Griffin sat back in his chair. “I guess I should thank you then.” He frowned. “Although that doesn’t seem like quite the emergency you made it out to be when you ran up to me.”
“I didn’t run. I walked fast. And”—I shrugged a shoulder—“I suppose I didn’t feel like sharing you on my birthday.”
Or at all, a little voice said in my head.
Whatever. My brain didn’t know what it was talking about.
“Does that make me a bad person?” I asked.
He smiled and took a drink of his beer. “Nah. I wouldn’t want to share me either.”
“Ha-ha-ha,” I mock laughed. “What were you saying about ego the other night?”
Griffin didn’t answer because our friends Troy and Christina came out of the back door and onto the patio.
“Happy birthday,” they all yelled, and I felt my face heat from embarrassment.
“Happy birthday,” a couple of strangers from the tables next to us called out.
“Thanks, everyone.” I stood and gave Christina a hug as she reached the table.
She shoved a present toward me. “Here’s your birthday present from Troy and me.”
“Thank you.” I grinned. “I can’t wait to open it.”
Christina and I had gone to college together while her now-fiancé, Troy, had attended the same university as Griffin. She had gone with me to visit my best friend and met Troy. They’d been dating ever since, and they were getting married in a few months.
A few seconds later, my coworker April and her boyfriend, JJ, walked outside.
April and I had clicked the first day she started working with me, and now, she was part of the group. And she’d been with her boyfriend for almost two years, so we had accepted him as one of our own too.
April gave me a hug. “Happy birthday.”
“You already told me that at work today,” I joked.
“Here’s your present.” She handed me a small gift-wrapped box.
“And you already brought cake to work. You didn’t have to get me anything.”
She held her head high. “Yes, I did. Now, say thank you and sit down.”
I laughed. “Thank you.”
As I sat back down, Christina said, “Open mine first.”
I picked up the gift bag and pulled out the tissue paper on the top. There were two items inside. I chose the box first and opened it.
My eyes flew up to my friend. “You got me the bracelet we saw when we were shopping? But when did you get it?”
She grinned. “When you were looking at other stuff.”
“Sneaky,” I said as I took the piece of jewelry out of the box and put it on around my wrist. I held my arm to Griffin. “Will you clasp this for me?”
As he worked on my bracelet, I used my other hand to pull out the item in the bag. It looked like lipstick, but it was heavier than normal. When Griffin finished, I pulled off the cap. It was plastic.
“Twist it up,” Christina said.
I did as she’d suggested, and it started vibrating.
I immediately busted out laughing. “Is this what I think it is?”
“It’s a clit vibrator that you can carry with you wherever you go. I figured now that you and Harris were over, you might need it.” Christina grinned.
Griffin held out his hand.
“Awesome.” I turned it off and set it in Griffin’s outstretched palm. “Thank you both.”
Troy pointed to his fiancée. “It was all Christina. I don’t buy sex toys for women other than her.”
“Mine next,” April said.
I unwrapped the box she had handed me earlier and opened the lid. Inside was a gift card to a local bookstore.
“I had the same idea Christina did, I guess.”
I didn’t understand.
“Take it out,” April said. “There’s another surprise underneath.”
I took out the gift card to find another one for my favorite lingerie store.
“I thought you could go shopping for books and get yourself some pretty lingerie now that you’re single. It’s always nice to make yourself feel sexy again after a breakup.”
I shook my head and smiled. “You two ladies are the best. Thank you.”
I took the lipstick vibrator back from Griffin, who had been studying it, and the two gift cards and stuck all three in my purse.
“So, what did you get Madeline, Griff?” Christina asked.
He lifted up his hands. “Nothing yet. She still hasn’t told me what she wants.”
“Oh yeah, I kind of forgot after Wednesday. Yesterday, I went to Harris’s while he was at work, and I picked up all the stuff I’d had there and left my key. And today, I was focused on tonight.” I patted his knee. “I’ll think of something for you to get me.”
“You’d better because I’m not letting you top me with the gift you got me this year.”
I had gotten Griffin a neon sign with the name of his bar.
“My gift wasn’t that great.”
“It is when I didn’t get you anything.”
I chuckled. “That’s a fair point. Don’t worry. I’m sure there is something out there that I want.”
“Just make sure you pick something sexual and nonsexual,” he joked, “since that seems to be the running theme.”
“Ooh. In that case, I want the biggest dildo you can buy,” I teased back.
Griffin snickered. “No. I am not buying a dildo.”
“That’s too bad,” I said with fake disappointment. “Because I was going to buy you a pocket pussy next year.”
He laughed and looked me in the eye. “Babe, I don’t need a pocket pussy when I get plenty of the real thing.”
Seven
Madeline
A couple hours later, the six of us were laughing and joking around, and I was feeling pretty good. I was enjoying my birthday buzz.
Unfortunately, all that drinking made me need to use the ladies’ room.
I pushed back my chair. “I’m going to go to the restroom. Anyone coming with me?”
“I’m fine,” April said.
“Me too,” Christina said.
Griffin pushed back his chair. “I’ll go with you. I could go to the bathroom, and I’m out of beer. The servers haven’t come around for a while.”
The two of us walked inside and went to opposite sides of the hall. There was a short line to the ladies’ room but none to the men.
Figures.
“You want to meet me at the bar when you get out?” he asked me.
“Yeah. Will you order me a beer?”
“Will do.”
By the time I made it in and out, about fifteen minutes had passed. I had to wonder if Griffin had even waited for me.
I looked around the room toward the bar and saw his dark head sticking out of the crowd toward the front, and I smiled. He hadn’t left me.
Weaving my way through the crowd, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I reached him.
Holly had found Griffin.
And the poor guy looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there.
I slid up beside him and moved in close. “Hey, Griff.” I looked at Holly. “Hey…” I bit my lip, pretending like I couldn’t remember her name. It was petty of me, but that uneasy feeling was back, and I blamed her.