"So, what are we doing on Friday night?" Lydia puts down her magazine and looks over at Mathew who is typing at his desk.
"What's Friday?" You ask and she turns to look at you from her spot perched at the edge of your desk.
"Math's birthday. Seriously, do you two talk? At all? Ever?" She smiles and the looks back at Mathew. "So, do you have any thoughts on what to do for your birthday?"
"Dinner? Just the four of us." Mathew asks, without looking up from his screen.
"Boring!" Lydia laughs.
"I'm twenty four. I'm trying to be grown up."
"Well, Jess and I are twenty two. We wanna party."
You look up and grin. "I'm twenty three."
"You can't be twenty three." She turns back to face you. "We graduated high school the same year."
"I didn't graduate."
"Not the point. You were my year. So if you are twenty three already, your birthday would have to be sometime after the end of June.
"July 7th."
"And I've been here since mid June. I missed your birthday." She turns back to Mathew. "How could you let me miss his birthday?"
Mathew shrugs. "He hates birthdays."
"But I love them. I love buying presents, and then seeing the person's face when they open it. You robbed me off that."
"Sorry." You stand and walk in front of her. "I will have another birthday next year." You tell her, rubbing her arm.
"Yeah, but no one even wished you a happy birthday. That makes me sad."
You chuckle and pull her into a hug. "It's just another day Lyds. Birthdays weren't a big deal growing up." They weren't. Your mom generally forgot them, and if she did remember you never got a gift.
"So you just sat at home on your birthday?"
"No." You shake your head.
"You hooked up?"
"No." You laugh. "My birthday was a Thursday, so I was at yours."
"Really? What did we watch?"
"'Dancer in the Dark'."
"Oh my... that film is so sad. I cried on you. On your birthday."
"Hey, I like Bjork."
"Still, that shouldn't be how you spend your birthday."
"I had fun." You assure her, squeezing her shoulder gently.
"Okay."
"Hey Lyds. Milk is having an 80s night Friday." Mathew calls from his desk.
"Thanks." She smiles over at him and then lets out a sigh, looking up at you. You notice how green her eyes are.
"I'm gonna make some tea. You want anything?"
She startles you. You shake your head and move to let her past. You know if she hadn't spoken, you were about ten seconds from kissing her.
You watch her head upstairs to the apartment as soon as the door clicks closed Mathew turns to look at you. "What's going on with you two?"
"What are you talking about?" You fake an air of nonchalance, because you know he can't read your mind.
"You just seem close. Nothing I should know about?"
