As it stood, birthdays tended to bring Haley complicated emotions. For example, her fifth birthday she'd broken her wrist and hadn't had a slice of her birthday cake until after an eight hour hospital visit, and it technically had no longer been her birthday. She had stewed about the cake for days, feeling as though she'd been ripped off by being denied her one birthday wish.
Her eleventh birthday her older sister had beheaded her favorite Barbie, dangling the severed head over the open flame of the stove until her dad roared when he discovered the smell of burning synthetic hair.
Her sixteenth birthday she suffered a severe bout of food poisoning that rendered her isolated to the bathroom the entire day, garbage can glued to her face.
And on her twenty fourth birthday, she had traveled alone to London to spend the night with her boyfriend, only for him to spend the night flirting with the bottle service girl after becoming belligerently drunk.
Now here she was, the day of her thirtieth birthday, feeling optimistically neutral despite the box that her doorman had brought to her door among the obscene amounts of floral arrangements that seemed to be filling every corner of her living space.
It had looked unassuming, but when she had peeled back the thick, cream paper to unveil a pair of strappy Louboutins that she definitely wouldn't pick out for herself. They were a gorgeous pair of shoes, but she was hardly woman enough to rock them like Emmeline could.
It was the card inside, simple with a scrawl she recognized, that threw her completely off kilter.
Happy Birthday. -Chris
The entire day, she couldn't stop thinking about him.
***
"Oh no bitch, turn around and change." Sophie demanded as she, Emmeline, and Zendaya burst into Haley's living space as if hell were on their heels.
"What?" Haley squeaked, glancing down at the sensible dress she'd thrown on. "You said dinner, I thought this was cute!"
"Yeah, maybe for dinner with your grandma. It's your birthday, Hales!" Emmeline exclaimed. She and Zendaya looped arms with her, tugging her down the hall toward her bedroom. "It's your big three oh!"
"And if you plan on getting a big oh anytime soon, that dress isn't going to do you any favors." Zendaya clucked her tongue, plucking at a hem. Haley swatted her hand away, glaring at her.
"Please don't tell me you're becoming one of them now, Z!"
"One of us! One of us!" Emmeline and Sophie chanted in unison as they dove deep into her closet.
After a ten minute frenzy of the girls absolutely ransacking her clothing, Sophie emerged holding a short skirt with a daring slit and a lace bodysuit. "Change, babe." She demanded. "And tell me you're wearing those 'fuck me' heels!"
"Oh, those." Haley's cheeks burned as they all turned to the shoes that lay on her duvet, the shoes Chris had bought for her.
Emmeline raised an eyebrow, sticking a finger through a strap and dangling the shoe as she displayed it. "Um, when did you get these? I approve."
"They were a gift," Haley grumbled, snatching them and the rest of the clothing and hastily changing before they could ask any further questions.
Emerging from her bathroom, she tugged at the skirt in an attempt to cover just a centimeter more skin. She wasn't loving how much thigh she was showing as she cast one last glance in the mirror to be sure a butt cheek wasn't hanging out.
