*Jessica's P.O.V*

"Hey," I whispered.

I didn't know the reason, but I was on cloud nine, realizing it was Max's plan. He did this for me.

"I was right, you are fully obsessed with me." He teased and removed the cloth from my eyes.

I looked up, a grin spreading on my face, and without wasting any second, I climbed in his arms. "Thank you."

He chuckled, "It's not over yet."

"Meaning?" I asked breaking the embrace. I looked around and noticed my friends standing in the middle of park with a huge smile on their faces who all claimed to be busy tonight. Tables were full with food and drinks.

"Surprise!" They yelled and cheered.

I laughed and went to hug them. I noticed everyone was here: Lily, Noah, Jelline, Nina, Kyle, Brittney, even Travis too. I smiled at him and decided to ignore hugging him because I didn't want to upset Max. I saw Sonia at the corner of the table. She was busy organising the food. I walked towards her.

"Thank you so much." I smiled gratefully and hugged her.

"It's nothing dear, and Happy Birthday." She kissed my forehead.

Jelline walked up to me and smiled nervously. "Hey, sorry about my behaviour. I talked to Noah and he told me everything."

"It was just a misunderstanding, so let it be." I squeezed her shoulder. "So, are you two together now?"

She glanced at Noah, "Not yet. He still likes you, but he asked me to give him some time. He wanted to give us a try." She blushed.

"That's great. You will be together soon." I hugged her. It felt great to sort this out on my birthday.

"Enjoy the party," she said and went back to the group.

I turned around and looked for Max. I saw him standing near a tree. He was staring at me. I walked towards him and took some time noticing his appearance. He was wearing a light brown shirt, the sleeves rolled, slightly tanned skin all the way to his elbows, revealing a white t-shirt underneath his collar. His blue eyes were bright and his hair was pushed away to the side. Looking past his dark blue jeans and besides the fact that his hands were behind his back, I noticed that his jacket wasn't on him.

"Done checking me out?" He teased.

I rolled my eyes to hide the blush. "Where is your jacket?"

He shook his head as I avoided his comment. Then after few minutes he replied, "I left it for a change."

I nodded and smiled. He decided to change this for me. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and took me behind a large tree.

"I got you something," he said nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. He took a deep breath and brought out his hand from behind his back and thrusting it towards me. "Happy Birthday, Jazz."

I raised my eyebrow at the long velvet box which he handed to me. I carefully opened it, making a click sound from it. There was a silver chain with a small diamond pendant of 'J.' It was sparkling under the shadow of the moon. My eyes became watery as I always wanted a diamond pendant with my initial. I remembered telling this to Max, and it means a lot for me that he still remembered it.

Max smiled at me when I looked back at his eyes. "You like it?"

Instead of answering him, I jumped into his arms. Yes, it was second time today but I didn't care. "Are you kidding me? It's amazing. I love it, thank you."

He let out shaky laughter, his breath blowing in my ear. "You are always welcome."

I pulled back, letting my arms go realising that our friends were still here. I looked at the necklace again and blinked several times to control the tears. Max pulled out the necklace from the box, and putting his hands on my shoulders, turned me around. His hands hovered over my neck, placing the necklace in its right place. His fingertips trailed around my neck to the back, where he locked it and rested it on my shoulders.

I felt his hands trail from my shoulders down my arms. Goosebumps sprung upon them as he let go for a moment only to run his hands up and down the curve of the dress where it hugged me. I felt my heartbeat unrealistically faster.

He turned me around and my breath catching at the moment. His blue eyes looked darker as the sun was setting, the pupils slightly dilated. His eyes bored into mine before flickering downward then back up. They seemed closer and that was the moment when I realised he had moved closer, his face in front of mine, and our noses were almost touching.

His lips hovered directly over mine, so close to touching. His bubblegum breath washed over my face, his lips partly slightly. He smiled at me as if he was waiting to do this for a long time. I doubted that, but it didn't stop me. Our lips brushed against each other and a moan escaped from my mouth. He bit my lower lip seeking entrance and I immediately let him in. Our lips moved in synchronization for few seconds when we parted away to catch our breaths.

We both stared at each other for few seconds and then burst out in laughter. He pulled me towards him and I fell in. He rubbed my back and said, "We both want this, then why wait?"

"Because I'm scared," I whispered.

"I won't hurt you ever," he replied tightened his arms.

"I know." I sighed and pulled back. "But I'm not sure about our future. Look Max, I don't want a temporary fling. I'm serious for you." I blurted out the truth and nervously looked at his eyes for the reaction.

But he looked calm. "So am I." He shrugged.

I was relieved hearing this but complications were still there. "It's not that easy, we are from different worlds and..."

He took my hand and cut me in. "Can we please talk about this later? Let's just enjoy your special day. We have plenty of time to discuss that, please?"

He was right. He put so much effort into making this special for me. I shouldn't ruin this by talking about our future.

I nodded and we made it back to our friends.

"Finally, you guys are back, we were planning to start eating the dinner," Nina teased, earning a glare from me.

"I know you are starving for the food, but let's cut the cake first," Max said and took me at the centre.

*****

After eating the delicious food, Max announced for a special dessert made by Sonia. I didn't know what it was as it was hidden in a bowl, but I was very excited as it was a Indian Desert.

"C'mon, close your eyes. I will put this in your mouth and you have to guess the name of it," Lily said excitedly.

I gave her a are-you-kidding-me look, but she ignored it. I looked at Max for help, but he also shrugged.

"Only if there is no prank in this?" I asked suspiciously.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You are no fun, Jessica." She huffed. "Ya, there is no prank, now close your eyes."

I opened my mouth and she put a spoon in it. I felt a familiar delicious taste of Moong dal halwa (Green gram cooked, an Indian cuisine) in my mouth, but after chewing it for a second, I realised it was the same taste which my mother...

No, it couldn't be possible!

I gulped down.

I opened my eyes and looked at Max, silently asking him the question which I couldn't processed into words.

He grabbed my hand and turned around, "Guys we are leaving. See you tomorrow," he announced and without waiting for their goodbye, took me outside the park.

"What's happening?" I finally got courage to ask.

"Just wait." He smiled and opened the passenger door of his car.

"Max, you are making me insane," I hissed, getting inside.

"You are already for me." He winked, but I remained silent.

My thoughts started to process about  the possibilities. That was the same taste, I was sure about it, but how Max got it? If Sonia made it then how did she get the recipe?

Of course, how silly I was, the internet!

In today's time, everything was possible, but the taste was my mother's handmade. I couldn't be wrong. It's my favourite dessert.

"Jazz?" Max interrupted my thoughts and I looked around.

"Why we are at your place?" I asked getting confused.

"Have a little patience," he replied before getting out of the car.

I let out a groan and jumped outside the car. "Now?"

"C'mon." He took my hand and started walking inside.

"Max, please tell me."

"Tell you what?" He shot me a look.

"How did you got that desert?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

He ignored my question and knocked at the door.

"If Sonia was at the party then who will open the door?" I asked getting furious with this, but again, Max remained silent.

Before I could smack his head, the door jerked open. My eyes wide from the shock, looking at the person who was standing there and grinning at me.

"Jazz, Happy Birthday." She squealed and I snapped out of my state of shock.

I gulped down and pinched myself. When I felt a sharp pain in my left arm, I realized it wasn't a dream. I let out a scream and jumped in excitement to hug my best friend, one and only, Mahi.

*****

We were laying comfortably in Max's guestroom after pouring our hearts to each other. Mahi told me how Max planned all this and brought her here. And yes! That desert was sent from my mother. I knew it, I couldn’t miss it. I called her and told her how happy she made me by sending this through Mahi. Now, I didn't feel alone on my birthday. It was like I was there only. I also Skyped with Mom, Dad, and bro. Ankur even cut the cake on behalf of me. After that, Max insisted to spend the night at his house as it would be uncomfortable for both of us to sleep in the single bed in my dorm.

Mahi was here for only two days as she needed to attend her college because of project work. So I decided to take a leave tomorrow and will show her the beauty of this town. We chatted for several hours and didn't realize when we fell asleep.

I woke up when I heard Max's voice. "Max, let me sleep," I mumbled half asleep.

"I know you must be tired but it's 11 a.m. and I think you need to get out of the bed if you want to hang out with your best friend," Max stated and I peeked through my pillow at his face.

He looked concerned.

"Hm, just five minutes, please?" I said yawning and closed my eyes again.

"You are wasting the time and you will regret it later." I heard his stern voice, making me furious.

Well, I was hella tired. I hardly got any sleep of more than 4 hours as we stayed up until around 7 am. Now, he was annoying me when I just wanted to get back to sleep.

"What makes your pants twisted, this morning?" I asked, sitting up. I stretched my arms and took a yawn.

He stared at me in disbelief. "You are spending so much time with Lily and her gang." He scoffed.

I rolled my eyes, "They are my friends."

"And they are spoiling you." He sounded angry now.

"Whoa, calm your horses Max, what's wrong with you?" I asked getting annoyed and swung my legs out of the blanket.

He shook his head and walked towards the balcony, which was connected with the room. I followed him outside as I didn't want to disturb Mahi's sleep.

"Do you know she is leaving tomorrow night?" He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Yeah so?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"You have left only one and half days to spend with her as you already wasted another half of it sleeping." He crossed his arms. "After that, she will be gone."

Then realization hit me. He was right, I was wasting my time... Mahi was here. I should be spending  maximum time with her. I was such a idiot. Here, Max was trying to help me and I was being such a bitch.

"Oh, Max," I whispered and hugged him. "I am sorry for being a bitch. I don't know what came over me. I wasn't thinking straight," I mumbled in his chest.

"It's okay." He hugged me back. We remained in each other arms for few more seconds when he pulled apart and added, "I know they are your friends, but don't let them change you. You are not realizing it, but you are changing. You shouldn't use such language. You have to go back after this course, and if you ever used this in front of your parents then that would be your last day of freedom." I nodded and he stroked my cheeks, continuing, "Don’t forget your real identity."

He kissed my forehead and gave me a soft smile.

"But you said about liking my witty side?" I asked remembering the cafeteria incident.

He chuckled, "Yes, but that should be only for me." He winked and I playfully smacked his arm. "Now, go and get ready. I'm going to get you something to eat."

I smiled and nodded. He turned around and started walking, but stopped when I called his name. "Max."

"Yeah?" He turned his face, giving me a questioning look.

I quickly covered the distance and gave him a small kiss on his right cheek. "Thank you for being so understanding."

After that I kissed his left cheek and said, "Thank you for looking out for me."

Then I tip-toed and kissed his nose, "Thank you for making my day so special. It was my best birthday."

Finally, I felt blood rising in my cheeks and I took a deep breath to gather the courage for taking the next step. I brushed my lips with his and gave him a soft peck on it. "Thank you for coming into my life," I whispered against his lips and connected them again with his.

He seemed surprised by my sudden action, but quickly regained the posture and started kissing me back. Butterflies erupted in my stomach and I felt my knees going weak. He realised it too as he grabbed my waist and without breaking the kiss, pulled me towards him. Our bodies connected and hands were in each other’s hair.

Suddenly, someone cleared her throat and we broke apart, completely flushed. I looked at the culprit who had such bad timing, and when I saw Mahi standing there with a smirk on her face, I covered my face from the embarrassment.

"Um, see you downstairs," Max mumbled and rushed outside the room, completely embarrassed.

I groaned loudly realising that he had just left me alone to handle the situation. Not to mention, I didn't inform Mahi about my relationship developments with Max. Honestly, I was scared of her reaction.

"So, want to explain?" Mahi interrupted my thoughts.

"We like each other." I blurted out.

"Tell me something new." She rolled her eyes.

"What? You knew?" I asked, shocked.

"It wasn't hard to guess." She shrugged and sighed when I stared at her. "C'mon, it wasn't rocket science to guess when someone desperately wanted to make you happy and can do anything just to make her special. And the way you were looking at him yesterday made your side clear too."

"Oh, I thought you would be upset that I'm falling for a foreign boy as it's out of my league," I said leaning against the railing of the balcony.

"I'm upset, and it's not because of Max, but it's because you are keeping things from me. You are changed." Her voice was sad.

I walked towards her and hugged her. "I'm sorry. I was scared, really. I know I like him, but I am scared to start a relationship with him. You know how I feel about it. After Nick, I just lost my faith in relationships. I don't want to end up hurt again. And now when I know you are on good terms with him, it wasn't a good idea to discuss it with you."

"You know I will choose you over everything, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, but . . ."

She cut me in, "What but?" She sounded pissed now.

I sighed and rubbed my temples, "I'm sorry. Please don;t get mad at me. I won't hide anything from you now."

She shook her head. "I'm not mad at you, Jazz, but I'm upset and hurt, too."

"I'm really sorry," I said softly and hugged her again.

"Whatever," she muttered but hugged me back.

"How come you're not upset with my relationship with Max?"

"Because I know he is the right guy." She smiled. "And I think it's time that you should move on from those hard feelings and give your heart another chance."

"I've already moved on. And now I'm planning to give him another chance." I smiled back.

"That's awesome. I'm so happy for you," she said excitedly.

"Ghosh! Who are you? And what have you done with my Mahi?" I exclaimed in a childish tone.

She chuckled, "I realised that finally you got someone who can take care of you. So, I don't need to be bossy or over-protective."

"You still need to take care of me, darling." I pinched her cheeks.

"Please, I'm tired of doing that, so give me a break." She rolled her eyes but I knew she was just joking around. She could never leave her protective side.

"Of course." I shook my head. "C'mon, now get ready," I added while I collected my things.

"Why and where are you going?" She lifted her eyebrow.

"To my room, obviously." I shrugged and looked at her when she stood there pressing her lips in a thin line. "Mahi, I need to change. I can't go out in these clothes," I added pointing at my T-shirt and lower, which I borrowed from Mahi last night.

"No need to go. Just use mine," she said and opened her luggage.

"No, Mahi, it's okay. I will be quick." I tied my hair in a neat ponytail.

She stared at me and said, "It's not like you never wore my clothes then. What's the problem now?"

I looked at her dumbfounded. What's wrong with her?

"Mahi, you are thinking too much. I wanted to go because I need my cards and money also." I tried to reason her but she removed her stare from me and took out her pair of jeans and a top from her luggage.

"I'm going to shower, don't take too much time," she said, and without waiting for my answer, went inside the bathroom.

I let out a groan and stormed outside the room, directly towards Max's Bedroom.

"Max," I called out.

"Yeah?" He stood from his bed, noticing my furious expressions.

"Mahi and I had a little argument." I stated and sat on the bed.

"Was it because of me?" he asked carefully, joining me on the bed.

"Of course not," I exclaimed. "But I think you were right. I'm changing. Mahi and I... we never fought and now we were about to..." I trailed off.

"What happened?" He asked, and I told him everything.

"I know it's kind of silly, but I'm feeling weird right now. I don't know what's wrong with her? I just wanted to go back to my room so that I can change. What's the big deal in this?"

He remained silent, processing everything. "Maybe she just wanted to spend all her time with you. Tell me something?"

"Yeah?"

"When you was in India and you were at her place..." He stopped and looked at me. I nodded and told him to continue, "When you decided to go somewhere and you were in your casual clothes, nothing fancy then, did you want to go back to your house to change it?"

I shook my head, "No, Mahi and I were always like sisters. We used each other clothes. So there was no option of going back to the house for... " I couldn't complete it as I realised what he was trying to tell me.

I covered my face with my both hands and groaned, "I'm so stupid."

He squeezed my shoulder, "You can still make up with her. Let's go."

******

Mahi came outside the guest room, completely dressed but her eyes were sad. Her eyes met with mine and sparkled, noticing my appearance.

"You are wearing my clothes," she said, stopping in front of me. "But you were going to your dorm."

I nodded, "Yeah, but for other things, which is sorted now. Max gave me a spare