The shop couldn’t have been doing better. There was no such thing as a slow day anymore. I did however, have to keep on Starlight some. Her lack of organization and my OCD sometimes clashed, but it was all out of fun.
I turned twenty six on October 2nd, well not really, Riley turned twenty six on October 2nd. Morgan had turned twenty six in June. I had never been so happy in my life. It was almost surreal. I had run away from Morgan Willow, leaving her in the hills of West Virginia, and Morgan Kelley was dead in Las Vegas. I never wanted either Morgan back. I loved being Riley Murphy.
I thought that Dawson was taking me out for my birthday. I showered and was ready to go when he picked me up at my house. I had on a new pair of jeans that fit me well, and a new flowing embroidered Kurta that I had ordered from one of the hippy catalogues. It was white with a brown embroidered Indian design around the sleeves and waist. I wore brown leather dingo boots with my jeans tucked inside. I looked cute. The mirror behind my door said so.
“Happy birthday. I don’t want to take you out anymore,” Dawson decided, kissing me.
He had told me happy birthday at least ten times already, not counting the multiple texts that I had received throughout the day. I loved his compliments. I didn’t always love them, and it took some getting used to, but I finally learned to accept them with a smile.
“Feed me and I may let you spend the night,” I teased.
I read the text from Starlight just as we pulled out of my drive.
“Star wants to know if you will stop and hang some kind of hooks for her,” I said, looking to Dawson.
“I guess we have time,” he replied.
We parked on the front street, and he held my hand as we went inside.
I should have known something was up. Star never said anything about any hooks before.
He held the door for me, and the whole place was decorated with balloons and banners.
Lauren, Levi, Matt, Star and several of our regulars were there. I couldn’t believe it. I almost cried. I was twenty six and was having my first birthday party…
ever.
“You guys,” was all that I could think of to say. I was in shock.
Starlight handed me a blue drink on ice with a cute little umbrella.
“What is it?” I asked, eyeing the neon blue drink.
“Sex in the driveway,” Lauren was the one to say with a smile.
Dawson and I exchanged a private glance, both thinking the same thing. A couple of months back we had gone out with Lauren and Joel to celebrate her birthday.
We never made it inside and jumped in the backseat and had sex. We woke up just after daylight, both still naked.
The paper boy had come and left the paper on the door.
Needless to say, he had to walk right past the car to leave the paper.
We ate pizza and drank the sex in the driveway drinks.
I couldn’t believe the presents. I had never gotten presents like this for my birthday. I did usually get one gift. When I was real little it would be like a Slinky or one of those plastic Barbie’s that seemed to always get their faced smashed in, and you could never push it back out. I would get cheap Jewelry when I was older. I never got a birthday present from Drew. Hell, he probably didn’t even know when my birthday was. Rebecca always got me something though. It too was usually earrings or a bracelet of some sort.
Even the patrons bought me gifts. They were nothing extravagant. I got the cutest little key chain from my beach friend, John. It was a piece of sea glass. He explained that it meant happiness. I was very happy.
Lauren bought me a Miranda Lambert CD. I opened all of my gifts and Dawson had saved his for last. When I turned to see where he was, he knelt on one knee in front of me.
Oh, God…
I didn’t freak the way I would have expected myself to. I could only feel how much I was loved, and was beyond grateful for my friends and of course Dawson.
He smiled and opened the black velvet box.
“Will you marry me, Riley?” he asked.
“Of course I will marry you,” I smiled. I didn’t need to think about it. I knew what I wanted. I wanted my sheriff.
He slipped the diamond on my finger and kissed me while my friends hooted and hollered.
I was well on my way to being drunk from the blue drink that I had been consuming for the past three hours by the time we left.
Dawson stayed at my house, and it was the best night of my life. I couldn’t believe that I was going to become Mrs. Dawson Bade. We were planning a May 1 st wedding, and I wanted it all. I never had the church wedding, the white gown or anyone that cared about me at my last wedding. I didn’t want anything lavish or anything, just a small church wedding with my friends.