After making sure that the car was locked, Alex looked around. She's looking for the whereabouts of Adrian's car. Yeah, right. She was in the basement of the man's apartment. Even though there are many cars, Adrian always puts his car on the same block. His kind of car is too big for the size of a middle-class apartment. He always uses his car alternately. Like his collection, he also won't let the dust settle on his favorite car for too long. One more thing. She memorized the man's car plate.
She smiled when she saw the man's two cars parked side by side. Her best friend doesn't like to travel unless he drives. So, it can be ascertained that the man was just languishing in his apartment. She also doesn't understand the guy's obsession with driving. Maybe he had always wanted to be a racer. After all, compared to going to bars, he prefers to lock himself in his room, turn on loud music, and jump on the bed like a professional singer when he's in a really bad mood.
As soon as she arrived at Adrian's apartment door, she immediately entered the pass code, which was none other than the apartment number itself. Yeah, sometimes the man can't be understood. Of the many combinations of numbers on earth, why did this guy even use his apartment number as a password?
There was a different sound than usual. And not long after, the voice of the operator said that the password she entered was wrong.
"I don't think I pressed the wrong one though," she muttered, frowning.
She tried again, and the voice of the operator was heard again.
"Where did it go wrong?" she grumbled to herself.
She looked at her watch and she groaned loudly. Ten more minutes to 11 o'clock, and she's still cooped up outside. She tried again, and this time the operator asked her to either use the manual lock or call security.
"Damn!" she cursed slowly when she realized the situation. Adrian must have changed his apartment password, so she can't enter. It seemed like the guy was really angry at her. "Okay, Alex. Think about what you should do," she said to herself.
In the last minutes before 11 o'clock, she again remembered the operator's words. She can enter manually. Hence, she hastily pulled out her wallet from her bag. Her face immediately brightened when she saw the key to the apartment, which was rectangular in shape like a credit card.
Two minutes to 11 o'clock.
She immediately threw her bag carelessly as soon as she managed to enter the man's apartment. And as she expected, her best friend was in his room. Seen from the light that infiltrated the small gap under the door as well as the ventilation. Trying to calm down, she took out a tart that she had ordered long ago and had only taken an hour ago. Light a candle in the shape of the number 30.
Just when it was 11 o'clock, she suddenly opened the man's door and shouted as loud as she could. She was trying to beat the music that was being played by the guy.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADRIAN CALLUM HERRERA!"
She chuckled when she saw the man, petrified in his position. As she had expected, her best friend was holding his solo concert in a shirtless state and in long black jeans. The man's hair looks disheveled, which must be because he's been nodding his head up and down too often, like a rock singer.
She approached him, who was still standing still in the middle of his bed. Following Adrian, she climbed into bed and stood in front of the man. Maintaining a smile even though the man's face still shows a surprised expression.
"Happy birthday," she said again. Even though his voice wouldn't be heard, at least she could see the movement of his lips.
*****
Flashback a few hours earlier...
Adrian parked his white Lexus beside the metallic Peugeot – which was also his car. He always tries to park his car in the same place. Even though block F only had two empty spots, the parking positions there rarely changed. It seemed that the people who owned the car had something in common with him as well.
He lied to the folks at the grill and restaurant. Actually, he didn't go to celebrate his birthday with his friends. Instead, he goes straight back to the apartment. He had planned to spend the rest of the evening at Hooters. A special cafe for people over 21 years old. The cafe serves alcohol, so minors are not allowed in. There's also live music, and it's clear that the songs that are playing are rock songs, not lilting jazz songs. However, because Alex, the woman he had hoped for, arrived late, his mood immediately deteriorated.
Before going to his apartment, he briefly stopped at the supermarket on the ground floor of his building. Normally, he would walk down every aisle, although in the end, he would only buy an item. This time, however, he headed straight for the alcoholic beverage aisle. He was in a bad mood, and all he wanted to do was lock himself in his room, turn on loud music, and sing along while drinking alcohol.
He took two bottles with a low alcohol content. At least he's still sane, so he doesn't choose high levels of alcohol. Tomorrow he has to work. The meeting is at ten in the morning. And if tonight he gets drunk, it is certain that he will not come to the office tomorrow morning. Then, the day after tomorrow, he would be lying in a coffin, because his subordinates would definitely kill him.
As soon as he arrived at his apartment, he went straight to his room. He put the alcohol he bought on the nightstand. He glanced at his strawberry-shaped alarm clock—a stark contrast to the masculine color of his room. It was nine o'clock. And why is he wearing that watch? Because Alex gave it to him two years ago during Thanksgiving, He gave her a Spiderman doll that she hated so much. In the end, they are worth it.
"All right, Adrian, now get that woman out of your head!" he said to himself.
After pressing the play button on the remote in his hand, Linkin Park's In The End started playing again throughout the room. As if that wasn't enough, he set the speaker volume to full. He doesn't need to worry that his neighbors will be disturbed, because his apartment is equipped with soundproofing.
He then opened a bottle of alcohol and took a few sips. Then, he went to the closet. Take out all of Alex's clothes, and put them haphazardly into a special goods box. After that, with one sip, all the woman's cosmetic items that filled his small dressing table immediately moved into another box.
"I'm not messing around this time. You know that?" Adrian grumbled to himself, and to add more drama to his attitude, he kicked the cardboard box containing his best friend's clothes. "Now then, time to party!" he shouted loudly.
He took off his gray suit, followed by a black shirt that he wore until he was shirtless. Then he climbed onto the bed, jumping up and down like the vocalist of Linkin Park, who this time sang the song Breaking The Habit. The songs continued. He had finished the two bottles of alcohol he had bought when it was less than 11 o'clock.
His body was starting to get tired, but his mood had improved again. That was why he preferred to spend his time screaming when he was in a bad mood. Yelling loudly can release emotions. Instead of him going to the bar, then getting drunk incoherently.
He was singing the chorus of Linkin' Park's Numb when suddenly the door to his room opened, and the woman who made him angry a few hours ago was standing there, screaming loudly. Even though he couldn't beat the song that was playing, he could still hear what the girl was saying.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADRIAN CALLUM HERRERA!"
Adrian can't move from his position. He was surprised. He didn't expect Alex to come to his apartment, bring a cake, and wish him a happy birthday. After all, how did she get in? Didn't he change his apartment's pass code? Just in case Alex slipped into it.
He was surprised again when the woman was standing in front of him. He seemed too busy with his own thoughts to notice her movement.
"Happy birthday," Alex said again.
He grabbed the DVD player remote that was under his feet and pressed the stop button, so the song that was playing stopped. Leaving an awkward silence in the atmosphere of the room.
Seeing the woman's innocent face, he even felt like an idiot. Seeing the cake that she brought, it was clear that the cake had been ordered in advance, not bought suddenly, to make him happy. So, it's certain that his best friend's lateness to his birthday celebration this afternoon was intentional so that he could get angry.
"Arrrggh!" He shouted as he got out of bed. He looked up slightly at Alex, who was still standing on his bed. "Shit! I hate you! You know what? I really hate you for the next seven generations! I won't forgive you for all this! This is making me all upset!"
Alex laughed because she knew that they were now okay and approached the man. "Okay. Now blow out your candle before it melts and hits your cake."
Adrian blew out the candle impatiently. He didn't even make any requests at all. "You planned it, didn't you? When I got angry this afternoon, you must have laughed, right? You must have laughed after I left, right? Just admit it!"
Alex smiled. "I wanted to say no. But I did laugh." And she laughed again.
*****
Alex sat beside Adrian, who was eating a piece of his birthday cake. The guy's face still looks annoyed because she basically pranked him. Ignoring the man's gloomy face, she took a piece of the blueberry-flavored cake. Adrian is really crazy about the taste of blueberries, so she specifically looks for a cake shop that provides this taste, because, unexpectedly, blueberries are hard to get.
"Since when have you ordered this cake?" Adrian asked, his words barely understandable because his mouth was full of cake.
"Three days ago," she answered. "I had to go into four different bakeries to find your favorite blueberry. You should thank me a little."
The man smirked. And as fast as lightning, he threw a kiss on her left cheek. "Thank you, baby." His mood had really improved. Apart from the blueberry cake, it is also because of Alex's arrival and greetings.
Alex groaned in disgust. "Stop kissing me!"
"By the way, why did you only come now? And as I recall, I've changed the pass code, so how did you get in?"
"I have a spare key. No matter how many times you change your pass code, I will still be able to enter because of that key," she explained. "And why did I just come? Because I suddenly had a very bright idea."
Adrian looked at her, not understanding anything.
"I called your mom last night and asked what time exactly you were born. And she said that you were born at exactly 11 pm. That's why I just came now. I'm the one who actually wished you a happy birthday. Don't you think that's so cool? Where else can you find a friend like me? I'm limited edition, you know?" She spoke at length.
Adrian smiled at the woman. Without thinking, he immediately pulled her into his arms. "Thank you... very much."
"It's okay, anything for you," Alex said indifferently after the man released his embrace. "Well, do you still want a present?"
The man shrugged. "Actually, this is enough. But, if you want to give me a present, why not? It would be more fun."
Alex pushed Adrian's shoulder down. "I know your pride is as high as the sky. But don't you remember that afternoon when you asked me for a present?"
Adrian scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's because I was mad at you."
Alex took something from her coat pocket. She looked at the man with seductive eyes, while Adrian looked very impatient. When she realized that her best friend's patience was on the verge of ending, she took out her hand. It shows a 10cm square.
Adrian immediately grabbed the box wrapped in purple gift paper. He ignored the woman's protesting gaze and stared at the box with an appreciative gaze.
"It's not a ring, is it?"
"Do you really think that I want to propose to you?" Alex snapped and rolled her eyes.
Without waiting long, Adrian immediately tore the gift wrapping paper. It shows a black box.
Alex smiled when she saw that the man was fascinated by the gift she gave. She gave a watch to the birthday boy. The watch was made of stainless steel, and the strap was made of black leather. But what makes it special are the sapphire blue letters "A" and "S" in the background. And around the surface of the clock circle, there is an engraving of Adrian's full name in Greek writing. That's the watch she picked up at the mall. She really thought about the gift she would give to the man.
"This is so cool," said Adrian happily. "But why the letters A and S? My name is Adrian Callum. With the prefixes "A" and "C" in case you forgot. And one more thing: why did you write my name in Greek?"
"Think harder! It is A and S. Who has that initial? It's me! Alexandra Sullivan! I did that so that you would remember that the watch was from me. And I really like Greek writing," Alex explained. "To get that watch, I also ordered it two days ago. I was really thinking about your birthday, you know?"
Adrian smiled even wider. He then leaned forward and kissed the woman's lips. He gained an advantage because Alex's lips were slightly parted. He slid in his tongue to deepen the kiss. He was just about to make it deeper when the woman pushed him roughly.
"Yaaaah, damn it! I told you to stop kissing me!" Alex protested. She was just about to rant again when her eyes caught something in the corner of the room. The two odd looking cardboard boxes, she saw a cloth stretched out on the corner of the cardboard. "What's that?" she asked suspiciously. She seemed to recognize the stretched cloth.
"It's nothing," Adrian said quickly. He hastily stood in front of his best friend, who was only a step away from the box.
Alex pushed him aside so that she could actually see what was inside the box. And when she saw it, she really gaped. "Those are my clothes!" she screamed hysterically. "Why are my clothes in the box?"
Adrian smirked. "You know the answer to that, right? I was so irritated with you...
Alex screamed again. "What did you do to my make-up kit?!"
Adrian could only smile apologetically. He doesn't know what to say.
Alex took the compact powder and was almost breathless when she found out that the powder was cracked, so it couldn't be used anymore. The eye shadow box is no less messy. Her moisturizer was spilled, one of her perfume caps was cracked, and her favorite lip color was broken. This is really terrible. She gave Adrian a murderous look before finally shouting loudly, "ADRIAN FUCKING CALLUM HERRERA!"
*****