“So what did you wish for, for your birthday?” Jordan gives my shoulder a nudge with his.
“I haven’t blown out the candles yet,” I tell him, not looking his way. My skin crawls when he presses his thigh against mine under the table. I’m in a jean skirt and a black Harley Davidson tank top that Shay had given me this morning, and when his hand brushes against the bare skin on my thigh, I jump in my seat and get to my feet. “I’m going to grab a drink. Anyone want anything?”
Everyone shakes their heads. Noah ignores me completely, his dark eyes fixated on Kate. I guess I can’t be too upset. Again, cute, but it’s not like he had me swooning.
Climbing over the bench, I head towards the patio where the adults are laughing and joking around. The Guess Who is playing over the speakers and with the sun beaming down… a perfect summer day. I smile when I see my mother still hanging out with the other old ladies, and decide to leave her alone. I don’t want to accidentally ruin her good mood.
I bounce up the steps to where the coolers are sitting against the wall when a pair of thick arms like tree trunks pull me in and squeeze the hell out of me. I look up and see Uncle Marty grinning down at me, flashing one of his gold incisor teeth. I smile back at him as he sets me back on my feet. “Happy birthday, darlin’!” He pats my back and I swear, the air is knocked out of my lungs.
“Th-thanks!” I gasp, ignoring the adults as they laugh at my reaction. Before I can say anything else, he hands me a birthday card. When I open it, I squeal at the sight of two fifties and throw myself at him and hug him tight. “Thank you, Uncle Marty!”
He chuckles and gives me a gentler squeeze. “You’re welcome. Get yourself something nice, alright?”
“Here, Mina, I’ll put your money in my office until you leave.” James comes forward and I hand over the card with the bills inside. I can’t wait to go on a shopping trip.
A few of the other guys hand over their cards, too, and I can’t help but feel a little giddy as I think about what I can do with that money. Clothes? Books? A bit of both? While I search for a can of soda in the cooler, I start making a mental list of stores I want to check out. Maybe I’ll ask Shay to take me into the city… but then I remember the story about his altercation with the Faceless Ones and I shudder. Nope. Never mind. I’ll stick to town, thank you very much.
As the evening progresses, more of the adults seem to indulge in drinks, but they stay on the patio or by the woods, leaving the center space to us minors. As the sun sets, Aron, Shay’s friend, changes the music from the oldies songs the club members like, to stuff my generation actually knows. The girls and I dance, and by dance, I mean I throw my arms in the air and jump around like crazy. I have zero finesse when it comes to Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, or Kendrick Lamar, and I like to leave ballet at the door when it comes to hip-hop and just let loose. So while the other girls all do their sexy little dances, I’m pretty sure I look like I belong in a mosh pit, but I don’t care. Today is my birthday. I’m going to do what I want.
I look up and see Shay watching me from his hangout spot with his friends, a small smile on his face. I grin wide and wave to him. He laughs and waves back before taking a swig of his beer and turning to his friends. The song changes to something a little slower but I’m panting like crazy and I know my hair is probably a mess. I tuck it behind my ears and stumble from the rest of the girls and mosey over to the patio to grab a water or something to cool down. I slip by the adults who are laughing raucously, red-faced, and joking around. When I spot Mum, I frown when I see she’s nursing a bottle of some sort of rich, amber looking liquid. Drinking. Great. The last thing I want on my birthday is my mother disappearing into the club washroom for the remainder of the night. Disappointment fills my gut like a sickness as I tear my eyes away, grab a bottle of water, and jump off the patio and make my way to the side of the warehouse. I just need to be alone for a minute. Goddamn her.
I lounge against the cool wall of the warehouse, sipping my water, watching everyone having a good time. I wanted this for my birthday… just a nice day, everyone smiling and laughing, no fighting or screaming. Mum and James seemed to fight a lot more frequently as of late. Being at home with them when they get into it creates a huge ball of anxiety in my chest. I don’t know exactly what they fight about, but from what snippets I’d caught, it sounded like a lot of it was to do with the Celtic Beasts.
I don’t get it.
I’ll be honest. I don’t know exactly what James or his club does. He told me once they delve into a few ventures in the border towns around Ashland. Something to do with sales. But when I tried to get more information out of him, he just said it was club business and not to worry about it.
Well, for today at least, I was hoping my mother and stepfather would just be normal and everyone could be happy. But seeing my mum clutch that bottle so tightly back there told me she was hanging on by a thread. My good mood started to dissipate and I sighed heavily, letting my head fall back against the concrete wall. Closing my eyes, I try to distract myself from my brooding thoughts and soon, my mind is filled with a vision that always brings me comfort… piercing blue eyes… that tousled, golden blond hair… that smile that gives me butterflies in my stomach…
“Hey, kiddo.”
My eyes snap open and for a moment, and I’m so grateful I’m standing in the shadows because Shay can’t see me blushing here. He saunters over and leans back against the wall next to me, then wraps a thick arm around my shoulders, bringing me in for a hug. We relax into each other, watching the crowd in silence. I feel special that he’s left his friends to check on me. He always does when he notices I’m drifting away, lost in my own thoughts.
“Anything you want to talk about?” he asks me after a few minutes of silence.
I shrug. “The usual stuff, you know?”
He nods, knowing exactly what I mean. My mum.
“I was hoping that, just for today, she would just let go and enjoy herself.” I bite my bottom lip, willing myself not to cry. “But she’s drinking…”
“Hey,” Shay gives me a little shake. “Look at all these people here.” He gestures with his beer bottle to the crowd. “All of them are here for you.”
I smile weakly up at him and burrow into his side, so grateful for him.
“Well,” he goes on, “Except that Noah prick. He’s here for Kate’s rack.”
I smack Shay’s stomach as I giggle, but am surprised by how hard the muscle is, and I shake off my hand, wincing slightly. “Shut up!” I tell him.
“Wasn’t he the one you were planning on kissing tonight?” he teases and I instantly step away and cross my arms over my chest, glaring up at him.
“I had no plan on kissing anyone!” I say, trying to muster up as much dignity as I can. “He would only be so lucky.”
“That a girl!” he chuckles and gives the end of my braid an affectionate tug. “You don’t need to be worrying about kissing yet. You’re still young.” Even though it’s dark, I can feel his eyes on me, and for some reason, for the first time, I feel incredibly self-conscious of his gaze.
So I laugh lightly, cock a brow at him, and tease, “Oh yeah? When was your first kiss?”