car and offered her hand to Gemma.
They entered through the wide glass double doors and beelined to the bar, where Caitlin ordered two glasses of white wine. Handing a chilled glass to Gemma, Caitlin raised her ownin a private toast.
“To you, Squish. I couldn’t allow another birthday to go by without celebrating you,” Caitlin said softly, searching Gemma’s eyes for an intense moment.
The long-stemmed glasses clinked, and the tension broke as they took a sip of the sweet Riesling. Caitlin laid her hand on Gemma’s lower back and led her through the arcade. A shiver trembled up Gemma’s spine as her body remembered the mildly possessive move that she had loved. It was a small gesture, but it conveyed to the world around them that she was Caitlin’s.
When they slowed to a stop in front of theDance Dance Revolutionmachine, Gemma’s chest tightened. Memories flooded over her of all the hours they had spent playing this game together in high school, of all the laughter and electricity.
“Ready to get your ass kicked? Again.” Caitlin’s eyes gleamed with the challenge as she waved the plastic yellow card, preloaded with credits and ready to play. She was just full of surprises tonight.
“Have you forgotten how many times I beat you back in the day?” Gemma shot back.
Gemma knew that Caitlin had always been better at this game than she was—Caitlin may have even let her win a few times, if she was being honest—but she could never resist a little flirty competition.
“Huh, I don’t remember it like that. I guess you’ll just have to remind me,” Caitlin said as she loaded the credits onto the machine.
