FIC: Presents for Reid
A Luke/Reid fic in which Luke gives Reid a lot of gifts for his birthday. (As the World Turns, PG-13)
Title: Presents for Reid
Author: sleeper6
Characters: Luke/Reid
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2705
Summary: Luke buys Reid a lot of presents for his birthday.
Disclaimer: All belong to As the World Turns, not me.
Author's notes: It's my birthday and I don't have a Luke or a Reid to celebrate with so I wrote this instead.
“Happy birthday, Reid.”
Reid Oliver murmured contentedly as Luke Snyder rolled off him and snuggled beside him.
“That was present number one,” Luke said as he rested his head against Reid’s chest.
“Number one?” asked Reid curiously. “Out of how many?”
Luke grinned. “You’ll see.”
“Luke, you don’t have to get me anything,” Reid said quietly.
And he meant it. Just a few weeks ago, when Luke had mentioned Reid’s upcoming birthday, Reid immediately assured Luke that he didn’t need to buy Reid anything. “I don’t typically get gifts on my birthday, Luke, so I honestly won’t mind if I don’t get anything this year, either,” Reid had said.
“Just a few things,” replied Luke, squeezing Reid’s waist tightly with his right arm.
Reid cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend, but Luke offered no more information. Reid yawned and carefully lifted Luke off him. “Gotta get going.” He rose out of bed and stretched, enjoying the way Luke’s eyes followed his every movement.
“You should take the day off. I’m sure Bob won’t mind,” said Luke as he laid his messy blonde head on Reid’s fluffiest pillow.
“As tempting as that is, Luke, I do have patients who need to see me today, which, to them, is just another day that is not their awesome doctor’s birthday. What time are you going in?”
“My boss gave me the day off,” Luke smirked.
“That’s you.”
“I know. I’m an amazing boss.”
Reid laughed, grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and walked out.
Reid sighed and leaned against the shower wall as the steam filled the bathroom. As much as he would’ve liked to stay home that day, having been looking forward to his birthday for once, Reid had an obligation to be at the hospital for his patients. And although he’d miss Luke during the day, Reid knew they’d celebrate later with good food, great sex, and, hopefully, cake. Lots and lots of cake.
Reid heard the voice before he saw him. “May I come in?”
Reid grinned at Luke’s head peeking in from behind the shower curtain. “You can come anyway you want.”
A naked Luke walked in and closed the curtain behind him. “Time for present number two.”
Reid wiped his mouth and stood up from the small table in Katie’s kitchen. After the amazing shower, Luke surprised Reid with breakfast (“Present number three”) specially catered by the Lakeview Hotel.
“That was great, Luke, thanks,” Reid said as he put his wallet in his pants and walked to the door. He turned around to say goodbye, and his face bumped against Luke’s. Luke held Reid’s face firmly in his hands as he desperately and passionately kissed Reid. Reid moaned and wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist.
“That was present number four, and if you stay, I’ll give you another present right now, too,” whispered Luke after breaking the kiss.
Reid wanted to stay more than anything, especially as he stared into Luke’s pleading eyes. “I can’t,” he sighed, disentangling himself from Luke. He opened the door, his eyes still on Luke. “But I’ll see you tonight, right?”
Luke, a most mischievous smile on his face, shrugged. “You’ll see.”
Upon arriving at the hospital, Reid opened his locker to retrieve his white coat and found a wrapped, medium-sized, flat box. Not accustomed to receiving gifts at any hospital he’d ever worked at, he quickly tore the paper to discover a brand-new chess set with a small card taped to the box.
You should have your own.
Enjoy Present #5
Love, Luke
Reid, unable to hide a smile, held the chess set against his chest as he walked into his office in the neurological wing. His smile widened as he saw ten multi-colored balloons bunched up in the ceiling. Reid read a small card hanging from one of the balloon’s strings:
Don’t pop them!
Enjoy Presents #6-#15
Love, Luke
Reid shook his head in amusement when his eyes fell on two wrapped boxes on his desk. He walked over and read the small card atop the first box.
So you can take and save as many pictures as you want of me.
Better than your phone, right?
Hope you like Presents #16 & #17
Love, Luke
Reid then hastily opened the first box to reveal a digital camera. The second box contained an empty photo album. Reid chuckled. Not too long ago, Luke had discovered loads of pictures of himself in Reid’s cell phone, and these gifts were undoubtedly a nod to that. He stored his new gifts in a desk drawer and left his office to complete his rounds.
Two hours later, Reid walked down the corridor to his office when Nurse Becca, who usually didn’t talk to him unless she was spoken to first, yelled his name. He glanced up from his chart and looked over at the nurses’ station, where Becca stood-grinning ecstatically-beside a massive bouquet of roses and two more wrapped packages.
“What are those?” inquired Reid, already fearing the answer.
“Flowers, Dr. Oliver, for you,” replied Becca. “From Luke.”
Reid heard her giggle, and he made a mental note to berate her later; first, he’d have to punish Luke. He walked to the flowers and read the small note buried in the dark red roses.
Roses are red
Like your face probably is too
But I can’t resist everyone knowing
How much I love you
Enjoy Present #18
L
Reid’s embarrassment subsided as his heart swelled with a different kind of emotion. He grabbed the two wrapped gifts in one hand and looked at the nurse, who had her eyes closed as she smelled the roses.
“Nurse?”
Becca jumped back. “Yes, Dr. Oliver?”
“Share the flowers among you and the nurses-consider it your Christmas gift,” Reid said as he walked away. Becca squealed and quickly got on the phone to call the other nurses.
Reid entered his office, sat behind his desk, and unwrapped the two presents: a Chocolate-of-the-Month Club membership and an ER-Season 1 DVD Set.
“Do you like them?”
Reid looked up and saw Luke standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back. He smiled at Luke and motioned him inside. “Luke, you didn’t have to.”
Luke walked to Reid’s desk. “Those are presents nineteen and twenty.”
Reid stood and leaned over his desk to kiss Luke. “Thank you, Luke. I love them all, even the damn roses.”
Luke grinned. “I knew you would.” He revealed his hands to Reid and held three homemade birthday cards in the air. “Before we go to lunch, let me give you these. They’re presents twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three-cards made by Ethan, Natalie, and Jacob.”
Reid raised his eyebrows. “Jacob? The kid can’t even shit on his own.”
Luke playfully slapped Reid’s arm. “Katie did it-she put his two little handprints on the card.”
Reid read the cards and glanced up when he heard the door lock snap. Luke stood against the door, staring at Reid.
“What now?” Reid asked.
Luke unbuttoned his jeans and walked back toward Reid. “Time for your twenty-fourth present.”
Reid and Luke walked hand-in-hand as they made their way back to Reid’s office after a delicious lunch (“Present number twenty-five”), which Luke had ordered and brought from Reid’s favorite restaurant, when Luke suddenly paused.
“Reid, wait here,” Luke ordered as he walked to the nurses’ station, only a few feet away. Nurse Taylor was sorting files behind the desk and grinned when she saw Luke. She reached into a drawer and pulled out two wrapped boxes, which she then handed over to Luke.
“Thanks, Gretchen.”
The nurse nodded and then looked over at Reid. “Dr. Oliver, thank you for the flowers,” she said as she smiled at Reid, something she never did when Reid was around. Luke giggled, and Reid rolled his eyes. “See what you’ve done,” he muttered under his breath.
Luke handed Reid one box. “Presents twenty-six and twenty-seven.”
“Luke, how many of these are there?”
Luke simply grinned. “You’ll see.”
Reid opened his gift to reveal a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner. He read the labels.
“It’s my shampoo; I know how much you love the smell of it,” explained Luke.
“Oh yeah, yeah, the peaches-smelling stuff.”
Luke pointed at the bottles. “It’s apricot, actually. And it’ll make your hair really soft.”
Reid wanted to tell Luke that he loved the smell of the shampoo only when it was in Luke’s hair, but he didn’t. He touched Luke’s shoulder. “Thanks, Luke.”
“Wait, there’s more,” Luke said quickly as he took the bottles from Reid’s hands and thrust the second smaller box into them. “This is your twenty-eighth gift.”
Reid opened it to reveal a pair of black sunglasses.
“I recently realized that I’ve never seen you wear sunglasses, so I figured you didn’t have a pair. And I think you’ll look very sexy in them,” said Luke teasingly.
Reid slipped them on and posed with his hands on his hips. “What do you think?”
“I think that I’m going to have to give you your twenty-ninth present right now,” replied Luke as he grabbed the back of Reid’s head and pulled him toward him. Their lips smashed together as they both held on to each other. Finally, they broke apart, both men leaning slightly against each other as their breathing slowed down.
Luke handed Reid the bottles and straightened his polo shirt. “I’ll see you later tonight for dinner, right?”
Reid kept one of his hands on Luke’s waist. “Why don’t you stick around? I’ll be done soon.”
Luke shook his head as he removed Reid’s hand. “You have to concentrate, Dr. Oliver. Remember your patients; they’re your priority.” He waved goodbye with his index finger and walked off.
Reid stared after him until he heard Nurse Taylor giggle. He faced her and scowled. “Get back to work or I’ll take away your flower.”
The nurse immediately returned to sorting the folders.
Reid walked out of the exam room after his last consultation that afternoon and heard his phone buzz with a new message. He pulled the phone out of his coat pocket, and his eyes widened when he saw a picture of a very naked Luke accompanied by a short message:
Hope you can see me.
If not, I’ll let you take a better picture tonight with your new camera.
Enjoy Present #30.
L
Reid checked his watch and ran to his office.
Fixing the collar on his dark maroon shirt, Reid walked into the semi-crowded lobby of the Lakeview Hotel and scanned the room for Luke. He was about to walk to the front desk when someone tapped his shoulder. Reid turned and came face-to-face with Luke. Luke said nothing; he simply grabbed Reid and dipped him in his arms before kissing him fervently in full view of everyone.
Luke then straightened himself and Reid, tapping Reid’s nose with his finger. “And that was present thirty-one.” He walked toward the dining area with a surprised Reid following him, ignoring the shocked expressions on the other guests’ faces.
Once seated across from each other, Luke placed a small box on the table and pushed it toward Reid. “Present thirty-two.”
Reid touched the box but didn’t open it. “Luke, are you going to tell me how many more of these there are?”
Luke sat back. “Why, you don’t like them?”
Reid leaned forward and placed one hand over Luke’s. “No, of course I do, but I’m just curious. You’ve spent a lot already and I had told you that you didn’t need to get me anything.”
“But it’s your birthday.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to buy me the whole world.”
Luke laughed. “Okay, Reid, I don’t have that much money.” Reid laughed, too. “Just open it.”
Reid touched the key card and looked questioningly at Luke.
“It’s the key to our own room here. If we can’t be alone at Katie’s and if my parents are at home and we can’t be there either, then I figure we can have our own place to just be alone together. And I know you hate hotels, but I specifically requested that the sheets be washed and changed twice a day so you don’t have to worry about too many germs,” explained Luke. “What do you think?”
“Can we skip dinner?” asked Reid as he stood up.
“Reid, sit down. Dinner is present number thirty-three.”
“I can eat later.”
“And your thirty-fourth present is cake,” continued Luke.
“Cake? There’s cake?”
Luke nodded. “Chocolate.”
Reid sat down. “Let’s eat, then!”
Upstairs in their private suite, Reid lay on the king-size bed and rubbed his stomach. “That cake was amazing, but I think I ate too much.”
“You’re going to have to burn off those calories, then,” Luke called out from the bathroom.
Reid grinned. “Any ideas how to do that?”
Luke walked out with a long box in his hands and made his way over to the bed. Reid sat up. “Another present?”
“Number thirty-five.”
“Luke, I don’t need any more gifts.”
“Yes, you do. You told me that you don’t receive gifts on your birthday, and that’s just-that’s not right.”
“And one present wouldn’t have been enough?” asked Reid, not quite understanding Luke’s logic.
“And you call yourself a genius. It’s a present for each of your years that I wasn’t with you to give you a gift,” Luke clarified.
Reid looked down at the box that Luke placed in his hands. Then, he looked back up at Luke. “You still didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” Luke said softly, rubbing Reid’s shoulder. “And you know you can’t stop me when I want to do something.”
“I love you,” Reid declared as he stared deeply into Luke’s eyes. “And I love that you’re rich, too.
Luke chuckled. “Open it.”
“The last gift.”
“Last? It’s only the thirty-fifth.”
“Yeah, I turned thirty-five today.”
“You’re thirty-seven, Reid.”
“I’m thirty-five.”
“Reid, I saw your driver’s license-remember, when we comparing wallets?”
Reid sighed. “Fine, I’m thirty-seven.”
“You look thirty-five.”
Reid opened the box and touched the assorted doctor utensils inside, including a stethoscope and a thermometer.
“They’re fake; they’re to play with,” said Luke. “In case we ever want to play doctor.” He winked at Reid.
Reid laughed. “I know it’s late and it is my birthday, but I think there is one more patient I have to see.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely, yes,” confirmed Reid as he threw the box aside and pulled Luke into a kiss.
Luke and Reid fell onto the mattress on their backs, both of them panting loudly as they lay side by side.
“Wow,” uttered Luke, pushing his sweaty bangs off his forehead.
“Double wow,” whispered Reid, removing the fake stethoscope from his neck. “Was that number thirty-six?”
“Yup.”
Reid turned on his right side to face Luke. “So what’s thirty-seven?”
Luke turned on his left side to face Reid. “Sorry, but I actually don’t have anything else, Reid,” he said quietly. “But I could let you do something to me that you’ve never done before-what do you say?”
Reid gently touched Luke’s face. “I say I don’t need a thirty-seventh gift, Luke. I didn’t need all the other thirty-six, either. I just wanted to be with you on my birthday. You’re the first and only present that I wanted,” Reid stopped himself when his voice cracked.
“Reid.”
“I can’t believe you did all that for me. No one’s ever . . . look, I’m sorry that I didn’t take the day off like you asked. I’m sorry that I didn’t put us first.”
“Reid, I know how important your job is to you.”
“But you’re more important to me, Luke. I’ve never enjoyed a birthday more than this one, not even when my parents let me eat a whole gallon of ice cream on my seventh birthday.” Reid quickly wiped one of his eyes.
“So you think you’ll like birthdays from now on?” asked Luke.
“I know I’ll love birthdays from now on,” responded Reid.
“Good because I’m not getting you thirty-eight presents next year,” joked Luke.
“You mean thirty-six?”
“Reid.”
“Damn.”
Luke snuggled closer and kissed Reid gently. “Happy birthday, Reid.”
Title: Presents for Reid
Author: sleeper6
Characters: Luke/Reid
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2705
Summary: Luke buys Reid a lot of presents for his birthday.
Disclaimer: All belong to As the World Turns, not me.
Author's notes: It's my birthday and I don't have a Luke or a Reid to celebrate with so I wrote this instead.
“Happy birthday, Reid.”
Reid Oliver murmured contentedly as Luke Snyder rolled off him and snuggled beside him.
“That was present number one,” Luke said as he rested his head against Reid’s chest.
“Number one?” asked Reid curiously. “Out of how many?”
Luke grinned. “You’ll see.”
“Luke, you don’t have to get me anything,” Reid said quietly.
And he meant it. Just a few weeks ago, when Luke had mentioned Reid’s upcoming birthday, Reid immediately assured Luke that he didn’t need to buy Reid anything. “I don’t typically get gifts on my birthday, Luke, so I honestly won’t mind if I don’t get anything this year, either,” Reid had said.
“Just a few things,” replied Luke, squeezing Reid’s waist tightly with his right arm.
Reid cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend, but Luke offered no more information. Reid yawned and carefully lifted Luke off him. “Gotta get going.” He rose out of bed and stretched, enjoying the way Luke’s eyes followed his every movement.
“You should take the day off. I’m sure Bob won’t mind,” said Luke as he laid his messy blonde head on Reid’s fluffiest pillow.
“As tempting as that is, Luke, I do have patients who need to see me today, which, to them, is just another day that is not their awesome doctor’s birthday. What time are you going in?”
“My boss gave me the day off,” Luke smirked.
“That’s you.”
“I know. I’m an amazing boss.”
Reid laughed, grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and walked out.
Reid sighed and leaned against the shower wall as the steam filled the bathroom. As much as he would’ve liked to stay home that day, having been looking forward to his birthday for once, Reid had an obligation to be at the hospital for his patients. And although he’d miss Luke during the day, Reid knew they’d celebrate later with good food, great sex, and, hopefully, cake. Lots and lots of cake.
Reid heard the voice before he saw him. “May I come in?”
Reid grinned at Luke’s head peeking in from behind the shower curtain. “You can come anyway you want.”
A naked Luke walked in and closed the curtain behind him. “Time for present number two.”
Reid wiped his mouth and stood up from the small table in Katie’s kitchen. After the amazing shower, Luke surprised Reid with breakfast (“Present number three”) specially catered by the Lakeview Hotel.
“That was great, Luke, thanks,” Reid said as he put his wallet in his pants and walked to the door. He turned around to say goodbye, and his face bumped against Luke’s. Luke held Reid’s face firmly in his hands as he desperately and passionately kissed Reid. Reid moaned and wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist.
“That was present number four, and if you stay, I’ll give you another present right now, too,” whispered Luke after breaking the kiss.
Reid wanted to stay more than anything, especially as he stared into Luke’s pleading eyes. “I can’t,” he sighed, disentangling himself from Luke. He opened the door, his eyes still on Luke. “But I’ll see you tonight, right?”
Luke, a most mischievous smile on his face, shrugged. “You’ll see.”
Upon arriving at the hospital, Reid opened his locker to retrieve his white coat and found a wrapped, medium-sized, flat box. Not accustomed to receiving gifts at any hospital he’d ever worked at, he quickly tore the paper to discover a brand-new chess set with a small card taped to the box.
You should have your own.
Enjoy Present #5
Love, Luke
Reid, unable to hide a smile, held the chess set against his chest as he walked into his office in the neurological wing. His smile widened as he saw ten multi-colored balloons bunched up in the ceiling. Reid read a small card hanging from one of the balloon’s strings:
Don’t pop them!
Enjoy Presents #6-#15
Love, Luke
Reid shook his head in amusement when his eyes fell on two wrapped boxes on his desk. He walked over and read the small card atop the first box.
So you can take and save as many pictures as you want of me.
Better than your phone, right?
Hope you like Presents #16 & #17
Love, Luke
Reid then hastily opened the first box to reveal a digital camera. The second box contained an empty photo album. Reid chuckled. Not too long ago, Luke had discovered loads of pictures of himself in Reid’s cell phone, and these gifts were undoubtedly a nod to that. He stored his new gifts in a desk drawer and left his office to complete his rounds.
Two hours later, Reid walked down the corridor to his office when Nurse Becca, who usually didn’t talk to him unless she was spoken to first, yelled his name. He glanced up from his chart and looked over at the nurses’ station, where Becca stood-grinning ecstatically-beside a massive bouquet of roses and two more wrapped packages.
“What are those?” inquired Reid, already fearing the answer.
“Flowers, Dr. Oliver, for you,” replied Becca. “From Luke.”
Reid heard her giggle, and he made a mental note to berate her later; first, he’d have to punish Luke. He walked to the flowers and read the small note buried in the dark red roses.
Roses are red
Like your face probably is too
But I can’t resist everyone knowing
How much I love you
Enjoy Present #18
L
Reid’s embarrassment subsided as his heart swelled with a different kind of emotion. He grabbed the two wrapped gifts in one hand and looked at the nurse, who had her eyes closed as she smelled the roses.
“Nurse?”
Becca jumped back. “Yes, Dr. Oliver?”
“Share the flowers among you and the nurses-consider it your Christmas gift,” Reid said as he walked away. Becca squealed and quickly got on the phone to call the other nurses.
Reid entered his office, sat behind his desk, and unwrapped the two presents: a Chocolate-of-the-Month Club membership and an ER-Season 1 DVD Set.
“Do you like them?”
Reid looked up and saw Luke standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back. He smiled at Luke and motioned him inside. “Luke, you didn’t have to.”
Luke walked to Reid’s desk. “Those are presents nineteen and twenty.”
Reid stood and leaned over his desk to kiss Luke. “Thank you, Luke. I love them all, even the damn roses.”
Luke grinned. “I knew you would.” He revealed his hands to Reid and held three homemade birthday cards in the air. “Before we go to lunch, let me give you these. They’re presents twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three-cards made by Ethan, Natalie, and Jacob.”
Reid raised his eyebrows. “Jacob? The kid can’t even shit on his own.”
Luke playfully slapped Reid’s arm. “Katie did it-she put his two little handprints on the card.”
Reid read the cards and glanced up when he heard the door lock snap. Luke stood against the door, staring at Reid.
“What now?” Reid asked.
Luke unbuttoned his jeans and walked back toward Reid. “Time for your twenty-fourth present.”
Reid and Luke walked hand-in-hand as they made their way back to Reid’s office after a delicious lunch (“Present number twenty-five”), which Luke had ordered and brought from Reid’s favorite restaurant, when Luke suddenly paused.
“Reid, wait here,” Luke ordered as he walked to the nurses’ station, only a few feet away. Nurse Taylor was sorting files behind the desk and grinned when she saw Luke. She reached into a drawer and pulled out two wrapped boxes, which she then handed over to Luke.
“Thanks, Gretchen.”
The nurse nodded and then looked over at Reid. “Dr. Oliver, thank you for the flowers,” she said as she smiled at Reid, something she never did when Reid was around. Luke giggled, and Reid rolled his eyes. “See what you’ve done,” he muttered under his breath.
Luke handed Reid one box. “Presents twenty-six and twenty-seven.”
“Luke, how many of these are there?”
Luke simply grinned. “You’ll see.”
Reid opened his gift to reveal a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner. He read the labels.
“It’s my shampoo; I know how much you love the smell of it,” explained Luke.
“Oh yeah, yeah, the peaches-smelling stuff.”
Luke pointed at the bottles. “It’s apricot, actually. And it’ll make your hair really soft.”
Reid wanted to tell Luke that he loved the smell of the shampoo only when it was in Luke’s hair, but he didn’t. He touched Luke’s shoulder. “Thanks, Luke.”
“Wait, there’s more,” Luke said quickly as he took the bottles from Reid’s hands and thrust the second smaller box into them. “This is your twenty-eighth gift.”
Reid opened it to reveal a pair of black sunglasses.
“I recently realized that I’ve never seen you wear sunglasses, so I figured you didn’t have a pair. And I think you’ll look very sexy in them,” said Luke teasingly.
Reid slipped them on and posed with his hands on his hips. “What do you think?”
“I think that I’m going to have to give you your twenty-ninth present right now,” replied Luke as he grabbed the back of Reid’s head and pulled him toward him. Their lips smashed together as they both held on to each other. Finally, they broke apart, both men leaning slightly against each other as their breathing slowed down.
Luke handed Reid the bottles and straightened his polo shirt. “I’ll see you later tonight for dinner, right?”
Reid kept one of his hands on Luke’s waist. “Why don’t you stick around? I’ll be done soon.”
Luke shook his head as he removed Reid’s hand. “You have to concentrate, Dr. Oliver. Remember your patients; they’re your priority.” He waved goodbye with his index finger and walked off.
Reid stared after him until he heard Nurse Taylor giggle. He faced her and scowled. “Get back to work or I’ll take away your flower.”
The nurse immediately returned to sorting the folders.
Reid walked out of the exam room after his last consultation that afternoon and heard his phone buzz with a new message. He pulled the phone out of his coat pocket, and his eyes widened when he saw a picture of a very naked Luke accompanied by a short message:
Hope you can see me.
If not, I’ll let you take a better picture tonight with your new camera.
Enjoy Present #30.
L
Reid checked his watch and ran to his office.
Fixing the collar on his dark maroon shirt, Reid walked into the semi-crowded lobby of the Lakeview Hotel and scanned the room for Luke. He was about to walk to the front desk when someone tapped his shoulder. Reid turned and came face-to-face with Luke. Luke said nothing; he simply grabbed Reid and dipped him in his arms before kissing him fervently in full view of everyone.
Luke then straightened himself and Reid, tapping Reid’s nose with his finger. “And that was present thirty-one.” He walked toward the dining area with a surprised Reid following him, ignoring the shocked expressions on the other guests’ faces.
Once seated across from each other, Luke placed a small box on the table and pushed it toward Reid. “Present thirty-two.”
Reid touched the box but didn’t open it. “Luke, are you going to tell me how many more of these there are?”
Luke sat back. “Why, you don’t like them?”
Reid leaned forward and placed one hand over Luke’s. “No, of course I do, but I’m just curious. You’ve spent a lot already and I had told you that you didn’t need to get me anything.”
“But it’s your birthday.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to buy me the whole world.”
Luke laughed. “Okay, Reid, I don’t have that much money.” Reid laughed, too. “Just open it.”
Reid touched the key card and looked questioningly at Luke.
“It’s the key to our own room here. If we can’t be alone at Katie’s and if my parents are at home and we can’t be there either, then I figure we can have our own place to just be alone together. And I know you hate hotels, but I specifically requested that the sheets be washed and changed twice a day so you don’t have to worry about too many germs,” explained Luke. “What do you think?”
“Can we skip dinner?” asked Reid as he stood up.
“Reid, sit down. Dinner is present number thirty-three.”
“I can eat later.”
“And your thirty-fourth present is cake,” continued Luke.
“Cake? There’s cake?”
Luke nodded. “Chocolate.”
Reid sat down. “Let’s eat, then!”
Upstairs in their private suite, Reid lay on the king-size bed and rubbed his stomach. “That cake was amazing, but I think I ate too much.”
“You’re going to have to burn off those calories, then,” Luke called out from the bathroom.
Reid grinned. “Any ideas how to do that?”
Luke walked out with a long box in his hands and made his way over to the bed. Reid sat up. “Another present?”
“Number thirty-five.”
“Luke, I don’t need any more gifts.”
“Yes, you do. You told me that you don’t receive gifts on your birthday, and that’s just-that’s not right.”
“And one present wouldn’t have been enough?” asked Reid, not quite understanding Luke’s logic.
“And you call yourself a genius. It’s a present for each of your years that I wasn’t with you to give you a gift,” Luke clarified.
Reid looked down at the box that Luke placed in his hands. Then, he looked back up at Luke. “You still didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” Luke said softly, rubbing Reid’s shoulder. “And you know you can’t stop me when I want to do something.”
“I love you,” Reid declared as he stared deeply into Luke’s eyes. “And I love that you’re rich, too.
Luke chuckled. “Open it.”
“The last gift.”
“Last? It’s only the thirty-fifth.”
“Yeah, I turned thirty-five today.”
“You’re thirty-seven, Reid.”
“I’m thirty-five.”
“Reid, I saw your driver’s license-remember, when we comparing wallets?”
Reid sighed. “Fine, I’m thirty-seven.”
“You look thirty-five.”
Reid opened the box and touched the assorted doctor utensils inside, including a stethoscope and a thermometer.
“They’re fake; they’re to play with,” said Luke. “In case we ever want to play doctor.” He winked at Reid.
Reid laughed. “I know it’s late and it is my birthday, but I think there is one more patient I have to see.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely, yes,” confirmed Reid as he threw the box aside and pulled Luke into a kiss.
Luke and Reid fell onto the mattress on their backs, both of them panting loudly as they lay side by side.
“Wow,” uttered Luke, pushing his sweaty bangs off his forehead.
“Double wow,” whispered Reid, removing the fake stethoscope from his neck. “Was that number thirty-six?”
“Yup.”
Reid turned on his right side to face Luke. “So what’s thirty-seven?”
Luke turned on his left side to face Reid. “Sorry, but I actually don’t have anything else, Reid,” he said quietly. “But I could let you do something to me that you’ve never done before-what do you say?”
Reid gently touched Luke’s face. “I say I don’t need a thirty-seventh gift, Luke. I didn’t need all the other thirty-six, either. I just wanted to be with you on my birthday. You’re the first and only present that I wanted,” Reid stopped himself when his voice cracked.
“Reid.”
“I can’t believe you did all that for me. No one’s ever . . . look, I’m sorry that I didn’t take the day off like you asked. I’m sorry that I didn’t put us first.”
“Reid, I know how important your job is to you.”
“But you’re more important to me, Luke. I’ve never enjoyed a birthday more than this one, not even when my parents let me eat a whole gallon of ice cream on my seventh birthday.” Reid quickly wiped one of his eyes.
“So you think you’ll like birthdays from now on?” asked Luke.
“I know I’ll love birthdays from now on,” responded Reid.
“Good because I’m not getting you thirty-eight presents next year,” joked Luke.
“You mean thirty-six?”
“Reid.”
“Damn.”
Luke snuggled closer and kissed Reid gently. “Happy birthday, Reid.”