Zach was ma.s.saging the nape of his neck. They were cuddling on the couch inside the entertainment room, watching a movie.
His birthday was tomorrow, and Keira had not mentioned anything about it. "Did she forget? Or maybe she did not know?" He contemplated if he should remind his wife about it. It was not necessary to celebrate since he was not used to celebrate his own birthday.
However, there was something he would like to do this time. He never had a birthday wish before, but he just wanted to spend his birthday with his wife. They didn"t have to do anything special as long as he was with her. That was his only wish.
"Uhm, my star… I won"t go to work tomorrow," Zach hinted as he gently caressed Keira"s hair.
"Oh, alright, then will you still drop me off and pick me up at work tomorrow? I"ll have something important to do and I can"t miss it. Or I could just ask Jim to drive me," Keira said in an indifferent tone, as she snuggled her face on Zach"s neck.
Zach sighed because it seemed that her wife had totally forgotten about his birthday.
Keira woke up early the next morning and immediately greeted Zach with a pa.s.sionate kiss.
"Good morning... I love you," Keira whispered as she continued to shower Zach with hot kisses, not only on his lips but all over his body. The morning ended with a fiery lovemaking by courtesy of his wife.
He was pampered so much from the moment he woke up that Zach thought Keira knew it was his birthday. But to his dismay, Keira only kissed his cheek cheerfully and got out of the car without wis.h.i.+ng him a "Happy Birthday".
"Well, at least she said she loves me," Zach murmured before he started his engine. Then he laughed at himself for trying so hard to console himself.
Meanwhile, Keira was grinning as she sent a message to her husband.
[Drive safely… We love you. Mwah… Me and the twins… Gonna start working now. See you later.]
"What"s this?" Zach murmured, totally dejected. He thought it was a birthday greeting from her.
"Are they all too busy these days?" He complained because even his family had not sent him a birthday greeting.
Then his face brightened when his mobile phone rang. It was his father-in-law. Maybe his father-in-law remembered!
"Yes, dad?" He answered excitedly. He heard Field Marshal Chan cough before he spoke, "Son, we have an emergency, can you drop by the base as soon as you can?"
Zach unconsciously sighed and shook his head as he answered, "Yes, dad, of course. I"ll go there now."
"Uhm, wait... Can you stop by a drug store and buy me some medicines first? I"m starting to have a sore throat," Field Marshal Chan requested as he let out another pitiful cough.
Zach smiled and answered, "Of course, dad."
As soon as the call ended, he laughed helplessly and murmured, "I guess everyone is busy with their own things."
He would probably ask Keira out for a nice dinner later.
Meanwhile, Keira arrived at the military base. As soon as Zach dropped her off in front of her office"s building, she went straight to the bas.e.m.e.nt parking lot, where Jim was already waiting to bring her to the base.
"Sir, is this really necessary?" A female cadet who was a.s.signed to act as per Keira"s instruction asked hesitantly. Torin laughed and rea.s.sured her, "You will just pretend to do it, you will not do exactly what Keira did at that time. That would be too embarra.s.sing!"
"But, do you really want him to recall that scene?! For real?" Torin burst out laughing as he turned around to face Keira.
"Yeah, because it was memorable… It was love at first sight, Torin!" Keira countered, while pouting her lips.
Torin was still laughing as he teased her, "Yeah, I bet it was memorable, indeed! The most memorable first encounter ever!"
"He"s near, get ready," Field Marshal Chan interrupted.
As soon as Zach arrived, he heard the sound of military music playing from the function hall. "Is there a ceremony?" He asked a cadet who pa.s.sed by.
"General Lim, Sir! No, Sir, I think they were just replaying a video of a ceremony to commemorate the heroes from several years ago," The cadet answered as he saluted him.
It indeed sounded familiar. It seemed like the ceremony where he received the Medal Of Valor almost four years ago.
"Sorry, Sir, but could you please walk in another direction? This path just got painted, so you"ll have to walk over there," The cadet gestured for him to walk on another path.
Zach did as the cadet informed him, even though he was a bit uncertain. The path would lead him directly toward the function hall. He walked there anyway and was stopped near a restroom by a female cadet who seemed to be waiting for someone.
"General Lim! Good morning, Sir. Can I ask you for a favor?" The cadet asked as she clutched her stomach, with a painful expression all over her face.
"Are you okay? What"s wrong?" Zach asked with a worried look on his face.
"I can"t hold it anymore, Sir. All the restrooms for female in this building seem to be closed. They are renovating. So I will have to use the one for male. Could you please stand guard at the door, Sir? I promise I will be fast..." The cadet explained before she rushed inside the restroom without waiting for Zach"s answer.
Zach was left totally bewildered. But he did not leave.
He sighed when he saw a few male soldiers coming his way as they saluted.
Zach nodded as he said, "Go use another restroom. This one is not available."
The soldiers obeyed and leave. Zach creased his forehead as he murmured, "Is this what they call a deja vu?"
It reminded him of the first time he met Keira. It was also the same restroom. He chuckled as that particular memory flashed through his mind.
After about two minutes, another male soldier arrived and asked, "Is the restroom not available, Sir?"
Zach shook his head and said, "No. Go and use the restroom upstairs instead."
Then, the female cadet shouted from inside the restroom cubicle, "Sir! This is what she thought at that time... "Gosh, this is so embarra.s.sing!""
"Huh?" Zach muttered a bit confused. He wasn"t sure if the cadet was talking to him.
Then the cadet went out from the cubicle and said, "She saw a tall, young man, wearing a General"s uniform, just like her dad. Her body felt as if it had just been struck by lightning. The General"s impression on her was so strong that she could not help but stare at him with glittering eyes."
The cadet gulped and coughed a bit to clear her throat before she continued, "When you finally spoke to scold her for using this restroom, which was designated for soldiers at the event, she was still out of her mind. She couldn"t think straight, nor utter a word. She could only stare at you, enraptured by the way you look in your General uniform. You were the most handsome man whom she had ever laid eyes upon."
Then the cadet cleared her throat again to muster her courage before she could continue her narration, "Then, as she kept drooling over the handsome hunk before her, she thought, "Gos.h.!.+ My panties are going to drop this very instant!" She believed she had just met the man of her dreams. She was struck by cupid"s arrow and experienced what they called "Love At First Sight.""
"And now she was so happy to have that man as her husband… Dreams do come true. Happy Birthday, General Lim. Now, please make your way to the Meteor Den…" was the last piece of speech the cadet had to say before she finally released a sigh of relief.