Chapter 20
Birthday Wish
Ciara
“Ciarán, Ciarán,” I call as I get downstairs.
The sound of a TV blaring leads me to a room up the glass stairs on the second floor. I get to the room to find my little brother lying on a bed with his shoes off and PJs on as he watches the huge TV mounted on the wall.
“What are you doing? Where are your clothes?”
“I was fading. Taegan told me this is my room. I took a shower and got ready for bed.” He gives me a huge, sleepy smile. “I had so much fun. This was the best birthday ever.
“The arcade was so cool, and I got a ton of clothes at the mall. I even got that tablet I was looking at. Where’s Dylan? I want to thank him for the boxing gloves and all the other cool stuff.”
My head is reeling. I thought Taegan was taking him for ice cream. The arcade? The mall?
“He’s um … I don’t know. You should get dressed so we can go home.”
“Aw, man. Come on, this bed is so comfortable. Come sit, see for yourself. I don’t want to leave,” he whines.
“Ciarán, we can’t stay here,” I huff, but walk over to the bed to sit on the edge.
I roll my eyes because the mattress is comfortable. Ciarán gives me a smile as if to say I told you so. I reach to pinch him.
“Is he your boyfriend?” he whispers, glancing at the doorway.
“Would that make you mad?”
“Absolutely not. You take such good care of me. You always have, but you don’t do things other sisters do.
“I want to see you happy. I want to see you go on dates and get pretty to go hang with friends. Sometimes, I feel like you’re not living the way you should and it’s all my fault.
“I appreciate everything you do for me, but you’re an adult. You should do normal adult things. Please, Cee. My birthday wish is for you to be happy.
“Dylan seems to really like you. It’s okay to let him be your boyfriend. Look at all he’s done for me for my birthday. I think he’ll be good to you. And if he’s not, I’ll kick his butt,” he says and gives me that smile I love so much.
“Oh my God, Ciarán. Nothing is your fault. All I do is for you and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
He yawns. “Okay, so we can stay? This bed is calling my name.”
Grr. I look around. There are a ton of bags in the corner. This man has given my brother his own room.
I shake my head and turn to tell Ciarán maybe next time. However, he’s fast asleep when I look back at him. I snicker to myself and bite my lip.
“Good night. Glad you had a great birthday, kid,” I say and run my head over his hair as I lean in to kiss his forehead.
I kick my shoes off and get ready to climb into the bed next to him. Movement by the door catches my attention. I turn to find Dylan standing there watching me.
He crooks his finger to beckon me to him. I glance at Ciarán then back at him. With a sigh, I pad to the door.
“There are three other guest rooms for you to choose from, or you can spend the night in my room.”
I bite my lip and look up at him through my lashes. The heated look in his eyes tells me to go find one of those guestrooms, but something in the back of my mind screams for something else entirely.
“I don’t have anything to sleep in. I should sleep in my own room.”
“You’re welcome to wear anything of mine. Besides, I thought we could talk some more. You say I might not like who you’ve become.
“Let’s get to know each other. I know how this ends, Ciara. Allow me to get you there with me.”
I think of Ciarán. I never thought he felt like I don’t have a life because of him. It breaks my heart because I’ve never thought twice about taking care of him. His words ring in my ears.
Please, Cee. My birthday wish is for you to be happy.
“Okay, Dylan. Okay,” I say and place my hand in his.
He squeezes my fingers. Then we walk nearly across the apartment, leaving me to wonder how big this place really is. We walk through a set of double doors, and the huge king-size bed comes into view.
My heart rate picks up. Everything is moving so fast. What if we hate each other?
“Stop overthinking. The bathroom is over there. I’ll get you one of my shirts. We’re not going to do anything you don’t want.”
“Um, okay. Right.”
The problem is, I can’t say this isn’t something I want. There’s this energy surrounding us. I couldn’t deny it if I wanted to.
Before I change my mind, I rush off to the bathroom to hop in the shower. Once behind the closed door, I start to freak out. This is the first time I’ve ever considered losing my virginity.
I glance at the time on my phone. It’s almost midnight. I can stay in here freaking out, or I can shower and grow a pair.
“Ciarán is right. I’m an adult, I’m an adult, I’m an adult,” I repeat to myself as I try to calm down. “Well, fuck, if you’re an adult then act like it.”
Looking in the mirror, I chide myself. I frown as I look at my braids. They’re already fuzzy from Dylan and Daliah not knowing to cover them when they put me in bed last night.
Leaving them for now, I undress and climb into the shower. Reaching for his bodywash, I then sniff it. That’s part of his amazing scent. I smile like a goofball as reality sets in.
Excitedly, I make quick work of my shower and hop out to dry off and take my braids down. When my hair is free, I run my hands through it. I can’t help wondering what Dylan will think.
Shaking my thoughts off, I then grab a towel to wrap myself in. I have nothing else to help me stall. I shrug and gather my things to hold to my chest as I exit the bathroom.
I step out to find Dylan in a pair of sleep pants as he stands by a chest of drawers. Music is flowing softly through the room and candles are lit. I begin to chew on my lip as I shift from foot to foot.
He turns to face me, holding out a T-shirt. “I thought I had some old shirts that shrank in the wash. I can’t seem to find any of them. Here, you can have this one. I’ll take all of that.”
I move to take the shirt from him. A blush comes to my cheeks as I drop my gaze to below his waist. My mouth falls open as I see the bulge and print his dick makes beneath the thin fabric.
I quickly lift my gaze and grab the shirt he’s holding out as my face heats. He grins as he takes my things from my grasp and turns to place them in the accent chair in the corner. I bite my lip as I check out his tight ass.
When he turns back to me, he catches my eyes on him. I feel like such a creep. I made a fuss about spending the night, but he’s just busted me ogling him not once but twice in the last two minutes.
Seeing I haven’t placed the shirt on yet, he turns his back again and allows me to slip it on. Then I drop the towel I have beneath. I clear my throat after picking up the towel and go over to tap him on the shoulder. He turns to me with a heated look in his eyes.
Tossing the towel over my shoulder, I cross my legs at my ankles and clasp my hands in front of me. Dylan closes the small distance between us and lifts a lock of my hair in his hand. A smile comes to his lips as his gaze searches my face.
“What?”
“Now you look more like my little buddy,” he murmurs.
“Is that a good thing?”
“You’re gorgeous either way. I was a little taken aback to see it in those loose waves when you first came to the gym, but I knew it was you.”
“I had it cut before we left San Diego. I wanted to keep up with the maintenance for my job interview, so I went for a trim and had it blown out and put in waves,” I ramble.
His brows knit. “You were in San Diego?”
“Yeah, we lived there for a year. That’s where I ran to. Theo seems to be scared of someone who lives there. I thought it would be the safest place to be.”
“It was you. You were the girl in the bar. I thought I was dreaming or making shit up in my head. That was you and Daliah.”
I gasp. “The guy before the fight broke out.”
He nods. I look down at my feet as I try to process this. As my mind pieces it all together, he tugs me into him and holds me close. I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight.
This feels like where I belong. I can’t deny the fact that it seems like fate has been pulling us together. Running my hands up his smooth back, I pull away and look into his eyes.
“Come, let’s get into bed so you can tell me who you are now. We can play twenty-one questions.” He gives a little smirk.
Dylan
“Wow, I can’t believe you remember so much about me. I mean, some of that stuff I didn’t remember until you said it,” Ciara says from where she’s lying on her back.
We’ve been up talking for hours. It’s been so easy and effortless to fall back into our friendship. I’ve been lost in the sound of her voice a few times.
Like now, I’m sitting with my head back as I lean against the headboard with my eyes closed and my arms folded across my chest, her voice bringing a sense of peace to the room.
Her words cause me to laugh and open my eyes to turn and look down at her.
She has her eyes closed with a smile on her face.
“I remember more than you know. You were my best friend,” I say.
“I wish I could remember everything. Like, did I change after the accident, or am I still me? Do you know what I mean?”
I can’t imagine what this must be like for her. I’m happy I can trigger so many memories for her, but the really important stuff isn’t coming back as easily, like what happened to her father.
While that’s frustrating me, I’m happy to hear the hopeful sound in her voice. She’s the most relaxed I’ve seen her since she walked into my gym.
“Yeah, I do. Let me see something,” I say and move to find the spot I know she’s most ticklish in.
I find it right away and she begins to squeal and laugh just as I remember. It’s music to my ears. I begin to laugh with her.
“Dylan, oh my God, please stop,” she gasps as I tickle her.
“That squeal is priceless. You haven’t changed as much as you think,” I breathe into her ear through my laughter.