I flushed red with all new levels of happiness. “You guys… got me a present?”
“Upstairs in your room,” said Hunter. “Go check it out.”
I kissed him and ran, bounding up the stairs two at a time. My feet didn’t hurt anymore. Everything suddenly felt amazing.
They got me a birthday present…
It was almost unfathomable, how much they cared about me. How much the three of them truly, legitimately loved me. It made my heart swell. A lump formed in my throat, and my eyes glassed over with tears again.
I reached my bedroom. Laid out across my bed was a beautiful embroidered bathrobe, made out of what looked to be red silk. I picked it up to marvel at how gorgeous it was, when a card fell to the bed.
PUT THIS ON…
AND COME DOWNSTAIRS
FOR THE REST OF YOUR PRESENT
I shed my clothes in moments and slipped on the soft, luxurious robe. It felt incredible against my naked skin. Soft against my thighs, my stomach, my nipples…
I went downstairs, and the lights were out again. Only this time, color glowed everywhere.
Oh my God.
Colorful strands of tiny LED Christmas lights had been draped through the rooms, high up along the walls. Reds, blues, greens, yellows… they were all lit up now, leading me all the way through the hallway, and back into the kitchen.
The guys were gone. For a moment I just stood there confused. Then a cold breeze bit at my exposed skin, and I realized the back door was wide open.
I pulled my robe tight and walked over. Approached slowly…
And nearly fell over with what I saw.
Thirty-Five
HUNTER
“NO WAY!”
Claudia’s mouth dropped open so wide she could’ve swallowed a boat.
“NO FUCKING WAY!”
It was funny, watching her struggle with what she was seeing. A reward totally worth all the hard effort.
“HOW?” she gasped, still holding the sides of her face. “WHEN?”
“Took us all of today,” Brandon said. “And most of last night, while you were sleeping.”
She looked absolutely delicious as she stepped reluctantly onto the back deck, in the red silk kimono we’d picked out for her. She was barefoot though. And I knew the deck boards were freezing.
“Get in!” Colin urged. “Before your feet freeze to the floor!”
I looked around. The sprawling back deck that took up most of the drop-away backyard was a good twenty feet off the ground. Twenty two actually, because I’d had to measure and replace most of the support beams myself. All while Brandon and Colin cleared away the crap, tightened the screws, and replaced the other half of the deck boards that had been rotted away.
It was an unbelievable amount of work, especially for a single day. And a cold day at that. We were all pretty exhausted.
But the real miracle was the resurrection of the Delta Delta Tau hot tub.
“How could you…” Our cute little girlfriend was still completely at a loss. “I mean… there’s no possible way that—”