Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 34

*Disclaimer: The song(s) in this chapter is Right Kind of Wrong by Leeann Rimes & Glass by Tompson Square

Chapter 34

Close to a month had passed, and before long it was the day before Gabriel’s birthday. Everyone was getting ready for the celebrations of the following day, especially Kate, who had a surprise for him. Gabriel had asked, of course, but she didn’t drop any hints, much to his frustration.

“He’s gonna burst with curiosity any moment now,” Ava said as she and Kate watched Gabriel stomp out of the room after trying, yet again, to get in the know, “What do you have planned for him, anyways?”

Kate was about to tell her when she heard the floorboard just outside the door creak. Rolling her eyes, she walked over to the door, making sure not to make any noise as she did so. Then without warning, she yanked the door open, and Gabriel, who was leaning against the door in order to overhear the conversation, fell forward and landed with a thud on the floor.

Kate crossed her arms with a smirk, “Nice try, honey.”

Gabriel grumbled to himself as he got up and watched as the girls went elsewhere to resume their conversation. “One would think he’d give up by now,” Kate said as she stepped into the nursery to check on a napping Shannon, “Besides, his birthday is tomorrow. It’s not that long of a wait.”

“So, what are you planning that’s got him so riled up?” Ava asked.

Kate smiled and started to explain as she held Shannon, who was still asleep.

“No wonder the guy is bursting out of curiosity,” Ava chuckled.

“But the problem is, I don’t know how we’re going to get him there,” Kate said thoughtfully.

“Well, you can always ask one of the other guys for help,” Ava said, “Someone ought to make the suggestion.”

“Yeah, but who?” Kate asked. “Not Casey, for all I know he’ll give us away.” 

“How about Seamus,” Ava suggested, “He has enough common sense not to tell the birthday boy.”

Kate thought it over, “Not a bad idea. Okay, I’ll talk to him,” she laid Shannon back down in her crib.

“What are you going to wear for your ‘surprise’, anyways?” Ava asked.

Kate smiled and led Ava into her and Gabriel’s room, “I’ll show you,” digging through the closet, she pulled out her intended outfit.

Ava’s eyes lit up, “He’s gonna fall all over you.”

The girls laughed as Kate replaced it at the back of the closet and hid it behind some of her other clothes, “I hope it’s worth it! It was so hard to sneak that past him.”

 

That same night, Kate sat on their bed with a bottle of sparkly green nail polish sitting on the nightstand beside her as she painted her nails for the following day. She looked up when she heard Gabriel enter the room a few minutes later, carrying their daughter against his shoulder. He had just finished changing her diaper, and was getting ready to give her a bottle before putting her to bed.  Gabriel sat down beside Kate, shifting Shannon to the crook of his arm in order to feed her. The fact that she had been keeping a secret from him drove him crazy; what was she hiding from him?

“Oh, Gabriel… just you wait for tomorrow. All of this waiting will pay off,” Kate had a grin on her face as she painted her finger nail. She quickly glanced beside her to see his expression.

He kept his attention on Shannon, knowing good and well Kate was not about to give up any information about what she had planned for the next day. For some reason I have a feeling she’s going to do something drastic… But what?! After Shannon had sucked her bottle dry, Gabriel moved her up to his shoulder to burp her before carrying her over to her bassinet to put her to bed. He made sure that she was comfortable, and then got in his own bed as Kate put a clear top coat over her polish. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep with Kate snuggled close to him.

 

Bright and early the next morning Gabriel awoke to find Kate sitting on top of him with her legs on either side of his hips and her large chest pushed in his face. Needless to say, it was an unexpected but welcome wake­­-up call for him. She leaned over, pressing her lips to his while running her fingertips up the inside of his thighs. Without warning, he grabbed onto her hips and flipped her over onto her back and started to kiss her neck, but just as he was getting into the make out session, she pushed her husband off of her and started for the bathroom, grabbing some clean undergarments as she went. Gabriel stared after her while still sitting on the bed, completely baffled that she had ended what was to be an intimate moment.

“Really?! Woman, that is so not cool. You don’t just-,” he was cut off by the sound of the shower turning on. Deciding to get out of bed, Gabriel made his way over to the bassinet, where Shannon had just woken up and was looking up at him with a happy smile on her face as soon as she saw her father, “You’re mommy is just messing with me to keep me guessing what she has planned for tonight. Well, let’s go see what your grandma has made us for breakfast, shall we?”

A plate piled high with waffles and strawberries was sitting on the kitchen table when he entered the kitchen a few minutes later. Mae was busy putting the syrup and butter on the table, but she stopped what she was doing in order to give her son a huge hug, being careful not to squish Shannon as she did so.

“I can’t believe my baby boy is twenty-five, today. Where has the time gone?” Mae took Shannon from him and sat her down on her lap after she took her seat at the table.

Just then Seamus came in to the kitchen, “Time sure does fly. Happy birthday, little brother.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, but was smiling nonetheless. He was still not used to having a brother, as he had been raised as an only child. But he was glad he had gotten to know Seamus, even if he did sneak into his house and hold his wife hostage.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Seamus said as he sat down, “Since today is important, we should go out and celebrate, probably.”

“What about the kids?” Gabriel asked as Casey entered with Tate clinging to his side. It seemed as if everyone in the Dawson family was just going to waltz right in through the front door as if they owned the place.

“We’ll leave them with someone,” Seamus said, “Just because you’re a dad, now, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!”

“Did I miss something?” Casey asked.

“Seamus wants to go drinking this evening to celebrate,” Gabriel answered, “Maybe we really should. It’s been a while since I last got out.”

Mae cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention, and all of them looked in her direction, “I think that’s a great idea! You just let me take care of the girls while all of you adults go have fun.”

Gabriel thought about what his mother had offered, and then a smile came to his face, “Alright... Mom, you can babysit the girls while these weirdos drag me to a bar... Speaking of which, what bar are we going to?”

“Auntie Skinner’s, of course,” Kate’s voice trilled when she walked into the kitchen wearing dark wash jeans and a green shirt that sported two dark green shamrocks positioned over her ample breasts with white writing that said ‘Hands Off My Shamrocks’, which made Casey snicker as soon as he read it, “Nothing like some beer and buffalo wings to celebrate my hubby’s birthday.”

“Whoo! Just give me beer and boobies and I’m a happy man,” Casey replied excitedly, but glanced around at the others’ awkward expressions, “What?”

Kate laid a hand on his shoulder, resisting the urge to give him a black eye, “Casey, dear, we’re going to a bar... not a strip club. If I haven’t killed you by the time your birthday rolls around, then I might consider taking you to a strip club.”

 

Around five o’ clock that same evening, the whole family, excluding Mae, walked the distance from where they had parked their vehicles by the train depot, down the street to Auntie Skinner’s Riverboat Club. They had previously discussed who would be the designated drivers, but all of them decided to just take a chance with the law since the farm was only three miles out of town. As soon as they entered the building, they were greeted by the slurred shrieking of someone singing to Foreigner’s ‘Hot Blooded’. Apparently, the bar was putting on a karaoke night to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. After sitting down at the long bar with everyone else, Gabriel immediately ordered a Guinness and a large plate of buffalo wings to share with Kate and whoever else wanted to test their ability to handle the spicy food.

“Okay, the bar idea was a good one,” Gabriel commented after taking a long drink from his glass, “I have been craving one of these forever.”

Just wait a little bit longer, sweet cheeks... You’ll be thanking me in the morning, Kate thought as she stripped a wing clean, the spicy sauce not even fazing her. She licked her fingertips before starting on another one, dipping it into the blue cheese dressing, “Damn, these are good. Sorry boys, you might not be getting anymore.”

Casey pulled the plate toward him and put his torso in between Kate and the wings to guard them, “Wumin! You be touchin’ me wings and we’ll be havin’ us a smackdown right here in front of everyone.”

“Oh, I’m gonna be smacking someone, alright,” Kate took a swig from her bottle of Budweiser, “And it’s the same guy who wears Miss Me jeans. Mmm hmm.”

Seamus passed Sean a five dollar bill underneath the countertop, cursing under his breath, “D****t. I thought they were Rock Revival. Here, Sean.”

Gabriel held up his hands between Casey and Kate to keep the two of them from pouncing on one another, “Okay, children... Let’s cool it before Kate decides to kick your Botoxed a*s.”

His comment sent everyone, except for Casey, into a fit of laughter. When they saw Casey turn a brilliant scarlet shade, they laughed even harder, causing some of the other people in the bar to stare at them as if the family’s laughter had interrupted the karaoke performers.

When the time neared six-thirty, most everyone in the Dawson family was already on their second beer. Kate glanced over to Ava, giving her a secret signal they had discussed the day before when she had been over at the house. All of a sudden, Kate bent over and grabbed her stomach, moaning loud enough for the others to hear, which made them look at her in surprise.

“Ohhh! The wings aren’t agreeing with me!” Kate quickly got up from the barstool and ran for the back of the building.

Ava stood up and started after Kate, “I better go check on her to make sure she’s all right.”

“Me too!” Moira followed Ava in the direction Kate had gone, leaving the men to watch their backsides disappear.

Casey dropped the wing he had been nibbling on back onto the plate, staring down at it with a worried expression on his face, “Damn! What the hell is in these wings?!”

While the men waited on the women to return from the bathroom, they listened to the karaoke performers, thoroughly enjoying the ones who clearly had had too much to drink. The petite woman who sang ‘Pokerface’ gained a roar of applause and cheering when she shoved her breasts into a random man’s face, making him spill his beer all over the two of them. Another woman wearing a lime green wig was so plastered that she actually fell off of the stage and had to be carried out of Auntie Skinner’s on a gurney.

Seamus threw back the rest of his beer and said, “What happened to the women? Did they get sucked into the toilet or something? They’ve been gone a long time.”

“Seriously! Are they trying to kill us with these wings?! I’ve never seen hot wings give someone the s***s... but then again, women are pansies...” Casey glanced over to the plate of bones beside him.

I hope Kate’s all right, Gabriel worried that his wife might actually be ill, and was ready to go check on her, but Casey caught his attention when he banged his empty glass down on the countertop.

“Okay, guys... let’s blow this popsicle stand before I end up throwing something at these drunken idiots.”

The men tipped their bartender and paid for the beer and wings before heading out of the bar, and just in time, because a heavyset man with green-dyed spiked hair took to the stage to perform The Pussycat Dolls popular song ‘Don’t Cha’. They walked in silence for a few minutes until Sean spoke up, throwing out an idea.

“Wanna go hang out at the park?” He suggested.

“And do what? Swing on the swings?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow at his best friend, “We’re not five, Sean. Besides, I don’t feel like picking any of you up off the ground.”

“Live a little! It’s not every day you turn twenty-five.”

“Yeah, and twenty-five-year-olds also fall a lot harder than five-year-olds... especially when you’ve been drinking.”

Casey put his phone back into his jacket pocket after receiving a text from his mother, “Hey, let’s head over to the playhouse. Mom said they might have something special going on for St. Patty’s Day.”

All of them thought about what he had suggested, and then agreed to go check it out since none of them could think of anything better to do. The main reason the men decided to go was that if it involved free beer or the possibility of free beer, they were going to check it out. It only took the men five minutes to walk to the playhouse on Henderson Street, and when they arrived, they saw quite a few people going inside. That was a good sign of something interesting going on in the playhouse. As the six men entered the white building, they noticed that it was already crowded with people of all ages. Up on the stage, they could see the soundmen setting up speakers and different colored lighting. It seemed as if they were in for another round of bad karaoke.

“Does anyone see where they might be hiding the beer? I need to get a good buzz going before I listen to this s**t, again,” Seamus questioned as he searched the high-ceilinged room for any sign of a bar.

Gabriel led the way down the aisle to some open seats in the front row, “If you find any, bring back the hardest stuff you can get your hands on... and if they have vodka, bring that too.” I wonder where Kate disappeared to. She never came back from the bathroom, and she hasn’t texted me.

The men happened to sit down next to Ava and Moira, who must have saved the seats for them; they hadn’t expected to find the women at the playhouse. Ava was keeping herself occupied by showing Moira some pictures on her cell phone she’d taken at the Round Mountain reenactment. The other woman smiled widely when she saw a picture of Gabriel holding Shannon soon after she had been born. About that time, Seamus showed up with several glasses of beer, and handed them to his family.

“Sorry, no vodka. In fact, they didn’t have anything stronger than three point,” he said as he took his seat in between Gabriel and Moira.

His brother took a large gulp of the golden liquid and rolled his eyes, “If it gets too unbearable, please feel free to hit me over the head with your glass.”

“I can do that,” Seamus trailed on  as the lights dimmed, alerting the audience that the show was about to begin, “It’s too bad that Kate’s missing out on watching more drunk lunatics trying to sing.”

Ava reached across Moira to slap his arm in order to shut the boys up. Just as she did so, the first performer stepped on the stage wearing a green feather boa around his neck and a large green top hat cocked sideways on his head. As soon as he started to sing a rather slurred version of Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer’, the audience erupted into cheers and applause; it could have been that they enjoyed watching drunken people making fools of themselves. To the boys’ relief, the torture ended a short time later, but not before an equally drunk woman took to the stage to perform Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’. Surprisingly, the first part of the song wasn’t too terrible, but once the chorus hit, Casey wanted to claw his eardrums out.

“Make the screeching stop!” He sarcastically covered his ears with his hands, “Me ears are going to bleed!”

“Damn, I left my pistol at home. Sorry, Casey,” Gabriel took another swig from his beer, “Let’s just be thankful that no one has done any Michael Bolton,” to his great displeasure, the opening chords of ‘Sexual Healing’ rang through the playhouse a few minutes later, much to the others’ delight in seeing Gabriel trying not to kill the person on the stage, “I hate all of you.”

Rob slapped his hand down on Gabriel’s shoulder, chuckling warmly, “That poor guy is just serenading you, Gabriel. You should be happy.”

“I’ll be happy when it ends.”

By the end of the song, Gabriel had finished his glass and had already started on his second one. At the rate they were going he was planning on having his brother drag him back to the truck, especially if the performers got any worse. He wouldn’t be able to walk more than a few feet without toppling over. What caught his attention were the soundmen setting up band equipment at the back of the stage. Two of the men secured into the stage floor what looked like a pole, and several feet away from the pole, they set up what looked like an old-fashioned bar countertop.

Ava squealed in delight when she saw the band members take to their instruments and begin tuning them, “Oooh, looks like we get to hear some live music! Kate is gonna kick herself for not being here.”

“I know. Maybe now we won’t want to shoot ourselves,” Sean replied jokingly.

Bright red, blue and green lights lit up the stage as the sound of violins floated above the audience from the orchestra pit, gaining a loud roar of excited cheers. After a couple drumbeats, much to everyone’s surprise, Kate emerged from the steps leading down into the orchestra pit, and walked across the stage toward the pole. She was wearing black faux leather pants that clung to every curve; knee-high black stiletto boots; a shiny, emerald green corset trimmed in black satin and studded with iridescent rhinestones, which pushed her large breasts up dramatically; and underneath the corset was a glittery black tube top to help protect the satin of the corset. Her long hair flowed down over her shoulders in voluminous golden waves, decorated with a simple black crystal clip positioned right above her left ear, revealing dark green chandelier earrings. To pull her stunning look together, Kate wore bright red lipstick to bring attention to her full lips. A scandalous look crossed her face as she got ready to bring her microphone up to her mouth.

As soon as Gabriel realized who was on the stage, his eyes widened to the size of saucers, his mouth falling open, as well, “What. The. F-...”

Seamus clamped his hand over his brother’s mouth, and leaned forward to get a better view of Kate, “Holy s**t! Where has she been hiding those melons?!”

All of a sudden, Ava jumped up from her seat, bringing her hands to her mouth, “Ow, ow! That’s what I’m talking about, you sexy mama!”

On the last set of drumbeats, Kate quickly dropped down into a squat, slowly and seductively bringing it back up as she began to sing, keeping her gaze fixed on the audience, “I know all about, yea about your reputation. And now it’s bound to be a heartbreak situation. But I can’t help it if I’m helpless every time that I’m where you are. You walk in and my strength walks out the door. Say my name and I can’t fight it any more. Oh I know, I should go... But I need your touch just too damn much. Loving you... That isn’t really something I should do. I shouldn’t wanna spend my time with you- ya. Well I should try to be strong. But baby you’re the right kind of wrong. Ya, baby you’re the right kind of wrong,” Kate carefully grabbed onto the pole and proceeded to do a set of pole dancing moves, causing the cheers and screaming in the auditorium to become louder. Most of the men were on their feet encouraging her to continue, including the Dawson men. All of them, except for Gabriel, who was still shell-shocked by what he was witnessing.

“It might be a mistake, a mistake I’m making. But what you’re giving I am happy to be taking. ‘Cause no one’s ever made me feel the way I feel when I’m in your arms,” she moved away from the pole, starting to walk back across the stage to interact with the other side of the audience, “They say you’re something I should do without. They don’t know what goes on when the lights go out. There’s no way to explain all the pleasure is worth all the pain. Loving you... That isn’t really something I should do- ya... hey. I shouldn’t want to spend my time with you- ya. Well I should try to be strong. But baby you’re the right kind of wrong. Ya, baby you’re the right kind of wrong,” by then, her eyes had zeroed in on her husband, bringing a sly smile across her face. As the next part of the song began, Kate turned and headed down the front steps in the direction of where her family sat, “I should try to run but I just can’t seem to. ‘Cause every time I run, you’re the one I run to. Can’t do without what you do to me, I don’t care if I’m in too deep yeah.”

The audience roared with excitement as she belted out the familiar Coyote Ugly song, and the next events shocked everyone when she threw her legs on either side of Gabriel’s lap, pushing her breasts into his face. His cheeks turned a deep crimson as she gave him a rather raunchy, but exhilarating lap dance in front of the entire playhouse. Nevertheless, everyone around them enjoyed the performance, the men whistling and cheering her on. Some even pulled out dollar bills and waved them at her.

“I know all about, yea about your reputation. And now it’s bound to be a heartbreak situation. But I can’t help it if I’m helpless every time that I’m where you are. You walk in and my strength walks out the door. Say my name and I can’t fight it any more. Oh I know, I should go... But I need your love just too damn much,” she threw her head back, her hair flying out behind her. After sitting back up, Kate fan-kicked her leg over Gabriel’s head, making him duck, before standing up to go back on the stage for the end of the song, “Hey yeah! Loving you... Yeah, isn’t really something I should do. I shouldn’t want to spend my time with you- ya. Well, I should try to be strong. But baby you’re the right kind of wrong. Baby, you’re the right kind of wrong. Baby you’re the right kind of wrong,” to finish with a bang, Kate stood up on the bar counter, and threw her hair over her shoulder as she hit the last word, “Yeah baby you’re the right kind of wrong.”

The stage went dark and the auditorium was filled with an explosion of applause. Everyone was on their feet clapping wildly; even Gabriel was cheering beside his family and friends. Riley put his thumb and index finger between his teeth, whistling loudly. Ava and Moira were hugging each other and jumping up and down in excitement, tears of joy filling their eyes.

Casey leaned close to where Gabriel could hear, and asked, “Hey, Gabe... Can I borrow your wife for the night? It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone of the female sex in me bed.”

His cousin turned to look at him, replying calmly, “Sure... If you never want to have any more children.”

“Never mind. I’ll keep me hands to meself.”

“Wise choice, Casey.”

From the way the audience continued to applaud, they seemed as if they wanted an encore. Gabriel moved his gaze around the room, completely awed by how much everyone loved his wife. It was the first time he had ever heard her sing, and the sound of her voice made him fall in love with her all over again. He actually wished she would come back out to perform another song. As if God had answered his prayers, Kate returned to the stage five minutes later, only that time she wore a long, flowing pale blue dress with thin crystal spaghetti straps. Thousands of rhinestones covered the dress, fading into an ombre effect as they moved up the dress. In her ears she wore delicate crystal drop earrings to match the rhinestones on the dress. To complete her goddess-like look, her hair had been pulled to the side with a starburst design comb slid in over the elastic holding her hair in a ponytail.

The din in the playhouse seemed to continue for a few minutes longer until the people noticed that Kate wanted to speak. Everyone sat in their seats, eager to hear what she was going to say. Even the bartender and soundmen gave her their full attention.

“I know all of you are probably shocked to see me up on this stage, tonight. My husband’s most likely having to be revived, right now. Especially after his little birthday present a few minutes ago,” she cleared her throat and threw a wink in Gabriel’s direction, “Anyways, I told myself a long time ago that I would never perform again, but I felt that I had to one last time. For this last song I want to bring someone up on this stage with me, and this someone surprised me when I heard them sing for the first time. I could feel the love and emotion in their voice even though I had never heard the song before.”

Murmurs filled the room as the people looked around at each other, wondering which person she was referring to. Even the ones who had had a little too much to drink were alert.

“This person once told me that they had no intention of performing, but I want them to experience this with me,” Kate took a second microphone from one of the soundmen when he brought it out to her, and then she stepped to the edge of the stage, looking down at the front row before lightly reaching her hand out, “Gabriel...”

Gabriel sat as stiff as a board when she called his name. His eyes darted from side to side, a look of fright plastered on his face. Finally, Rob and Seamus pushed him up from his seat.

“Get up there with your woman, you crazy fool! You’ll never get this chance again,” Rob said to his son, doing his best to encourage him.

Moira gave him a warm smile as she shooed him along, “You can do it, honey. Just sing like you’re singing for God to hear.”

Once Gabriel was out of earshot, Casey dug around in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, “I gotta have me phone out for this one. We need to have proof in case he tries to say that he was drunk off his a*s and denies that he really did this.”

As his cousin made his way up the steps to the stage, the audience applauded and cheered to help boost his confidence. He felt like his legs were going to give, but the next thing he knew, Kate had handed him the other microphone. You can do this, Gabriel. Sing like you’re singing to Kate and no one else, he thought to himself as he watched his wife. She looked like an angel in her silky dress, and at that point he felt as if it was just the two of them in the playhouse; there was no reason to hide.

“This song I have chosen to sing with my husband is my personal favourite, and it has a strong message that keeps me going. Gabriel, I know that you know it, and that’s why I wanted you to sing it with me,” Kate turned to him, gazing into his brilliant aqua eyes, the true love for him clear on her face, “This song is by Thompson Square, and it’s called ‘Glass’.”

More applause drifted through the air when the lights dimmed to a sultry and romantic purple. When a single guitar started to play a slow melody, the room became silent, letting the music speak. The Dawson’s, as well as Sean and Ava, leaned against their significant other while they waited for the words to come. Casey, who had started to film on his phone, kept his eyes on his family members up on the stage. Seamus had put his beer down so that he wouldn’t ruin the enchanting moment.

On the stage, Kate kept her eyes closed, letting the music seep through her veins and fill her with joy. She then lifted the microphone up and began, “Trying to live and love with a heart that can’t be broken is like trying to see the light with eyes that can’t be opened. Yeah, we both carry baggage we picked up on our way, so if you love me do it gently, and I will do the same.”

The courage inside him strengthened, letting Gabriel know that it was time. He let the emotion win over, and joined the love of his life...

“We may shine. We may shatter. We may be picking up the pieces here on after. We are fragile. We are human. We are shaped by the light we let through us. We break fast, ‘cause we are glass... ‘Cause we are glass.”

The energy surged full force throughout the playhouse, bringing Kate and Gabriel together. When they continued, memories of all of their special moments came back to him in a rush. They were enough for him to let every ounce of his true self out.

“I’ll let you look inside me, through the stains and through the cracks. And in the darkness of this moment, you see the good and bad. But try not to judge me, ‘cause we’ve walked down different paths. But it brought us here together, so I won’t take that back

“We may shine. We may shatter. We may be picking up the pieces here on after. We are fragile. We are human. We are shaped by the light we let through us. We break fast, ‘cause we are glass.”

The entire audience rose to their feet, applauding with bliss. Kate sang by herself for the following part, leaving Gabriel to soak in everything.

“We might be oil and water. This could be a big mistake. We might burn like gasoline and fire. It’s a chance we’ll have to take.”

Gabriel rejoined his wife for the ending...

“We may shine. We may shatter. We may be picking up the pieces here on after. We are fragile. We are human. And we are shaped by the light we let through us. We break fast, ‘cause we are glass. We are glass.”

When the last note of the guitar fell silent, Gabriel pulled Kate into a deep kiss, much to everyone’s liking. Just like before, the stage went dark, allowing the couple to slip away without being seen. Once in the backstage area, Kate stopped to pick up her bag of clothes to change into while Gabriel waited on her. Afterwards, the two of them stepped outside behind the playhouse. Kate pulled him against her front side and laid her hands on his bottom as she looked into his eyes.

“Would it be rude to ditch your family right now? I want to spend some time alone with you,” she asked seductively.

A chuckle escaped his lips, “As much as I’d like to take you up on that offer, I’m afraid we’re stuck with them for a little while longer,” he playfully ruffled her hair before turning to go find the others, seeing that the playhouse was starting to empty, “But don’t worry, I’ll get you naked soon enough.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open, “Why is it that you men always turn everything into something sexual?”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who brought up the fact that you wanted to spend time alone with me. That can only mean one thing,” he turned around, throwing his arms up before disappearing behind the building.

Just wait, Gabriel. You’re birthday is not over yet, she thought as a sly smile appeared on her face.

 

Later that night, a while after they had returned home and the rest of the family had gone to their homes, Kate and Gabriel had collapsed on their bed after yet another intimate moment. They were both exhausted and Kate was panting heavily.

 “Where the hell did that come from?” She managed to say between pants.

Gabriel smirked, “You were asking for it. Besides, I didn’t hear you complaining.”

Kate chuckled, “I was a little more than preoccupied. At least you didn’t throw me into a wall, again.”

Gabriel chuckled a little at the memory, and then shifted onto his back, feeling totally relaxed; it had to be the best birthday he ever had. Kate snuggled up next to him and let out a contented sigh. For one moment, all felt right in the world, “You were right, Kate. Today was definitely worth the wait.”

“I told you so,” Kate traced patterns on his chest with her fingertips, smiling as she felt his muscles shift under her touch, “I’m glad you liked it. It was extremely hard not to give it away. That, and sneak that outfit past you.”

“I had a feeling you were going to do something drastic,” Gabriel said, “I just didn’t know what. You did a good job covering this up.”

Kate didn’t reply, but instead closed her eyes, listening to her husband’s heartbeat. It was quickly becoming her favourite lullaby. She was happy that she was able to pull off her plan, and ever happier that Gabriel enjoyed his day. That, after all, was the point of the whole thing. It took only a few moments for her to fall asleep, looking forward to the days that followed.