Match Made in Quarantine

29. Day Ten

I woke up to the sound of an incoming phone call, instead of my usual morning alarm.

Blindly, I tapped along my bedside table trying to locate my phone and groggily pressed the answer button. Before I even had a chance to say anything my mother's excited voice sounded from the other side of the line.

"Happy birthday, baby!" I groaned at how loud she was, still adjusting to my state of consciousness, "Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Her voice sounded concerned and I immediately felt bad for not containing my reaction.

"No, no, I woke up just before you called. Still a little sleepy. Thanks mom." I lied for her benefit, and heard her chuckle.

"Oh, I'm putting you on speaker, your dad and sister want to talk to you!" My mom said and I could hear her fumbling with the phone. A smile pulled up my lips; as much as I wasn't the biggest fan of my birthday I really missed my family. I'd put off visiting them for the past year, saying that I had to focus on my studies, which was true. At the same time though, I could have made time to visit them. I should have made time to visit them. This pandemic had really put things into perspective for me.

"Hey, birthday girl!" My dad yelled a little too loudly and I could hear my mom chide him how he didn't have to press his lips directly against the phone when it was on speaker.

Chuckling, I shook my head and rolled out of bed.

There was a cake, casually chilling on the kitchen counter.

Next to it was a pink box with red roses piled inside of it. My eyes were wide in confusion at the unexpected sight and I approached the items carefully, as if they were an explosive set to go off at any second.

I touched the rose petals gently, leaning down to smell them once I'd reached the counter. The packaging and roses were so elegant, the scent subtle but sweet. It was beautiful.

"Do you like it?" I heard Maddox's voice from the hallway and turned around with wide eyes. He was leaning against the wall in the hallway, looking at me with a smirk on his face. "Happy birthday, Aimee."

My heartbeat quickened, finally realizing what this morning surprise actually meant.

"How did you know?" I asked in disbelief, my eyes flickering between him and the flowers.

He tilted his head to the side and pushed off the wall, walking toward me. "You do remember showing me your ID when you signed the tenant contract, right?"

My mouth opened into a little O shape when I realized what he meant. I did, in fact, remember that, but.... "I didn't think you'd remember that," I muttered, still reeling from this unexpected surprise.

"I remember the stuff I care about." Maddox shrugged as if it was the most natural thing. Towering over me, he leaned down and pressed his lips against my forehead. A pleasant shudder ran through me at the contact and I could feel my cheeks heating up. "Happy birthday." He repeated softly.