Chapter 11

It was a Thursday morning, Derek woke up early that day. He noticed that Michelle was still asleep. He gently removed his arm from her waist so as not to wake her up. She stirred a bit but luckily she didn’t wake up. He got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower.

When he was done showering, he walked out of the bathroom. Michelle was still asleep. This made Derek wonder if she forgot that today was his birthday. He tore his gaze from her and walked into the closet. After contemplating on what suit to wear, he decided to go all black today with a grey tie. When he came out of the closet, Michelle was still sleeping. He felt a little hurt that she hadn’t woken up early like she always did on his previous birthdays. He walked towards her and carefully removed some hair from her face. He gave her a light kiss before walking out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He went downstairs and noticed that Nathan was already set for work. He was wearing a Navy blue suit with a sky blue shirt.

“Good morning birthday boy.” Nathan greeted with a smile.

Derek chuckled at the way he said it.

“Happy birthday bro.” he said giving Derek a bro hug.

“Thanks.” Derek replied.

“Hey. Why don’t we go out tonight… you know, to have a guys time.”

“I don’t think I'm in the right frame for that… I'm already stressed from too many work, I just need some rest… maybe some other time.”

“You said it yourself, so don’t think of turning down my offer the next time I ask, because I’m holding you on your word.”

“I won’t.” Derek assured, as they both walked to their various cars and drove off to work.

#

Derek arrived at his company.

“Happy birthday Mr. Howard!”

His staffs chorused the moment he walked into the building.

Derek was startled at first but he couldn’t help but smile at their nice gesture. He blew out the candles in the cake they made for him and thanked them for taking the time to bake a cake and decorate the ground floor just for him. He was then served a slice of the cake, which he gladly took with a cup of coffee. After that, he left them to carry on with the celebration. He entered his office and sat on his chair. His thoughts were only filled with Michelle. He kept wondering why she didn’t wake up to wish him a happy birthday. He thought of the possibility that she may have forgotten that it was his birthday today, but on second thought, she never forgets his birthday. Not once has Michelle forgotten to wish him a happy birthday, or even make a special birthday breakfast just for him before they usually go out to celebrate. He was deep in thoughts when his phone began to ring, when he looked at the caller ID, it was his mom. He smiled and picked the call.

“Hello, mom”

“Happy birthday sweetheart!”

“Thanks mom.”

“You know what? I was thinking about planning a party to celebrate your-“

“Mom, mom, please don’t… I don’t think I'm in the mood for any parties.”

“But, honey…”

“Mom. Whatever gifts you have for me can wait until Saturday.”

“I’ll only accept what you’re saying right now, because I’m going to be seeing you on Saturday.”

“Thank you, mom.”

“Okay, honey. You know I'll do whatever you want… I'll keep your presents until Saturday. Bye, love.”

“Bye, mom.” he said and hung up.

He began going through some of the files on his desk, looking carefully through each one when he received an email from his dad. Derek’s dad was currently in Las Vegas, taking care of the company over there. He smiled after reading the mail and sent a reply, thanking his dad for his wishes.

Hours passed, and Derek was restless. He has received messages from some friends, but none from Michelle. She didn’t even call like she usually does everyday to check on him. He then tried calling her, but his call was forwarded to voicemail. He got frustrated, wondering if she was doing it on purpose to avoid having any encounter with his mom, since his mom always planned something extravagant on his birthdays, or maybe she was still upset about last Saturday’s encounter with his mom. But that can’t be, because they were good until yesterday.

It was already 7pm, Derek got tired of pretending to work, because he wasn’t concentrating at all. He tidied his desk and left the office. While he was driving home, he thought about going to her restaurant to check on her there, so he drove to the restaurant. On reaching there, he was told by Sam that Michelle didn’t show up for work. He got worried, wondering if she fell ill all of a sudden. Maybe that was the reason why she didn’t wake up early that morning, but her temperature was normal when he kissed her goodbye. He thanked Sam for his time and drove back to the mansion. When he got there, he noticed her car in the driveway. He got out of his car and went into the house.

The house was awfully quiet when he got inside. He walked into the kitchen and Michelle wasn’t there either like she used to. He feared the worse, as he went up the stairs. Standing in front of the door to his bedroom, he took a deep breath before slowly reaching for the door knob. He opened the door and was amazed at what he saw. The room was lit with candles, there were petals of red roses on the floor, from the door to the bed. On the bed were petals of red roses decorated in “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” with red and white balloons above. By the left side of the room was a dinner table for two with assorted meals and a bottle of champagne. Michelle was sitting on the bench at the end of the bed, awaiting his arrival. She stood up from the bench when the bedroom door opened, revealing Derek. She was dressed in a black eyelet satin lace detail plunge mini dress with black heels. Her curls were beautiful. She walked slowly towards him.

“Welcome home.” she said in a sweet voice as she leaned forward to offer him a warm and gentle kiss on his lips.

“Happy birthday.” she whispered softly against his lips while playing with his tie.

“You scared me.” he confessed, then reciprocated the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist, enjoying the feeling of both her mouth and body pressed against him.

He closed the door with a simple flick of his foot.

“What about Nathan?” Derek asked pulling away from the kiss.

Michelle pouted at his action.

“He won’t be spending the night here. Just for tonight… so, there’s no need to worry about him.” she replied in a low voice

He continued the kiss and she welcomed his affectionate kisses by pulling on the soft strands of his long hair and tracing her hands down his spine under his suit jacket. He was leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses from her jaw to the slope of her shoulder. His lips turned up in a smirk as she released a low breathy moan. They slowly walked towards the bed with their lips connected. He sat on the bed and pulled her on to his lap, so she was straddling him.

“I guess you must be hungry… let’s have dinner.” she said in her most seductive voice, gently grinding against the bulge at the front of his pants while slowly taking off his suit jacket.

She planted her lips on his Adams apple, gently sucking on it, causing a groan to escape his lips.

“I like this dinner.” he replied in a husky whisper.

His hands reached out for her hips, holding on to them tightly as he pulled her closer to him. He rubbed his hand gently down her back, his other hand pushing the bottom of her dress up, over her hips. She trailed her lips up his neck and to his ear, gently biting on it. He closed his eyes to relish the moment, as she slowly took off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, running her fingers on his firm abs. He abruptly flipped them over, so she was laying on the bed with him on top of her, pinning her hands above her head. Desire and hunger blazed through his eyes and he wasted no time in crashing his lips on hers. His kiss was raw and intense, sending a wave of heat through her body. He hesitantly drew back and took off his shirt while studying her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes hooded with desire. He pressed his body intimately into hers, holding her down with his hips while his lips claimed her again. Taking her dress off smoothly, he began to explore her body using his hands, lips and tongue, savoring the feel and taste of her skin, enjoying the sound of her moans. His fingers found their way down her inner thighs, making her shiver. He smirked at her reaction as he continued teasing her with his lips and tongue.

“Derek, please…” she said breathlessly as her hands fisted in his hair, bringing his face to hers.

He gave her the kiss she wanted and she kissed him back with so much hunger. They were now both naked. Derek spread her legs wide and lined himself between her thighs, slowly sliding his way inside her, making her cry out in pleasure. He stopped when he was completely inside her, so she could adjust to his size. Her lips found his as her own way of asking him to move. He got the hint and slowly began stroking her. She dug her fingers into his hair, enjoying the pleasure he was giving her. No man could pleasure her the way he did, she thought to herself as the feeling of their bodies moving together in the same rhythm was beyond incredible.