One Chance

Chapter 18

A few minutes before midnight I look in the mirror to see how I look. The red dress fits me just right. Amanda is smiling from ear to ear just looking at me. 

" You know I've always liked this dress. Let me borrow it sometime. It looks great on you. I'm a little early but happy birthday. Now I am the first one to wish you. " She says. 

" Haha, you can borrow it anytime. Thank you for helping me. You have always been the first one to wish me. Thank you". I say in return and give her a hug. 

I finally head towards the garden and as I reach the area, the scene before me leaves me speechless. There's a table with a chocolate cake and two chairs. The entire area it decorated with fairy lights. I look up at the sky and it's a starry night. The moon looking bright as ever perfectly complementing the scene in front of me. 

Finally, Toby look up and spots me. He walks toward me, takes me by the hand and leads me to the table. He checks his watch and it's exactly 12 am. " Happy birthday", he says and kisses me on the forehead. 

" This is beautiful. You have really outdone yourself. I don't usually celebrate my birthday on this day, but this is something I'll always remember. " I say with tears almost rolling down my face. 

" Please don't cry." He says while wiping away that one tear drop from my cheek. " I know this is the first birthday I'm celebrating with you and maybe it could become a new tradition for us to celebrate it together on this day. " 

" I'd like that very much" I say and kiss him on the cheek. 

" Now cut the cake". He says and hands me the knife.

I take the knife from him and cut a slice and feed it to him. He then feeds me a small slice and applies cream to my cheek and the tip of my nose. I return the favour and smear his face with cream which only makes him apply more to my face. 

He then pulls me in to kiss me. His lips are on mine in no time. He intensifies the kiss and I give in, with both our lips moving with equal passion and intensity. His now cream stained hands roam around my back and I have one hand in his hair and the other around his neck. 

We are lost in the kiss and only break away to take a breath. After a few minutes we stop, and he rests his forehead on mine and there's a smile on his face. 

" I... I love you." He says and then he has his fingers on my chin making me look right at him. I stare into his eyes and I can see the sincerity in them, and I hear him swallow which makes me smile. 

" I love you" I say almost in a whisper. But he heard it clearly and he kisses me with more intensity than before. He bites my lower lip which makes me let out a small moan. But that doesn't faze him at all and we continue kissing. 

After what seems like a lot of time, but I'm sure it wasn't even 10 mins we hear footsteps. We break apart because the sound is very clear like the person is walking right towards us. We look around and spot a silhouette and it becomes clear after the person comes into view. 

As soon as we spot him, we move apart a little. Before anyone of us says anything, Henry speaks up. He is standing there like he didn't just interrupt our private moment. " I didn't know this area is occupied. I came here for a walk and seeing the lights I decided to see what was happening. I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Oh, there's cake. My favourite flavour too. Wait, is this a birthday celebration? Oh, yess, happy birthday Lucy." He says with a smug look on his face. 

" This is a private celebration. So, if you can please give us space and be on your way, we can celebrate in peace. " Toby says and I can see that he is angry, and his hands are in fists. 

I hold his hand and intertwine our fingers and he relax slightly after our hands are joined together. " Thank you, Henry, I'm sure the orchard is big enough for your walk. We could use some privacy so if you can please leave right now it would be great. " 

"Well I am clearly not welcome here, so I'll get out of your way." He says and walks away and before he's out of our sight he turns back and says," I'll see you around ". With that he finally leaves. 

We both stand there for a few minutes just watching him leave and when he's out of sight I squeeze Toby's hand and he completely relaxes. 

" I really wanted to punch the dude. Who knows how long he was watching us? I don't like him one bit. If he comes near you again, I'll punch him so hard that he cannot forget it. "

" You don't have to fight with him. We never have to see him again. Let's just forget about him and enjoy our time. Come on, the cake is delicious. It's be a waste to not eat it. " I say and he finally looks at me. 

"Fine..." he sighs. 

We then sit quietly and eat the cake, not really saying anything. I try to feed him the cake just to lighten the mood but it's clearly not working. Whatever romance was in the air, is clearly gone. 

After a few minutes Toby let's out a grunt and then says he's sorry. " I had this whole thing planned out. I'm sorry I let him get on my nerves. Do you want to dance.?". He asks. 

I nod and he takes my hand and pulls me close. He puts on some music on his phone and I put my head on his chest and we sway. He tightens his hold on me, now holding me in a tight hug. 

I look up at his face and kiss him and he follows. Afterwards a happy fast paced song plays on the phone and we dance like nothing happened. There's a smile on his face again and it make some happy. 

We finally get back to our rooms at 2 am and he gives me a final kiss at my door before walking into his own. I quickly change into my night clothes and fall asleep as soon as I get into bed.

The next morning, we all head into breakfast together and everyone at the table wish me a happy birthday. After that's done, Toby goes to help Mark and Ashlyn with something and fill Amanda on last night's events. She is happy about the cake and the dancing and kissing but gets enraged hearing about Henry crashing it. She vows to give him a lecture, but I talk her down and we end up laughing by the end. 

" So, you guys seemed to have escalated last night. Do you plan on going further anytime soon? " She asks with a wink. 

" I don't know. I mean I want to. He said he loved me. I love him. I know I do. But these things can't be planned right!? I reply and also ask. 

" Hahaha  my dear Lucy , you are finally growing up. Took you longer than most people but hey, 25 might just be your year. " She says and I put my head in my hands to cover my red face. My cheeks were getting hot and I didn't want anyone to notice. 

" Okay, I'll stop teasing you now. As long as you are sure, I say go for it. It's not soon or anything and you feel comfortable with him, so I don't really see an issue."

I give her a hug because I really didn't know what else to say. We roam around for a while and take in all the sights. Toby, Mark and Ashlyn join us after a while, and we all spend time plucking apples. Toby and I form a team and we end up getting the most apples and are rewarded with an apple pie. 

It's dinner time when we get back into the cottage. We had a picnic for a late lunch so by dinner none of us are hungry. But Mark prepares a dinner for Mathew and Henry and takes it to their room. They have pretty much left us alone the entire day. I am not sure if they were in their room or just avoided us but either way, I was relieved that we never saw them. 

We play boards games in the living room once Mark joins us. Ashlyn is a pro at monopoly, and this didn't surprise me one bit. I aced Scrabble while Amanda and Mark were spectacular at chess. Toby defeated us multiple times at UNO. When the clock strikes 11 pm Toby and Mark leave us saying they have something to do. 

Amanda, Ashlyn and I are in the middle of a puzzle when Mark shows up and gestures us to follow him. We walk quietly with him and we enter the hall which is slightly bigger than the living room which is usually used for events. As soon as we enter the three of us are stunned looking at the room. I immediately spot Toby and a couple of other very familiar guests. Amanda and I hold each other's hands and we smile so big.