4 Alex's birthday

Alex's birthday party was taking place in a fancy French restaurant. Jo didn't know where that choice came from. He wasn't a fan of that type of cuisine. She would have expected more of an oriental place with Sushi or Thai food, which her friend had a soft spot for.

She was wearing an elegant, tight black dress that reached down to the middle of her thighs. Long, light brown leather boots covered the other half of her sightly legs. They were the only reasonably elegant shoes she could squeeze her swollen ankle into.

For such an occasion, it was appropriate to wear some high heels, but looking at the socialites, she was still taller than most of the ones who had assembled. That was the best excuse for wearing her shoes, of course, not an injured ankle.

She had the perfect make-up on and carefully done delicate curls. There was no trace of fatigue on her face, nor of the traumas, she had endured in the last few weeks.

Before she arrived home, she had a few days off. She visited a spa, masseur, beautician, and hairdresser, and most of all, she finally got some sleep. There were no traces of the bruises under her eyes.

It wasn't some big birthday party, just the closest family and a few friends. She was very happy that she was able to attend it. She hadn't seen most of them for several months. Alex was the only person in the group whom she saw very often, despite the fact that they were separated by almost two thousand kilometers.

Usually, they met when one of them had some love problems, break up, etc., and needed support. Who could understand her better than a friend who shared the same passions? The friend who had a similar character and was as wild as she was.

Alex was the first person she would turn to for support, followed by Patrick, who didn't always fully understand her character and motives.

When she had any predicaments, the best remedy for her heart or existential dilemmas was a trip for a few days somewhere to a remote place in the mountains, or her beloved Paris. Usually, a few sleepless, over-talked nights with Alex, were the best remedy for all her ills.

Alex was such a friend from the heart, only male, who could be entrusted with the greatest secrets, with a one hundred percent guarantee that they would not see the light of day.

Upon seeing him, her happiness had no bounds because she had some dilemmas for the past few weeks. She didn't fully understand the behavior of the person whose psychological portrait she was working on. So she needed professional help. Alex was the best in looking for the most characteristics.

In addition, the image of one certain wonderful neck, which she couldn't forget, didn't give her peace. Every time, she tried to relax and close her eyes, even for a moment, she had that picture in her mind and the urge to take care of it properly.

Definitely, it wasn't any kind of lust or anything she had ever dealt with. She was not able to call it right. The only word that came to her mind when she thought about it was a 'fetish'. Just a little sick, maybe some kind of perverted. That's why she had to define it with someone who, as a professional coach, worked with all sorts of perverts on a daily basis.

It was so irritating and frustrating, because she couldn't even remember the guy's face well, but she remembered almost every visible blood vessel or muscle on his magnificent neck.

'What kind of fucked-up person remembers such details and can't tell exactly what its owner's face looks like?' She wondered as she studied Alex's neck, which was nothing like the one she admired.

"What are you thinking about, badass?" Alex saw her strange look.

"Hmm…" She didn't even know how to start. Anyway, it wasn't the right place for that kind of discussion.

"Judging by the expression on your face, I am sure you have got some fucked up idea that needs realizing and you need a partner in crime."

"Not completely. But that's right. I'm wrestling with some fucked up issues that I don't even quite understand myself."

"I am here to help you, as always. You know that."

"Yes, I know. Thank you." She said, taking a navy blue velvet box from her purse. "This is for you. Open it!" She passed the box to him.

"I'll open presents later." Alex said, putting the box on the side of the table.

"You can open it now."

Alex was reluctant to open it, but finally he did it. Inside was a silver bracelet engraved with the words 'Friends Forever'.

"Thank you." He exclaimed, when putting it on. He wasn't particularly thrilled.

She was a bit disappointed. She had spent so much time thinking about what to get him, and now he didn't even play that it was an amazing gift.

Their conversation was interrupted by Alex's mother, who came with a cake with candles lit on it.

He didn't seem to expect it at all. He didn't like such nonsense.

"Jo, will you help me?" Alex asked unexpectedly, looking at the number of candles he was supposed to blow out.

She was speechless.

"It's also your birthday in a few days." He tried to find a reasonable explanation.

"Absolutely not. I will have my own cake." She smiled.

'Good luck!' She thought, looking at the number of candles. 'Well, this time I don't really want to put out so many candles, so I'm sure there will be no cake during my celebration!' She added in her mind.

After a few long moments, Alex finally managed to blow out all the candles.

"We are getting older!" Jo commented loudly with a laugh.

"Relentlessly."

Watching him, she wondered what was going on with him. He was acting very abnormally that evening. She had caught him staring at her strangely several times. The expression on his face was completely different from all the ones she knew well.

She was aware that something was bothering him, but she had no idea what, for he hadn't mentioned anything lately.

Maybe, like her, he needed a few days' long trip to the outback to catch the distance to the surrounding world. Anyway, she hoped that she would be able to get him out for a few days.

This time she wanted to go a little further, and to visit some warmer regions. She has already picked out a few interesting places. It would be nice to fly to Corsica, Sicily, or to Marrakech, which she had never had the opportunity to visit before.

At some point, the conversations stopped. Jo was already eating the third piece of cake, but this strange silence began to disturb her a bit in considering how she should spend her upcoming birthday.

As she was about to reach for the fourth slice of cake, she felt a gentle tug on her right sleeve.

"Alex, back off. It's just a piece of cake." She said, reaching for the cake with her other hand.

Silence answered her, and someone was still holding her sleeve. She turned back and suddenly choked on the bready goodness.

'Wtf?' She had only one thought in her head at that moment, looking at Alex kneeling next to her with an open red box in his hand. There was a ring inside it.

'Wtf? What circus is this? Have I drank too much and I am already hallucinating?' She wondered.

During this time Alex, with a very serious expression on his face, kept looking at her in the eyes.

"I know we haven't talked about it…" Alex began. "I am not going to tell nonsense about how we met, and under what circumstances I completely lost my head for you." He paused, still looking into her eyes.

She was speechless. She had an irresistible urge to throw him to the floor, to press him hard to the ground, and to violently force out of him what kind of show he was fucking going off.

"Will you do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me, badass? Will you marry me?" He asked in a very serious tone.

At that moment, she was hooked for good. At first, she thought it was a joke, but looking at her friend, she was one hundred percent sure that he wasn't joking. He was looking the most serious she had ever seen him.

She swallowed the piece of cake slowly, washed it down with a full glass of champagne, then gracefully wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and rose to her feet even more elegantly.

She grabbed Alex's hand.

"We have to talk!" She said in a very casual tone, pulling him away from the table.