Edge of the Ravine

45

Chapter Forty-Five

I was lying on the couch, my legs stretched out over the leather cushions, and my head resting in Vlad's lap. Like every Sunday night, we were relaxing and watching a movie. Thankfully, it was one we had recently rented, seeing as if we'd been through our meager collection at least half a dozen times.

Suddenly, without any warning at all, Vlad brushed his hand through my hair before leaning down far enough to kiss my forehead. "Happy birthday," he whispered, a wide smile blossoming across his face.

Surprised, my eyes shot instantly to the microwave clock that was just in view from my resting spot. It was midnight exactly. I was officially twenty-seven years old.

For a moment, I couldn't imagine where my life had gone. The whirlwind of disasters and mistreatment right up to the happy and blissful. Somehow it all seemed foggy to me in that moment. Everything but the past year and a half with Vlad.

A small smile pulled at my lips as I remembered that night at his parent's house. We'd confessed our desire for each other, and I was completely embarrassed to learn how long he had liked me. Layla, as usual, was the first to be told of our mutual decision; that we should try to go on a few dates and test our compatibility before jumping into a full-blown relationship.

That winter, I spent three weeks with him in Colorado. The following spring, we moved to London together.

Sometimes I often wondered at my own good fortune. Then I had to remember the lake of fire I swam to get there.

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. "Have you even seen a part of the movie?"

"Not the last ten minutes," he replied with an impish grin.

I said nothing as I held up a palm expectantly. Instead of dropping a present into it, like he had last year, he grasped my wrist and pressed his lips to my palm. "You'll have to wait."

My lip jutted out like a pouting child's. "Why?"

Vlad chuckled to himself. "Watch the movie."

He was really lucky I was never much into birthday presents. Not since I was nine. So, shrugging lightly, I did as he suggested and returned my attention to the TV. To this day, I still don't remember any part of the movie after midnight.

Like any true workaholic, I had a shoot at ten in the morning. And like any devoted boyfriend, Vlad made sure he had nothing planned. Which meant that we were out of the house at nine, taking a double-checker bus about thirty minutes from our flat.

At precisely ten, I was seated in an elegant living chair, my back a curving wall with windows and curtains making a natural backdrop. Having been a model for five years, I was no longer embarrassed by the black boxers that was my only form of clothing. I was often asked to adjust my position.

During one shot, it was obvious that the light was in the background of the picture. I hadn't noticed, but Vlad jumped on it in a second. For me, it was always interesting when Vlad asked questions on a set. Having spent so many years as both sidekick and subject of Layla's early career, it surprised more than one photographer to realize he knew what he was talking about.

"Are you going to edit the light out later, or should we move it back some?"

The photographer didn't even look at him as he kept his eyes on me. At the same time, he said in a low voice, "the light is hitting him in such a way right now that I don't dare to move it. And what I choose to do after I've taken the shot will depend entirely on how well the shot turned out." Then the sound of the shutter assailed me and I brought up a hand to hide my smile.

When the shoot ended shortly after noon, I moved back into the dressing area and began to change into my normal clothes. It became very distracting when Vlad followed me in the pretense of examining the boxer I'd been wearing. At last, however, I was dressed in my own clothes, a hand running through my hair as my nose wrinkled.

"It feels like I'm wearing a helmet of hairspray. I'm going to have to shower as soon as we get home just to get rid of this," I complained as we exited the building.

"And most people would kill to have their hair like that," Vlad snickered.

Of course, he was more into the latest styles than I was. Modeling was my job. Which meant that I did not enjoy every aspect of it.

"Most people aren't a me."

Vlad's hand reached over to mine, his fingers lacing perfectly into the spaces there. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he assured me.

When we arrived back at our flat, Vlad held back a pace as I pulled out my keys. Since he was often in the habit of forgetting his own, I supposed it was truly fortunate that I was the responsible one of us. Somehow, and it could just be that we were still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, I wouldn't want him to be an ounce more responsible.

I was grinning as I turned the key into the knob, thinking of our first fight. It was ironic that, despite being the more responsible one, I was not the neatest creature in existence. And though I kept my space fairly tidy, I wasn't a neat-freak by any means. Vlad was.

About a month after living together, we'd both been in a terrible mood and when I'd gotten home, I'd thrown my things on the table and my coat across the back of a chair with every intention of taking care of them later. Apparently, later wasn't good enough for Vlad. It was our first screaming, snapping, ready-to-bawl-because-we're-so-angry fight. Not the last, thankfully.

Just as I entered the narrow hallway that led to the rest of the flat, a loud chorus erupted in a shouted, "happy birthday!" I was surprised, stunned, and kind-of disoriented by the echoes still traveling down the hall.

Layla's was the first face I could distinguish between the balloons and ridiculous amount of confetti. She held up Vlad's keys with the slyest grin she could manage. Standing next to her was a very large, very pregnant Rebecca with her husband and bass player, Mike, at her side. And already ready with the wine was the tiresome trio; Tess, Jace and Viviane.

As Vlad came to stand by my side, his arm wrapping around me, I couldn't imagine a better birthday.