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♕♕♕♕♕
Nesta
When Nesta sent out the group text announcing her usual movie marathon and girls night in for her birthday, she’d been expecting the usual fanfare surrounding her birthday. Her family and friends had long been used to her chiller nights in to celebrate, so by the usual fanfare, she had planned her annual girls night in to celebrate her twenty-eighth birthday.
What she hadn’t been expecting was that one of her friends from college that she invited out of obligation had changed her number.
Nesta Archeron, 1:33 PM
Hi everyone! My birthday’s coming up, so we’re getting together again as usual. Bring your comfiest pajamas, your favorite chick flicks, and your best face masks to help me ring in turning 28 this Saturday at 7:30 PM 💙
Nesta added her address and some instructions about where to park before sending a cute, celebratory gif. There was a flurry of immediate, excited responses – everyone was liking and loving the message and saying if they could come or not. It was all business as usual, at least until a couple of texts came in from what was supposed to have been Deirdre’s number.
Unknown Number, 1:42 PM
Uh… did you mean to send this 2 me?
Happy bday tho @Nesta whoever you are
But this sounds rlly fun can i pls come anyway :)
“What the hell?” Nesta muttered under her breath as she read the texts. Before she could get a chance to reply, her youngest sister jumped in and took charge of the situation.
Feyre Archeron, 1:45 PM
Send a pic and we’ll see
And ur name pls
Cassian Valladares, 1:47 PM
Cassian Valladares
& here
Cassian sent two pictures, the first of which made Nesta’s jaw drop of her own accord. He was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen, with golden brown skin, hazel eyes, and a thin scar slicing through his right eyebrow. In the photo he’d sent, a giant, pink, fluffy headband complete with a bow was pushing his hair back from his smiling face. His skin glowed from being recently moisturized and his jaw looked cleanly shaven – maybe they’d caught him in the middle of his self-care routine.
Ha. As if. Most of the men Nesta knew, especially the straight ones, barely bothered to use more than 3-in-1 products. It would practically be a miracle if this so-called Cassian even knew what moisturizer was , let alone actually used one that was made specifically for his face.
Nesta snorted to herself before swiping to the other photo. The second photo was of a serious stash of face masks, a matching pajama set, and a very fuzzy pair of bunny slippers laid out against a dark blue comforter. He’d clearly just tossed everything onto his bed, but Nesta noted that his bed was actually made and his room actually looked clean – there was no way he’d managed to clean everything and grab his supplies for the photo that quickly, so she hoped that meant he was 1) actually clean and 2) maybe even had a skin care routine.
Cassian Valladares, 1:47 PM
Hope I pass inspection :)
Huh. Color her surprised. Nesta had barely finished ogling the man and his face mask collection when her phone started ringing. She rolled her eyes and slid to answer, not even bothering to greet her sister since she knew Feyre would come into the conversation guns blazing.
“Nesta, you have to let him come,” Feyre said the moment Nesta answered the phone, proving her initial guess correct. “He’s so fucking hot.”
“Hi to you too, Fey,” Nesta replied wryly. “He’s hot, but for all we know, he could be a serial killer.”
“I mean, he already knows where you live,” Feyre pointed out. “If he’s a serial killer, maybe we should try to get him on our good side.”
“Because that’s sound logic,” Nesta responded, rolling her eyes even though Feyre couldn’t see her. “We don’t know this guy!”
“Okay, but maybe we should,” Feyre said. The sound of her voice changed as she switched to speaker phone. “I’m just saying we should consider all our options.”
Nesta’s phone buzzed against her ear and she shifted Feyre to speaker phone before going to read the new messages. Her eyes bugged out of her head as she read what Feyre had written.
Feyre Archeron, 1:53 PM
You 100% do
Please come my sister would love to have you!
In more ways than one ;)
“Don’t hate me,” Feyre told her, sounding like she was trying not to laugh.
“Feyre!” Nesta hissed over her sister’s hysterical cackling. She’d barely even tried before losing it, her pure glee coming through the phone loud and clear. “That’s not funny!”
“It’s a little funny,” Feyre replied, still laughing. Nesta pulled the phone away from her face to read the next text that came in.
Emerie Castillo, 1:54 PM
RIP to Feyre Archeron, time of death 1:53 PM
Everyone sent a bunch of laugh reactions and funny tombstone memes in response, and Nesta couldn’t help but snort at the one Elain sent. Maybe if everyone else was laughing, she could find the humor in the situation, too.
Nesta put the phone back to her ear once she was reasonably sure all the reactions were finished. “Okay, maybe it’s a little funny.”
“See?” Feyre responded, teasing. “I knew you’d come around.”
“I’m still going to make sure he’s not a creep,” Nesta told her sister. She was already mentally preparing a list of ways to look into Cassian – social media would hopefully be the easiest way, but she wasn’t above looking him up on Case Search to make sure he didn’t have anything weird under his name. White Pages probably wouldn’t hurt either, now that she thought about it.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Feyre said. “I mean, all jokes aside. I’m sure it’s gonna be a funny story at the end of it, but I don’t want to get murdered in my pajamas either.”
“Exactly.” Nesta shifted the phone to her other ear so she wouldn’t overheat. “I knew you’d come around.”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Feyre responded sarcastically. “I have to go, but this made my day. I’ll talk to you soon?”
“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow,” Nesta agreed. “Bye, Fey. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye!”
Nesta wiped her phone screen off before firing off a quick couple of messages to the group.
Nesta Archeron, 1:57 PM
I guess you’re ok
You can come but I’m not afraid to use my taser
Elain Archeron, 1:58 PM
Yay!
Gwyn Berdara, 1:58 PM
🙌🙌
Emerie Castillo, 1:58 PM
If you try anything I’m not above kicking a grown man’s ass
Cassian Valladares, 2:01 PM
Warning received
Promise im a normal guy tho
Not in like a “i’m a nice guy” way but like in an i’m actually normal way
Promise i’ll be on my best behavior :-)
Nesta snorted as she read Cassian’s message. She’d be the judge of that.
♕♕♕♕♕
By the time Nesta’s birthday celebration rolled around, even she’d been forced to admit that Cassian would probably be fine. She’d done all her due diligence, and he’d come up as squeaky clean as they could come. Between White Pages, LinkedIn, and Instagram, she felt like she had a pretty good idea of who Cassian was. He’d gone to a good college, and he’d been teaching at the same high school for a few years now. Most of his feed was made up of him either doing some physical activity – boxing, running, and even hiking – or spending time with his friends.
Nesta’s phone had been steadily blowing up over the course of the day, but she hadn’t been able to check it much between the deep cleaning she was giving her townhouse. By the time she was able to pick it up and scroll through all the messages, several of her guests were already on their way, but her curiosity was piqued when she saw Cassian had texted her separately.
Cassian Valladares, 7:04 PM
hey stranger
u sure it’s cool if i come?
no hard feelings if not i promise(:
Nesta paused halfway to turning on the shower, a little touched by how considerate that was of him. Most of the guys she knew wouldn’t have even bothered to send a confirmation text, let alone made sure she was actually okay with what was happening.
Nesta Archeron, 7:05 PM
Yes, it’s fine
If I was going to change my mind, I would’ve said something earlier than 30 mins before the party
Cassian Valladares, 7:05 PM
thank god
would’ve been a waste of my money otherwise lol
Cassian sent a photo of a reusable shopping bag with a bunch of face masks and what looked like a bottle of wine sticking out of the top of it. Nesta snorted and typed out a quick reply.
Nesta Archeron, 7:06 PM
Someone’s an overachiever
Cassian Valladares, 7:06 PM
Have to make a good first impression ;)
See u soon, birthday girl
This time, he sent a picture of his fuzzy slippers, pulling a little chuckle out of Nesta before she finally put her phone down and got in the shower. She didn’t have as much time as she wanted, but this was supposed to be a pajama party, so she didn’t have to worry about doing her hair or her makeup once her body was freshly washed and moisturized. By the time her friends had started showing up, she was comfortably dressed in a set of navy pajamas and already had her hair pulled back with a giant, fluffy white headband.
It was almost eight when the last of her planned guests had arrived, and Nesta couldn’t help but wonder if Cassian was going to show up after all. Even though he’d said he’d be there, she didn’t actually know him enough to trust his word.
“He’ll come,” Elain said, wisely picking up on the source of Nesta’s worries as she helped Nesta in the kitchen. Everyone had been assigned various tasks to make the night a success, and the three Archeron sisters were on snack organizing duty. “I just know it.”
“If he doesn’t, me and Emerie will track him down and beat him up,” Feyre added with a wink before she dumped a bag of chips into a big bowl. “But I’m sure he’ll show up.”
Before Nesta could open her mouth to reply, someone rang the doorbell. She made eye contact with Feyre, who was already grinning wide with excitement, before she sighed and wiped her hands on the nearest dish towel. “Don’t be weird about it.”
“No promises!” Feyre called out to Nesta’s retreating back.
Nesta made herself take a deep breath before she went to answer the door. She had a house full of friends and family to help defend her if things went wrong, but she knew deep down she was more worried about things going right. What if Cassian was actually a cool, normal guy, and she actually had fun with him?
She supposed there was only one way to find out.
“Hey,” Cassian said once Nesta opened the door, already smiling down at her with a ridiculously goofy grin. Just like in the picture he’d sent, he was holding a reusable bag filled with goodies, but he hadn’t mentioned the bouquet of beautiful flowers that were in his other hand. “Happy birthday, stranger.”
“Hi,” Nesta said back, hoping she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt. She took the offered flowers and leaned down to smell the pink and white blooms with a tiny smile, careful not to lean down too far lest her birthday headband shifted off her head. “I can’t believe you actually came.”
“Of course I did,” he replied. He moved inside so she could shut the door behind him, taking off his shoes and looking to her for directions. “A party’s a party, right?”
“I guess it is,” she responded. She beckoned for him to follow her and the two of them made a path toward the kitchen, and she grabbed a vase, filled it up with water, and gently placed the flowers into it. “These are beautiful.”
“Anything for the birthday girl,” he answered with a wink. Feyre and Elain had made themselves scarce, so he didn’t have anyone blocking him from emptying the contents of his bag onto her kitchen island. He’d brought a bottle of wine, a bunch of sheet masks, a container filled with cupcakes, and the pajama set and bunny slippers he’d sent a picture of before. “Where should I go change?”
Nesta resolutely pretended like her cheeks weren’t pink from his words and the sheer amount of supplies he’d brought with him. “Um… the bathroom is the second door on the left. Feel free to change in there.”
“Aye aye, captain,” Cassian replied. He grabbed his clothes and fired off a mock salute in her direction before heading to the bathroom.
Nesta made herself take several deep breaths before she quickly organized her way through the rest of the snacks. Feyre and Elain had clearly taken some things with them to the living room, but she made sure to put the bottle of wine in her fancy wine fridge before sorting through the remaining snacks. The cupcakes were added to the display that Gwyn had brought, and the sheet masks were deposited into the container of skin care supplies.
“Wow. That was fast,” Nesta said once Cassian had emerged from her bathroom. He’d changed out of his street clothes into a long-sleeved, red pajama shirt and matching plaid pants. The bunny slippers looked almost funny on him, but even she couldn’t deny how muscular he was, even underneath all the flannel.
“Didn’t want to keep anyone waiting,” Cassian responded with a grin. “Where’s everyone else?”
“In the living room,” she answered. He moved forward to start grabbing things off the counter once she picked up the container with the sheet masks in it. “This way.”
He trailed after her for the short walk to the living room. It seemed things were just getting started; Emerie, Feyre, and Gwyn were good-naturedly arguing over what movie to put on first, Clare was helping Elain pour drinks for everyone, and Ilana and Roslin were dividing the blankets up to make sure everyone had one. Nesta cleared her throat and tried to force down the blush that came from so many pairs of eyes on her.
“This is Cassian,” Nesta announced to the group at large. Cassian put down everything he was carrying on the coffee table before turning to wave at everyone. “Cassian, this is… everyone.”
“Thank God you’re not a catfish,” Feyre said with a grin. She hopped up from her spot on the couch to hand over the last fluffy headband that all the women were wearing to keep their hair pushed out of their faces. “I think Nesta would’ve really killed me otherwise.”
“Can’t have that, can we?” Cassian replied, matching Feyre’s grin right back. He took the headband and immediately put it on, revealing that his right eyebrow had a thin scar running through it that only served to make him more handsome. “When are we getting to the face masks?”
“As soon as we decide what movie we’re watching,” Gwyn answered. She patted the seat next to her and Cassian went without hesitating, leaving the only empty space in the room between him and the corner of the couch. “Come on, Nesta, you too.”
Nesta clutched the container of sheet masks to her body like a lifeline before she gingerly sat down next to Cassian. His body was solid but warm even through the pajamas, and she almost leaned into him before she reminded herself she didn’t really know him. “What are our movie options?”
“Mean Girls, Clueless, Legally Blonde,” Emerie listed. “Bring it On, 10 Things I Hate About You, Charlie’s Angels…”
“Mean Girls,” Nesta said decisively. “And then Charlie’s Angels, but only if it’s the one with Lucy Liu.”
“As if I’d suggest any other version,” Emerie responded with a roll of her eyes. She clicked through several screens on the remote until they had Mean Girls loaded up. “I’m a lesbian with taste, thank you very much.”
“Psst,” Elain said after a few moments. “Nesta. Pass around the masks.”
Nesta grabbed one out of the box before passing it to Cassian, the face masks slowly but steadily making their way around the group until they ended up on the floor at Nesta’s feet. She’d picked a cooling one, and she sighed happily as she spread the sheet mask over her face and let it work its magic.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Nesta said softly. Despite how introverted she could be at times, it really was nice being surrounded by the people who meant the most to her – other than the stranger to her left, but something told her he wouldn’t remain that way for long. “It really means a lot.”
“And thanks for letting me crash,” Cassain added with a small smile. “You’re all pretty fun so far.”
“You can stay as long as you give good advice,” Clare told him. She looked significantly less menacing with a sheet mask pressed to her brown skin, but Nesta knew she was serious – Tamlin certainly wasn’t a fan favorite, to put it lightly. “We’re trying to get Feyre to break up with her boyfriend.”
“Oh my God, can we give that a break?” Feyre complained with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “I know you guys don’t like Tamlin, but you’e not the ones dating him.”
“Well… what’s wrong with him?” Cassian asked cautiously. “Cause I can beat him up if he’s giving you problems.”
“You’d have to get in line,” Roslin muttered under her breath.
“He’s not that bad,” Feyre attempted to defend him.
“Stop having sex with him and see if you change your mind,” Elain chimed in with a roll of her own eyes.
“Ladies, come on,” Cassian jumped in. “Let me hear Feyre’s side of things, at least.”
“Thank you,” Feyre responded. She reached over and turned the movie down before she delved into the story of how she’d met Tamlin, giving Cassian a brief overview of their tumultuous relationship and how much she loved him even though he didn’t show up quite as much as she’d hoped in their relationship. “I really do care about him.”
“Yeah, but love isn’t about a feeling,” Cassian replied sagely. “Love is a choice, and it kinda sounds like he’s not choosing you the way you’re choosing him.”
“What do you mean?” Gwyn asked, her voice curious. “Not that I disagree, but I want to hear more.”
“Well…” Cassian trailed off awkwardly, but at everyone’s encouraging faces, he sighed and kept talking. “The way I see it, love is a feeling, but you have to choose to do it. It’s all about your actions, you know? Does he bring you flowers? Does he remember things that are important to you? Does he make you feel good outside of the bedroom? Do you feel like you’re putting in the same amount of effort? Does he make you feel loved the way you need to be? Stuff like that.”
“Sheesh,” Emerie said, breaking the tension a little bit. “Sounds like you’d be a hell of a boyfriend.”
“I like to think so,” Cassian said with a shrug. “I haven’t had anyone to do that kind of stuff for in a while, but… always good to have a game plan.”
Nesta was aggressively reminded of the way he’d brought her flowers tonight and desperately needed a subject change. “Okay, that’s enough hounding Feyre tonight. Let’s get back to the movie.”
Feyre sent Nesta a grateful look before turning the volume back up. They hadn’t missed too much of the movie, and once everyone had massaged the leftover essence into their skin, they all relaxed into the couch as the movie continued to play.
Nesta found herself leaning more and more into Cassian’s side throughout the duration of the movie. By the time the credits started to roll, she was practically mushing her face into his chest, and she forced herself to sit up before any of her friends noticed. He shot her a weird look as she did so, but clearly chose not to say anything.
“Charlie’s Angels is up next, right?” Cassian asked the room at large.
“Yes, but first we all need a bathroom break,” Elain answered. Nesta didn’t miss the way her sister’s voice lingered on bathroom break, but she’d been surprised with cake enough times at these things that everyone knew it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise.
“Right! And I need more snacks!” Feyre exclaimed, continuing the act. Nesta rolled her eyes as her sisters and her friends made various excuses to clear the living room, from needing to use the bathroom to getting more drinks or even going to wash their faces so they could do another mask if they wanted.
Eventually, Nesta and Cassian were the only ones left on the couch. “You don’t need a bathroom break too?”
“No,” Nesta answered with a snort. “They’re going to get my cake. Elain probably put it in the fridge when she got here – she and Feyre are sneaky when they want to be.”
“That’s sweet of them,” he replied.
“Yeah.” She couldn’t take how adorable he looked in that stupid headband and how earnest his expression was, so she forced herself to look down at the green blanket covering their legs. “They are. I’m lucky.”
Thankfully, she didn’t have to risk further embarrassing herself in front of him, as her friends picked that exact moment to pop out from the kitchen with her birthday cake. Elain was holding her cake, which was beautifully decorated as usual; the way she’d iced it made it look like it was made of blue rosettes, and she’d procured blue candles that said 28! to match.
“Happy birthday, Nesta!” Gwyn trilled once the cake was close enough. Everyone started singing happy birthday, and Cassian’s voice stood out amongst the higher register of her friends. Nesta’s cheeks burned at all the attention on her, but she couldn’t help but feel the love anyway.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Nesta hastily interrupted before they could launch into another refrain of how old are you now, pulling laughs from pretty much everyone. “Let me make my wish.”
Elain tilted the plate she was holding the cake on so that Nesta could make a wish. Nesta took a deep breath, already thinking generic things like I hope I have a good year and I hope I get a promotion at work, but then she made eye contact with Cassian, and all the generic hopes suddenly faded away.
I hope this isn’t the last time I see him, Nesta thought suddenly, and then she blew out her candles before she could second-guess herself. Everyone cheered and Elain whisked the cake away so she could start cutting up slices, and Nesta was so focused on dodging Feyre and Emerie’s birthday punches that she didn’t have to think about where her sudden birthday wish had come from.
“This is so good,” Cassian remarked once the cake had been passed out. “Where did you get this from?”
“Elain’s an amazing baker,” Nesta informed him with pride. Her sister was smart as a whip and anything she whipped up in the kitchen always tasted amazing; that particular gene had skipped over Nesta, so she made a point of enjoying Elain’s food any chance she got. “And a chef, too, but the baking is my personal favorite.”
“It’s just another kind of science, if you think about it,” Elain replied with a small smile. She was just about finished with her grad program, and Nesta couldn’t wait to attend her fancy PhD graduation. “But thank you.”
“I’m gonna have to talk to you about doing some cupcakes for my end-of-the-year party,” Cassian continued. “The kids would go crazy for them.”
“What kids?” Ilana asked from her spot on the edge of the couch.
“I’m a teacher,” Cassian explained. “Middle school, so they’re just old enough to be able to hold their sugar.”
“A teacher,” Emerie repeated, making eye contact with Nesta and raising her eyebrows. “That’s cool.”
“We love a man who’s good with children,” Gwyn added. She waggled her eyebrows ridiculously in Nesta’s direction.
Nesta hoped she didn’t look as incredulous as she felt. Were her friends trying to set her up right now? “Let’s get back to the movie.”
Charlie’s Angels passed without any more teasing on Nesta’s behalf – at least, not about Cassian. Feyre and Elain were more than happy to poke a little fun at how many times Nesta had rewatched the scene with Lucy Liu dressed up in her leather outfit, but Cassian came to her defense, claiming he’d done the exact same thing so many times his mom had stopped letting him watch the movie.
Nesta couldn’t help but chuckle at the image of a tiny Cassian getting in trouble for that, and Cassian kept up a steady stream of commentary during the best parts of the movie just to keep her laughing. It left a nice, warm feeling in her chest, and she held onto it for as long as she could.
Eventually, the night had to come to a close. Everyone was more than ready to help her clean up, and by the time they started exchanging goodbye hugs and promises to let the group know when everyone arrived home safely, Nesta’s space was more or less restored to how it had looked before the night began.
Nesta made sure to give her sisters an especially long hug, thanking them profusely for coming over and making her birthday special.
“It’s what we do,” Feyre replied with a smile. Her eyes flicked over in Cassian’s direction before returning to Nesta’s with a knowing look, and she added, “I’ll accept my thank you with a free lunch.”
Nesta just rolled her eyes before not-so-gently pushing Feyre toward the door. “Good night, Feyre.”
“You know she’s just teasing,” Elain chimed in, laughing. “But don’t let a good thing get away from you, Nesta. He seems really nice.”
“Not you too,” Nesta responded with a groan. She flicked Elain in the arm before similarly herding her toward the door. “Bye, Lainey.”
Once her sisters were out the door, Nesta realized that Cassian was the only partygoer standing between her and going to bed. She certainly didn’t feel as nervous about him being in her space as she had before he’d shown up, but there were some butterflies floating around in her stomach as she looked up at him.
“And then there were two,” Cassian joked.
“And then there were two,” Nesta repeated with a small smile. She looked away from him and settled her gaze on the pretty flowers he’d brought her, adding a pop of color to the space. “I’m really glad you came.”
“I’m really glad you let me,” he replied. “You have some pretty cool people in your corner.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. She looked back up at him to see he was already looking at her with a tiny grin on his face. “I’m just happy you got along with everyone.”
He laughed, his hazel eyes crinkling around the corners, and she knew she was a total goner. “You and me both, sweetheart. I fully believe I would’ve gotten my ass kicked otherwise.”
“Emerie means business,” she told him with a little chuckle. His entire expression brightened once she laughed, and it was so wholesome she almost wanted to do it again just to get him to make that face again. “Feyre, too.”
“Speaking of Feyre…” he trailed off. “Did she mean what she said?”
“What did she say?” Nesta asked, trying to remember what he might’ve been referring to.
“That you’d love to have me,” Cassian answered. She could tell he wasn’t trying to make fun of her, but that didn’t stop her cheeks from heating. “In more ways than one.”
“Um,” she sputtered, her brain going completely blank. “I. Um. What?”
“I don’t want to be too forward or anything,” he said, taking a few steps closer to her, “but I think you’re really great, and I want to get to know you better. Can I take you out?”
“Like on a date?” she asked. Her heart was beating hard in her chest and she hoped she didn’t sound as nervous as she suddenly felt.
“Yeah,” he replied with a smile. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Definitely okay with me,” she agreed, matching his smile before she could overthink it too badly.
“Great.” He stood there grinning at her for a few moments before he blinked and backed away, quickly gathering his reusable bag and street clothes that he’d come into her place wearing. “I’ll text you.”
“You do that,” she told him. They moved toward the door and he gave her one last lingering look before heading out into the night.
As Nesta watched Cassian drive away, she could admit to herself that this had been one of the best birthdays she’d had in a long time.