Ma moitié

10. Bon anniversaire

***Beau***

The clock ticked three in the morning. Date today was the 18th of August, exactly two months after what had happened, and only a month left before moving out of the country. I enjoyed our stay here in France. Avery and the two children were well behaved as the days passed by.

Days would run like a week while we were in Paris. The time here was slow, sometimes boring, but it was worthwhile. Avery was sound asleep next to me. I rose from my position, yawned and rubbed my eyes. I checked my phone, it was 3:15 in the morning.

I have to get ready.

I felt a sudden movement underneath the sheets, there popped a cute little white head. I smiled, "Hi baby," Milk popped up. I carried her over to my arms as I rose from the bed. Milk kept purring as if she enjoyed being carried by me. I playfully kissed her nose, and she licked mine.

She led out a very cute 'meow,' I shushed her softly, "Shh, your dad's still sleeping, I don't want to wake up the birthday boy." Milk yawned as if she understood what I was saying. She got comfortable around my arms and kept yawning as we walked out of the room.

We went downstairs and headed straight to the kitchen. I placed Milk on the countertop as she politely sat there. "Where's your brother?" I asked. She let out a soft 'meow,' and tilted her head. Who am I kidding? It's not like they can understand what I'm saying.

I headed straight to the bathroom first, readying myself before I started anything else.

I had the whole two hours to cook a meal for Avery. I hope he enjoys what I'll prepare for him later on. Milk was silently sleeping over the counter; I petted her head as I walked past her. I wore an apron and prepared everything that was needed for our breakfast.

When everything was set, I snapped a finger, "Music!" I exclaimed. I run through my phone and play some music for me to enjoy while I cook our meals. Everyone does this, right?

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***Avery***

Beneath the language of words is the more powerful first language of emotion, and this is how jazz speaks directly to the soul. I woke up to hear jazz music playing loudly downstairs. Checking my phone, the clock showed it was six in the morning. Did I oversleep? I promised Beau that I would wake up at five.

I rushed towards the bathroom to clean myself before going down. I rushed towards the door but suddenly stopped when I heard Coffee's crying 'meow.' I walked to the bed and tried finding him under the sheets. There he was. Black fur covered the sheets as I waved it away. I picked him up, "I'm so sorry Coffee, I didn't mean to leave you there." I petted his head.

I walked down the hallway and went downstairs and straight to the kitchen. The music played lovesick by Laufey, Beau's favorite artist.

I circled my gaze around the kitchen and spotted him, dancing. This is new. He hadn't noticed, so I tip-toed behind him and walked towards the countertop. Milk was silently sleeping by the side. I placed Coffee beside her and Coffee proceeded to clean Milk.

I rested my palm on my cheek as I enjoyed looking at Beau, dancing. As the lines of the song go through 'God, I'm so lovesick. What have you done to me?' And was accompanied by the bridge. Beau swayed, Beau twirled, and Beau hummed. As if the world had stopped for him, as if time wasn't an issue.

Coffee meowed and Beau looked at him. Beau, unbeknownst, jumped as he was surprised, I was there. "I didn't know you were a good dancer," I teased.

"You saw nothing," he exclaimed as his face turned red.

I laughed, "Come on, I'll dance with you." I stood up and joined him.

The moment we started dancing, it was as if the world had stopped moving. We swayed, we twirled, we hummed. It was as if we never knew that time existed in this world.

He neared closely, wrapping his hands around my waist. Our breaths were in sync, our movements led us to what was happening. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to reach his tall figure.

"Is this, ok?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah," catching my breath. I can feel his breath becoming deeper, as so is mine. We still continued to dance, didn't care about what was happening.

The only thing that had stopped us from holding each other was the oven. It beeped, indicating that what Beau was baking was already done.

"I should probably get that," he whispered.

"You should," I replied.

Before he unwrapped his arms around my waist, he hugged me tight. "Happy birthday, Avery," he whispered.

He let go, then, softly placed his forehead against mine.

There are times that I get confused about why Beau's acting this way. I get that he needed to protect me from harm, but for what it's worth, I feel like I'm being spoiled by him.

He has given me a lot of gestures that I don't know how to react to. I'm getting flustered over and over again, I get butterflies every time I see him smile.

I don't get why I'm feeling this type of way.

Just to erase the feeling, I checked his playlist. The next song was called "While you were asleep."

"Avery, this song reminds me of you," he uttered as he brought over what he baked. They were heart-shaped cookies.

The music started with a majestic tune. "Cute!" I exclaimed as I grabbed a cookie and listened closely to the song. The cookies were bombs! - One thing I could say.

I let the song simmer in as I looked at the lyrics. I jot down certain lines from the song, letting me figure out why this song was something that reminds Beau of me.

The lines go:

"I still can't believe. That you noticed me."

"I'll never forget the first time I saw you then."

"I don't recognize myself, I'm dancing down streets, smiling to strangers. Idiotic things."

"I can't quite believe; you think I'm beautiful."

"Must be a trick A "tag and you're it" Kind of foolery."

"That night something turned in my heart. While you were sleeping, I fell in love."

My eyes widened. "Do you like me?" I asked.

"What's not to like, Avery?" He smiled. "Happy birthday!"