On the eve of the twin's 19th birthday, we were still in Jersey. I had texted Cameron that we should do something the morning of, and with some groans, I got her to help me. We were up at 7 making breakfast, with the help of Lisa, of course. I cracked the eggs and stirred the batter, but Lisa did all the heavy lifting for breakfast. I was setting out the fruit when Grayson came downstairs, scratching the back of his neck tiredly.
"Happy birthday!" I told him, giving him a hug. He smiled back.
"Thanks, this looks so good," he commented, meeting his mother's eyes. "Thanks, mom."
"Happy birthday, sweetie," she said, cupping his cheek.
"You're 19," Cam said stoically.
"Thanks a lot, Cam," Grayson replied, lumbering over to give her a hug.
"Emma, why don't you wake Ethan up so we can eat together?" Lisa suggested. I nodded and made my way to the stairs.
"Grayson, get your dad." I heard Lisa say in a muffled voice. I raised downstairs, and crept slowly into the room I escaped from an hour ago. Ethan was still curled up, asleep, a feather pillow tucked under his arm, taking my place. I grinned, creeping up to the side of the bed and straddling his sleeping figure.
"Ethan," I whispered. He didn't move. "Ethan. Ethan!"
So much for waking him up in a cute way. I jumped off the bed and braced myself.
"ETHAN! Ethan, get up, get up!" I yelled, shaking him as best I could. It worked, and Ethan's eyes shot open, hand going straight to the one I had on his hip.
"Whatizit?" he fumbled, flipping haphazardly to see me.
"Happy birthday!" I said.
"Thanks," he said softly, putting a hand on his chest. "That scared me, Emma. I thought you were hurt or something. Jesus."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Stop, don't do that ever again," he said, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me on top of him.
"I was supposed to wake you up. We made you breakfast." I informed him, our heads touching on the pillow.
"Thank you," Ethan said, closing his eyes again.
"Come on, E. Up, up." I coaxed.
"No. You stay with me." he insisted, grinning like a child. "I'm 19 now, you can't tell me what to do."
"Oh, yes, I can." I insisted, humoring him. I kissed his tan shoulder and grabbed his hand, once again trying to drag him out of bed.
"Okay, okay," he mumbled, finally crawling out of bed and throwing a sweatshirt on over his bare chest. He made his way towards the door when I stepped in front of him.
"Happy birthday, Ethan Grant Dolan. I'm so glad you're letting me spend it with you."
"Of course. Who else?" he teased, pushing me up the stairs. Grayson and the rest of the Dolan family were already sitting down, and Lisa had Ethan's plate filled. I sat on the bench next to him.
"Happy birthday boys, blow out your candles," Sean said, smiling. I cocked my head at him, wondering why his smile was drooping and his eyes didn't seem as bright as the night before.
The boys blew out the single candle that was stuck in each of their waffles.
"Dad, are you alright?" Cameron asked quietly. She noticed as well.
"Fine. I just can't believe my boys are 19 already, that's all," he explained heartily. "I'm proud of you guys. I couldn't be happier."
Lisa didn't buy it. She whispered in his ear and rubbed his shoulder. He shook her off.
"So what do you boys have planned for today?" Sean said grandly, effectively stopping Lisa from whispering to him.
"Quading, maybe." Grayson decided, mouth full.
"Probably just hang out," Ethan said simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned.
"They're always in on something that we're not," Cameron informed me.
"Believe me, I know." I chuckled.
And hanging out was just what we did. Grayson followed through, immediately suiting up and going out in the sleet. Ethan and I hung back and cleaned up breakfast, finished decorating the tree, and spent the rest of the day watching all of Ethan's favorite movies. We must have watched Die Hard three times together already.
But of course, he let me pick one, so I modestly chose Napoleon Dynamite. He laughed at the first few scenes, but then was asleep, hands loosely around the popcorn bowl. His face was squished against the leather cushion, and I snapped a picture before curling up in a blanket next to him.
Later that night, we freshened up and went out for sushi with some of Ethan and Grayson's friends from home. It was awkward, to say the least.
Nonetheless, I was giddy with excitement when we got home. I had a surprise for Ethan. Sprinting to the guest room, I locked it before he could get in.
"Emm-uhhh." Ethan groaned, knocking on the door.
"One second!" I called. I quickly changed into a cute bra and panties, then threw a robe on over it. I grabbed the slim wrapped box from my suitcase. "Okay, ready to go."
I unlocked the door and pushed the present to his chest.
"You didn't have to get me anything," he said automatically.
"Yes, I did." I insisted, patting the bed spot next to me. He sat down and took the lid off the box.
"You did not," Ethan mumbled, revealing the $15,000 Rolex, engraved with a small e² on the back.
"'E squared' for Emma and Ethan?" he whispered. I smiled at him, nodding.
"Thank you, Emma. I can't believe you blew your money like that." he sighed.
"I didn't blow it. It makes me happy because I know you wanted it." I explained. "Plus, I'll make all the money back when I announce we're dating. I'll blow up."
He rolled his eyes at me, knowing I was joking.
Then, I gently took the watch from his hands and set it on the dresser, removing my robe immediately after. Ethan's eyes quickly scanned my body as I moved to lock the door.
"Oh, my gosh." Ethan groaned, throwing his head back. "I don't deserve you."
"No, I don't deserve you," I whispered in his ear, catching his lips in the first of many that night.
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happy nineteenth to e&g
