"Happy Birthday Baby"

Hot words were whispered into Spencer’s ear, waking her from a light sleep. She opened her eyes and saw the beside clock read 12:00. Not moving from where she lay on her side, she could tell Ashley was smiling as Ashley leaned over her and placed a glass of champagne on the night-stand, making the numbers of the clock blur. Spencer noticed their bedroom was illuminated by dozens of little candles sprinkled around the room.

"Mmm, baby, how sweet…" Spencer mumbled sleepily as she attempted to roll over but was stopped halfway by Ashley’s torso – and lips. Soft, wet, and gentle. Ashley hummed into Spencer’s lips.

"How often does my girlfriend turn 21?"

"Mmm… just once."

"So I have one chance to make it the best 21^st birthday."

Spencer propped herself up on her elbows and kissed Ashley on the nose "It already is. Because I’m here, warm and cozy, in a bed with the love of my life."

Ashley gazed into her eyes intensely for a moment before lunging into a kiss with such force it pushed Spencer back down onto the pillow. Spencer smiled into the kiss. It was Ashley’s way of saying "ditto." Only so, so much hotter.

"I’ll drink to that" Ashley said when she broke the kiss. Ashley scrambled over to her own night-stand and picked up a second glass of champagne and a white box with a ribbon around it. She carefully walked on her knees back over to Spencer, who had sat up. She handed Spencer the box. Spencer smiled into a "you shouldn’t have" look. She sat gazing at Ashley for a moment.

"You’re supposed to open it, dummy."

Spencer chuckled and undid the ribbon. Opening the box, she found a beautiful blue silk scarf.

"I saw it and it reminded me of your eyes, so I decided to be all mushy and get it for you and whatever…" Ashley mumbled, blushing.

"Oh, Ash, thank you, I love it. Really, I do." She kissed Ashley softly. "Not nearly as much as I love you, though." Ashley kissed her back, clinked their champagne glasses, and they took a sip.

Ashley then took Spencer’s glass from her hand and set both glasses and the box containing the scarf on the night-stand. She straddled Spencer’s legs over the covers and took Spencer’s face in her hands and gazed at her. Had she been a more eloquent speaker, she would have sung Spencer’s praises to her, but Spencer heard all she needed in Ashley’s eyes. Ashley’s usual intensity, magnified by love and candlelight. There seemed to actually be fire burning somewhere inside. A fire only Spencer could quench. Spencer put her hands behind Ashley’s neck and hoped Ashley could feel how Spencer burned too. After the eternity of that gaze, their separate fires began to merge together, starting at the lips. Spencer, more eager than usual, was the first to run her tongue between their lips. Instantly she was admitted. The taste of fine champagne was shared, seeming more delicious on Ashley’s lips than from the glass. Spencer sat up straighter, bringing her face up to the same level as Ashley’s, pushing their torsos together. The kiss was ravenous, desperate, yet choreographed at the same time. Had their minds not been focused elsewhere, they could have kissed this way until dawn.