Michael sat back in his office chair and placed his left ankle over his right knee. He held onto his ankle for support. The sun had long gone down and he could hear the cicadas clicking in the night.

"I can't believe it's my birthday and I'm stuck in the office doing paper work," he said as he sighed into the phone.

"That sucks. Why didn't you tell your boss that it was your birthday? I'm sure he would have let you go home early," Claudette said.

"Claudette, you don't understand. I told my boss everyday this week that today was going to be my birthday and his fish mouth self said 'ok' every time. Come seven o'clock when I'm about to leave, my boss stops me and says I gotta stay late and do Raymond's paperwork because it's his birthday and Raymond wanted to leave early....

"I was so pissed. So I told my boss, 'I told you I was leaving early because it's my birthday too'. And you know what my boss said?"

"What?" Claudette answered.

"He said, 'well maybe you should have told me more than once...' Girl, I could've choked him right then and there but I wasn't trying to get fired. So I was like 'ok sir, I'll do the paperwork'. So I go to Raymond's desk to get the papers and I kid you not, it was a mountain higher than Everest."

"Oh my goodness, that's ridiculous. If that happened to me, I would have left."

Michael laughed. "Yeah girl, I know you don't play."

Claudette laughed too. "Well, about what time do you think you'll be done because I was hoping we could go to the bar and get a few drinks?"

Michael sat up and shuffled through the papers making a mental estimate. He pulled his mouth to the side. "I'm probably not gonna get outta here until two in the morning."

Claudette looked at the clock: 9:34 pm. "Two in the morning? Damn. I hope he's not expecting you to come back the next morning?"

Michael sat back in his chair. "Yup, I got that family reunion in Gary so I'm tryna get in as many hours as I can before next week."

Claudette felt a little let down. Ever since Michael got a new job, they haven't been able to hang out as much. With him going to the family reunion, it would be three weeks until she got to see him again. He'd been part of her group of best friends since high school but he was the only one of their little group who actually stayed in touch and their friendship is something she holds dear to her heart.

"You still there?" Michael asked as he unwrapped a granola bar which he attained from his desk drawer.

Claudette snapped back into reality. "Yeah I'm here." She heard crunching on the line. "Are you eating?"

Michael finished chewing before he answered. "Yeah. Granola bar."

"Have you even eaten a real meal yet?"

"I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at lunch but other than that, nope. I'm starving though. I could really go for some KFC but the janitor likes to come early on Fridays and he might lock me out."

KFC huh? An idea ran into Claudette's mind. "Hey Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"I gotta go do something important but when I'm done, I'll call you back okay?"

"Alright girl. Talk to you in a few."

Claudette hung up the phone and put it on the receiver. She got up from the couch and grabbed her cooler, her purse, and her keys. She did a once over in the mirror to make sure she didn't look like a crazy woman and went out the door.

********************

Michael sighed as he hunched himself over his desk writing words and numbers. He heard a knock at his office door. A confused look etched across his face as he sat up. He was the only one that was supposed to be in the building.

Another knock. Maybe it's the janitor.

"Come in?" he said. It came out more like a question than an invitation.

The door slowly opened and his face of confusion quickly turned to a smile of surprise.

A wide toothy smile beamed back at him from his friend. She had a bucket of KFC cradled in one arm and a red cooler in the other.

"Oh my gosh girl, what are you doin' here?" He said as he took the things out of her hands, placing the KFC bucket on a clear spot on his desk and the cooler on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her in a big hug and felt the vibrations of her laugh.

When they pulled away Claudette spoke first. "Well, you sounded sooo miserable on the phone that I just had to come by and surprise you."

"Aww, you didn't have to do that."

"The hell I didn't! I'm not gonna see you for three whole weeks after this weekend. I was not going to miss out on a chance to see my best bud. Also it is your thirtieth birthday," she said with a smile.

"Claudette, you are literally the best friend ever." He gave her another hug and gave her a friendly pat on the butt.

"Damn girl, where'd that booty come from? Last time I saw you, you were sportin' the SpongeBob Squarepants look," Michael laughed.

Claudette pulled away and gave him a playfully mean look. "It was not that bad. And you're one to talk," she said as she reached over to smack his bottom.

"Girl, I got a booty," Michael said as he popped out his bum. "Beyoncé ain't got nothin' on my callipygian self."

Claudette shook her head in playful disapproval. "Well if you must know. I've been doin' this new work out at the gym called Booty Busters and as you can see," she popped a hip, "it works."

Michael laughed. "Booty Busters? Sounds like a cheap porno spoof of Ghost Busters."

His joke set them both off in a fit of laughter. "Michael, you are too much!"

Michael smiled and went over to his desk and pumped some hand sanitizer into his hand then gave the bottle to Claudette who did the same. She placed it back where he took it.

"Alright girl let's eat!"

Michael removed the cover from the KFC bucket and the smell filled the room. He grabbed a drumstick and took a bite. He closed his eyes in delight.

Claudette looked around. "Hey Mike?"

"Yeah?" he said with a mouthful of chicken.

"Don't you have another chair in your office?"

Michael pulled his mouth to the side. "About that. See I was showing Donte these ninja moves I saw in a Bruce Lee movie and uh I broke one. And the other one was just tore up when I got it, so breaking one was a great excuse for me to get some new chairs."

"Where am I going to sit, 'cause I'm not standing the whole time I'm here?"

Michael sat down in his desk chair and a mischievous smile crept to his face as he patted his lap.

Claudette playfully rolled her eyes and went to sit on his lap. Michael leaned back and ate his chicken. Claudette reached for the bucket and grabbed herself a drumstick as well. She was friends with one of the workers at KFC so she was able to get mostly drumsticks. All pieces of their chicken are good but the drumsticks are where it's at.

"So how's your job?" Michael said as he reached over to put the now meatless bone back into the bucket and got himself a new piece.

Claudette was the co-owner at an African hair braiding salon and it was great but every now and then, they get customers who don't want to pay or ask for ridiculous services. Especially this one lady who called on the phone and asked if they could braid her pubic hair! Some people are just too much.

"It's great! We're getting so much business that we're gonna need a bigger salon soon and we're gonna be hiring like ten new people. It's exciting."

"That's fun," Michael said as he threw another chicken bone back into the bucket.

Claudette threw her bone into the bucket as well. She got up and went to open the cooler. It was a two compartment cooler so one side had ice with two Coronas in it and the other side had a plastic container which had a big vanilla cupcake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate frosting. This was Michael's all time favorite cupcake from Sweetie's Bakery. He would go there more often but Sweetie's is a four hour drive from his apartment. Luckily, the owner of Sweetie's, Linda, got her hair done at Claudette's salon so whenever she came by, she always called ahead and asked if anybody wanted any sweets from her bakery and she'd drive them over.

Linda got her hair done yesterday so Claudette was able to get this cupcake for Michael. Talk about good timing.

Beside the cupcake were some candles that were in the shape of a "3" and "0", a lighter, a bottle opener, and some napkins. Claudette grabbed some napkins and put them on his desk. "Don't fill up on chicken yet Mike. Leave some room for cake."

Michael sat up in his chair. "Cake?"

"Yup, cake." Claudette opened the container and placed the cupcake on the desk. She placed the candles in the frosting and lit them with the lighter. She began to sing:

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Michael, happy birthday to you!"

Michael blew out the candles and took the candles out of the frosting. He licked the bottoms of them and realized this was his favorite. "Oh my goodness Claudette, you got my favorite cupcake? You are the best!"

She smiled. "I try to be."

She opened both Coronas and passed one to him.

"Damn and you got my favorite beer? This is the best birthday ever!"

She laughed and wiped off her hands on a napkin then went to sit back down on his lap. He lay back in his chair and enjoyed his cupcake while Claudette sipped on her beer.

"So what you wish for?" Claudette asked.

"Girl, if I tell you, it won't come true," he said as he closed the container and put it on his desk. He then reached for his Corona and took a big gulp.

"You had thirty wishes you could have made, you can tell me just one," she pressed. please?"

Michael put a hand on his chin like he was thinking. "Hmm, you really want to know?"

Claudette nodded. "Yes!"

"Well...." Michael stalled.

"Well what?"

"One of my wishes was to kiss you."

Claudette rolled her eyes. "Boy, you play too much."

Michael sat up. "Girl, I'm serious. I've always wondered what it'd be like to kiss you. You just seem like a good kisser," Michael said nonchalantly.

Claudette smiled. He was right, she was a good kisser. She was a little buzzed from the beer and decided what the hell."

"Okay then," she said.

"Okay then?" Michael parroted.

"I'll kiss you-- only because it's your birthday." She finished off her beer and put the empty bottle on his desk. He also finished his beer and placed the bottle next to hers. She turned around and straddled his lap as best as she could in the little office chair and stared into his dark brown eyes. A few of his long curls fell about his face and she wondered how he wore his hair like that. Stray hairs would drive her crazy which is why she almost always wore her hair in a half or full ponytail.

She placed one hand on the side of his face and the other on the chair's arm rest to keep balance.

She leaned in and stopped centimetres from his lips as if contemplating whether or not to close the gap. Michael took initiative and closed the gap for her. Both of their lips were soft and tasted like alcohol. Michael held her hip with one hand and caressed her face with the other.

They both sucked on each other's lips then when she saw it fit, Claudette slipped her tongue into his mouth and gently massaged his. She heard a small moan escape his lips. She smirked ever so slightly feeling proud she made him moan. The kiss increasingly became more passionate and Claudette knew they'd better stop. She pulled away, gently biting his bottom lip and tugging at it ever so slightly.

Although she had pulled away, their faces were still just centimetres apart.

"Happy birthday," she said in a low whisper.

When she finally pulled away far enough to see his whole face, he looked as if he was intoxicated but she knew it wasn't because of the Corona.

"Damn girl," Michael said. His was voice deep and raspy.

They both laughed and then she got up from his lap and they began putting things away. After they were done, Claudette glanced at her watch: 1:48 am.

"It's almost two Mike, I should get going. You still need to get your work done and I gotta open the shop tomorrow. You can keep the rest of the chicken 'cause I know how you love it do much," Claudette said with a wink.

Michael went over to her and hugged her again, squeezing her tight. "Girl, thank you so much. Everything was perfect," He said with thankfulness.

Before they pulled away, he whispered something into her ear. She smiled wide and laughed aloud. "Boy, you play too much!"

Michael laughed too. "I'm serious, that was one of my other wishes."

"Oookay," she said with an exaggerated wink. "Maybe next year..." They both laughed again.

"I'll be waiting," Michael said with a wink.

"Bye Michael, I'll see you when you get back." She gave him a friendly peck on the cheek and walked toward door with her things.

Before she left, he gave her another pat on the bottom. "Bye Claudette, I'll call you when I get to Gary." She said okay and was gone.

Michael walked back over to his desk and got another drumstick and another paper to write words and numbers on and smiled to himself.

Best birthday ever...