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Lola’s eighteenth birthday passed with less fanfare than she expected. She knew not to put pressure onto anyone, not after the stress of the heist and then the aftermath of the heist, but she’d been looking forward to it more than any of her other birthdays. She hadn’t gotten a sweet sixteen – her family thought those were silly – so her eighteenth was supposed to be something big.
She forgot that as people grew older their lives grew more complex and the simplicities of things like birthdays got lost in the fray.
That wasn’t to say her friends did nothing, that wasn’t fair to them. Each of them got her a gift, spent time with her, but it was around the time of finals and everyone was caught up with studying. For a moment, they all pretended to be normal university students for a while – though some needed less pressure to pretend than others.
Winter break hit Lola like she wouldn’t have imagined. Suddenly, after so much time holed up in the library – or Vienna’s apartment if she was going to be honest with herself – it felt odd to finally catch a break.
Vienna’s place was where she found herself at once again, lounging on the couch watching shitty reality television like Love Island. They passed a bottle of white wine between them – it was an actual decent bottle this time. Courtesy of the stolen crystals. Vienna’s fingers brushed Lola’s whenever they did so, and Lola tried her best not to let it go to her head. There were other things to worry about after all.
Vienna had an easy smile on her face. She dripped into Italian every once in a while, though Lola wished she did it more often. So many of her friends were multilingual geniuses whose native tongues sounded like siren songs – Vienna’s most of all. Suddenly, the woman in front of her frowned.
Lola sat up a little straighter. “What’s wrong, Vi?”
Vienna rested her chin on her hand. “I should have gotten you a better gift.”
Lola shook her head. “You got me Kali Uchis tickets. That’s like-” Her tipsy mind struggled to keep up with her thoughts, “one of the best things ever.”
Vienna lulled her head to the side. Her breath hitched. “I just wanted to get you something special.”
Lola leaned forward. “You did get me something special.” She couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. Vienna was always trying to top her last actions, always wanting to give others the best. It wasn’t inherently bad, she just wanted people to be happy. Lola clung to the bottle of wine. She held it between them; Lola needed something to distance them for her own sake. “Vi, really, you did.”
Vienna took a deep breath. She looked down at her lap. “You liked the tickets, right?”
“Of course.” Lola didn’t know what else she could say to make the other believe her. She just hoped that her words would be enough, that she'd be able to convince Vienna. Lola took a moment and set the wine bottle to the side, even if she was terrified to do so. “I can already see you scheming something.”
Vienna’s lips twitched into a small smile. “And if I am?” She inched closer. “Would you say no?”
From the tone in her voice, she already knew what Lola was going to say. The younger didn’t change her answer, instead she played along. “There’s plenty of things I haven’t said no to recently, Vi, I think I can add another.”
Vienna ran her thumb over her lip. She smeared her lipstick a little.
Lola wanted to fix it, wipe off the carmine color with her own finger. She didn’t dare though. Instead, she sat back in her spot on the couch and tried her best to refocus on the TV. It wasn’t nearly as entertaining as Vienna.
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Lola didn’t think about it much as winter break truly settled in. She wouldn’t be heading back to the states. It just wouldn’t be a great idea. The thought of being away from her younger siblings made her heart ache, but seeing her parents was a no go. She moved all the way to Paris to get away from them, she wasn’t about to go back now.
Vienna offered up her apartment for Lola to stay with her. Lola had thought about declining the offer, but her desolation of not seeing her siblings got to her and she relented.
The first week was good, great even. Lola was able to contain herself – as best as one could. It was the second week when she began to realize Vienna was… off. She left the apartment often and for hours at a time. Lola would have thought maybe she was working, but Vienna made a long speech about never working a day in her life again after they all got their share of the heist money.
Lola got ready for the day. She was going to spend some time with Brianne, try to be normal for a bit before the next semester started back up. At times, she wondered if it would be better to just drop off and live off the heist money. It wouldn’t be impossible.
It would also look horrifically suspicious though, so she decided against it. Besides, she liked school to some extent, not as much as Brianne, but enough to continue with her degree.
She looked through her jewelry box and pulled out necklaces and rings. There was one she quite enjoyed, a ring that is, but no matter how much she looked for it, she couldn’t find it.
Lola decided to ask Vienna. She peaked out of the spare room. “Vi, do you know where my ring is, the one with the garnet?”
“Uh, I haven’t seen it since the last you wore it.” Vienna’s voice was a little clipped, but not enough for Lola to point out.
She huffed, shouted back a thanks, and tore through her room – the spare room she tried to remind herself – to try to find the damned thing.
In the end, she couldn’t. Lola ended up putting on a different ring and complained to Brianne for about ten minutes that she couldn’t find the one she’d wanted to wear. The irony of losing her own jewelry after pulling off a jewelry heist wasn’t lost on her in the slightest.
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Later in the day, the ring magically turned up, right in Lola’s jewelry box. She cursed to herself. Her eyes must have glossed right over it. That had to be the case.
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Lola swayed around the kitchen singing along to the music playing from her phone. “Last and final puzzle piece!” She was sure the neighbors were annoyed with her antics, but nobody had ever come knocking to tell her to be quiet, so Lola hadn’t stopped.
Vienna smiled in her spot by the stove, searing something she called saltimbocca – though Lola didn’t have any idea what that meant. What she did know was that Vienna was an excellent chef so she always trusted what the other served up.
When the meal was finished, Lola turned the music down a tad and set the table. If she wasn’t going to cook she decided the least she could do was the set up and take down. Besides, washing dishes was relaxing.
They talked over dinner, letting the silences stretch a few times, though it never felt awkward to do so.
The only thing that was a little awkward was Vienna. She poked her food and kept glancing at Lola like she was expecting something.
Finally, Lola had to say something. “Do I have something on my face?”
Vienna shook her head. There was a faint blush to the apples of her cheeks. It reminded Lola of fall time. “No, you’re good, I, I’ve got…” Vienna wasn’t one to typically stumble over her words. She took a moment, then a breath, and tried again. “I’ve got something for you.” Vienna slid a hand under the table.
Lola grinned. “You really didn’t have to get me another gift. I loved the first one.”
“I wanted to.” Vienna placed her hand back on the table. Under it was a little black box. She slid the box across the table.
Lola couldn’t help but open it. As soon as she did, her mouth fell open. “Vi…This is gorgeous.” It was a ring: a gold band with curling leaf designs. Laid in the leaves rested rubies and diamonds, all sparkling under the kitchen light. She looked up to catch Vienna’s gaze. “You’re amazing.”
“Happy birthday, Lo.” Vienna tilted her head to the side. “Again.”
Lola slipped the ring out of the box as gently as she could and placed it on her finger. It fit perfectly. It was that moment when she realized where her other ring had disappeared to. “You were the one to take my ring.”
Vienna’s blush deepened. “It was a heist part two, some would say.”
Lola shook her head, grinning like a madman. “I could kiss you right now.”
Her stomach sunk as she realized what words fell from her mouth.
Lola immediately backtracked. “I mean, you know, I’m just really happy right now because this is the prettiest ring ever and I-”
“You should.” Vienna cut her off.
Lola stilled again. “What?”
Vienna paused and looked down at her hands atop the wooden table. “You should kiss me. I’d… I’d like that too.”
Lola didn’t ask anymore questions for fear that her mind would combust if she thought over her decisions anymore. She stood from her seat; Vienna did the same. They met in the middle. Lola brushed her hand over Vienna’s jaw. Even just standing this close felt like a dream come true, then, when Vienna captured her lips, it felt like Heaven.
For months Lola had been dreaming of this very moment, what it would feel like to hold the other in her arms, how soft her lips would be – they were incredibly so – how much her head would spin.
They stood in the kitchen, their meal nearly forgotten, as they broke apart. Vienna rested her forehead against Lola’s. “Now I feel like you’re the one giving me gifts.”
Lola laughed, bright like bells. “There’s plenty more coming then.” She leaned back in and sighed into a kiss she’d waited a lifetime for.