The Last Chicane

Birthday Girl

I couldnt sleep. I tossed and turned. The mix of emotions keeping me from sleep.

In a sense, I was ready to go home. I missed seeing Tessa. I missed having a daily routine. And believe it or not, I missed my job. I missed taking care of patients. I missed the critical thinking and the excitement of work.

But I was also dreading going back home. The unknown is what made me the most uneasy. I really needed to talk with Charles to figure out how we would make this work. I mean, I could fly to see him, but I'm not sure how often with work. Plus, my funds were limited. His schedule was fixing to pick up with the season fixing to start in a month.

Looking at the clock, saying it was 4:30am. Finally giving up on sleep, I decided to go for a run.

Pulling on some black running shorts, a neon pink sports bra and some running shoes, I made my way outside of the hotel.

I quickly sent Charles a text, letting him know that I was going for a run. Not that he was awake, but just in case he happened to wake up before I made it back to my hotel.

Putting on some music in my headphones, I started running. I needed to clear my head.

My birthday was today. 26 years old. I always hated my birthday. Especially after being disowned by my parents. There just wasn't much to celebrate. Another year of being the lone wolf. The black sheep of my family. The only family that I was close to these days was Tatum. I haven't spoken to my brother since I was kicked out.

I ran for what felt like an eternity. By the time I had stopped, I saw that it was now 6am.

I stopped by a coffee shop on my way back and was waiting in line to purchase a bottle of water when I heard a familiar voice.

"It's only 6 in the morning and you look like shit. How long have you been awake?"

I turned around to see who had said that. It was Tatum, smirking at me. I haven't seen her in a couple of days.

"Ay dios mío. Te extrañé. (Oh my god. I missed you.)" I ran up to her and wrapped my arms around her. She's been busy with her job, and I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with her since getting here.

"Feliz cumpleaños, B." Tay gave me a big squeeze. "What have you been up to? How did the dinner go?"

I filled her in on everything that's happened so far as we grabbed a table in the corner I'd the shop. I told her how the dinner went, leaving out the part of me half threatening Carlos to not hurt her. She didn't need to know that part.

"So, what did you think of Carlos?" She hesitantly asked. I could tell by the way she avoided eye contact that she was nervous about what I had to say.

"Honestly?" I started. "He's great. He seems like a total goofball, but I can tell he cares about you a lot."

She glared at me. "What did you say to him? You didn't threaten him did you?"

"Who? Me? No. Nunca haria eso (I would never do that)" I smiled sweetly at her.

We spoke for a little while longer, her telling me about how much she likes Carlos. Then she got quiet before asking.

"You think your parents are going to call you today..?"

I sighed. "I doubt it. I mean. They haven't spoken to me in like. 5 years. I doubt they would call me today."

She stared at her hands that were in her lap.

"I'm sorry B." She said quietly.

I shrugged. "It's not your fault Tay. I'm used to it by now." My smile falling, a blank look on my face now.

She could sense my mood change.

"So. What are you wearing to your date tonight with Charles?" She changed the subject, distracting me.

"I have absolutely no idea." That's when her face lit up.

"B. I have an idea."

_____________________________

"Omg I'm exhausted." I said as I sat the bags down as we entered my hotel room.

Tay's idea? Birthday shopping. I couldn't say it was a bad idea. As I got new outfits, including something to wear tonight to my date with Charles.

She walked over to the bed and laid down. I finished sitting my bags down and joined her, laying down beside her and propping my head up with a pillow.

"Are you nervous?" She questioned

I thought about it for a moment.

"No. Not at all. I'm actually really excited." I replied.

"Do you think...... anything will happen tonight..?" She smirked at me, we both knew the question she really wanted to ask.

"To be honest, I haven't really thought about that a whole lot. The best thing about him is that there's no pressure. He told me he doesn't want to rush, we could move forward whenever I was ready." A smile forming as I said that.

Considering the last relationship I had was... nothing like this one. It was comforting to know that he didn't want to rush too fast if I wasn't ready.

"Do you think you're ready? Especially after... ya know..." she trailed off. Of course I had told her what happened with my last relationship.

"I'm not entirely sure. I haven't told him about what happened. I'm sure I'll tell him eventually, when I'm ready. But I think that when I'm ready for the next step with him, I'll just know."

"You're right. You'll know." She reached out and grabbed my hand, lightly squeezing it. She was quiet for a couple of minutes.

"Blake...?"

I turned my head to look at her. "Yeah?"

She just looked at me for a moment. Her eyes becoming glassy with tears.

"I'm really happy for you, birthday girl."

A tear silently fell from my eyes as I whispered, "thank you."