Chapter 28

You woke up to noise. Loud, chaotic, completely Katseye-core noise.

Bangs on the bedroom door, overlapping voices yelling “She’s awake!” and “Wait, don’t go in yet!” and – somewhere in the chaos – Manon whisper-shouting, “Did anyone light the candles or are we just giving her cake that smells like fridge?”

Dani groaned beside you, still half-asleep. “Tell them to go away,” she mumbled into her pillow.

You laughed, rubbing your eyes. “It’s my birthday. I think they’re allowed to ambush me.”

A second later, the door burst open and the girls flooded in like a chaotic girl-group hurricane – arms full of balloons, cake, presents, and glitter that you were absolutely going to find in your sheets for the next week.

Lara: “We made breakfast!”

Megan: “I supervised breakfast.”

Sophia: “Yoonchae burned the first pancake.”

Yoonchae: “It was sabotage.”

They surrounded your bed like a birthday altar, placing a tray in front of you with cake, coffee, and something that looked suspiciously like a melted candle lodged in a muffin.

Dani groaned again, throwing the blanket over her head.

“Happy birthday!” The girls cheered in perfect, very loud unison.

You couldn’t stop smiling.

*

Gift giving started after breakfast, with the girls gathered in the living room in pyjamas, sitting cross-legged on the rug like it was Christmas morning.

Lara gave you a little scrapbook she’d made with selfies, Polaroids, and inside jokes scribbled in margins. “Don’t cry, I’ll fight you,” she said while hugging you tightly.

Sophia and Yoonchae gifted you a custom playlist on a USB drive shaped like a heart. “With a track-by-track breakdown,” Sophia said. “And two secret songs we wrote just for you.”

Megan got you a vintage hoodie from a band you loved – the exact one you’d posted about months ago. “I may have stalked Depop for weeks,” she admitted.

Manon handed you a small box with matching friendship bracelets inside – simple, silver, engraved with your initials and the date you met. “Now we’re linked forever, sorry.”

They were all so good. Personal. Thoughtful. Completely you.

But when it was Dani’s turn, the room quieted just slightly.

She passed you a small box, wrapped in black paper and tied with a red ribbon.

You unwrapped it carefully – and inside was a delicate silver necklace, thin and subtle, with a tiny charm shaped like a moon on it.

You looked up. She was already watching you.

“It’s from the night we met,” she said quietly. “You told me the moon looked like it was watching us.”

Your chest tightened. The room sort of blurred for a second.

You touched the charm – light as air, but it held so much.

“I love it,” you whispered, barely trusting your voice.

“Good,” she said, softly. “That one’s the public gift.”

You blinked. “There’s another?”

Dani gave you a look. Not a sweet one. A different one. The kind that made your stomach flip and your cheeks burn.

“Later.”

*

The rest of the day was chaos – in the best way. Takeout, movies, loud singing, messes everywhere. But as the night wound down, one by one, the girls started disappearing into their rooms.

And when it was just you and Dani left in the hallway, she didn’t say a word.

Just took your hand and led you quietly into her room.

*

She locked the door.

Turned around slowly, her back against it, lips already curled into a smirk.

“You’ve been so patient.”

You stepped closer, heart picking up speed. “That’s twice in one week someone’s said that to me.”

“And both times, she said, pushing off the door, “you’re about to be rewarded.”

She walked to her side of the bed, reached underneath – and pulled out a small, matte black box. No ribbon. No tag.

Just intention.

She held it out to you without a word.

You took it – hands suddenly a little unsteady – and opened the lid.

Inside, nestled in black velvet, was lingerie. Deep red, barely-there, lacy and soft. It was… bold. Intimate. Hot.

But what caught you off guard was the note tucked inside.

You unfolded the small slip of paper, her handwriting scribbled in black ink:

“For later. When it’s just me.

Happy birthday, baby.”

You looked up – and Dani was watching you with a hunger she hadn’t shown all day.

“That’s not a gift you can open in front of the girls,” she said, voice low.

Your pulse spiked.

“And when exactly,” you asked, stepping toward her, “am I supposed to open this one?”

Her hand slipped around your waist, tugging you in gently. “Now works.”

*

You stayed on the bed, cross-legged, the little black box balanced between you like contraband. Dani’s grin was already half devil.

“Birthday rules,” she reminded, tapping the lid, “I get to be impatient… and I get front row seats.”

Wine-red lace spilled across your palm – bralette with eyelash edges, high-cut panties, that microscopic satin bow parked exactly where thigh meets trouble. Dani’s gaze tracked every inch as you stood, thumbs hooking the hem of your tee.

“Music to strip by?” you teased.

“Silence is fine,” she said, voice already rough. “I like hearing fabric fall.”

You peeled the shirt low; air kissed bare skin and her exhale caught. The bra followed – clasp in the front, one flick and it was gone. Dani’s knees opened a fraction, invitation and treat. You slid the lace up your arms, let the cups settle, underwire lifting like her hands would in about thirty seconds. She bit her lip when you adjusted, thumbs brushing your nipples through the lace just to watch her eyes darken.

“Pants next,” she ordered, husky. “Take your time – no, actually, don’t.”

You shimmied out of denim, stepped free, then rolled the panties up – thigh, hip, the little bow landing dead-centre like a stop sign she had no intention of obeying. When you snapped the garter belt into place she actually whimpered, low and honest.

“Turn.” It was half plea, half command.

You pivoted; the mirror across the room showed her staring at the scalloped edge riding the curve of your ass, fingertips denting the mattress like she was stopping herself from grabbing.

“Come here,” she whispered, voice velvet and starving. “That bow needs untying… with my teeth… right now.”

———-

Mhm… now that’s what I’m talking about 😉