Perfection slipped through the rest of the month, and a week after, until the first of September fell on my calendar. This was the first time in a long time I'd circled a day in red, but it wasn't as a warning. It was welcoming.

With my rent envelope in hand, I paired it with the lease agreement Mr. Paul had given me back in the Spring. It was for a year, but after my relationship with Brian took higher levels, I had to break it early.

Really, it wasn't up to me; I wouldn't mind staying in the tiny one-bedroom that kept me safe in my first days of city life. It was cozy, and I'd finally bought my TV. But Brian held the upper hand, and not in a possessive way either.

It was more... addicting. I'd be lying if I said I'd spent the past two weeks in my apartment; because I didn't. I'd been at Brian's, nestled in his bed, trapped under his weight, and while Autumn crept around the corner, his arms and lean chest was the only warmth I needed.

Rianne and the others manned the shop more often, and we'd arrived late. This time the pay raise they'd mentioned before happened because it was only right. The shop flourished, welcoming new customers, but we didn't see it happen; at least not all the time.

Was I okay with lying in bed, listening to Brian whisper in my ear? Uh, yeah. The honeymoon stage was real, and I loved it.

What I didn't love was that guilt that settled in the pit of my stomach as I packed the rest of my clothes into my small suitcase and knocked on Mr. Paul's door. He smiled warmly when he opened it and motioned for me to come inside; I did, but not all the way. I went in just a foot and smiled as I handed both the rent and lease to him.

He chuckled at the smiley face on the envelope but glanced at the second paper. "What's this?" he asked, unfolding it.

I shrugged and looked down at my hands. My fingers did small dances together before pressing into the pocket of my cardigan. "My lease," I squeezed one eye shut and looked at him with the other, "I'm moving out next month."

"Oh, Kay..." Mr. Paul paused, folding the paper back into its neat little burrito fold.

"But!" I held my hands up and pointed at it. "I've got someone to take it over, just like it says."

He glanced down at it.

And I spoke a mile a minute.

"See, Kyle, Brian's cousin, wants to move back into the city and needs a place. And Brian wants me to live with him—"

"Really?" Mr. Paul lifted his brow.

"—And I know it's sudden and out of the blue, but I paid the full month's rent, just in case he doesn't move in right away. I'll still come back and forth, to help out and stuff, anyway. And, I thought, I owed you some cupcakes this time. I mean—"

"Kay," Mr. Paul tried to interrupt.

"—if Mrs. Paul had you do it, wouldn't it be great if your tenants did it back, too? So, I wanted to ask what your favorite flavor was. OH! And! Brian's throwing me a birthday party tonight. My birthday's really in two weeks, but today's really the only day we could squeeze it in because the shop is doing so well, we couldn't like keep the shop closed later in the year because school comes back and—"

"Kay." Mr. Paul dropped the envelope and lease on his coffee table and touched my arms. When I blinked three times fast, he laughed. "Slow down."

"Oh." I went off the edge, didn't I?

"Moving out is okay. Honestly, you didn't have to replace the space, but the fact that you did is nice, and I appreciate it. Is Kyle that boy that picked you up before?"

I nodded.

"Well, good, then he's fine. As for the cupcakes, you don't have to."

"I want to," I whispered.

"No, it's fine, but your party..."

Oh, no, he's going to say no again, like before.

He lifted his hands away from me and crossed his arms in front of his chest. We stared at each other for what felt like hours, but his sudden smile reminded me it was less than thirty seconds. There was a twinkle in his eye. "I'll go to your party. What time does it start?"

I paused, went back, and replayed his words. For a second, they didn't register. "You will...?"

Mr. Paul nodded, glancing back towards his bedroom. "I will. Is it one of those fancy ones? I don't think I have the right clothes for it but—"

"No, no, no!" I excitedly jumped. "It's casual! It's just friends!"

His smile brightened up the room. "I'm honored you consider me a friend."

I grinned. Of course, I did! I didn't want to go into detail as to why I did, because I was sure I'd talk his ear off again. But the fact that he'd leave his apartment to come to celebrate with me was good enough.

"Then, tonight?" I nodded, all too excited. "Eight o'clock."

Mr. Paul nodded and crossed his arms. "You have my word," he said.

"Great!" Stepping out of his apartment, I grabbed the handle of my bag and lifted it up against my leg. "You'll have a lot of fun, I promise."

|||

So much fun. Those were the words I repeated in my head as I walked down the street, excitedly heading towards the shop. I promised Rianne I'd help with her morning shift, even though Brian complained. He reminded me that tonight was supposed to be my night. And I reminded him the shop still needed to make business.

So, we came to a middle agreement; I'd help Rianne, and I have to leave by noon. That way, I'd have a few hours to get ready before the party began.

Thinking about it, I smiled giddily and walked faster. The faster I got to work, the faster I'd have my party. Yes, the shop's business was important to me. I wasn't lying to Brian. But birthdays were just as important.

After a while, my birthdays had turned into just another day. My parents were always busy with something, and when my brother left home, I made my own cupcakes, decorated with a nice candle, just for me. The fact that Brian wanted to throw me a party made me feel special. Not that he had a hard time doing that already.

I reached the crosswalk and stopped when the hand told me I couldn't go any further. Considering I was just in front of the bookstore, I turned and glanced at the window, looking for Jade. For the first time, I saw a guy with blond hair at the front desk instead of her. His nose was in the book, glasses sitting on the edge of his nose. I almost knocked on the window to give him an awkward hello, when a car honked and stopped me.

The crosswalk had changed, and the red light kept the car running in one spot. "Kay!"

Poking her head out of the passenger side window was Jade. She smiled, ear to ear, her hair blowing in the window. Her eyes were too big with happiness.

"Jade?" I blinked at her, glancing back at the window and the strange guy in her spot. "I thought you'd be here. You know, working?"

"Working?" she scoffed. "On your birthday."

I pursed my lips a bit and narrowed my eyes. "It's only my birthday party. My birthday isn't—"

I hadn't paid attention to the person behind the wheel. The driver's arm pressed Jade back against her seat and showed me her face instead. To my surprise, it was another one of my friends... you know, that should be working.

"Rianne?" I blinked.

"Girl!" She batted her eyes at me. "There's never just one birth-day. You get a birth-month."

The crossing light changed, as did the streetlight. An impatient car pulled up behind theirs, but when Rianne didn't move—still looking at me with her cheesy smile—it honked its horn angrily and sped around her.

"Okay, birth month." I gripped the handle of my bag and pulled it up against my leg. "But... what does that have to do with today? And the shop?" I took my turn to bat my eyes. "You know, that we're supposed to open?"

Rianne laughed, and so did Jade. "Shawn's opening with Leeny," she said, winking at me. "And we're taking you to a salon."

"Shawn and Leeny?" I bit my lip. "A salon?"

I couldn't even say no. I thought about it, debating if breaking my agreement with Brian was worth the new hair. But I really couldn't say no, because Jade hopped out of the car and I was...

Well, they kidnapped me.

I'm sure it was hilarious if you had been standing across the street. Me, this tiny woman, whined as Jade opened her door and snatched my bag out of my hands. When she tossed it in the backseat, Rianne jumped out of the driver's seat, and the two of them—one on each side of me—pushed me in, just next to my suitcase. By the time I could get comfortable and finally say no, they'd already hopped back in the car and sped off.

|||

I hadn't been to a salon in like ten years. Sure, I went in for a trim, but never for the whole shebang. I never saw a need for it. Being cute was good enough.

But no, that's not what Jade and Rianne said. According to them, I needed to be gorgeous. "Not that you aren't already," Jade had said defensively as the stylist sat me down in a chair. "But we want you to feel like it, too."

After three hours of brushing, combing, trimming, and shampooing, followed by another two hours of outfit shopping, lipstick picking, and shoe browsing, I felt it.

Oh, I felt it. I looked into Jade's tall, standing mirror with a large smile on my face.

My hair was trimmed and curled to frame my face. Pink lipstick matched a cream dress Rianne had picked; one that hugged every curve of me. My shoes had a small heel; my toes peeped out of the front. My nails, my jewelry, and the belt around my waist, all shimmered gold.

I blushed so hard; I didn't need make-up to do that for me.

"See." Jade and Rianne stood on either side of me, arms folded across their chests. "Gorgeous."

I flattened my hands down my sides and sighed at my reflection. "I love it," I whispered.

"Good!" Rianne smiled, gently fluffing one side of my hair. "You look amazing. We want you to feel amazing, too."

"You guys are great." I looked at them both through the mirror. "The fact that you planned this, and—"

Rianne took one step back, biting her lip. Jade did the same. When they both wouldn't look at me anymore, because they hid their smiles, I turned around to face them. "This wasn't planned? This was, what? Spontaneous?"

"No," Jade giggled. "we planned it."

"We wanted to take you out and pamper you," Rianne added.

"But..." I waved my hand in front of me, waiting for an answer. Both looked at me with smiles and shimmers in their eye. Jade turned around first, hands behind her back; Rianne pretended to fix the bottom of her shoe before turning, too. Somehow, without meaning to, both looked at the clock.

So did I.

"It's noon..." I bit my bottom lip. "Brian said I had to leave the shop at noon."

"Well, you were never there, so..." Jade scrunched up her nose.

"And he sort of never wanted you there..." Rianne added, hiding her face.

I blinked. "What? But, I told him I'd open; I'd help. The shop—"

"The shop can wait." Rianne came to me and took my hand. "I think you've figured it out by now that Brian's changed a lot the past few years. And changed even more since meeting you."

She led me over towards Jade's bed covered in blue shoes. When she sat me down, Jade sat down next to me.

"After his birthday, he got the hint that birthdays are a big thing for you. He wanted to do this right." Rianne dropped on the opposite side of me. "Our job, though planned anyway, was to keep you as far away as possible. Then, take you in at one."

"One?" I looked from her to Jade. "My party starts at eight..."

"No," Jade shook her head, "it doesn't. It starts at one."

"But—"

"No buts." Rianne looked back at the clock again. "Brian doesn't like buts."