Chapter 32- Birthday Surprise!

I see a black figure ahead of me, I flash the light in the direction and Hero uses his hand to block out the light from his eye.

''I'm sorry'' I say.

''It's okay'' He walks up to me.

''Happy birthday'' He says and hugs me. I immediately wrap my arms around him not wanting to let go, I've missed him so much over the past three days.

''Thank you'' I say.

''Where were you in the last 3 days?'' I ask.

''I was busy, I had a lot of things to do'' He says.

''Oh what'd you have to do?''

''Just some things''

He puts his hands back in his pocket and looks down away from me. Why is he being so weird?

''Is everything okay?'' I ask.

''Yeah''

''So uhm what are you doing here?'' I ask after a minute of silence.

''I uhm wanted to see you'' He says looking away from me. He's avoiding eye contact with me for some reason and it's driving me crazy, what is with him?

''Why?'' I ask, my voice serious.

I know he just probably wanted to see me to tell me Happy birthday but why can't he say that?

He doesn't say anything he just looks away. After minutes of the silence of me staring at him while he looks around everywhere except me, I decide to head back.

''Where are you going?''

''Well if you're not gonna talk to me and acting so weird and don't wanna tell me why then I'm leaving''

''I'm not acting weird'' He says and walks up to me, his face now inches from mine.

''Yes you are''

''I came here because I wanted to take you out, you know for your birthday'' He says.

''My birthday is almost over and I don't feel like going anywhere I'm tired and I just wanna sleep'' I tell him. I'm really tired after that long day today.

''It's almost 10, we still have two more hours. Go change your clothes and let's go'' He demands.

I sigh then walk back to the tent to change, I'm surprised when he follows me, I thought he was just gonna wait there or something. I look through my bag and pull out jeans and a t-shirt and a jacket but he grabs them from my hand and puts them back only to grab a black sleeveless dress. I tell him that I can't wear that because it's night time and I'll feel cold but he insists that I wear it. I watch as he continues to look through my bag and a huge smile appears on his face when he pulls out a black lace panty.

''Make sure and wear these too'' He smirks.

I grab them from him and put them back. I grab the dress and look at him with wide eyes an indication for him to go outside and give me some privacy but I don't think he gets it, he just stares back at me.

''What?'' he asks.

''Can you like give me some privacy?'' I ask and he puts his hand over his eyes.

''I mean like can you go outside?'' I ask and he leaves.

I put the dress on and it's a bit short, probably the shortest one I have and that's the only reason he picked it out. I put on white shoes and a white jacket. I hold his beautiful gift in my hand as I make my way outside. He turns around and his eyes rake up and down my body. He walks past me and goes inside the tent, he comes back five seconds later with a black jacket. So he wants me to wear black and be like him, I'll only wear it this one time, not again.

''Put this on'' He instructs and I oblige.

''Can you help me put this on?'' I ask him showing him the necklace in my hand.

He takes it from my hand and I turn around and lift my hair up. I feel the tip of his fingers just touch my neck as he clasps the necklace. He puts both of his hands on my shoulders then kisses me on the cheek. I turn around and look at him with a smile.

''Do you like it?'' He asks.

''I love it, it's gorgeous. Thank you''

''You're welcome, I'm glad you like it''

''Why did you drop it off in the middle of the night without telling me?'' I ask him.

''Because you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you'' He says.

I move close to him and the tips of our noses are now touching. Our kiss is slow and deep as he slides his tongue in my mouth, I've missed the taste of his mouth and his lips on mine.

''I think we better get going now'' He pulls away and I nod.

I grab my phone and purse and check on Kate and everyone else one more time before I leave. He leads the way and we walk down the trail only 5 minutes before he clicks his car alarm. He opens the door for me and I smile to thank him. He puts his hand on my thigh as we drive off.

''So how was today?'' He asks.

I tell him about everything we did today and how I actually had fun but I wish that he was there and how much I've missed him over the last 3 days and he nods and says he's missed me too.

''Where are we going?'' I ask.

''Somewhere''

''Another escape place'' I say with a smile and he smiles back.

After another 10 minutes of driving, he finally stops and we're at the beach. So he wants to take me to the beach? He does know that it's almost 11:00 on a Sunday night right? The place looks really dark with only a few lights and we're the only ones here, I wonder what beach is this. I don't think I've ever seen this beach before, it's kinda out of the way. He steps out of the car and opens the door for me.

''You brought me on an empty beach at night?'' I raise a brow and he just walks behind his car and grabs a pair of black swimming trunks. He takes his jacket, shoes, and shirt off and throws them on a rock nearby on the sand and changes into his swim trunks.

''You're gonna swim in there now, that water's probably freezing'' I say.

''Yes I am and so are you'' he says.

''Uhm no thanks, I don't really feel like swimming right now, I'll just watch'' I say and watches as he dives into the deep water.

''Sia! The water's not that cold, just come in and as soon as your body's close to mine you'll be warm'' He says with a small smile then dives back under.

''I can't you didn't tell me that we were coming here and I didn't bring any extra clothes''

''Just wear my shirt like last time''

''Uhm a little privacy'' I say and he dives back under then rises and turns around.

I take my dress and shoes off and change into his shirt. I inhale his scent on the worn shirt and look at myself a few times in his shirt then turn around to tell him he can turn back around.

He gestures for me to come in and I slowly walk in and stay in the shallow. The water's cold, it's not freezing but it's cold and I just want his arms around me right now. A huge wave followed by another comes our way and takes Hero under, I expect him to get back up the next second but I can't see him. I look around for him and there's no sign of him, where is he? I shout his name multiple times but there's no answer. Oh my god! Did he drown or something? I quickly move to the spot where he was and go under looking for him but there's no luck, my hands move haphazardly in the water trying to find him.

Tears begin to fill my eyes as there's still no sign of him. Something grabs me from under and lifts me up a bit and relief washes over me as I look down at Hero. He's laughing, laughing! So this was a prank, god I thought something happened to him. I pull away from him and walk back to shore only to be pulled back into his arms.

''What the hell is wrong with you! Why would you do something like that!'' I shove against his chest.

''It was just supposed to be a prank you weren't supposed to go all mom on me'' he says.

''I thought something happened to you!'' I shout and I feel a tear fall from my face.

''Were you crying?''

''No'' I lie and cover my eyes.

''Aww baby I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like that it was just supposed to be a prank. I didn't think you would've reacted like that'' He says and wipes under my eyes with his thumb.

''I think we should go, the waves are really rough right now''

''That's the fun'' he says and walks in deeper.

''Come here'' he says.

The water's reaching him by his lower neck by his chest and if I go there it'll be way above my head and I'm terrified of swimming or even being near deep water, it's one of my biggest fears.

''Come closer and I'll help you in''

I walk closer to him and the water's now reaching by my chin. I struggle a bit to stay above and he makes his way over and pulls me into him, my legs now wrapped around his waist with my arms around his neck and he carries us into more dept. I look out in the distance then look back at the shore and realize how far we are from it. Fear shivers down my spine and my breathing becomes rapid as I look out into the vast seas surrounding us, the waves are getting rougher and faster as they come our way and I feel goosebumps rise on my skin with my hands trembling with fear.

''Relax baby'' he says.

''I'm scared of the water'' I admit.

''I know that's why I brought you here''

''There's nothing to be scared of, I'll protect you'' he says and I already feel protected. I nuzzle into his neck and close my eyes and try not to picture the huge waves coming our way.

The waves take us under and pull us in deeper, Hero never lets go of me the entire time. We both rise and I see a huge smile spread across his face and the bright blue in his eyes is back, brighter than ever and he looks happy which makes me happy.

''Fun wasn't it?'' he smiles and I nod.

Many waves are ahead of us and Hero walks us closer to the shore, we're still in the deep but a bit closer to the shore then we were before. As the other waves come our way Hero throws me in the air then catches me back into his arms, spinning me around in the water. He throws me multiple more times in the air and catches me back in his arms with both of us dying of laughter.

This is the most fun I have ever had in my entire life. It's amazing being with him here right now, it feels so unreal but it is real.

We both get under by the rough waves and I close my eyes and nuzzle into his neck as they get closer, they pull us under. I tell Hero that I want him to put me down for a bit and he obliges. As he puts me down I push his head under the water and run away so that he wouldn't catch me and pull me under with him.

''Oh so that's how you want it? You want me to catch you'' He says with a mischievous smile

I swim away from him and I feel him catching up. He pulls me from the back to him and puts his arm on my chest holding me in place so that my back is now to his chest. We are both constantly smiling, I've been smiling since he lifted me onto him in the water. This is the most fun I've had today, I've missed him so much and I wish he would've spent the day with us too but that's just a fantasy because that might never happen.

I hear a weird ringing noise and it's his phone in his pants on the rock. I turn around and look in the direction of the ringing and he lifts me onto him. The noise is weird it's not his usual ringtone.

''Your phone's ringing''

''That's an alarm''

''For what?''

''It's now 12:01'' he says and has me confused.

''So?''

''Your birthday's now over'' he says and I lower my brows at him in confusion.

''Your birthday's now over and you spent the last of it with me. I wanted you to spend the last moments with me.'' He says and my heart warms again. I love this side to him, I wish he could always be like this. I just wanna kiss him over and over again.

It's so hard to believe that a masked man who lives in a forest, does witchcraft, has so many tattoos and body piercings, sleeps around with girls, parties all the time and hangs out with the worst people could actually give me the most beautiful gift in the world with such touching words and think to do such a sweet heartwarming thing tonight.

He is so much better than he thinks he is, I love this side to him.

''So is that why you brought me out here so late?'' I ask and he nods and I can't help the huge smile on my face right now. I can't believe he would something like this, the beautiful necklace was already so much but the fact that he brought me out here this late just so that he could spend the remaining time with me is much more heartening. How does he think of these things? I nuzzle into his neck and kiss his neck and his ear.

''You're so sweet you know that'' I say and watch as his smile grows then kisses him on his lips.

A huge wave takes us under again and we both rise above laughing. He didn't see that wave coming as it threw us both down. I laugh at him as he rises from the water in shock.

''I think you should go take the alarm off'' I say as I look up at him.

''Yeah come on'' He says.

He takes my hand in his and leads us to shore. We walk up the sand until he stops and looks at me. He brings his face down to mine and crashes his lips against mine. He lifts my thighs onto him and he walks us over to the rock not breaking away from our kiss. I feel his erection pressing hard against me every time he takes a step and it makes me want him so bad. He puts me to sit on the rock and turns the alarm off. I pick up my dress from on top of his clothes and sit on the rock to put my shoes on.

''What are you doing?'' he asks.

''Getting dressed so we can leave''

''Leave? the night's not over yet'' he says then takes my dress and shoes and puts them back where they previously were.

He walks over close to the shore and sits down on the sand. He then lies down on his back on the sand and tells me to join him. I lie down on the wet sand and turn to my side and put my hand on his stomach. He stares into the night sky with both of his hands at the back of his head. I stare at him and admire his perfect features for a while.

''Did you come up with these words?'' I ask and hold the pendant between my fingers.

''Yes''

'' They're so deep, how'd you come up with them? ''

'' Because I did'' He says and I can tell he's getting annoyed so I decide to change the subject.

''I'm glad the investigators left without finding out anything'' I say.

''They weren't going to they're a bunch of assholes''

We point out shapes that the stars form in the sky and I swat at Hero's arm when he tells me that one looks like me and it looked like a fake doll. As we look up at the stars it reminds me of the time when Nelson and I were at the Bonfire and I looked up and saw the stars spell out Hero's name. I had no idea what it meant at that time, my interpretations were way off and I had no idea it was a heads up on meeting him, it feels like such a long time ago when it was just 2 months ago.

So much has happened in the last two months since I've met him.

''What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?'' he asks.

''Nothing''

''Tell me'' he demands.

''I was just thinking of the time when Nelson and I were at the bonfire and when the stars spelled out your name'' I admit.

''Oh yeah that was pretty unexpecting''

''Yeah it was''

''Where'd you guys go for dinner?'' He asks.

''A restaurant downtown, it was really packed, although the cake was really good''

''Did you make a wish?'' he looks at me.

''Yeah''

''What'd you wish for?'' he asks.

''If I tell you then it won't come true'' I say and he looks back up.

''So uhm what did you do in the last three days?'' I ask.

''Just random stuff''

''Like what?''

''Why do you always ask me so many questions?'' he looks at me.

''Why don't you ever answer them?'' I rise up and look at him.

''I went to my father's house for a while then just chilled at home, hung out with some people'' He says, it takes everything in me not to ask any more about his father and who were the people he hung out with and if Brooke was one of them.

''So why didn't you at least call me or text me or something?''

''I don't know, I was busy''

''So busy that you couldn't at least text me?'' I ask.

''Yes Stessian I was'' he says, his voice stern as I look down from him.

''Are you done arguing with me now?'' he asks and pulls me to lay back down with him.

'' Did you miss me? '' he asks.

He always asks me that and the answer is always yes.

'' Of course, I did, did you miss me?''

'' Yeah but every time I did I just close my eyes and imagine you on top of me''

''Hero'' I say and swat at his arm and he chuckles.

''Oh come on like you don't picture us naked in bed together'' he says and I blush hard and hide my face in his chest and he laughs and kisses me on the head.

We both stare at the beautiful night sky for what seems like another hour and Hero tells me that the stars are all dim and the only bright stars he sees are the ones in my eyes then kisses me on the forehead. I blush so hard at his compliment and smile and admires the redness on my cheeks. He closes his eyes for a bit and I get the feeling that he's sleepy, I gently turn his chin for his face to meet mine and play with the waves in his hair. My finger traces his hairline then moves down to his jawline. His lips part a bit and I know he's asleep.

Seriously? How can someone fall asleep on wet sand at the lonely beach in the middle of the night? well, apparently he can. He can't fall asleep now and here he has to take me back to the tent now. I stare at him for a while and wait a bit to see if he would wake up but he doesn't. I gently push his shoulder and whisper his name in his ear. His eyes flutter open and he looks up at me.

''I'm sorry to wake you but you have to take me back to the tent'' I say and watch as he gets up from his spot and I do the same.

As I get up he wraps his arms around me and lets out a sigh of relief as he nuzzles into my wet hair. I wrap my arms around his back and rub it up and down feeling the smooth flawless skin on his back. I rest my chin on his shoulder and he hugs me tighter, I feel his huge muscular arms wrap around my back lifting me off the ground a bit. I close my eyes as he hugs me tight and lifts me a bit off the ground. He kisses me on the cheek and takes my hand in his as he leads us back to the rocks with our stuff.