Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Fourtyfour.

England, the 29th of July. It wasn't just a regular Wednesday morning, a day in general, it was Marcus' birthday. Everyone was in England for the double-header; his family, girlfriend, friends and more people he worked together with.

Jane managed to wake up earlier than Marcus - which was a challenge since Marcus was the early bird of them two. She looked at the time: 7:26, and that in the middle of the holiday. She looked at Marcus, he was peacefully sleeping next to her. Moments like this made her happy, Marcus made her happy, those are the small realisation moments. Jane pushed herself up, and she moved closer to Marcus, she knew his alarm would go off in a few minutes.

"Babe," she whispered. The room wasn't entirely dimmed. "Wake up," she mumbled and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

Marcus opened his eyes and looked around him. His eyes fell on Jane, who looked at him with a bright smile. "Good morning, baby," he tiredly said and placed his hand on her back.

"Happy birthday," she smiled.

A smile curved on his lips, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. "Thank you."

She laid her head next to him on his pillow and gave him multiple kisses on his cheek. Their eyes closed, enjoying a couple of more minutes of doing nothing. Marcus' alarm went off, but he pressed on snoozing. He wanted to cuddle for just a couple more minutes.

"How did you sleep?" Jane quietly asked and ran her hand through his hair. "As a 20-year-old?"

"God, don't say it like that. I just left my teen years," he replied and looked at her like he got betrayed.

"Get out of here. You're only 20," she smirked.

Marcus smiled and gave her a kiss. "I slept well. You?"

"Like a rose."

A yawn escaped his lips. "Good." Jane sat up. "No, come here," Marcus said and pulled her arm. "It's early. We have the whole day to do other things."

"You don't want your gift?" Jane raised her eyebrows and amusingly smiled.

"You have a gift?"

"No, just a donation," she said and shook her head. She got out of bed and walked over to the other side of the room. "Of course, I have a gift. It's your birthday." Jane grabbed an envelope and a small package out of her bag.

"Have I told you before you look so hot in my t-shirt?" Marcus mentioned and sat up. She was just wearing his t-shirt and underwear. "If not, you look so hot."

Heat rose to her cheeks when she looked at him. She got back into bed, covering her legs with the duvet, and looked at the two items in her hands. "So..."

It made Marcus smile, she was shy and had no idea how to act anymore. He pressed a kiss on her cheek and stroked her back.

"Happy birthday to my dearest boyfriend," Jane said and locked her eyes with his. "All I can say is that I am extremely lucky to have you on my side and call you my boyfriend. I really hope you will enjoy this day." She handed over the envelope first.

Marcus' eyes lit up, and he opened the envelope while looking at Jane. He looked at the card; it was a Lightning McQueen card. Except... the car number, 85, got covered with Marcus' own car number: 17. A smile grew on his face, he adored it. Marcus opened the card.

Dear Marcus, today is your special day. Let me be your genie. Every wish you make, I will fulfil it. May this day be as sunny as your smile and as beautiful as you are. You shine every day, but on this day, you will shine the brightest. I want to take you on a coffee date, drink the best coffee in town back home - if I have to believe you, it's the best high-quality coffee ;). But first, we eat some birthday cake. Happy birthday, my love, I love you. Kisses, Jane <3

He looked back at Jane again. "Thank you so much, babe," he whispered. This was the first time he celebrated his birthday with his girlfriend, it made him feel so happy. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her a few times. "I can't wait for the date."

"I wanted to plan a date, but I have no idea when you are back in Italy..."

"As soon as possible. I really cannot wait for it anymore."

A smile grew on her lips. "And I have another gift for you. I really hope you like it," she mentioned and gave the small package.

"Another one? I'm just happy you're here this weekend, that's my gift already." Marcus unwrapped the small box. His eyes rounded when he saw what it was. He looked back at Jane. "You really shouldn't have done this. How do you know I wanted this?"

An amusing look came on her face. "I do have my ways... No, you showed it to me when you saw the ad on your phone."

It was a simple bracelet, minimalistic, but it looked stunning.

"Thank you so much, babe," he gratefully said and gave her a long kiss.

"I hope you like it."

"I love it. Can you help me with it?" Marcus grabbed the bracelet out of the box and gave it to Jane. "It looks even better than on my phone. I didn't know it was matt."

Jane put it around his wrist. "Et voilà."

He was admiring it, it was simple, but it had a great meaning now. Marcus wrapped his arms around her and pushed her to her back. He kissed her. "You're the best."

"What are you going to do today? Do you have to do anything?"

"Hmm, meeting up with the team, go to the gym, but tomorrow starts the serious stuff."

She nodded and ran her fingers to his hair.

"By the way," Marcus said and looked up. "Last week, when you couldn't sleep... Your words really meant a lot to me." He noticed her cheeks were getting red.

A small smile came on Jane's face. "You mean a lot to me, and those words mean a lot to me too."

"I know it's my birthday, it's my day," he cheekily said, making Jane smirk. "No, I'm kidding, but it's my birthday. However, I have something to ask you because if I don't do it now, it will get freaking expensive. And the earlier, the better."

After Jane shared those words on Saturday night, Marcus knew it for sure. There was never a doubt, but this confirmed everything. They knew each other for a couple of months, and they went through quite a lot. And they survived it.

"Do you want to go to New Zealand with me during Christmas? I know it's Christmas and your birthday and I understand if you want to go to Iceland to be with your family. You don't have to say yes or no now, but I would like it if you would come to New Zealand, introduce you to the rest of my family and show you my home," he explained.

"I would love to," she smiled.

"Really?"

She nodded. "But I'm gonna discuss it with my parents anyway. I don't think they would mind it, but it's Christmas and my birthday and Christmas are important to my mum since Jack and I live in Italy now. I would love to fly over to Christchurch and spend it with you."

"Just think about it, yeah?"

"I will let you know as soon as possible, but assume I will be there."

"Ah, babe! Have you ever been to New Zealand?" His eyes lit up.

"No, never have been outside of Europe."

"When you...if you will be there, I will show you around and everything." Marcus knew he shouldn't have too much hope if it would not happen, and he would be disappointed about it. But maybe it would happen...

After a few minutes, they decided to get up. They would have breakfast down in the restaurant in twenty minutes with his family. Marcus walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He popped his head around the corner of the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower," he announced.

Jane nodded and made up the bed. She looked at Marcus, who was standing for a long time in the door opening. "Oh," she lipped. "On my way," she said when she got the hint.

A satisfied smile grew on Marcus's face, and he walked to the shower. Jane entered the bathroom and gave Marcus a kiss, longer than usual. Marcus longed for more. Jane broke the kiss, he knew she was teasing him.