Closer than Ever

Chapter 32 - Birthday Birdie

It feels like the guys have been gone for months by the time they get back from New York. Taehyung is home just a few days before my birthday, and honestly I had kind of assumed that he would have forgotten, given how busy he has been. As it turns out, though, he has arranged some kind of birthday surprise for me today, and I have no idea what it is....

I am sitting at the table, finishing my coffee, when he saunters out of the bedroom wearing a black Celine t-shirt, dark blue relaxed fit jeans, boots, and what looks like an Australian outback-style hat.

"Are you ready for our birthday date?" he grins.

I look at him with my mouth hanging open, then look down at the sundress, cardigan and sandals I have on. "Uh, I thought I was ready, but now I'm not sure..." I say, raising my eyebrows.

He takes in my outfit. "Oh, yeah, you should dress more like this," he says, pointing to himself. I laugh and try to think of what I have here at the condo that is even faintly similar.

"Babe, if you're not going to tell me what we're doing, then you have to at least come and consult on wardrobe, OK?" He nods and twinkles his eyes at me.

I start with comfy jeans that have some stretch to them. He scrunches his face up and nods, saying "Yeah, for sure." Next I grab a thin short-sleeve plaid shirt in shades of purple, violet and yellow. He nods again. For shoes I hold up platform sandals and he shakes his head 'no.' I grab tennis shoes and he grins and nods. "And a hat," he says.

"What kind of hat?"

"A hat to keep the sun off you," he says, tipping his brim at me.

"I don't have anything like that!" I say, looking at him in dismay.

He takes my hand and pulls me deeper into the closet, where his accessory racks are.

"Try this," he says, plopping a cowboy hat onto my head. It falls down below my eyebrows, and I laugh and tip my head waaaaay back to look at him.

"Your head is a little bit bigger than mine, babe!" I giggle.

He laughs and pinches my cheek, then searches around through his collection and he picks up a baseball cap with a neck cover hanging off the back.

"Nooooo," I say, and laugh. "You can pull off that look because you're just gorgeous, but I can't."

He shrugs and hands me a beige baseball cap without the goofy back flap, and I crank the adjustable strap at the back to its smallest setting and pull it on. Fortunately, I have my hair bundled into a low bun at the nape of my neck, out of the way. "Perfect, thanks, love!" I grin.

Taehyung wraps his arms around me. I turn the ball cap backward so I can see him; he takes off his Aussie hat and leans down to kiss me sweetly. I nibble his lower lip gently and smile into his eyes, my hands on his hips. "Where are we going, Taehyung-ah?" I tease.

He whispers in my ear, in his deepest voice, "It's a secret. I'm not telling you," and then stands up straight and laughs. I pout at him, but he zips his lips with his fingers.

"OK, stop wasting time with all this lovey-dovey stuff, then, and let's go see the surprise!" I grab his hand with a huge grin on my face and charge out into the living room, towing him in my wake. His bass laugh booms out, and then he races past me to hit the elevator call button first.

I go to hop into the SUV but stop when I see a rectangular red leather box about five inches on each side sitting on the passenger seat. Taehyung is watching me with a big grin on his face.

"Babe, what is this? This box looks expensive." I frown at him apprehensively.

"Happy birthday, Birdie. Open it!"