All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Eighty

        "Grayson," I whispered softly, combing my fingers through his hair.

        He stirred briefly, his eyebrows furrowed. "Mmm?"

        "Grayson, darling, wake up," I said, my smile growing.

        "Jacks?" he murmured, still hazy.

        I bent over and kissed his forehead. "Happy birthday."

        His eyes opened, at first squinched in the early morning sunlight. Then he focused on me and asked in surprise, "You remembered my birthday?"

        "To be fair, your birthday is the whole reason we're on this trip," I said. "But more importantly, you're my friend."

        "Thanks, Jacks," he said, smiling as he gently hugged me. "That's sweet."

        I returned the hug before reaching for the bedside table. Grayson's eyes turned the size of planets when I placed the loaded tray in front of him. "I ordered breakfast."

        "Are those chocolate croissants?" he asked in a quiet voice, unable to believe it.

        "Yeah. Chocolate and raspberry. I also ordered a cake for later," I said, unpacking the utensils.

        He was still slightly disoriented. "We're eating in here?"

        "We're on vacation, right?" I said with a smile. "Might as well do what we want."

        He rubbed his eyes, muttering, "Twenty-five is amazing."

        "Here, make a wish," I said, passing him a plate. The little candle was blazing on top of the croissant, although it was getting a little more spluttery.

        Grayson glanced at me before blowing out the small flame. I clapped, which made him laugh. "Thanks, Jacks. This is the best birthday I've had in...a long time."

        "This is just the beginning; I have surprises for you all day," I said eagerly. It was fun to plan someone's birthday. Normally I coordinated massive birthdays for Nina and Kylie, but they both had December birthdays. Nine times out of ten, we were snowed in. Now I was in the sunny tropics and there were hundreds of things planned for poor, unsuspecting Grayson.

        He shook his head, sliding out of bed. "No, that's okay, we don't have to do anything special. We're already on vacation and we're both supposed to be relaxing."

        "This is relaxing for me," I informed him.

        Grayson shrugged and took a bite of croissant. "What are we doing, then?"

        "We have surfing lessons in an hour!" I said excitedly.

        He lit up. "Awesome!"

        Surfing was incredible. Grayson and I were both somewhat naturals, meaning after several tries, we only wiped out every other time. The instructor was impressed with both of us, praising our timing and stances. Honestly, I don't either of us cared how talented we were. The afternoon was a blast, just the two of us bobbing out on the open ocean, crashing through the waves.

        We came in for dinner, both of us drenched and waterlogged. "I'm starving," Grayson announced, grabbing the menu the resort had given us. "What are you thinking?"

        "I actually already ordered dinner," I said, wringing out my hair with a towel.

        On cue, there was a knock at the door. I went to answer it, thanking the delivery boy and taking the two giant brown bags of food. Curious, Grayson followed me to the kitchen. I could've sworn his mouth started watering as I unpacked the cases of food.