Indulge

by Liv Morris

  Home.

  “You’re welcome, Angel.” I hand her some food as we lean back against the headboard and eat our dinner. I want to ask her how her day was, but I know it wasn’t good. I want to ask her if she even got out of bed today, but I know she didn’t.

  I just want her to relax tonight.

  “Happy birthday.”

  I feel Slade’s breath on my neck, and I turn around to face him. The smile drops off his face. I know I have a blank look on my face, but it’s better than crying, right?

  He reaches up, running his knuckles against my cheek. He sighs, and it makes me feel bad. It should be a happy birthday. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with him. I give him a small smile.

  “It is now,” I whisper. He smiles and sits up, pushing the covers off of him. “Where are you going?”

  He doesn’t answer as he walks out of the room. I sit up and stretch my body. I didn’t sleep very well, and spent most of the night tossing and turning.

  Slade walks in with his right arm stretched out to the side, holding a square box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. My brows scrunch together. “You shouldn’t have bought me anything.”

  “Well, I did. And yes, it’s Christmas wrapping paper. Sorry, it was all I had.” He laughs as he places the box on the bed, then takes a few steps back.

  “Are you okay?” It looks like he’s scared of the box. “Is there a lizard or a snake that’s going to pop out when I open it?” I look at the box, then to him.

  “I wish.” He runs a hand through his hair. I giggle as I watch him eye the box like it is a bomb about to explode. I reach over and pick it up.

  “I love the wrapping job,” I laugh. It’s like he just rolled the box and then taped the paper on the ends. He remains quiet and away from the bed as I tear the paper off. Once the paper is gone, and I see the box, I look up at him in astonishment. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “How did you know about these?”

  “Holly called me, told me you wanted them.” He shrugs. “So, I went and got them.” He looks at me and smiles.

  I squeal like a school girl, then rip the lid off of the box and tear through the bubble wrap like a kid on Christmas morning. They are the hottest pair of heels I have ever seen. They are six inch black high heels with a round toe. The round toe is covered in black leather with silver spikes that vary in length and sizes. Running up the back of the heel are little spikes that are all short in length.

  I look up at him and my smile is so wide that my cheeks hurt. “Thank you. I love them!”

  His face and shoulders fall. “Those are really the ones you wanted?”

  I nod my head excitedly.

  “I was hoping it was a mistake,” he whines like a little boy, making me smile even more.

  “Why?” I laugh.

  He points a finger at them while his eyes bulge out looking at me. “Look at those! The next fight we get into, I can just see you kicking me in the balls. Or you could throw them at my head.” He says it with the upmost serious face I have ever seen, and I burst out laughing at him. I can’t help it. I fall back on the bed laughing so hard that tears falls down my cheeks. He gets on the bed and straddles me. He still has that serious look on his face.

  “I could wear them only during sex.” There’s no way I will only wear them during sex.

  I don’t think he could look any more scared, but I was wrong as his face pales a bit. “You could stab me in the leg or the ass.”

  “Great sex leaves marks.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

  He grabs my arms and holds them down by my head. “Well, I guess I could tie each ankle to a bed post. Yeah,” he nods his head. “That way you can wear them and they won’t kill me.” He smiles. “I like them already.”

  “Chicken,” I whisper as his face comes down to mine.

  He smiles then his lips are on mine, kissing me hard.

  “Thank you baby, I love them,” I say as he pulls away.

  “Happy birthday, Angel.” He places the box on the floor, then digs around in his night stand. He finds what he’s looking for and places the condom beside me on the bed as he settles his face between my legs, once again showing me I am going to have one hell of a good birthday.

  After Slade leaves for work, I find myself standing in his kitchen with my phone in one hand and a check in the other. I look on the kitchen counter and see the flowers Slade got me, and they make me smile. He made my day when he brought me flowers. I had never been given flowers by any man except my dad. It warms my heart.

  I look back down at my phone and take a deep breath, pressing send. I need to get this over with. I feel a pain in my chest when the answer machine picks up. Even after all this time, I still have hope that she will answer.

  “Hey, Mom. I hope everything is going well. I miss you. If you get time, I would like to hear from you. Hope you have a good week. I love you.”

  I hang up, and stare at the counter. I don’t know why I continue to call her on my birthday. Maybe it’s that every year on this day, I hope she will take pity on me and answer. I don’t know why I’m still depressed about it. You would think I would be used to it by now.

  My phone rings, and for a second my heart beats faster, thinking it’s my mom returning my call, but I see it’s Vivian and smile.

  “Hello, Vivian,” I greet her as I walk out of the kitchen to go get dressed for the day.

  “Good morning, honey,” she says cheerfully. “Happy birthday!” She is always in a great mood. It’s infectious.

  “Thank you.” I open a drawer to get my underwear. I was so surprised when Slade made room for my stuff. He continues to treat me great.

  “So, I wanted to have a girl’s day. I want to take you and Holly to the spa, then come back to the house so we can all get ready together for your dinner tonight. I mean, if you want to. It’s your day.”

  “That sounds like a fantastic idea, Vivian. Thank you.” I walk in the closet and pull out my dress that I bought to wear tonight, along with the matching purse and heels.

  “Awesome. You girls want to meet over here at, say, twelve?”

  “That will be perfect.”

  “Okay, see you then.”

  After she hangs up, I sit on the bed and take a deep breath. I still hold the check in my hand that I need to put in the mailbox. I can’t help but wonder if this is how the rest of my life will be. Will I never talk to my mother again? Ever?

  I have to quit thinking about it. I’m no longer alone. I have a great boyfriend who always makes me feel special and wanted, and I have some great friends who want to spend the day with me.

  I stand up. Today is my day. I’m going to have fun, and probably end up drunk!, while hanging out with the ones I love. The ones who actually want to spend time with me.

  I get dressed and grab the check along with my purse, then start to walk out the front door.

  “Crap!”

  I run right in to Holly as I’m walking out the door.

  “Sorry,” she laughs. “Where were you going in such a hurry?”

  “I was on my way out to the mailbox.”

  “Well, Vivian called me and said you were happy about our girl’s day. I figured I’d just come get you. That way, you and Slade won’t have two vehicles at his parents’ tonight.” She walks inside the house.

  “Good idea, but what are you doing? Let’s go.”

  She puts her hands on her hips. “Where’s your dress? Purse? Heels? We’re not going to come back here. After the spa, we’re going to get ready at The Long’s house. We’ll drink wine and visit until the guys show up.”

  “Crap.” I shake my head. “Sorry, I’m not thinking very clearly today.”

  She gives me a sad look. I know she thinks it has to do with my mother, and honestly, it does. I walk back towards the bedroom.

  “Don’t forget your makeup!” she yells to me from the hallway while I’m in the bedroom.

  Geez, I would have forgotten that. I stop what I’m doing and close my eyes. Com
e on, Sam, you’ve got to get it together. I release a breath and open my eyes with a clear vision. For the first time in four years, I find myself smiling again on my birthday.

  The day has been amazing. I have never felt so pampered in all my life. My skin is as soft as a baby from my head to my toes, and I feel like I’m practically glowing with the beautiful spray tan Holly talked me into. I prefer to lie out in the sun, or lay in a tanning bed so that I don’t look orange, but there is nothing orange about me right now. It looks like I’ve been out in the tropic sun for hours. Perfect. My nails and toes are painted a soft pretty pink color to match my dress, and my hair has been professionally washed, dried and curled in huge curls just how I like it. They even gave it a bit more lift at the crown than I usually do. It looks amazing.

  The three of us are now in Vivian’s huge bathroom, the size of my entire house!, doing our makeup before we get dressed.

  “Here, girls,” Vivian says as she walks in the bathroom with three empty wine glasses in one hand, and a bottle of wine in the other.

  I laugh. “Slade will get mad if I’m drunk before we even leave to go out.”

  “That’s one of the things I love about you, darling,” she says as she fills a wine glass extra full and hands it to me.

  “What’s that?”

  “That you do whatever you want, and not what my son wants.” I feel a big smile creep across my face.

  “Well, I’ve never been one to do what others want me to do.”

  All three of us laugh, and Vivian raises her glass. “To Samantha on her birthday. I had a great day with you two girls. We should make it a tradition and do it once a month.” I know what she’s doing, she’s wants me to feel wanted, a part of this family, and I find myself still smiling. The thought of having a girl’s day once a month makes me happy. “Happy birthday, Samantha.”

  We clink our glasses and take a long drink of our wine.

  “Thanks, girls. Today has been….” I pause to take a deep breath. It’s hard to comprehend how these people could love me so much after not knowing me for very long. “Wonderful. I had a great day with you girls today, and I would love to have a girl’s day once a month.”

  They both give me a hug.

  “Enough of this mushy stuff. Let’s get drunk while we get ready,” Holly says, making me laugh.

  “I agree with that.”

  We lift up our glasses and take another drink.

  We get to work on doing our makeup. I look over at the two women who have become very important in my life and I vow that I will still see them and treat them as my family when Slade decides to walk away from me.

  Vivian walks up behind me while I look in the mirror. “That dress is gorgeous.”

  “Thank you. It took us three hours to find one I liked.” The top part is V-shaped in thin, baby pink material, along with the bottom half. The skirt is very short, but it flows out and curls a tiny bit at the ends. The top and bottom are separated by a thick silver sequence band of material that wraps all the way around to the back where it ties into a bow. The back also has the silver material that crisscrosses over my shoulder blades. I have a silver matching purse, along with a pair of six inch silver glittery pair of open toe high heels on.

  “Slade is going to have a heart attack. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides not to take you out. He won’t want anyone seeing you but himself,” Holly laughs. She is already pretty tipsy. Actually, we all are. Even Vivian.

  “Yes, I agree with that,” Vivian says to Holly as we all take a drink.

  “Hello.” There’s a knock at the door as Mark comes through. “Wow. You girls look beautiful.” I watch him as his eyes gaze at his wife up and down. You can see how much he loves her.

  He reminds me of Slade. They have the same blue eyes and dark spiky hair, and they both have that panty dropping smile. I bet the girls went crazy over him. Vivian is giving him a very hot ‘come and get me look’. She does look breathtaking in her low cut, floor length black dress that ties around her neck.

  I look over to Holly who is wearing a gray dress that is just as short as mine. It is form fitting with a heart shape top and a white jewel that hangs between her breasts.

  Micah is going to have a cow.

  Mark clears his throat. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know the guys are here. We’ll be downstairs waiting on you beautiful ladies.”

  He closes the door and we all start laughing.

  “Damn, that man still gets me hot and bothered,” Vivian says as she downs the rest of her wine.

  Holly and I laugh. “Well I think it’s safe to say you do the same to him,” I say as I take a drink of my wine.

  “You have no idea.” She winks at us.

  It’s time to get out of this room and down to the guys before we start having a conversation I really don’t want to have.

  “Is everyone ready?” I ask as I pick up my purse off the dresser.

  “Yep.” Holly giggles.

  “Yes.”

  I take a deep breath and open the door. “You two go ahead. I’m going to use the restroom real quick. I’ll be right behind you.” I need a few moments alone.

  I walk out of the bedroom and stop at the end of the hall. I peek around the corner to get a glimpse of Slade.

  I shake my head smiling. He is unbelievably sexy. He has on a dark pair of jeans with a dark gray button up shirt, and the sleeves are rolled up, showing me his forearms. I look away, leaning back against the wall in the hallway, taking in a deep breath.

  I can do this.

  These people have become my family, and they want to show me what a birthday is supposed to be like.

  I close my eyes and start to count to ten.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The three of us are standing around, talking to my dad in the living room, when Micah speaks.

  “Wow. You look beautiful, babe.” We all turn to watch Holly and my mom walk into the living room.

  “Where’s Angel?”

  “She will be right out,” my mom says, then laughs.

  Is my mom drunk? Fantastic. Which means Angel is probably drunk. We will have to cut the night short. It is her birthday though, so whatever she wants to do is fine….

  “Hey, baby.”

  I was so busy thinking about tonight that I didn’t even hear her walk up behind me. I turn around to face her, and I think my heart stops. She is breathtakingly gorgeous.

  “Angel,” I breathe, “you look…stunning.” Even that word doesn’t come close to explaining how magnificent she looks.

  She spins around once to show me all of her dress. “You like it?” She nibbles on her perfectly pink lip glossed lip.

  “I love it.”

  I go to put my hand in her hair so I can bring her to kiss me, but stop myself. For the first time since I’ve seen her, I don’t want to run my hands through her hair. It looks perfect, she looks perfect, and I don’t want to mess anything up.

  She wraps her arms around my stomach and steps up to me. She brings her lips to mine, but I pull my head back.

  “You don’t want to kiss me?” she says, the shock evident in her voice.

  “I don’t want to mess up your hair or lipstick, Angel. You look too gorgeous to even touch,” I whisper.

  “Baby,” she giggles, “It’s just makeup. I can fix it. Plus, you’ve already seen me, and you’re the only one I want to look good for. I don’t care what I look like for anyone else. Now, kiss me.”

  I slip my hand in her soft curls, and hold it gently as I tilt her head back. I bring my lips to hers, giving her a sweet tender kiss with just our lips. I feel her tongue run the length of my upper lip, and I moan as I open up my mouth for her. She takes my upper lip into her mouth and nibbles on it.

  I wrap my other hand around her back, pulling her body as close to mine as I can. I hold her head steady with the hand in her hair as my tongue explores her mouth. She tastes so good. Her lip gloss tastes like bubblegum and sweet wine lingers on her tongue. Our
tongues continue to do a soft and sensual dance as I hold her to me.

  She slows the kiss down, and I pull away. “See. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She lifts an eyebrow.

  “Angel,” I sigh as I place my forehead on hers. She has no idea what she does to me. I love this woman with everything I am. She is going to drive me mad.

  “Are you guys going to join us?”

  I pull away from Angel to look back over my shoulder. Josh is standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, and a huge smile plastered on his face.

  “Of course,” Angel answers cheerfully and walks away from me, heading to the dining room.

  “Thanks,” I nod my head to Josh. I was about to tell her I loved her. And it would have ruined her birthday...probably.

  “No problem. Come on, let’s go drink to your girl on her birthday.” He slaps me on the back as we follow Angel.

  I smile as I walk into the dining room and see Angel smiling and visiting with everyone. We laugh and tell stories of our childhood while we eat dinner. And of course, the girls turn the conversation into another wedding planning event. Poor Micah. Every time Mom or Angel mentions something, I watch his eyes get bigger and bigger.

  Once we finish eating, my mom brings out a red velvet cake.

  “Happy birthday!”

  My mom starts singing as we all follow along. Angel has the biggest smile on her face. She has had several glasses of wine since we sat down to eat dinner. I have no idea how many she had before that. Every two minutes, my mom is asking to refill her glass. She doesn’t like drinking alone, and usually Angel downs her wine, but tonight she’s sipping it.

  My mom places the cake in front of her as we all sing happy birthday to her. Angel closes her eyes for a few seconds, then opens them and blows out the candles. Everyone claps and hollers. I pull her face to mine and give her a little kiss.

  “Happy birthday, Angel.” I look into her green eyes, and I can tell they are starting to get heavy. I laugh.

  She pulls away from me, laughing as well. “I just want to say thanks to everyone for making this day the best birthday I have ever had. You all mean so much to me and I consider you all family.” She starts to get a bit choked up. “I don’t know what I would do without all of you.” She reaches for her wine glass and downs what little bit was left in it.