Chapter seventy-two: "Not The Money"

I set down the lovely bouquet on the space on my right on the huge table. After carefully setting it down, Cloud pulled out a chair for me to sit and I thanked him before sitting down

"Acting like a gentleman right now I see" I teased him once he sat down in front of me, his ears turned red then he cleared his throat to hide his shyness

"Do you like the view?" he asked and I turned my head to face the entire view of the city at nighttime

"Like it? I love it actually" I giggled in delight
It was amazing

He grinned "I also prepared the dinner menu to your liking"
THAT'S EVEN BETTER!

Before I knew it, 5 waitresses appeared carrying trays full of different types of food and setting them down on the table. My mouth watered at all the food in front of me

"Wait a minute...then who's watching Coco and Bun-bun?"
With everyone at Ken's house, who is watching over the two pets?

Cloud pulled out something in his pocket and it turned out to be his phone, he opened it and then showed me a picture of Coco and Bun-bun enjoying loads of food given to them by my sisters "I think they're getting a fair share of food like we are right now" he chuckled

I rested a hand on my chest and sighed in relief
Being a fur parent does have its stresses and reliefs

Me and Cloud soon dig in on the food and we chatted about any topic we could think of
We both never usually run out of topics

Once I felt full I patted my stomach

"Full already?" he raised a brow at me as he looked at my stomach

"I did eat quite a bit at Ken's home since I didn't expect we would be eating out like this"

His brows furrowed a little and he slid his hand slowly on the table to hold my hand with tenderness "I couldn't give you a good 1st anniversary, I hope this was enough to mend my mistake"

Quickly, I held his hand with both my hands and a face full of happiness "Cloud it wasn't your fault"

"Yes it was, let's be honest here Angel. I ruined our 1st anniversary"

My hand pulled his close to my lips so I could kiss his hand on the knuckles "Listen to me carefully". His eyes went from my lips then to my eyes before home nodded

I fiddled his hand "Even if we just eat at home and watch a movie like any other day, I don't mind. No matter how we celebrate our anniversary, it is only important we are together"
Sometimes, couples who go on lavish anniversary dates don't last long, I know quite a lot of those in my clan

I'm happy whatever we both do, I am not really the type to complain about wanting lavish dates like these
Like Mamita Daphne says, it is the thought that counts, not the money

Cloud held my hand firmly with his forest green eyes lit up as the candlelight made those beautiful green eyes shine "Really? You're not angry?"
Was he thinking that I am angry at him about our 1st anniversary?

I stood up and walked around the table to his side, Cloud leaned his head back to look up at me because he was still sitting on the chair. Since of course, we are still in a restaurant, I looked around if the waitresses are somewhere in the area

Once I see nobody, I cupped Cloud's face and I leaned in to kiss him. I caressed Cloud's jaw while I felt his soft lips, to be honest, his kisses were addicting

Gently, his hands made their way to hold one of my hands that was cupping his face. It was warm and I could feel some calluses

If it weren't for the fact that need to breathe also. So after a few minutes, Cloud and I pulled away so we both can breathe

"There" I inhaled then exhaled to catch my breathe "Now you see I'm not angry at you"

He played with his lips in front of me as our foreheads were resting together "Maybe I still think you're angry, just a teeny bit"

I snorted "You just want more kisses from me"

"Can I?"

"No, you idiot we're still in a public space" I lightly patted his left cheek before standing straight again and stretched

Cloud stood up from his seat and gave me his hand "If I can't have another kiss, maybe I could have your first dance as an 18-year-old"

I smirked at him and grabbed his hand "I would love to"

Slowly he pulled me to an open space on the huge terrace and we slow danced as he sang happy birthday to me in a low and whispered voice
He sang that only I could hear between the two of us

"Happy Birthday Angel" he pulled me closer as we danced with the tip of our noses touching

"Happy Birthday My Angel" Cloud twirled me around then proceeded to put his mouth close to my ear to continue the song

He held my hand close to his chest and I felt his heart beating slowly in a calm manner "Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday To You" the other hand snaked its way to the nape of my neck, and he pushed it lightly so he could give me a forehead kiss

We both hugged with my arms now around his neck and his arms tightly around my waist

Out of all my birthdays, this is the most memorable one I've had

"I love you Cloud, thank you so much"

"I wish you to have the best in the world, I love you too"

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Cloud and I went back to the penthouse after we enjoyed our time at the restaurant

I went to the bedroom first and removed my heels along the way, there on Cloud's bed sat another box "Is that another gift from you?" I asked him and he puts on a confused face

He poked his head into the bedroom and saw the present sitting on the duvet "No, other than the surprise dinner, party, and the outfit, I don't think I bought you another present" he shrugged both shoulders

I walked up to the present and read what the letter said on the tag that was connected to the ribbon

Happy Birthday, Girl!
Hope you and Cloud enjoy the present ;)

With love,

Alice, Daisy, Yara, and Mira

I squinted my eyes in suspicion
What on earth did these four do this time?

"What do they mean, Me and Cloud?" I mumbled to myself as I unwrap my gift

My eyes widened when I saw what was inside
You four are the most dirty-minded people!

I rubbed my temples before looking at the gift again
Thankfully, Cloud is somewhere in the penthouse right now

Inside the box was a different design of lingerie and these three didn't even know shame when they added a blindfold, handcuffs, those types of toys, and 3 huge boxes of protection with different brands
I'm getting embarrassed than these three preparing my gift with wicked smiles on their faces

I slapped my face in doom
How am I gonna hide these from everyone? Especially Cloud?

"So what's in the box?" Cloud's voice erupted from behind me which made me jump from being startled. I hurriedly put the lid back on the box to cover the dirty gift

He tilted his head a little at me "What's got you so worked up?"

I don't how, and I don't know why, but Cloud then understood that I was hiding the gift from him. With his lips forming a mischievous smirk "Angel, what's in the box?"

"N-nothing"
My fucking mouth won't cooperate

He smiled "Ok!" than he walked away
Well he was easier to persuade than I thought

When I let my guard down, that's when I realize
Shit, I SHOULD'VE ALREADY KNOWN THIS TRICK

Cloud hurriedly then ran back much quicker than me to protect the box. In a heartbeat, Cloud managed to open the box and saw what was inside