Monsters' Gift (Crude Hill High 2)

I smiled.

“Oh, not finished.”

She produced some birthday candles, one in the shape of a two and the other a five. Then I watched as she struck the match and lit each one before going to turn off the lights. “Now, don’t forget to make a wish.”

For several seconds, I stared at the candles, wondering what I could wish for. What would be worth the words that could possibly come true? Nothing seemed to be of any value to me.

What was the point?

I didn’t have my men. There was no one to love.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I looked at the burning candle and knew that come this time next year, I didn’t want to feel this way. I hated the pain, the sadness. Ashley didn’t deserve it, and for the last seven years, that was all I’d been, sad.

My life kept on whizzing by and I didn’t have a single good memory. Well, I did, but I was wasting mine, and I couldn’t allow that to happen anymore.

Rather than wish for something I couldn’t have, I made one plan: to be happy. That was what I was going to do. No more wallowing. No more wishing for something that would never happen. It wasn’t lost on me that I’d spent seven years craving to be back in the arms of the men at Crude Hill high, and yet while I was there, I wanted to be anywhere but.

No more.

I was going to move on.

Blowing out the candles, I felt slightly different.

Ashley clapped her hands, cheered for me, and giggled. “Do you feel any different?” she asked, going to turn the light on.

“Yeah, I do.” I smiled at her.

She came back. “Now I think it’s only fair that we have cake, then I’m cooking you a delicious meal.”

“You don’t have to do that. We could go out dancing if you’d like?”

Ashley put a hand to her chest. “Really? You’d come out dancing with me?”

“Hell, yeah, why not? I’d like to.” She’d tried to get me to go out dancing so many times. “I’ve been a sucky roommate.”

“Don’t,” Ashley said. She offered me the knife to cut the cake. “You’ve been what you’ve needed to be. I’ve never felt … you know. I don’t know what it’s like to want to be with someone that being apart is like a pain in itself.”

Now I felt even worse. She hadn’t experienced love, and it was all my fault.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Stop.” She chuckled. “I’ve gone out dancing. I’ve been on dates, and believe me, I haven’t met anyone who has made me want to drop my panties.”

“Just so you know, I didn’t want to drop my panties for them for a long time. I actually wanted to kill them.”

“We shouldn’t talk about them. Not on your birthday.”

I slid a slice of cake toward her and she dolloped out the softened ice cream. She ran to get spoons, handing me one. I made sure I had a nice piece of cake and some ice cream before having a taste. I closed my eyes. The vanilla and dark fudgy chocolate were perfect.

“You made this, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I stayed late last night at the restaurant. What do you think?”

“You’re really good.”

“I’ve been trying to perfect this recipe for so long.” She took a bite herself and closed her eyes. “This is so good.”

“Are you not happy with it?”

“Oh, I am, but I’m already moving on to my next challenge.”

Ashley had an entire stack of notebooks full of her ideas. There were plenty of disasters in there, but she was never put off. Her enthusiasm was addictive. I finished my slice off within a few bites, and when she offered me some more, I accepted.

“I’ll cook us something when we get back from dancing.”

We ate another slice and then it was time to get ready.

After heading into my bedroom, I went to my wardrobe and looked through my clothes. I had a couple of black dresses, and I picked the one that came to my knees. When I’d bought them, I’d been a bit bigger, but fortunately, I still had the tits to pull it off.

Ashley was already waiting for me when I joined her in our living room.

“Damn, you look hot. How about we skip men and make out?” Ashley asked.

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to keep being so nice.”

“I do. It’s your birthday. What better way to be nice?”

“I’m not looking for a date, or any guy for that matter.”

“Stop being a party pooper. It’s not fair.” Ashley stuck her tongue out. “Now, let’s go and party like our lives depend on it.”

Our lives didn’t depend on anything. Grabbing my bag, I followed Ashley out of our apartment, letting her lock up. We linked arms as we made our way out into the night. People were already milling about in the street. We walked a couple of feet away from our apartment, and Ashley hailed us a taxi. It took a few minutes but finally, someone was willing to stop.