by Dani Lovell
"Baby, you better get used to it, we haven't even gotten started yet."
"Oh, Daniel, thank you so much!" I grab him and hug him close, showering his face with kisses.
"How did you know?"
"I asked Tilly to send me an email of the things you wanted on Rodeo Drive so I could pick something I knew you wanted, remember you told me you loved a bunch of things on your shopping trip? Well, when I searched it all out, this really stood out. I like it a lot."
"Oh, you have gone to so much trouble for me, thank you so much."
"Nothing is too much for you, baby. Now, go try it on."
I hop out of bed excitedly, ready to try it on as Daniel slips out, I presume to get his tea or something.
As I do the zip up, I look in my full length mirror and squeal with excitement, it is gorgeous and fits perfectly.
"Got it on, baby?" Daniel calls.
"Yes! Come and see!" I sing back excitedly, and Daniel strolls back in with another beautifully wrapped gift in his hands.
"Wow, you look sexy as hell in that, I can see why you like it so much." He strolls over and wraps his arm around me from behind. Looking in the mirror, he kisses my neck and hands me the other gift.
"Another one? This really is so much, thank you, you didn't need to go to so much trouble."
"Shh, baby. Open it."
I turn and kiss him on the cheek before I place the gift on the bed and unwrap it. The tell-tale Valentino shoe box gives it away and I immediately gasp, knowing what's inside. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel...oh my god." I open the box and swoon at the beautiful, matching, rock stud sling backs. I cradle one to my chest as I turn and gaze at him.
"You gotta have the matching shoes, huh, baby?"
"You are amazing, thank you so much darling. Thank you, thank you, thank you, I absolutely love them!"
He chuckles. "Try them on, I hope they fit." They are, of course, perfect.
"Wow, this is my favourite outfit of all time, thank you so much."
"You look stunning, sweetheart. And stop thanking me. I'm your boyfriend, this is what boyfriends do."
"Really? Well, my previous boyfriends have been seriously lacking then, because this is definitely a first for me. You really are incredible."
"Nonsense," he says, nonchalantly.
I turn and take another look in the mirror, another excited squeal escapes me and my face starts to ache from the constant smiling.
"Why don't you take it off and get ready, sweetheart, then we can start the next part of your day. Unless you'd like to go back to bed?" he says with no sexual connotation whatsoever, he's just being sweet and offering me more of a lie in.
I stroll over to him leisurely and wrap my arms around his neck, brushing my lips against his and pressing my body right up against him. "I think maybe we should go back to bed for a bit and then we can get ready in a little while, what do you say?"
His grin is hot, as is the feel of his warm tongue as it slowly runs across my bottom lip. "You might be onto something there."
An hour later, Daniel and I have bathed together and are getting ready for the rest of the day, when there is a knock at the door. I wonder who that is, I didn't buzz anyone in? As I open the door, the concierge greets me with a huge bunch of beautiful white roses.
"Oh wow! Thank you."
"Happy birthday, Miss Hart," he says and rushes off, leaving me in the doorway holding two dozen roses.
Daniel walks over and kisses me. "Happy birthday, again, baby."
"Are these from you? They are so beautiful!"
"I hope they're from me, who else would be sending you roses?" he asks jovially.
"Of course, nobody, thank you. I love white roses."
"Good. I chose white because I remembered the flowers at Gemma and Jay's pool-house were white roses, I thought I'd give you a little déjà-vu. Also..." he continues as he closes the front door and casually puts his hands on my hips, "white roses apparently symbolise sincerity and a love stronger than death. And as much as I hate to bring death into the equation today," he pulls a comical, awkward face, making me giggle, "I love you to death, baby."
I tilt my head and hold back the tears through a genuinely joyful smile. "I love you to death, too. I have honestly never been so spoilt. Thank you."
"Ok, sweetheart, the thank yous have to stop now, ok? It's getting old, I get it."
I laugh and kiss his gorgeous lips before placing the beautiful flowers in a vase, in centre place on the lounge coffee table.
"Now, this is what you need to do next, baby."
I look at Daniel, intrigued. "Ok?"
"You need to pack an overnight bag, you'll need an outfit for dinner and our night out tonight, clothes for tomorrow, toiletries etc. I'm just going to make a call to work to check on the progress of their agenda today, I won't be long, I'll be done by the time you're finished. Can you be ready in, say, twenty minutes?"
"Yes, fine... where are we going?"
"Surprise, sweetheart. Ok, twenty minutes... ready, set, go!"
Fifteen minutes later, I'm standing by my overnight case, packing my make-up bag, when an overjoyed-looking Daniel appears at the doorframe. "Nearly ready, love-of-my-life?"
I laugh at his endearing, playful happiness. "Yes, just putting these last bits in. You're happy?"
"I am, life is good, work is good, I love you, you love me... what's not to be happy about?"
I smile and do a damn good job of hiding the one thing that sticks right out like a sore thumb, the one thing not to be happy about. It tarnishes everything and as much of an ungrateful bitch as I feel right now, considering all of the amazing, wonderful things Daniel has organised for me, I still can't forget it.
I wish I could, I wish I could spend this incredible day without a single negative thought... but I just can't. He's still going home next week and I will still feel like someone has ripped my heart out and ground it to a pulp. "Nothing, Daniel," I say with a convincing smile plastered across my face. I am happy, I am having a wonderful day. I will try my god damned hardest to ignore the elephant in the room, just like he is. It's the least I can do.
"Great, what can I take out to the car for you?"
"I hand him the dress bag containing my gorgeous new outfit that there's no doubt I'll be wearing tonight, and the Valentino shoe box. "I can take my case and handbag."
"Ok, let's go."
As we step outside, I see Daniel's driver waiting for us. He's exactly what you expect to see in a movie, an oldish, greying chap in a crisp uniform and chauffeur cap, standing next to the car, awaiting our arrival.
"I wasn't expecting this, Daniel."
"No? Well, it's a bit easier."
"I'm not complaining, it's wonderful!"
"Good. Enjoy it," he says with a loving smile as we walk towards the vehicle.
"Mr. Berkeley, Miss Hart. May I wish you a very happy birthday madam."
"Oh, thank you so much!" I gush, totally thrown by how important the driver is making me feel.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable," he says as he takes my bag and gestures towards the inside of the car.
I step inside, closely followed by Daniel who pops open a bottle of bubbly and pours a glass. "Here, baby," he hands me the glass and pours his own before returning the bottle to its allocated space. "Here's to you on your birthday."
"Thank you Daniel, here's to us on my birthday."
"To us, cheers, baby." We take a sip and the driver pulls away.
"I feel like a princess, you're really spoiling me."
"It's really nothing more than you deserve, sweetheart. I'm enjoying every second of it."
"Well, thank you. I'm having such a fabulous day already. So, where are we off to?"
"Ok, first stop; your parents place." What?
"My parents’ house? What? Huh?"
Daniel laughs at my obvious confusion and clutches my hand. "You can't not see your mom on your birthday, baby, so I arranged to meet with your parents for lunch. I
offered to take us all out but your mom said 'nonsense'," Daniel reverts to a British accent for the impression of my mother, "she said that she'd like to prepare something for us all to eat at the family home. I agreed with her that that would be a whole lot more personal and enjoyable. I can't wait to meet her, and your dad."
I'm thoroughly confused. "Ok, hang on, what? How have you been in contact with my mum?"
"I texted Tilly on Wednesday and asked for their number. She's helped me out so much. I hope that's ok? I thought it would be nice to surprise you?"
"Oh Daniel, of course it's ok, I'm just confused by how this has gone on without me knowing... so you've actually had a conversation with my mum?"
"Yes, and your dad, I introduced myself. Tilly said they knew about me so I guessed it was ok. They seem pretty cool!"
"Well, yes, they are cool... I'm still in a bit of shock about this."
"Did I do bad, baby?" he says with an adorable pout and I giggle, squeezing his hand.
"Not at all, darling, my parents are great, I'm happy that you've spoken to them. So... are we sleeping at their house?" I ask, wondering how on earth that would be better than staying at my own apartment where it's just the two of us, where we can actually have sex and make noise.
Daniel can clearly read my mind and laughs out loud. "No, no of course not, baby, I do want to have more birthday sex with you later, you know. No, we're going somewhere else later. You'll see."
"O-k?" I say with a confused smile on my face.
"You'll like it."
"I have no doubt that I will." I snuggle into his side and reach my head up to kiss him. His hand slowly tucks under my hair and cups the side of my face as our lips linger, his tongue slowly brushing at my lips until I stroke it with mine, and the kiss becomes more powerful.
I moan as the familiar buzz runs down between my legs and I suddenly need him, urgently, I need to feel him inside me, again. My moans become desperate, our tongues entwined, our lips caressing. Without breaking away, I slide my far leg over Daniels lap and move over to straddle him. He smiles into the kiss and slides his free hand over my bottom, pulling me further towards him, against his erection. I break away to take a sip of my champagne and before I swallow, I clamp my lips against his again and release some of the champagne into his mouth. Daniel groans loudly and rocks my hips against him with his hand.
"Mmm, that's good, baby. I want to make love to you so badly."
"Uh huh..." I rock myself against him, feeling that tingle, the clenching inside.
"We're going to be at your folks soon, huh?" he asks against my lips.
"Yeah, fairly soon..." I cup his face in my hand and lock eyes with him. "Make me come, Daniel," I mumble, demandingly between soft kisses, still grinding in his lap.
"Oh god, baby, I love it when you're naughty," he whispers into my ear.
"Can he see us?" I ask breathlessly into his ear, referring to the driver.
"Nuh uh, he can't see a thing," he says as he unbuttons my jeans and slips his hand inside.
"Oh, god, yeah, there." I moan quietly as he hits the spot immediately and I continue to rock against his fingers. He moves down and pushes two inside me, pressing his palm against my clit.
"Oh fuck, uh huh."
"Come on, baby, come for me, let me feel it. You're so wet, baby, I wish it was my cock you were riding, I'm so fucking hard it hurts." And that just about sends me over the edge, I rock harder, throwing my head back, clutching onto his neck with one hand, my champagne glass in the other. I try to contain my moans but it becomes more and more difficult with each wave building higher and higher, rocking faster, harder against his hand, his fingers pushing deeper inside me. I bring my head back up to his and press my lips against his as the waves crash down and the sharp spasms shoot through me, pulsating around his fingers, the incredible pleasure coursing through my body.
"Jesus, baby, you're holding me so tight..."
"Oh..." I moan, high pitched, as the orgasm starts to fade and I become aware of my surroundings again. "Daniel," I breathe as I roll my head before bringing it back to his, "you're the only one who can make me come so hard. Every single time." I say with a lazy grin against his mouth and he chuckles, his chest rumbling against me.
"Are you ready to straighten out before we get there or you still coming down from the big 'O'?" he asks, kissing my face all over.
I giggle and open my eyes finally. "I'm ready, I'm surprised we're not here already," I say as Daniel slowly takes his hand back and I look out through the window. "We're just turning into their road now."
I straighten myself out and we soon pull up outside the house. Daniel knocks on the partition between us and the driver, and has a quick chat. The next thing I know, Daniel has wet wipes and hand sanitizer passed to him through the magic hatch. Thank god. The thought of Daniel shaking my dad's hand after... oh god I don't even want to think about it.
As our driver opens the door for us and we step out, my parents are both waiting at their front door with open arms. "Happy birthday my sweetheart," my mum says with a huge smile as she pulls me into her arms. "And Daniel, such a pleasure to finally meet you, we've heard so much about you from Beatrice and Tilly, and it was lovely to chat to you on the phone. We're thrilled we can finally meet you, aren't we Ed?"
"Absolutely, come in. Let me get you both a drink before we sit down to lunch," Dad says as he reaches out a hand to shake Daniel's.
~~~~~~~
Lunch with Daniel and my parents was great. My dad seems to think the sun shines out of Daniel's backside, and that he's the perfect man for me, even with the distance between us. Mum chatted away about me as a baby and little girl, and Daniel seemed to be really enjoying the conversation, squeezing my hand every time he thought one of the stories was cute.
I helped Mum take the dishes into the kitchen, leaving Dad with his new BFF, and we had a chat about everything. She thinks Daniel is wonderful, he clearly made a great impression on everybody, which is neither here nor there really, given our situation. I just know all future boyfriends will forever be compared to 'perfect Daniel'. Thinking of being with anyone other than him makes me feel empty and deprived.
"Sweetheart, we can see how happy he makes you, and I think it's clear that we all think he's lovely, but I know how down you have been since you got back from America, I know the heartache you will go through when he returns to the States. I'm worried about you, long distance relationships can be terribly draining sometimes, darling."
"I know, Mum, I don't know what to do. I told him I don't want a long distance thing, they rarely work, but I love him. He loves me, too. What can I possibly do, without getting my heart broken?"
"I don't know, Beatrice, I really don't know what to suggest. I'm worried about you, without him. Whatever you do, know that you have mine and Daddy's support. We're here for you, cry, laugh, whatever you want to do."
I tried to hold back the tears that were so determined to stream down my face, but couldn't. I whimpered and hugged my mum close to me. I'm not sure if I was happy or sad, I'm having a wonderful birthday, I love Daniel so much and am so grateful to have him here, but am also so sad to think of life without him again.
"I just don't want him to go. I love him more than I have ever loved anyone. I can't imagine meeting anyone else that would even come close."
Mum rubbed my back, soothingly." I know sweetheart, just do what feels right. Let him love you, enjoy him while you have him. It's early days, darling, but whatever you decide to do in the future, even if you want to move to America one day - we'd miss you horribly - but we'd always be there for you. Might even move over there with you, if it's half as fabulous as you say it is! "
I giggled. "Thank you, Mummy."
"Now, stop crying, it's your birthday and you're having a lovely day. You probably have lots more surprises waiting for you."
I smiled, wiped the tears from under my eyes and kissed my mum on the cheek before going back in the dining room to join Dad
and Daniel for dessert.
An hour or so later, we are back in the car, on our way to... somewhere.
"Thank you, Daniel," I say with a huge smile, clasping hold of his hand. "Seeing my parents on my birthday was lovely. You're so thoughtful."
"You're welcome, baby. Were you ok, though? I thought you looked like you'd been crying at one point, everything ok?"
"Yes, don't worry. Just had a bit of a heart to heart with my mum."
"Ok, baby. Let me know if you want to talk, ok?"
"I will, but I'm fine now."
"Good. Now, time for another gift."
"What?" I cry. "Another one?"
"Of course, here you go." He passes me beautifully wrapped present number three. This one is in a box but it's quite light. I start to unwrap it and giggle in excitement. "Really, Daniel..." I say, peeling back the fabulous paper, "you didn't need to get me so much, I'm happy to just have you..."
I gasp when I see the Dolce and Gabbana cloquet lace mini dress hidden amongst a mass of tissue.
"You like it? Is it the right one?"
"Oh, my... Daniel, yes, I love it! I don't know how you managed to get the exact same things that I wanted back in LA. How did Tilly even remember all of this? Thank you so much." I reach over and kiss him, holding myself there for a prolonged time to ensure he knows just how grateful I really am.
"I can't wait to try it on, thank you so much." I run my fingers along the intricate lace of the dress, brushing the stylish collar that drew me to it in the first place.
"You're welcome, as you know. Stop thanking me."
"I can't, I will always say thank you. Thank you."
"Ok, baby. Well, it's almost three now, so I think we should head to where we're staying tonight and have a bit of chill out time before we get ready for dinner, what do you say?"
"Sounds wonderful, Daniel, where are we staying?"
"I checked it out online and booked us a suite at The Grove Hotel, I've heard you mention it before."
"Oh wow! I love it there! I go for dinner sometimes but have never stayed there, it's too expensive for me and I only live around the corner. Daniel, are you sure?"
