I Promise | Carson Lueders

A Great Birthday or a Bad Birthday?

I feel my bed shaking and hear giggles. I open one eye and see Joey jumping up and down, laughing. I smile and sit up, grabbing his hips and pulling him down with me. "Hey buddy," I say, tickling him.

He cackles with laughter. "Happy bir-birthday, Sissy!" He says, in between laughter.

I stop and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"I got you a pre-present," he says, while looking at his fingers that were playing with my bed sheets. "I made it myself."

I smile. "Well, whatever it is, I know im going to love it."

He looks up and gives me a toothy grin. "I'm tired," he yawns out.

I turn over and reach for my phone that is lying on my bedside table. I turn on my phone and read the time; 7:45 a.m. "It's not even eight, we can go back to sleep."

He nods and snuggles my pillow, his eyes closing. I smile and close my eyes as well.

***

Carson's POV

I push the doorbell and wait for the door to open, the bouquet of roses in hand. The door opens, revealing Amore's dad. He looks at the flowers and smirks. "She's in her room," he informs, moving out of the way.

I nod and walk in. "Good morning, sir."

"Carson, I appreciate you formality, but I've known you for over a year. You may call me Jeff," he says, smiling.

I nod. "Right of course, si- I mean, Jeff."

He chuckles and pats my back, before walking away. I head up the stairs and walk down the hallway, leading towards Amore's room. I press my ear to her door, listening in.

Nothing.

I look at the time on my phone; 11:24 a.m. Usually she's up by now. I know because whenever I send her a good morning text, she instantly replies and that's around ten in the morning.

I press my ear to the door one more time, just to make sure she wasn't changing or anything.

Still nothing.

I grab the door knob and quietly open her door. My eyes land on her bed. I smile. She's still sleeping with Joey in her arms. I walk over to her and lay the flowers on her dresser.

I quickly look at the time. Shoot, it's 11:30. Amore's closet friends and I planned out this big surprise party for her, at a secret location. We have these postcards with a clue on each, leading her closer to the location. I'm supposed to lay the first on her nightstand and to make it less obvious, we made it seem like she's trying to find her phone.

Speaking of which, I grab her phone and put it in my pocket. I lay the card down and shake Amore's arm, before dunking under the bed. I hear her shifting in her bed. Her feet touch the ground and she stands up.

"Sissy?" I hear Joey yawn out.

"Yeah?" Amore asks.

"Want to see my present now?" He asks, with excitement.

She chuckles. "Sure, you go get it, while I cha-" she stops, and I hear the plastic that's around the bouquet of flowers, ruffle. "I will love you forever. Happy birthday, Amore," she reads out loud.

I can't help but smile, at the tone of her voice.

"Who is that from, Sissy?"

She turns around. "These flowers are from Carson," she answers.

"He's my buddy," he says and I can picture the cute grin on his face.

"Yes he is," Amore says, walking towards her nightstand. "Where's my phone? And what is this?" She asks, curiously. I hear her pick up the postcard. "Want to find your phone? Follow these clues. Clue #1 we had our first kiss in this specific spot. Hint; we weren't dating at the time. Love Sweet."