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Silence stretched just long enough for Ali to imagine Charlotte’s brow knitting, gears turning.

“…Do you?” Charlotte asked, curious but hopeful.

“Yes, I do.” Ali waited a moment. “With you.”

Charlotte let out a relieved huff. “You are aware of what your teasing does to me, yes?”

A dark chuckle rippled in Ali’s chest. “What does it do to you, Charlotte?”

Another huff filtered through the line, further tickling the edges of her humor.

“You have forty-five minutes to be ready,” Charlotte said in a crisp command before her voice softened to silk. “Comfortable but cute attire. I’ll see you soon, Lina.”

Something in the way Charlotte’s mouth seemed to wrap around the nickname sent a shiver down her spine and had butterflies flapping in her stomach.

A nickname only Charlotte used. Ali added another tick mark to the column of decidedly not fake-girlfriend behavior.

To say Ali never appreciated her birthday would be an understatement. Never one to watch the day approach with anticipation. Dread was a stretch, she just never expected much of anything. Because nothing exciting or different ever happened.

But this year was different.

Charlotte eased her into the celebration on her birthday eve. First stop, bowling. Ali hardly noticed she was demolished on the scoreboard, too busy attempting chaotic trick shots, cackling when they worked, and devouring greasy concession-stand food.

Next came the movies. Charlotte bought her the largest popcorn available with a subtle warning she was eating her way toward a stomach ache. Ali ignored her, vowing her stomach was made of steel. It wasn’t, confirmed by the moment Charlotte wordlessly fished an antacid from her purse, commenting on the woes of getting old.

Once recovered, ice cream was obtained. Followed by a second dessert which took place in her bed, well into the night.

Charlotte was the first to wish her happy birthday, breath warm against her thighs as she kissed her way up Ali’s body, settling over her, and pressing kisses flavored with Ali’s essence to her lips.

Ali smiled into it.

For the first time in years, she believed it might be the best birthday she ever had.

Lilah kicked off a rush of text messages as nearly everyone she loved sent their wishes. Natasha sent paragraphs about all the things she appreciated about Ali.

By the time Wren FaceTimed her, strumming her guitar and singing to her while Charlotte joined in, her smooth alto voice sending goosebumps skittering across her skin. Ali’s eyes burned.

“I feel so loved,” Ali whispered, dew gathering on her lashes as Willow hopped up on the bed, chirping her own salutations.

Charlotte wrapped around her from behind, warm and certain, kissing the hollow just beneath her ear.

“That’s because you are.”

Brunch came the next morning with Charlotte’s immediate family, all of whom arrived bearing gifts. Lilah gave her about five and watched Ali open them, noting which she seemed to enjoy the most, claiming it was “research for Christmas.”

Afterward, Lizzie and Lilah tagged along to a nearby record store, where Ali unearthed several new gems for her ever-growing collection. Naturally, Charlotte insisted on buying every single one. The four of them wandered through different shops for a little while, searching for treasures.

“Charlotte,” Ali chided when Charlotte plucked an antique vase from her hands. A piece she admired for three seconds too long. “Just because you can buy me everything doesn’t mean you should.”

Her eagerness to downright spoil Ali wasn’t fake-girlfriend behavior, or friends with benefits. Was it?

“True,” Charlotte conceded. “However, I think you need it.” She held the vase just out of reach.

“Where would I even put it?” Ali lunged for it again as Charlotte shifted left, anticipating the move.

“Bathroom counter. Windowsill in your room, or even the TV stand. It would look beautiful anywhere.”

Ali couldn’t argue, it would look nice in any of those places.