The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 176: Birthday Boy, Actually!

Chapter 176: Birthday Boy, Actually!

For Damien to ask about Lane’s birthday exactly on Lane Allen’s birthday... Was it a coincidence?

Lane didn’t think so!

Despite all of his efforts (that is, his lies and denials), Damien was still suspicious of his identity. Lane was very well aware of it, of course. With how sharp the man’s instincts were, unless he could somehow prove without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t Lane Allen - which he couldn’t, since that was the truth! - Damien would remain suspicious for a long, long time.

But... what was Lane supposed to do now?

Of course, he was technically prepared for this situation. He knew Damien might try something like that when he asked Lane to come over on this particular day. And he wasn’t unprepared. He knew when ’Jonathan’s’ birthday was, he found all that stuff right after he decided to use his dead former classmate as his fake identity. All he had to do was to say the date, and the topic would be (temporarily) closed...

Except that... he didn’t want to. Looking at the cake, baked especially for him by his boyfriend... Lane didn’t want to lie.

When was even the last time he celebrated his birthday? Probably before he left the Allen mansion. When they were kids, they used to get two cakes, one for Lane and Nyla each. Not homemade, of course, but good, expensive cakes. And their parents actually sat with them by the table in the evening... Although those weren’t exactly pleasant memories. Those ’celebrations’ were all stiff and serious, so unlike the happy and colorful birthday parties Lane had seen in movies. Then, as he grew older, even that was gone... And Lane would just share his cake with Ava, in his bedroom.

So... this cake, made just for him, with the candles flickering on the top, on that old, slightly wobbly table in the cheap, tiny apartment, with his boyfriend sitting on the other side... It made him all warm and fuzzy inside.

He didn’t want to lie... But he couldn’t exactly tell the truth either, now could he? If he said that his birthday was today... It wouldn’t line up with his identity as ’Jonathan’, and while Damien wouldn’t be able to tell right away, it could cause some problems later down the line.

Not to mention, for him to share his birthday with Lane Allen? What kind of coincidence was that?! It would only solidify Damien’s suspicions...

And Lane wasn’t ready to deal with that.

"Ahem!" he cleared his throat, trying to settle down his thoughts, which were spinning around and running in circles. Unable to make a decision, he finally settled on saying, "Is it really... that important? That life has long been over for me..."

"Still... I would like to know," Damien said calmly, his low and mellow voice tickling Lane from the inside. "It would mean a lot to me... if we could celebrate."

"Ah? Oh, is that so..." Lane rubbed his neck, watching the tiny flames dancing on the candles. It was really hard to say ’no’ to Damien when he was saying it like that... Still, "I don’t really want to think back to my past... So how about we pick a new ’birthday’ for me?"

"A new ’birthday’?"

"Yeah! Any date will do!"

"So... How about today?" Damien suggested. "February 13."

Lane froze for a second. He should have expected that! Damien obviously knew what he was doing...

But then again, wasn’t it kind of nice? It was Damien’s pick, and Lane said that any date would do, so he had no reason to refuse!

"Well, if you think that’s good, then why not?" He shrugged his shoulders, before swiftly changing the topic. "Anyway! Let’s blow out the candles, before the wax starts dripping on the cake! Do you want to do the honors?"

"You go on. It’s supposed to be your birthday, isn’t it?"

"Ah, right! I guess it is from now on!" Lane let out a laugh, and leaned forward, blowing the candles. As for the wish... He didn’t really believe in things like that, so he went for something ’simple’ - to get another cake like that the next year.

"By the way," he asked, once the candles were removed, and Damien moved on to cut the cake. "When is your birthday?"

Damien glanced at Lane, before moving his gaze back down, as he put a generous piece, with strawberry hearts and white chocolate drizzle on top. "September 18."

"September...?" Lane tilted his head, trying to recall all the past events. They definitely knew each other at that time - they met for the first time in late spring the previous year - but what was their relationship back then? ’Evan’ died in the summer... Then ’Noah’ sometime between late August and early September... So September 18, wouldn’t be around the time Lane started having guiding and makeout sessions with Damien as ’Aidan’?

They weren’t dating or anything at that time, but still...

"Ugh... Sorry. I didn’t know," Lane apologized.

Damien, however, seemed unbothered. He just placed the plates with cake in front of himself and Lane - with Lane’s portion being significantly more generous - and took a seat. "It’s fine. I haven’t said anything, so how were you supposed to know?" The corners of his lips lifted slightly in a hint of a smile, and he gestured at Lane’s plate. "Try the cake, I want to know what you think."

"Hmm. Still, I will make it up to you the next time..." Lane muttered, as he grabbed the spoon and cut a piece of the cake, lifting it to his mouth.

"The next time?" Damien repeated, but Lane was no longer paying attention. His expression had already transformed into sheer delight, as he took a bite of the treat.

"It’s delicious!" he exclaimed. "Just, amazing!"

The cake was very sweet, very chocolaty, with a spongy base, a dense chocolate mousse, and the top layer much lighter and fluffier, all melting in Lane’s mouth. Combined with the whipped cream and fresh, tangy strawberries, it matched his taste very well!

It was truly the best birthday ever!