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Dani's birthday was never a sad time for her before.
Sure, her father wasn't always available but her mom and her aunts always made sure to find her a pretty dress and make her a cake. She would receive gifts in money from a young age and she had always had her mother call even when she moved out to San Diego for college.
At college she had been a party girl. People fought to make it to her birthday parties and they always ended in some kind of memorable debauchery. Even Joaquín had been somewhat decent for her birthday when they were together. He always had jewelry or fancy lingerie to give her. She enjoyed both the lingerie and the expensive necklaces.
This would be the first time her parents would not want anything to do with her. Her parents had cut her off the trust fund and cut all contact with her after she chose Lito and Hernando. They were her family now, and that was all that mattered really.
Still, she had woken up early —barely past 4 am— and she sat in the living room with a movie on mute thinking about her life now. She was a famous actress —famous enough, at least— living with a couple of gay men who took her in even after she meant they were outed. She knew they loved her, they had said so much to her, but it was different for them. At least it was for Lito, who was very much gay and definitely not attracted to her in that way. After all this time, she wasn't entirely sure about Hernando, who was probably bi, but never said anything about liking her romantically. Not that it mattered, because Dani herself didn't have romantic feelings for them. She never had romantic feelings for anyone. But Lito and Hernando were special. They were hers in a way that was too complicated to put into words.
She should be with them. The night before, they had drank margaritas and watched movies until 1 am and went to bed together. They slept wrapped around each other like they had done many times before. It didn't stop the feelings of loneliness from creeping up into her mind, so when she woke up, she got up, put on a robe and went to sit in front of the TV.
Dani was still lost in her thoughts when she felt stubble as one of her men kissed her shoulder. "Are you okay? You got up early," said Hernando.
Dani managed to put a smile on her face when she said, "you snore."
"I do not!"
"You do. Very softly, but you do," said Lito from somewhere behind them.
"Lies," Hernando mumbled. Then, whispering right in her ear, he said, "happy birthday, Dani."
She hummed in response, and Hernando seemed to notice something was wrong from Dani's lack of reaction.
"Dani?" He pulled away from her to look at her face. "What's wrong?"
Lito was next to the couch in a moment. "What happened, family?"
Dani's phone started beeping with notifications from somewhere in between the cushions. She found the culprit, checked the names in her notifications and turned it off with a sigh. She didn't know what to say, so she just said what had been on her mind a few moments before.
"I don't have any plans for my birthday this year," Dani said. Lito and Hernando exchanged a look over her head. "What?"
"It was supposed to be a surprise," said Hernando.
Dani looked from Hernando to Lito. "Lito?"
"Hernando made me swear not to tell."
That sounded like Hernando. If it were up to Lito, he would spoil every movie he'd ever been with his enthusiasm to talk about the characters.
"Guys?" she asked.
"Look, don't be mad—"
"Guys?" Dani interrupted Hernando.
"—it's just an idea, really."
"Spit it out, Hernando."
"We are going to Cancún!" Lito announced excitedly.
"What?" Her heart started pounding excitedly.
"We packed your bag and everything," Lito said.
"But… you have the photoshoot tomorrow morning," she told Lito.
"I made some calls."
She turned to Hernando. "And you! You have to teach a lesson in 4 hours!"
"I also made some calls," he said.
"Oh my God, guys!" Dani squealed, filled with happiness she was barely able to contain. She turned to Hernando and kissed his cheek just as Lito kissed her cheek.
"It's your first birthday with us," said Hernando. "We want to make it unforgettable."
Dani felt so much joy she felt she was going to burst with happiness. "Guys, this is unbelievable."
"Heads up, Amanita and Nomi are waiting for us there," Lito added.
"What?" This just kept getting better.
"They've never been to Cancún… and Amanita wanted to surprise you." Lito flinched and mouthed sorry to the space next to him.
"Is that Nomi? Can you ask her to pass a message to Amanita? Actually, I'll text her. I don't need your telepathic connection for this."
Dani got up and ran to her room to get her phone.
"It's not tel— actually, why do I bother?" Lito said from the living room, but he sounded happy about it.
After texting Amanita, she went back to her men who were moving around the kitchen in a synchronized dance to get breakfast ready. As she sat down, Hernando poured a tall glass of fresh orange juice for her before sitting next to Dani.
"Are you okay with this?" he asked.
"Okay? I'm thrilled! I didn't think we'd be doing anything special," she said, then she drank a big gulp of juice. Lito took the time to put some toast in front of her and some smashed avocado for her to spread on it.
"Why wouldn't we?" Lito asked. "We did something as a family for my birthday. And Hernando's."
Dani's heart warmed. She looked between Hernando and Lito and said, "I guess I'm still getting used to this family business."
"Dani…" Hernando started, his face going soft.
"I like this. I'm happy here. With you two," she said. "I don't need anyone else."
"Should I tell Amanita or…?" Lito left the question hanging.
"Are you kidding? I love Neets. We're best friends. She's only going to make the party better."
"Party?" Hernando asked, a slight tremor to his voice.
"Hernando, if you think we're not going to party in Cancún..."
Her partner sighed. "Perhaps, I should pack a party outfit."
"You must," added Dani. "Lito?"
Lito looked at his family with an amused smile. "Don't look at me. I told him he should pack for partying."
They ate breakfast together talking about what the plan was. It turned out their tickets were for noon, so they would arrive at Cancún around 2 pm.
"Prime time to start partying," Dani said.
"Riley said one of her DJ friends will be playing at the beach tonight," Lito mentioned casually, which meant this was not casual at all.
"Oh, did she?"
"Well, if you want, we can go to his show. Meet some music stars. Mingle with the EDM scene… it's up to you."
Dani squealed no longer feeling sad about the family she left behind. "This is the best birthday ever!"
Later, as they lounged on the beach with some margaritas, Neets asked Dani, "are you having a good time, birthday girl?"
Dani, filled with so much love she felt on the verge of tears, said, "I don't think I've ever had such a wonderful birthday."