Authors: L.S. Darsic
“You're like a big kid with her” I smile at Finn as he gets in. Damn he has a nice body. Muscled arms, pecks, abs, strong legs all topped off with a gorgeous face. Its hard not to stare.
“I love animals but I feel an attachment with Egypt, must be cause of her master is smoking hot” Finn says with a smirk as he gets closer to me to pull me on his lap. One thing I like so much about Finn is that he is is never tentative about what he does. He seems to confident and like its just a natural thing to just pull me into his lap or kiss me and he makes me feel the same way. Like it just is what comes natural to us, which is strange because I'm a shy person and never make the first move.
“So, how about you tell me why I couldn't know when your birthday was?” Finn asks quietly while playing with my hair that I pulled up into a ponytail earlier.
“I'm sorry Finn. I didn't mean to be a drama queen.” I sigh
“Alex, I just want to understand why you couldn't tell me. Do you not trust me?”
“No, its not that. I just hate my birthday”
“Why?” Finn persists
“Let me ask you something, how did your family celebrate birthdays when you were growing up?” I turn the tables on him
“Well, we still celebrate birthdays. My father says they are important because even though we live a long time we are still growing and learning something new every day, so each year that passes is important to celebrate. As for what we do for our birthday celebrations, it depends on whose birthday it is. For my last birthday I spent the day riding horses with the family and then I challenged Ian to a sword fight. Donna give me that look! His life goal is to best me at swords but he never can so I especially like to do this on my birthdays because it makes the day even more sweater to watch the agony of his defeat” Finn smiles at the memory. “Then we have a nice dinner out somewhere and the last celebration of the day we have my favorite dessert, which is Raspberry Cranacan, along with some shots of whiskey.” Finn finishes happily as if he is remembering every detail of his last birthday. This is what I was afraid of. What I am afraid to tell him. I don't want to see the pity on his face when he discovers how unloved my family makes me feel. I don't need or want him to feel sorry for me. Finn looks at me expectantly.
“Well my birthdays have been so different from yours and that is why I didn't want to tell you. Since coming here and seeing how your family is, I am starting to see that my family is far from being like them. I feel like they hate me” I say with a watery smile as I turn my head to look out at the city lights.
“Alex, your family doesn't hate you. What do they do differently than mine, aside from telling you nothing? I think they kept you in the dark so long because they think they are protecting you” Finn says as he turns my face to look at me
“Finn, you don't get it. I'm not just saying this. You want examples?” I ask raising my voice because I'm starting to get frustrated “my birthdays from since I can remember is everyone acting like it was just another day. I remember I went home on my 10th birthday from school and I was so excited because I wanted to have my friends over and have balloons and have a big chocolate cake with ice cream like all the kids in school had. So I went to my mother and asked if I could have those things, she told me no. Then I started to cry because I was just a kid and I didn't understand, I was sent to bed without dinner because I was crying. I know there are kids out there who were raised with abuse and neglect so I can't even begin to complain about my birthday being ignored by my family, but when I tell you that I feel unloved and unwanted it is because I truly feel that way” I finish with a sigh and lean my head back to look at the sky full of stars. This room really is perfect. I love it here.
“What did you do for your birthday last year Alex?” Finn asks quietly
“I stayed in my house, watched a few movies, ate a ton of ice cream” I say wistfully “Egypt was there with me of course and always has been since I got her so at least I wasn't completely alone” I sigh. Finn says nothing but pulls me back into his lap and holds me tight which causes my emotions to break. How can this man make me open up to him? Maybe I just haven't ever had anyone I could really be open with? I try to compose myself and not ugly cry but its hard, so I just stare out at the night sky and tell myself over and over that I am thankful for everything I have and the life I am living right now.
I am startled when I hear a loud “BONG, BONG, BONG” coming from outside until I realize its the large clock that is in the middle of the city. Must be midnight.
“Happy birthday Alex” Finn says as he kisses me soundly
“Already the best birthday I've ever had” I whisper against his lips. Finn continues his assault on my lips as his fingers trail up and down leisurely on my back. With both of us wearing barely any clothes things start to get quite heated which makes me want to lose control and do what I said I wasn't going to do with Finn.
Pulling away and looking at my face, Finn says breathlessly “I think we should slow down”
I can't seem to form a response so I just nod in agreement. As if things could get any shittier now Finn, the man-whore has rejected me? Not that I was going to sleep with him tonight but he doesn't know that. Now he is telling me to slow down? I don't think my self confidence could take anymore hits.
“Hey, look at me” Finn says as he pulls my face back to his “I am only doing this because I don't want to rush things. You are not just some girl to sleep with, you are more than that to me” Finn says seriously.
“H-how did you know that is what I was thinking?” I whisper
“I'm beginning to know you and you wear your emotions on your face which makes it very easy to read” Finn smiles as he holds me to him.
I spend the rest of the night happily in Finn's hot tub as we talk and joke with each other. Once we are both prunes, we get out and head to bed. I am beginning to be spoiled by sleeping wrapped up in Finn's arms.
“Alllleeeeexxxxx” I wake suddenly to my name being called and a wet nose in my face. What the hell?
“E, what are you doing?” I mumble as I try to push her fat head away from me
“She is trying to wake you up just like I've been doing for the last 10 minutes” Finn says as he looks down on me from the edge of the bed.
“Why on earth are you trying to wake me up? Can't you see I was happily sleeping?” I grumble at him as I throw a pillow over my head and burrow back under the covers, hoping he goes away.
“How am I supposed to feed you birthday breakfast in bed if you are sleeping? I suppose I could baby bird feed you if you refuse to wake up, can't promise you won't choke though”
“Finn, are you seriously telling me you want to chew up my food for me and then spit it in my mouth? You are disgusting”
“Well it seems to be my only option since your food is going to waste, I went through all this trouble to make you something good but you won't even see what it is” Finn pouts, I bet he looks adorable right now with his lip sticking out.
“Grrrrr, fine. I'm up. I wouldn't want to waste your food, heaven forbid” I grumble as I sit up and look at Finn who is holding a tray of food with a bright smile on his face. Whoa, he went all out, now I sort of feel bad.
“Happy birthday beautiful” Finn says sweetly as he places the tray in front of me. The tray is loaded with all sorts of food that I don't know the name of but it looks great, right in the middle of the tray is a stack of pancakes with a lit candle stuck in the middle.
“Finn, this is....the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me” I turn to him with watery eyes.
“Blow out your candle birthday girl and then eat up, we have a long day ahead of us” Finn says as he leans down and gives me a lingering kiss as I try to get my emotions under control.
“What are we doing today?” I ask as I shove some food in my mouth
“Its a surprise, just wear some jeans and comfortable shirt and shoes” Finn calls over his shoulder as he heads out the door. I quickly eat as much food as I can and jump in the shower to get ready. They have the best showers here, I wish my house wasn't so tiny so I could put in one of these bad ass showers. I finish showering and walk out into the bedroom to pull out some clothes and notice a wrapped box on the bed. No way, could this be for me? I walk up to it as if its a bomb ready to blow up and check the tag “wear me today” it says simply. I am so giddy that I tear the paper off like I'm throwing confetti at a party. I open the box and find a pair of black stylish hiking boots. Well I guess that solves the mystery of what we are doing today, I know I will at least be hiking. I'm so excited that I run in to the office to find Finn in nothing but my towel. Finn is sitting at his desk working on his lap top so I run around the desk and throw myself in his lap and kiss his stunned face all over.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I say after each kiss “just the breakfast in bed made my day, now you give me a gift and we are going somewhere! I'm so excited!” I squeal excitedly
“You are very welcome Alex but it was just food and boots, you act like I gave you a fortune!” Finn laughs as I continue to hug him and kiss him all over
“Finn, you don't even know how happy you've just made me!”
“You haven't ever received a gift before, have you?” Finn asks with a scowl
“Nope, but I'm so happy you are the one to give me my first gift. Its perfect!” I chirp happily
“Well if you come sit on my lap in nothing but a towel every time I give you a gift I'm going to be buying you a lot of things” Finn winks as I stand up to finish getting ready. I turn red and march back to the bathroom with a smile. This guy is so hard to resist. First he was so sweet to me last night and now he is making me breakfast and buying me boots. My plan to go home with my heart intact is falling apart rapidly.
I finish getting ready and head out to the living room where Finn and Egypt are lounging and waiting for me. “I'm ready, where to Captain?” I ask as I plop down next to Finn on the couch.
“Well, first I have a very urgent matter to deal with” Finn says as he pulls me to him and kisses me long and slow.
“Y-yes that was a very urgent matter, I am glad to help you resolve it” I laugh huskily, damn that boy can kiss!
“Next, we hop in the car and I'm going to take you sightseeing so you can take some pictures since you didn't get a chance to take many the other day” Finn frowns as he takes my hand and pulls me up from the couch. Yeah, I didn't get to take many since I basically passed out after Cam sucked my blood. Thanks to Anja for remembering my camera, otherwise it would still be at the beach and probably washed away with the tide.
Finn, Egypt and I head to the Range Rover and start driving through the city as Finn points out buildings and tells me interesting facts about the city. We drive about fifteen minutes to what looks to be a private airstrip which makes me wonder where the heck he is taking me.
“So...... we're flying?” I ask Finn as we exit the car and start walking towards a hanger
“Yes, I had our helicopter fly up so I can take you somewhere” Finn says as we walk into the hanger towards two men sitting by a desk.
“Hello Maren, Hello Talo, this is Alex” Finn says as we approach the older men.
“Good ta meetchya” Maren nods his head at me as Talo smiles in greeting to me.
“Hello, nice to meet you both”
“Shes right set, gassed up and waitin” Maren says to Finn as he walks with us to the other side of the hanger and out the door to the waiting helicopter on the landing pad.
“Thanks. I will radio in later” Finn says as he pats Maren on the back and heads to the helicopter. Egypt and I slowly follow, I've ridden in planes but they have mostly been the bigger kind. I have never ridden in a helicopter and frankly I'm looking forward to it. Especially watching Finn fly it.
“Finn, you sure Egypt will be alright going in this?” I ask as he opens the door for me to get into the front.
“Yes, I am sure she will be fine. Cir Siths are adventerous animals” Finn says with a wink as he lightly brushes his lips against mine “buckle up beautiful”
“Egypt, we are going for a little trip, you ready?” Finn asks Egypt in an excited voice that gets her bouncing around excited. Finn pats the floor at the back door and Egypt hops in happily and ready to go. Well that was easy.
Once Finn ensures I am buckled up he starts flipping switches and talking to the radio tower for take off, next thing I know we are in the air. As we get higher and higher I see the city in the distance, its so big and beautiful. It reminds me of a castle. I wonder if we are going to take a tour over the city. I begin to pull out my camera but Finn stops me and tells me that there will be time for that later so I sit back and enjoy the view. The rolling green hills and little patches of white sheep herds are all over, it makes me feel so lucky to see all this. I look to my right and see what looks to be a huge castle and a large rock behind it with the sea all around them. As Finn lowers the helicopter in the field a distance away from the castle, where I see there is a road and a black SUV packed off to the side.
“Where are we?”
“This is Tantallon Castle and behind it is called Bass Rock. This is the most interesting castle around, in my opinion. Plus, I know the owners so I asked they close it so we are able to look around without any tourists getting in the way” Finn says as we get out of the helicopter and settle into the SUV for the short drive up to the castle.
My brain is stuck in dumb stare mode as we get closer to the castle. Its amazing! The castle looks to be set on the edge of cliffs that fall into the sea.
“This type of castle is called "
curtain castle
". When we get inside you will see what I mean” Finn says as he stops the car and gets out.
“This is amazing” I whisper to Finn as he helps me out of the car. Finn starts pulling me forward but I stop him with a tug of my hand.
“If I forget to thank you later because my brain is on overload” I say as I step closer to Finn and press my lips to his “thank you so much for this day, for everything” I whisper against his lips as his arms pull me closer
“You are welcome, I love seeing a smile on your face and your eyes bright” Finn smiles happily at me “come on, let's go see if the ghosts are out” Finn says as he takes my hand and pulls me to the castle.
Walking through what would be called the main door, I suppose, Finn pulls me into what I can only describe as a narrow hallway and through another door which leads into the middle of the what one would think would be the castle. Here I was thinking we would see a huge throne room, I was not prepared to see wide open space.
“Finn! What happened to the back of the castle? It looks like someone blew the back of the thing off!” I ask in awe. The grass is green and looks like nothing was ever there besides open space.
“This is what I meant by a
curtain castle
. There never has been a back to it. The castle is within what you see behind you. Interesting isn't it?” Finn explains while I pull out my camera and start clicking away. I've never heard of such a thing. Why on earth would they build something like this? Maybe there was a village in the open area? The castle is essentially just a wall in front of the open area that is by the sea. It is so odd.
“I wasn't kidding when I said there might be ghosts here, there are rumors that a ghost has been captured many times in pictures. Want to walk through the halls and see if we can find any?”
“Pfft! You even have to ask me that!?! Lead the way!” I skip to Finn's side as he leads me back through the stairs with Egypt on our heals. Finn leads us through crazy stairs and over to one of the three towers of the castle, from there the view is spectacular of the ocean and Bass Rock.
“Finn, what exactly is Bass Rock?” I'm a bit confused by looking at it.
“Well, it basically is an island made of volcanic rock that is home to about one billion annoying birds called Gannets. They are pigs and do nothing but eat all the fish around. As you can see there is a lighthouse there also, I feel sorry for the poor bastard who had to live on that island with all them birds. It also used to be a prison” Finn says as we stare at the island with white birds flying all around it. Looks cool from here but I bet its covered in bird poop.
We continue our walk through the castle and I manage to take several pictures of Finn that he doesn't notice. I will be able to look back on these when I get home and remember this day forever.
“How about we get a picture together?” I ask Finn as we stop by the perfect spot that would put some of the castle and sea in the background. Finn walks over and pulls me to him, with our faces together we take several pictures, some with funny faces and some serious. My favorite will be the one where Finn suddenly turned his head and kissed me. After we wander around for another hour, he leads me back to the main area that is open by the sea and I notice a blanket has been laid out with a basket of food.
“How did that get here?” I ask as we walk to the blanket
“I dunno, maybe the ghost left it?” Finn says with a laugh as we sit down. He digs through the basket and pulls out a cupcake and a candle.
“Another candle to blow out and wish to make, beautiful” Finn says as I am stunned to tears, god, I am such a baby. He is so thoughtful, he has already made this day the best I've ever had but he keeps on adding to it. After Finn lights the candle, I blow it out and wish for a way to relive this day over and over.
“Thank you so much Finn. I feel like saying thank you isn't enough” I say shyly as I look down so he doesn't see my tears
“Thank you is enough Alex. You deserve this and more. You shouldn't be crying on your birthday, my beautiful girl” Finn says as he pulls my chin up so I am looking at him. I wish I could find the words to express how much this means to me.
Once we have enjoyed a light lunch of fresh baked bread, cheese, fruit and salad we walk back to the SUV hand in hand with Egypt trailing us.