the scent of heat → r . taylor ( COMPLETED )

fourteen

"Happy birthday, Addy!"

The evening Brazilian sun warmed the back of Adeline's neck while she ducked her head. She, along with the rest of the band, were up in Freddie's hotel room at his request. When she tried to pry the reason out of Roger, he simply shrugged his shoulders and remained silent.

"You guys!" Adeline laughed, her cheeks going red as she covered her face with her hands. Roger wrapped his arms around her from behind and gently hoisted her up, laughing as she squeaked.

"You didn't think we'd forgotten, did you?" Brian asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Of course not! But you have your show in less than two hours! You need to be rehearsing!" she said as Roger set her back down.

"No, we need to be celebrating the birthday of one of our closest friends," Freddie said, pulling out a chair for her at the table. Roger brought her over and let her sit down, resting his hands on her shoulders with a smile.

"Aw, you guys," Adeline said, pressing her hand to her chest as Freddie set down a small birthday cake in front of her.

"Oh, just blow out the candle and make a wish, darling," Freddie said, smiling down at her.

"Only one candle? Did you forget how old I am?" she teased.

"Not at all. We just figured you never aged, so..." Roger grinned down at her while she rolled her eyes playfully.

"I see your game, Taylor. And I approve." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips before turning back to the cake and blowing out the single candle. She felt Roger squeeze her shoulders and press a kiss to the top of her head, so she turned to smile up at him.

"You gonna cut the cake, Addy?" he asked, chuckling softly.

"Nah. Everyone just grab a fork and dig in."

Everyone had pulled up a chair (besides Roger, who asked Adeline to switch places so she could sit on his lap), and started to eat.

"Best birthday ever," she said around a mouthful of cake Roger had fed her.

"But you haven't even opened your gifts yet," Roger said, setting his fork down on the dish.

"Oh my god, you didn't have to get me anything. None of you did." Adeline said as Roger lifted her up and set her back down in her chair before leaving the room.

"But we did," Brian said, smiling a bit as he squeezed her hand. She squeezed his hand back as Roger reentered the room, three neatly wrapped packages in his arms. He set them down in front of her and grinned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And before you ask, Deacy did the wrapping," Freddie said, and she laughed.

"I figured as much. It looks too uniform," she teased. "So which one do I open first?"

Freddie smiled and pushed forward the biggest of the boxes, though it was flat and rectangular against the table. Laughing, Adeline pulled the box to her and carefully unwrapped it, setting the paper aside as she lifted the lid.

"Oh my god, Freddie," she gasped, "it's beautiful." Inside the box was a shimmering black and gold dress that looked as though it stopped just above the knee. The way the evening sun bounced off of the material nearly blinded Adeline, but she didn't care.

"It's custom made, just for you, darling," he said, leaning forward to give her a hug. "Happy birthday."

"Oh, thank you so much, Freddie. I'll wear it to the show tonight," she promised as she sat back in her seat. Next, Brian pushed a smaller package forward, a warm smile on his face. She smiled back at him and unwrapped it, revealing a medium box. She lifted the lid and smiled up at her best friend. Inside was a watch identical to his, which meant Cece had helped him pick it out.