FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM - HER FIRST LOVE

By the time Hera and Hunter reached their friends, they had already started with their breakfast. The aroma of the food felt even more appealing in the salty air, and Hera's mouth watered as soon as it hit her nostrils.

Hera took her seat beside Hunter while he made their plate. She eyed the food he served for her, prawn, fish and chips with toasted cheese sandwiches. She grinned as her heart jumped greedily, ready to devour the dishes. Their sandwiches were large in comparison to the regular ones.

The little cafe was very good with friendly staff, and the food was yummy. Hunter had ordered hot chocolate for Hera and Bianca while others drank beers. The beach looked lovely with the tide out, and Hera loved the warm atmosphere.

Hunter's friends were no more indifferent or cold towards her, and she enjoyed the small talks, including her bickering with Michael and Eric. The air filled with laughter while they enjoyed the game of revealing each other's most embarrassing moments.

Hera never thought they would let her in and share their hidden awkward experiences with her, let alone celebrate her birthday with so much enthusiasm. Her smile stayed intact on her face the whole time, and she genuinely enjoyed Hunter's friends' company.

She jumped in surprise when her phone pinged with a message notification. It would take some time for her to get used to it. When Hunter gifted the phone to her, he had already saved his number as Prince Charming, but Hera had changed it to Devil. Later she added her brother's number as well.

Everyone she knew was here, and she wondered who had messaged her. Abby had called Danny's phone to greet her happy birthday, and very proudly, Hera had shared her number with her.

Guessing it to be her cousin, Hera opened the phone lock. She was surprised when the name Devil greeted her, and she smiled, looking at Hunter. A soft jerk of his head signalled her to open it. The message opened to reveal a picture, and as soon as she saw it, a surprised gasp escaped her mouth.

It was a picture of them sharing their wedding kiss.

'Oh, my! You sneaky devil! When did he take this picture?'

Hera looked at him to find him watching her with an amused glint in his eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. She was thankful for the photo because Hunter was thoughtful enough to capture their special moment to add to their precious memories while she was busy, greedily devouring his lips.

The memory of the kiss made her blush, and Hera looked down into her plate. She could feel his intense stare piercing into her soul. To distract herself, she grabbed a chocolate bar from the small bowl of sweets on the table. She bit her lip to curb the grin that was eager to let its presence known.

Large forest green eyes widened, and her jaw dropped in surprise when the chocolate wrapper flew away from her hand. She looked over her shoulder, eyes following the thin golden paper floating in the air.

'Fuck! Is it a messenger sweet? It's my birthday sweet, so I think it is.'

She was in a dilemma whether to go after it or to let it go. She hadn't read the message in it yet. She felt a slight nudge to her shoulder and glanced back at Hunter. He grinned at her cutely bewildered face and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "It's okay, Goddess. It's not a sweet messenger," he said.

Hera pursed her lips and scowled at him for no reason before stuffing her mouth with chips.

'Oh, it was embarrassing, alright. The devil shouldn't know how desperate I get to read his messages.'

"Hey, birthday girl," she heard Evelyn's sweet voice calling and lifted her gaze to look at her. A smile broke into her face as Evelyn held an extra-large birthday card in front of her. Thanking the sweet girl, Hera accepted it with gratitude. It had a picture of a strawberry cake in the front and cupcakes and ice cream on the inside.

Evelyn had written a sweet birthday message for her wishing her health, happiness and love.

"And here's a surprise," Evelyn yelled, startling Hera. "Oh, my God!" Hera exclaimed, pleasantly surprised when her friend thrust a giant teddy bear in pure white into her lap. It had a cute red bowtie around its neck with happy birthday written on it.

"Thank you, Evie, but you didn't have to buy me another gift. I received one in the morning already, remember?" Hera asked, her tone too polite.

Evelyn jerked her thumb in Danny's direction and smiled at her knowingly. Hera gasped audibly. She couldn't believe her brother bought her a birthday gift.

'Just when I thought my birthday couldn't get any better.'

Her eyes watered, and she glanced at her brother, who had his head ducked. Before Hera could thank him, he stood up, grabbed a beer bottle and walked away.

"It's awkward for him too, you know," Hunter said, drawing Hera's attention to him. "But he's coming around, isn't he?" he stated. Hera nodded and hugged Evelyn to thank her. "Thank you, Evie. I owe you this one," she said. Evelyn shook her head and pointed at Hunter. "To him, actually," she revealed before going after Danny.

He was propping up his chin with his elbow on the table and presented her with his dazzling smile when she looked at him. Hera was tongue-tied as she was overwhelmed. Leaning forward, she planted a soft kiss on his cheek to show her gratitude.

Someone cleared their throat, and Hera leaned back on her chair only to receive another surprise. Bianca passed her a medium-sized greeting card. It was a simple card with a picture of red roses on every side. She had signed her name inside. Hera thanked her but got rudely ignored.

Hunter held his palm out, and Bianca grabbed it. They shook hands and hugged. Hera didn't miss when Hunter mouthed, "Thank you, sunshine." Bianca looked too pleased when she hugged Hunter, and Hera knew then, she only did it to please Hunter. It didn't matter, though. The gesture pleased Hera nonetheless.

Her day seemed full of surprises because Samantha gave her a card too. It was a plain white card with a red ribbon drawn over it. "Grow up," Samantha said as her greeting. Hera ignored the jab and thanked her politely. She opened the card to find a cactus picture inside and quickly closed it before Hunter could see it.

'So obvious.'

Hera thought it was ironic because clearly, it was Samantha who needed to grow up.

All the girls left, and Hera looked at Eric and Michael. She raised her eyebrows, a sly grin directed at them. "Now, you didn't think you could escape without giving me my gift, did you?" she asked, eyeing them both.

"I don't go around gifting people when I barely like them," Michael said, keeping a straight face. "Fuck you, Michael Romano," Hera replied and threw chips at him.

Michael grimaced in disgust and shook his head. "Ew, no thanks, Hera Hunter. I'm not interested," he said and ran away before Hera could throw more insults at him.

Eric left his seat and stood up, probably to join Michael.

"Hey, wait," Hera said, grabbing Eric's hand before he could walk away. "It's okay, Pixie, no need to thank me. We have passed that stage of formality," Eric replied in a teasing tone. He playfully pulled her hair, and Hera smacked his hand away. "I wasn't going to thank you," she said, frowning at him.

Eric frowned as well, a questioning look plastered on his face. He genuinely thought she was going to thank him for his help earlier with their wedding. He conveniently forgot about the gift part.

Hera smiled at him, too sweet for his taste. He narrowed his eyes at her when her smile turned wicked.

"Where's my gift?" she asked.

Eric chuckled before nodding. He held his hand for her to take, and Hera gladly accepted the invitation. They both walked ahead while Hunter kept a few feet of distance, giving them space.

"I didn't buy you any gift," Eric said and pursed his lips, shrugging. Hera pouted in disappointment, stamping her foot. Eric chuckled at her tantrums and pulled her closer into a side hug.

"I do have a gift for you, but I'm not sure if it counts as one because it didn't cost me any money," he said. Hera nodded, gesturing for him to go on.

"You know I've been acting as a marriage officiant for your wedding every year. But someday in future, it's going to change, and a real officiant will take my place," he said, and Hera frowned, not knowing where their conversation was heading. "You'll walk down the aisle while Ace waits for you on the other side," he paused to look at her.

Hera gave him a nervous smile while Eric held her shoulders and turned her to face him directly. She was confused as well as curious by his seriousness all of a sudden.

"Someone will walk with you, preferably someone from the family or a close relative or someone you hold dear to your heart. They will give your hand away," Eric paused as if to make sure she was listening or understanding his words.

Suddenly, Hera felt a lump in her throat. It was overwhelming to think about what Eric made her see. The realisation hit her hard. She had no parents or a father to give her hand away.