Chapter 62
After we had all been seated and gotten our drinks, Angela started speaking,
"I'm just saying you're making many assumptions about what he wants, have you ever tried asking him?" Lisa slouched in her seat and took a sip from her glass of draft beer.
"Fine, I'll talk to him about it," Lisa replied grumpily, which brought a smile to Angela's face.
"So, Snowe~ Are you nervous about the big day?" Angela asked me, seeming to be content with a subject change finally,
"Oh, no. It's still a few months away and I already feel like we're married." The mark on my finger is already a much higher level of commitment than the documents we're signing and the ceremony coming up could ever be,
"You guys are really cute together, I got butterflies when I saw how he looked at you. It's so clear how in love you are!" Freya remarked, I laughed, feeling a little embarrassed since her words made me recall how Zai had been kissing me when they arrived.
"Thank you, I... have never felt so close to someone or so cared about. I want to be sure I make it last and give Zai my best. That's the only thing that worries me, I can be a bit... much." I was going to divulge more but then remembered that 2 of the people at our table were strangers.
"I get it," Angela replied with disinterest, sipping on her Rum and Coke.
"Oh yeah, do you know when Valin's birthday is?" Lisa asked suddenly, "I want to get him a gift and I feel like if I ask him myself he'll get suspicious. I want it to be a surprise if possible." I tapped my chin,
"A gift? For his birthday? I didn't know people did that..." I mumbled... I've never even asked Zai when his birthday is... and I should finally have money coming in once the album releases.
"You've never celebrated a birthday before?!" Freya shrieked in shock,
"Where are you from?!" Angela added on for emphasis. I'm honestly not sure if I didn't celebrate because my family is a cold one or if this is only a human tradition. Regardless, Zai has been on Earth for 10 years, so he's probably expecting something.
"My family... didn't do parties or gifts... for anything, so I had no idea," I admitted reluctantly. They all looked at me with pity then Lisa said,
"Oh... then I should ask, when is yours?" I calculated the Earth equivalent for the time I was born.
"May the 30th." They all squealed,
"That's so soon!" Lisa shouted, rising out of her seat a bit, then the waiter returned with our meals and placed them in front of us. She sat back down and we all thanked him then waited for him to leave before continuing the conversation. "Do you want to do something together? I mean the whole family." I blushed... family... Lisa, Valin, RJ, and most of all Zai are my new family... thinking that makes me feel warm.
"Yes, I'm sure Zai will want to celebrate with just us after I tell him... so let's plan something else on a day that works for all of us." She nodded, and the conversation veered off into questions about work. Lisa told me about her trip to the beach, so I recalled a similar trip I had with Zai to the amusement park. She got super excited hearing that,
"The Liliona Bay Resort?! I wanted to go there a few years ago but the tickets were always sold out during the spring and summer." Angela grumbled... I guess I'll keep the fact that he reserved the whole park to myself. Seriously Zai goes overboard sometimes. Even with this wedding, he insists on focusing on the tedious details himself, he even wants to keep the venue a secret until a month before the wedding.
"I haven't lived here long, I had no idea it was such a big deal," I admitted, which caused everyone to berate me on where I was living before again because it's a popular dating site everywhere in the country. I just laughed and tried to change the subject, "Enough about me, what do you plan to get Valin?" Lisa fidgetted in her seat,
"I was hoping you could help... any suggestions?" Wow me?!... I thought...
"Valin... likes gold... so maybe a watch or necklace.... he has a lot of clothes already hmm... cologne maybe? He always smells nice so he's probably appreciate a fragrance you pick for him." I tried to think harder... what does Valin like... that he doesn't already have an abundance of? "Instead of buying him a cake you should bake him one, he appreciates those kinds of things." Lisa smiled slightly at my advice and said,
"I was right... you do know him well..." I'm not sure how she's feeling so I should be sure there's no misunderstanding,
"Yeah, he's my little brother and my friend..." Her smile grew after this addition to my statement. Everyone started eating, only pausing to ask me how long I've been in Hatoro. I could barely believe it's been 6 months until I said it out loud... wow so much time has passed. Once we finished eating and prepared to split up, Lisa hugged me and said.
"I had fun!" I hugged her back and watched as the other 2 left before holding Lisa's hands and saying,
"I... know this might feel sudden but... I haven't had any close friends before... specifically any close female friends and I... I would like you to be my maid of honor... there's no pressure, you don't need to do anything special for me, show up and stand next to me, that's all I want." I squeezed my eyes closed and flinched in case she rejected me, instead, she gave me another hug and said,
"Of course! I haven't known you long but, I like you a lot and I'm honored you asked me." I opened my eyes and sighed with relief.
"I can see why Val likes you so much, I think I'm falling for you too," I said, she chuckled,
"Don't let him hear you say that." We talked about the upcoming album for a bit while waiting for Zai to arrive when I noted,
"Oh yeah! If I do well, you're going to get a bunch of royalties too!" I shouted excitedly,
"Hmmm.. that's true but it probably won't be a whole lot... most of your money will come from selling merchandise and going on tour. While I'm going to have to work on multiple songs for more people to stay afloat." Her words sounded a bit sad so I decided to cheer her up by saying,
"The songs that you wrote me are wonderful... I'm sure any artist who hears them will be begging you to write something for them too! You're incredibly talented!"
"You are too and your voice is as beautiful as you are..." Her compliment made me blush, and at that moment Zai pulled up. She waved bye then said,
"I'll see you later! Thanks for the advice! Contact me if you need anything!" As she walked away, Zai ran up to me, embraced me, and spun us around.
"I missed you." He mumbled, burying his face in my breasts.
"Zai... we're in pu... you know what never mind... I missed you too." After hearing my response he lifted his head and kissed me gently,
"Did you have a good time?" My husband asked as he released me and took hold of my hand. We walked together towards the car while I answered him,
"Yeah, mostly."
"What went wrong?" He investigated. I hummed and then said,
"I rather not talk about that... Zai, when is your birthday?" He paused just before we reached the car, forcing me to also stop walking.
"... It's March 25th." I gasped.
"What the heck?! Why didn't you say something earlier?!" We didn't do anything special on his birthday at all! He likely spent the whole day catering to me... when it should have been the reverse.
"I didn't realize it mattered... I haven't celebrated my birthday much... Rai did give me a gift though." I'm losing to Rai?!
"I'm going to get you a gift too! As soon as this check hits, I want to get you something with the money I earned myself!" after I made my declaration he kissed me again then pulled away and bit his bottom lip, leaving me flustered.
"When is yours?" I told him and in response, he pulled my hand to his mouth to kiss my fingers, before saying,
"Then let's celebrate both of our birthdays together..." I nodded, my throat felt too tight to speak so we entered the car quietly after that. The car ride home was quiet but once we were home, Zai moved us onto the bed faster than I could blink and we were both stripped bare. "What did you eat at the restaurant?" He asked, before leaning down to suck on my neck. I moaned slightly and replied,
"I got beef stew and rice." I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and his right hand roamed over my body,
"What about to drink?" He added,
"I... got water this time." I answered, then I laughed, "What's with all these questions?"
"I like hearing you talk... and I was curious." He grinded against me and said, "Thank you for indulging me." Before kissing me and escalating to the next step.