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Sixty Eight

"Come on Char, I wanna get on the road before long," Mouse called down the hallway.

He had planned a weekend away for them up the coast to go camping and surfing for her birthday and Charley couldn't wait. What he didn't tell her was that with Emma's help, he had invited all of her friends and had planned a surprise party for her once they got there.

"I'm ready," she replied as she walked around the corner, carrying a duffel bag.

As they drove down the road, Charley stuck her hand out the window, feeling the warm breeze blow in. Spring had finally arrived, bringing it the warmer weather and longer days. She had been in her new country for nearly three seasons and was absolutely the happiest she had ever been. She been asked a few times if she missed home or every thought she'd move back the states and she always responded the same way every time. She would tell them that she is home and had every intention of spending the rest of her life in Australia.

"I'm excited for our little getaway. I haven't gone camping in years!" She smiled as she looked over at Michael.

"I think you'll have a blast," he said as he returned the smile and squeezed her hand.

He was looking forward to camping out with his girlfriend, but also was excited to see how she reacted once she saw all her friends at the campsite. He loved watching her light up when she got excited about things.

Noticing her yawn, he laughed softly. "Why don't you take a nap? You were up early today. We've got a few hours till we're there, anyway."

"Yeah, nah. I'm okay," Charley shook her head while slinking further down into the car seat.

He had driven with her too many times to know it wouldn't be long before she was fast asleep. She had gotten up earlier than usual to help pack and load up the car for their trip. He reached over and turned the radio on as he drove down the road. Sure enough, within a few minutes, Charley was asleep in the seat next to him. Glancing over, he admired her. She was beautiful even when she was sleeping.

A few hours later, they pulled down the drive to the campsite.

"Charley, wake up. We're here," Mouse said as he rubbed her leg.

Bleary eyed, Charley sat up and stretched. "I can't believe I slept the whole way," she said as they pulled into their campsite.

After they set up their tent, he looked over at her. "Let's get changed and check out the beach."

"Hell yeah! Man I'm excited to get into the water," she grinned.

It had been a while since Charley had surfed, with being busy with work and the cool winter weather. Even though it wasn't as cold as it normally got back in the states, she still wasn't entirely comfortable about getting into the water in the winter.

A few minutes later, they changed into their swimsuits and were ready for the beach. Holding out his hand, he smiled at her.

"Come on. Grab your board and let's go."

She still hadn't picked up a surfboard of her own yet; she kept saying she'd grab one before summer started. Mouse had an extra he let her use for the time being. As they walked down the path with their surfboards tucked under their arms, Charley noticed her boyfriend was carrying a backpack.

"What's with the bag, Mick?"

"Hmm? Oh, just some beach stuff. Towels, sun cream, you know," he answered, seemingly a bit distracted.

As they neared the corner to the beach, Charley could hear a lot of chatter and laughter. She didn't expect them to have the beach to themselves but wasn't anticipating a big crowd. As the couple turned the corner to the beach entrance, it all became clear why it was so noisy.

"Surprise!" The group shouted as they spotted the two.

"Oh my gosh! What the hell are you guys doing here?" Charley shouted, completely shocked to see all of friends hours from home.

"Happy birthday party, baby," Mouse grinned as he hugged her from behind.

"You did all of this?" She gasped, turning around to look at him.

"I had some help from Emma."

Looking over the group, she took in everyone that was there. Whippet, his wife and their two boys were there, Beardy and his girlfriend, of course Jackson and Emma, Troy, Jesse, Luke and his girlfriend, Liam with his girlfriend, Olivia and her boyfriend Murphy, Hazel and KJ, Fiona and her fiancé Jason with their two kids, Sophia and her husband Dustin, Hadley and her boyfriend Trent, Katie and her daughter Mia, Casey and Cary were all there. A lot of the boys there Charley had met through Mouse, and the girls she met through Emma. She liked that all of her friends were friends with each other. All of her friends surrounded her, hugging her and wishing her a happy birthday, even though it was two weeks prior. All at once, she was overcome with emotion. Tears brimmed her eyes and spilled over as she laughed.

"You guys!" Charley beamed as she wiped her cheeks, "You lot are the best friends a girl could ask for!" She turned to her boyfriend and smiled. "And you! How the hell did I get so lucky with you?"

Mouse shook his head and smiled, "You deserve it, Charley. We all love you and wanted to celebrate your first birthday in an Australian properly."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you, Mick," she told him against his lips.

"I love you more than you know," he replied.

"Who's up for a little surfing contest?" Somebody shouted, getting Charley's attention. Kissing him quickly one more time, she turned around to address her friends.

"Oh, I am so down! Im gonna whoop your butts!" She called.

"How? You don't even have your own board!" Liam retaliated.

"Speaking of which," Mouse spoke up while nodding to Luke.

From behind the group, Luke brought over a gorgeous ombré sunset colored surfboard.

"Happy birthday, Charley," he smiled as he handed her the board.

Standing there in shock, she stared at the board for a minute before looking over to Mouse.

"Happy birthday, baby. It's all yours. Now you don't need to borrow a board. You've got your own," he smiled at his girlfriend.

He knew how much it bothered her to have to constantly borrow a surfboard. He watched as she admired the board, running her hands over the smooth sides in silence.

"I think I'm still in shock," she said after a moment, causing the group to laugh.

"Lukey made it custom just for you!" Whippet piped up from the back of the group.

"It's gorgeous. Thank you, Luke!" She grinned, admiring the board still.

"Thank Mouse. He asked me to," Luke replied, raising his hands.

Turning back to face her boyfriend, Charley looked at him and grinned.

"Thank you, Mickey!" She told him, hugging him.

"You deserve it Charley," he relied before handing her some wax. "Get her waxed up and let's see her in action!"

As Charley waxed up her new surfboard, Mouse smiled. He was glad he could gift her with her first surfboard, and it was even better that their friend custom made it for her.

"Nice job, Mousey," Emma told him as she walked up next to him.

"Couldn't have done this without your help. Thanks again," he told her, motioning to the group.

"Yeah, nah, it was nothing. Just happy I could help. Seeing her so happy was worth it!" Emma smiled.

The two of them watched as Charley finished with her board, happily showing it off to Whippet, Gina, Beardy, Jackson and Troy.

"Now what was this about a surfing contest?" Charley called out after a couple of minutes.

Mouse watched as his girlfriend ran down the sand to the waters edge, a grin never leaving her face. As she reached the waters she turned around to see he wasn't behind her.

"Come on!" She called to him, waving him towards her.

Smiling, he pulled his shirt off before grabbing his surfboard and joining her in the waves.