“It’s nice to see you loosen up a bit, Sweetness.” His mouth hovers close to my ear so I can hear him over the music.
I toss back the rest of my drink and slump against him, closing my eyes and smiling as I get comfortable.
Aron lets out a loud laugh. “Lightweight!”
“I’ve never had any alcohol before,” I snap. “Fuck-face,” I add with a sleepy sort of grin.
They all chuckle as footsteps stomp our way. A hand drops on top of my head and I jump in my seat. Tilting my head back, I find myself staring up at James. I smile wide at him and wave. “Hey, stepdaddy!” I say in a sing-song voice. “Where ya been?”
At once, James’ dark brows furrow and he narrows his eyes. He scowls at the three guys hanging out across from us, and then to Shay, who has his arms wrapped around my middle and is resting his chin on my shoulder. “What in the FUCK, Shay?” he growls at him.
Shay grins mischievously and shrugs. “What?”
“Are you kidding? You let her drink? She’s a teenager!”
“Yeah, well, it’s no secret that we all drank when we were even younger than her,” he says, not sounding at all afraid of James. “And besides, it’s her birthday.”
I pout out my lip. “Uh oh, am I in trouble?” Then I burst into a fit of giggles.
James lets out a long, impatient sigh. “Fuck’s sake,” he mutters, “Raya wanted to bring out the cake. Can she even stand to blow out the candles or is she going to face-plant into it?”
“Someone is being a major fuddy-duddy.” I laugh and slap my knee. Seriously, sometimes I’m so witty. I feel Shay chuckle behind me, which only causes me to laugh even more.
“She’ll be fine,” he says, “I’ll hold her up.”
“You feeling okay, Mina?” James’ dark gaze looks worried. Why? I feel great! “You aren’t going to throw up on the cake Raya spent hours making for you, are ya?”
I shake my head and give him a thumbs up. “I’m A-Okay, daddy-o!”
“Oh, God help me…” James shakes his head and glares again at his son. “I’m going to pack up her gifts so she doesn’t fall and crush them. You make sure she doesn’t embarrass herself for the next half hour. Got it? Bull needs me to get a crew together to make a run into town for Elias tonight. You’re responsible for her, so no more drinks!”
Shay salutes him with a chuckle and we watch as he and Uncle Marty start gathering up my presents to load up in the truck.
I look over my shoulder at Shay and pout out my bottom lip again. “I wanted to open those.”
He leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose. “You can tomorrow, once you’re feeling a little mellower.”
I scoff at him and look over at Aron. “I demand sustenance!”
He laughs, tossing his head back. “And what does the birthday girl wish for?”
“Water,” Shay cuts in before I can say anything.
“I want another fruity drink.” Even to my own ears I sound whiny, and I cringe slightly. But it’s my birthday. Shouldn’t I be allowed to do what I want?
“They’re all out of those, Sweetness,” Shay whispers to me.
“Really?” I furrow my brow and glance over at Kate, who is drinking something that looks awfully similar to what I’ve been having. She’s leaning back against a table and Cody has an arm leaning on either side of her, caging her in. I’m momentarily distracted as I watch them, strangely fascinated by their open flirtation. When they kiss, I feel my cheeks flush a little. That would be nice right now. To be at home in my bed, wrapped up with a handsome guy, making out for hours…
When a set of ice blue eyes and beautiful blond hair flashes in my mind, I feel myself settle back against Shay, getting lost for a moment in my daydream. I can still smell the water, feel the sand beneath my feet, and his lips…
“Earth to Mina!” I snap to attention as Aron holds a glass of water in front of my face. He chuckles. “Where did you go just now?”
“Huh? What? I’m right here.” I say, swaying a little on Shay’s lap.
The guys all snigger, but my stepbrother makes me swallow back the entire glass of water, tilting the bottom up so that I can’t even put it down. I choke and cough and shoot him an angry look just as Raya appears with Helen at her side, and several of the other wives and kids, holding a beautiful two tiered pale pink cake, with white pearl buttons along the sides. Shay rises to his feet, holding me around the waist to help me balance, and I listen as everyone in the club breaks out into a loud, boisterous rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’, ending with Leif attempting a long, off-key, rocker impression, complete with bad air-guitar. Aron whacks him on the back of the head and I stand there, swaying slightly, my cheeks turning red as I feel everyone’s gaze on me.
Raya holds the cake out. “Make a wish, sweetheart!”
I stare at the many, glowing candles that are lit upon the top tier, and find myself drifting off in thought. What wish did I want to make? What did I want more than anything in the world?
“C’mon, Mina! We’re dying of old age here!” Billy shouts from somewhere in the back.
I bit my lip, my good mood wavering slightly as I thought about the many things I wanted to wish for… but no amount of wishing would make them come true. Finally, an old wish came to mind… one I’d made four years ago at this very club.
Keenan…
I smile, take a big breath, and blow out the candles in one go.
“Shay, get her fuck out of here. And make sure she takes some aspirin and has some water before she goes to bed.” James glowers angrily at me. I’m sitting on the couch, joined by several of the other girls, Shay, Aron, and Leif. Cody and Kate disappeared some time ago, and Gavin is deeply engaged in a rather intimate looking conversation with Lindsey at the bar. I’m feeling wonderfully light, like I could do anything, carefree, without a single worry on my mind. I’ve been spending the last hour eating cake, talking with the girls while the guys lingered nearby, and laughing harder than I have in ages.
But then, my stepfather decides to be a major buzzkill and ruin the good time I’m having. It’s not even midnight. Why do I have to leave? But before I can protest, Shay suddenly appears before me and easily pulls me up to my feet.
“Say goodbye to everyone, Mina,” he instructs me.
I waggle my fingers at the group and blow a kiss. “Toodle-oo!” I sing to them as Shay chuckles and helps me along. His arm is wrapped around my waist, and he pulls one of my arms up and around the back of his neck, easily lifting my right side into the air. I squeal and laugh, feeling like I’m floating as we move through the throng of people. I hear multiple people wishing me a happy birthday, but I can’t focus on where they’re coming from, so I simply toss my head back and shout, “Thanks everyone! You all rock my socks off!”
“Jesus…” Shay mutters under his breath while the crowd breaks out into laughter, and we move down the long hall that leads outside. My head is swimming, but I’m enjoying myself too much to care. I stumble as we walk down the steps into the parking lot and I let out a loud whoop as my uninjured leg slips on the uneven gravel. Shay keeps me from falling, and practically drags me to the truck.