Valerie

Part 26

DANIEL

I pull the blankets up over my face as I feel Valerie suddenly start planting kisses all over my face.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday my Danny! Happy Birthday to you." She sings quietly.

When she's done I push the blankets off of my face and turn to face her. She's grinning at me widely, a gift in her hands.

"Happy Birthday!" She beams at me, extending her arms and holding the gift out for me.

I laugh lightly and push myself up in the bed. "Thank you, gorgeous." I kiss her cheek before taking the gift from her. "I told you not to get me anything." I shake my head at her, laughing.

She shrugs. "It's just something small... And tonight, I'm taking you for dinner!"

I grin up at her as I unwrap the gift in my hands.

"Ah, what!? These are sick!" I exclaim, looking down at the Beats headphones in my hands. They're white with a colour splash on the headband" I look up at her, smiling. "These are incredible, gorgeous, thank you!"

I shift and pull her into a hug, holding her tightly.

"You're welcome, Dan," she whispers before pressing a kiss to my lips.

Valerie slides off of the bed. "Right, I need to get ready to get to the track, and you mister, have a team waiting for you at the track as well."

I nod and get out of bed, walking over to her. I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around me. I kiss her once. "I'll see you later, gorgeous." I kiss her again. "And thank you for the gift, I love it."

She kisses me back. "See you later birthday boy. And dress nice! We're going somewhere fancy."

She grabs her bag and heads out of the door, blowing a kiss over her shoulder.

I've just finished getting ready after a long day of press duties and team meetings. I'm about to text Val that I'm ready when there's a knock on the door.

I open it and she beams up at me, in a stunning silk red dress with red heels, her hair piled in curls on her hair. My breath catches in my throat.

"Holy shit, Val," I whisper before I clear my throat. "You look absolutely beautiful."

A light blush flashes on her cheeks and she looks down. "Thank you, Dan. You ready to go?"

I grab my wallet, put it into my pocket and turn back to her. "Yeah let's go."

We get downstairs and she leads me to a car waiting for us.

"Damn baby, you're pulling out all the stops tonight." I whistle.

She laughs as she slides into the back seat, winking at me.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I press as the car pulls away.

She shrugs. "You'll see."

"Baby." I whine, "Come on, tell me"

"You'll see in ten minutes, I'm sure you can wait just a little longer." she laughs.

I pout playfully but don't press her.

We pull up to a restaurant that I've been to before, it's one of the best in Austria, and I stare at Valerie. "I'm not letting you pay for dinner at this place," I say sternly.

"Shut up and get out of the car." she laughs, shaking her head.

I get out and walk around the car, holding my arm out for her to link into as we walk inside.