Page 72 of Eight Weeks
Colin:Leaving during the night to be there tomorrow morning! Grey and Miles coming too?
Aaron:Doubt they’d make it. And as far as I know, Miles is off to California with Brooke, is he not? Think they wanted to go to Disneyland.
Colin:Right. Grey’s probably going with them then. Too bad. But Lilybug and I will be there, promise!
And that’s only one part of the surprise for Sofia. God, she’s going to either hate me for all I’ve planned or fall in love with me. I hope for the latter, but I doubt it. It’s just a silly birthday present.
“I won’t be back for a couple of hours,” Sofia says, grabbing a jacket from her closet. “What are your plans for the while being?”
“Watch some tapes.” I hold up my phone, though I don’t plan on watching tapes. “We have a game the first Friday after the break so I might as well study my opponents’ move in advance.”
Sofia nods slowly. “Boring.”
“It’s better than spending money on a ticket for the movies only to end up not understanding a word.” Though, I would go with her if it weren’t for her birthday tomorrow and the millions of calls I have to make still. Hopefully with the help of Sofia’s parents because I sure need someone to translate.
“True.” After putting on her wisteria-colored jacket, she grabs a white purse to fill with stuff like lip gloss, tissues and, obviously, some extra money. Her phone chimes and she immediately checks who texted, only to look up at me again. “Emma’s here to pick me up.”
As my little Sofia is about to open her bedroom door to leave, I hold her back. “You forgot something.” She turns around, looking at me with a mixture of confusion and anticipation. “As your boyfriend, I deserve a goodbye kiss whenever you’re leaving me.”
Just like that, she hurries over to me. She stands between my legs and leans down to press a kiss to my lips. “You’re a whiny little baby, you know that?”
I nod and wrap my arms around her lower back to keep her close to me. “For that comment, I demand a second kiss or else I won’t let you leave.”
Sofia giggles softly, running a hand through my hair. “And for this demand, I should get a free pass.”
I gasp in shock. “How dare you say that?” Looking up at Sofia, I pout at her, pretending to be butt-hurt. “As your boyfriend, I get to demand as many kisses as I’d like.”
“As your girlfriend, I get to decline as many kisses as I’d like.”
“As your boyfriend—”
Sofia leans into me, her lips brushing against mine, interrupting me mid-sentence.
???
“You’re really lucky,you know that?” Peter says just as he hangs up the phone call with the flower shop. “They’re not open tomorrow, but they said they could squeeze your order in to be delivered in a couple of hours. But that will cost you a hundred euros extra. We could pay that for you if that’s out of your budget.”
“Nah all good. I have a pretty decent trust fund to steal money from.” I’m already grateful that Sofia’s parents even agreed to help me out today. Peter took the day off work only to help me out, that’s how last-minute all this is. “Plus, Sofia’s my girlfriend, isn’t she? Might as well go all out for her birthday.”
“Are you sure it’s not a little too much?” Karin asks, crossing off yet another item from the list. “That must be thousands you’ll be paying, Aaron.”
“That’s fine, really. At least I don’t have to rent a location last minute as well.” Because I can use their barn, which is fortunate for all the decorations. “Colin and Lily will be here tomorrow by five in the morning to help me do some more touch-ups.”
This could be areallystupid thing I am doing. Sofia wasn’t talking about her birthday at all in that sense, and here I am making it possible anyway.
Karin smiles softly, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Sofia knows they’re coming?”
“No, it’s kind of a surprise. She only knows they’ll be here for New Year’s.” And quite frankly, I think Karin is more excited to see Lily again than Sofia is. But I can’t blame her, I was pretty excited to see Sofia’s parents again, and by the looks of their faces when they saw me, they were almost as shocked and happy to see me.
We spend the next three hours organizing a couple more things until everything on that list I have written is crossed off. Now… it’s only a matter of time and skill to make tomorrow as special for Sofia as humanly possible. There’s one thing I know for sure, though, Leon will not be able to top my surprise for Sofia and make her birthday be forgotten.
39
Aaron
“sit tight like bookends / pages between us / written with no end”—Strong by One Direction
Sofia is still fast asleep bythe time Peter and I get to the airport to pick up Colin and Lily. Or so Karin told me in the texts she’s sent me. I mean, someone kind of had to stay back and keep Sofia busy in case she wakes up, right?
