CHAPTER ELEVEN
Surprise
VANESSA
My birthday has sucked so far.
Normally when you have a milestone birthday, like turning twenty-one and being able to legally drink with all of your friends, you usually go out and celebrate.
But of course, my life is not normal.
This week started off so strong, and then as soon as the clock hit midnight, my luck went out the window.
My day started with my alarm not going off, which made me late to the arena. Luckily Coach Wilson was too busy yelling at the boys to notice me slipping in ten minutes late.Coach decided to host a last-minute practice before our away game this weekend. I thought the boys already had it tough waking up early two days out of the week, but these random drills and training they have to do would be the death of me.
After practice, I tried editing a video to upload to the Wolves’ website, and my entire computer crashed. Thinking the day couldn’t get worse, I decided I deserved a treat. Not only because my morning had been shit, but it’s also my birthday.
Aren’t good things supposed to happen to you on your birthday?
I thought my bad luck had finally stopped. My latte was free since the campus coffee shop gives you a free drink on your birthday, and I got an email from my professor saying that our print lab will be closed for maintenance so now I can spend my Friday at home watching a movie for my film class. I was too excited about my lab being cancelled that I tripped over the sidewalk and spilled the entirety of my drink all over my jeans.
Thus, ending my short-lived good luck streak.
The only positive to my day was that Levi witnessed it all happen and offered to drive me home.
“You really are a clutz, huh?”
I lean my head on the passenger window. “I think my birthday is cursed.”
He laughs at me. “I think you’re dramatic. Does the birthday girl want a burger before I drop her off?”
I haven’t eaten anything all day, and the only treat I got for myself, I spilled. A burger sounds like heaven right now.
“Yeah.” I look at him with my best puppy-dog eyes. “And maybe a milkshake too.”
Levi shakes his head. “You’re lucky it’s your birthday.”
The two of us have become a lot closer since I’ve been working with the team. Even though it’s only been a couple of weeks, our friendship came easy. It helps that we both enjoy photography and have a class together.
Levi is probably the only friend I’m going to see today.
Sydney and Maddie are both studying at the library. They have midterms coming up, so they’ve been living there all week. I highly doubt that they’ll be home before midnight, considering I fell asleep before they got home last night.I can’t blame them for studying, even though this means our regular birthday tradition must be put on hold.
This might be the first birthday I spend solo. No birthday tradition, no awkward family dinner. Just, silence.
I usually loathe going to my birthday dinner with my parents, but this year, I’m a little upset knowing that they willingly booked a vacation instead of coming to see me. I know our relationship isn’t the best, but this was the one day a year that was mine. The three of us would sit at a table and talk with no distractions or other family members present. Even if they spend the whole dinner criticizing my life, at least I’m not alone.
It’s fine, I don’t need them. I’ve never needed them.
When I get back from Vermont, the girls and I will properly celebrate with Thai food and a movie, and I’ll forget what a shitshow today was.
I go through some of the notes I’ve made with Coach Wilson about the sport. I’ve asked him to teach me a little so that way when I’m updating the website and their socials, I don’t sound like a complete moron.Before, I never would’ve understood what someone meant when they said a player scored a hat trick or got a penalty for slashing.At least now I won’t seem so oblivious and hopefully it’ll help gain brownie points with the team.
I wonder what the team is up to tonight.
Besides Levi, no one else has wished me a happy birthday.
I didn’t expect any of them to know it was my birthday, but Jake and Kieran both knew. I thought that the former would for sure make a big deal about it and find a way to embarrass me in front of everyone. But nothing.The only thing I’ve gotten this week are random texts and phone calls from Jake asking me ridiculous questions about myself.The other day he called me and asked if I’d rather drink rum and cokes or Jell-O shots for the rest of my life. What the hell was that about?
The questions only got weirder after that.
Maybe Jake is free tonight. Is it lame of me to want to hang out with him even though he aggravates me to no end? There’s just something about him that makes him so charming. Everything from his stupid fluffy brown hair that he’s always messing with, to his blue eyes that literally trap you every time you’re speaking with him, no matter what I do or say to him, he always finds a way to make himself so damn alluring.
Vanessa
Hey, what are you up to tonight? Do
you wanna do something? We could
go to the movies or something?
I mean, it is a Friday night, I highly doubt he’s sitting on the couch doing nothing, like me.
Jake
Hey, sorry busy tonight. See u tomorrow bright n early.
Hope you’re ready for karaoke.
Figures.
That’s fine, I can have a relaxing night all to myself. There’s nothing wrong with being in your own company.
But maybe I should get out of the house. I can look over my notes tomorrow on the road.
I could go to the mall and get myself a birthday present.That would at least kill an hour or two of my day. My parents sent me money to get myself whatever I wanted for my birthday, as if that makes up for their absence. Mom normally buys me an expensive gift I’d never want, but this year I guess she decided to finally give up.
Last year I asked my parents for a new lens extension for my camera, and instead my mom bought me this white Chanel bag that probably cost her more than triple the amount of the extension. I ended up giving the purse to Maddie because I had absolutely no use for it, and I saw how much she loved it the second I showed it to her.
Maybe I’ll go out and get myself the extender for my camera, take a nice photo of it, and send it to my parents. I hope that ruins their vacation—seeing their daughter spending their money on her pointless hobby as they would say.
I think it’s time for a change of scenery. The mall, maybe stop at a coffee shop on my way home and treat myself to a chocolate croissant.
That doesn’t sound bad at all.
Sydney and Maddie surprised me, coming home early from their intense study sesh. They decided to tag along with me to the mall.
Surprisingly, the mall wasn’t too packed for a Friday evening. I got the Sony 2.0X Teleconverter for my camera, and this will be great to use this weekend at the upcoming away game.
The girls decided to give up on studying for the rest of the evening so we can bar hop before I leave. Nothing too crazy since I have to be up early tomorrow, but at least this gives us something to do.
We’re about to leave the mall, all of us with a few bags in our hands, when we pass by a salon. A wild thought races through my head.
What if.
Twenty minutes later, we’re in the car and I found myself with a fresh new haircut. Nothing drastic, I’m not that crazy. I added some layers and curtain bangs for more depth, feeling a little bit better about myself.
“You guys promise we’re going to have a chill night, right? Nothing crazy, no strip clubs—especially not after what happened last time.”
Sydney laughs at my question. “Oh come on, Ness. Have some faith in me.”
“To be fair, the last time I let you plan a girl’s night out, two strippers ended up driving us home and Maddie got a bloody nose from that girl who was elbowing her way to the front.”
“Oh my god, I almost forgot about that!” Maddie snorts from the front seat. “What was that, end of freshman year?”
“Yes! It was after Sydney got us those fake IDs and the strip club was the first place to let us in.”
“Yeah, what a wild night.” Sydney sighs as she pulls into our parking garage. “But don’t worry. Tonight is lowkey. We’re going to go out, have a couple drinks, and be home before midnight. That way you won’t scare the boys with your cranky attitude tomorrow morning.”
Thinking of the road trip tomorrow reminds me of what Kieran told me. I wonder if Jake is actually going to sing the entire way. If I’m going to be subjected to twenty singing male athletes tomorrow, I’m going to need some noise-canceling headphones.
Within an hour of being home, the three of us get ready quickly and head out the door. I picked out a pair of light denim jeans that don’t have any rips in them—because most of my wardrobe consists of mom jeans or one’s with tears. I also got this gorgeous white corset top with small, ruffled sleeves and it ties together in the back. It’s something simple but the ruffled sleeves give it more of an elevated look.
“Is there a plan for tonight or are we just picking a random bar to start?” I ask. I like to make a game plan for outings.
Sydney glances at me in the rearview mirror. “We’re only going to one place tonight to make it easy for us. But I have to stop at Nate’s to grab something.”
We park along the curb in front of a row of brownstones. I see the familiar green garden gnome on their front porch, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about stealing it.
Maddie and Sydney unclip their seat belts. “Are you gonna come in and say hi? I’m sure Jake’s here.”
“He said he was busy tonight, so I highly doubt it.” I unbuckle my seat belt, following my friends inside.
Sydney walks in as if she owns the place, but I guess if her brother lives here, she must’ve done this a few times. I follow closely behind, the inside of the house seeming so dark when it’s barely after sunset.Do they not believe in turning lights on?
“SURPRISE!”
Shouts and cheers come from all over the room as the light flicks on.
The living room is packed with most of the guys from the team, and standing in the center of the room is Jake with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Sydney and Maddie stand beside him, but his tall frame makes him stand out. He’s wearing black jeans with a white T-shirt and his hair is tucked into his baseball cap that he has turned backward. Why does he always look so damn charming?
Above the doorway leading to the kitchen, there’s a huge hand-painted banner that reads Happy Birthday, Vanessa! and there are balloons and streamers all across the room in my favorite colors—green and yellow.
I can’t believe this. I am speechless.I hate surprises, like absolutely loathe them, but this is some grand gesture type shit.How do I say thank you and I hate you at the same time?
“Happy birthday, Nichols.” Jake walks up and wraps me in a hug. His tall stature engulfs me in a bear hug. “Are you surprised?”
“Yeah, you could definitely say that.”
“Good, this took all week to plan. I’m lucky Maddie and Sydney were able to help me.”
“It was so hard to keep this from you!” Sydney squeals while pulling me into her own bone-crushing hug.
“Jake thought of it the other day when we were at breakfast,” Maddie confesses from behind me.
He planned all of this in less than a week?
I guess that would explain all his random questions and why my friends were barely home.And here I thought that my friends were busy studying.Who needs stuffy, rich, judgmental parents when I have people this amazing in my life.
Jake grabs my hand and starts guiding me through the crowd of people. Everyone wishes me happy birthday as Jake drags me through the house.
“There are video games in the living room. The boys even made up a Mario Kart tournament for us. And in the kitchen, we have what I call the Vanessa special.”
The kitchen is filled with an assortment of food and drinks. Their dining room table is littered with boxes of pizza, multiple bags of salt and vinegar chips, along with plain for those who clearly have no taste, and a dessert tray full of brownies. Near the fridge they have a selection of sparkling water to choose from and a station for people to make their own version of my favorite drink—rum and coke .
My brain can’t seem to form any words. The amount of time and effort he put into tonight, making a menu of all my favorite foods, getting everyone to play my favorite video game. He even decorated the house in my favorite colors.
Why would he do something like this for me?
“Thank you, Jake. I—I don’t know what to say.”
“Hey, no worries. We obviously had to celebrate your birthday. You’re fucking twenty-one, that’s a milestone birthday.”
“This is all so perfect.”
How do I tell him that this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me? Not even my own parents made an effort to see me on my birthday, but this guy who I’ve only known for a short time, organized a whole damn surprise party for me.
“I was having such a bad week. And this…” I gesture around the room. “All of this made it so much better.”
Is this the moment where we start becoming best friends and I spill my whole life and feelings to him?
Word vomit incoming.
“My parents and I have a crappy relationship, but they really showed their disinterest in me this year. They planned a vacation instead of coming to see me. So I’ve been feeling kinda shitty about it all.”The words barrel out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Where the hell did that come from and why did I feel the need to share that thought with Jake all of a sudden?
Jake’s brows furrow in a concerned look. “Ness, that really sucks. I’m sorry that they’re neglecting you. ’Cause honestly, that’s a fucked-up thing to do, especially on your birthday.” His voice is smooth and sincere.“C’mon, let’s go into the living room. I’m sure Eli wants to start the tournament, he hasn’t shut up about it all day.”
I follow behind him, grabbing a rum and coke on our way out of the kitchen.
For a house full of college guys, their house is fairly organized. Even though most of the brownstones in the area have similar layouts, theirs seems a bit more spacious. Their living room has a huge brown leather sectional in the center, and along the main wall there’s a giant entertainment system fit with a flat-screen TV in the middle. They have little touches here and there that just shout man cave . There are three decent-sized beanbag chairs in front of the TV and they have shelves around the entertainment center filled with various video games for different gaming systems. I guess they all have different tastes in games.
“All right, this is how it’s going down. Four players in each race. Everyone is equipped with the same style car so it’s even for everyone. Whoever loses is out and has to take a shot. We’ll keep alternating the fourth player until the last race, and at the end, the winner gets to assign ten shots to whoever they want. Any questions?”
He’s swapped his sweet Southern twang for a more serious tone. It’s cute watching him become so serious for such a simple game.
I’m very competitive and something these guys don’t know about me is I fucking love my Nintendo Switch. I got it a few years ago as a Christmas present to myself, and I’ve forced Sydney and Maddie to play games with me whenever I can. These boys have no idea what they’re in for.
“Ness, sit over here with me.” Jake grabs my hand and pulls me over to one of the beanbag chairs set on the floor. It’s almost big enough for the two of us, but half of my butt is definitely in his lap.
I should move.
But I don’t.
“All right, we’re up first,” Sydney announces as she plops into the chair next to us. “Nate, get your tall ass over here. You’re playing with me, Maddie, and Ness.”
Nate looks over his shoulder from the other end of the living room and huffs. I know Sydney loves to push her brother’s buttons.
Jake repositions himself next to me and has his back leaning against the couch so he’s in more of an upright position. Eli passes all of us a controller and we start the first race. After forcing Maddie and Sydney to play with me so much, the three of us easily crush Nate. As we all cross the finish line on the last lap, I jump up from the chair on the ground.
“Take that, Nathan! Loser takes a shot. Even the captain doesn’t get to back out on this one.”
Did I mention that I’m very competitive?
He stands up and towers over me. What is it with all hockey men being so freaking tall?Nate’s eyes are so similar to his sisters, except his hazel eyes have more of a deep brown that just blazes right through you. When he stands like this, it gives him such an intimidating glare. Maybe I should keep my competitive side to myself.
“You’re lucky it’s your birthday, Nichols.” He grabs a shot off the tray on the coffee table and knocks it back without making a face. It’s like the alcohol had zero effect on him.
Nate passes his controller to the next person in the tournament, Eli, who seems way too excited to play this game with us. Unfortunately, we crush his high spirits and, just like the first game, the girls prevail.
Race after race, each guy seems to be taking a shot while Sydney, Maddie, and I remain in the beanbag chairs, waiting for the next loser to join us.We play about ten races until finally we’re down to the last two. Kieran and Jake. I feel like they conveniently placed themselves last in the roster so that they have a better advantage. It gives them the opportunity to watch how we play and see whatever weaknesses we have.But the jokes on them, we don’t have any.
Kieran sits on the couch behind Maddie. “All right, girls, it’s time to taste defeat for the first time tonight.”
“You better watch what you say, Kieran, things tend to come back to bite you in the ass.” Maddie’s comment causes the whole room to fill with laughter.
Within the first lap, Kieran gets the jump on us, swerving in between us and holding onto items until the perfect moment. It isn’t until the last lap, the three of us team up and strategically push him back into last place.
“Fuck! That’s bullshit, you three shouldn’t be able to team up on people. Ref, what the hell was that?” Kieran looks to Eli, who’s sitting on the couch, dumbfounded that the three of us have single-handedly crushed almost their entire team.
Eli shakes his head. “Sorry, man, it’s a fair game. Also, there’s no referee in racing, dumb ass. Now take your shot like the rest of us, give Jake your controller, and sit your ass down.”
Jake stands up and grabs the controller from Kieran’s hands and replaces it with a shot from the tray. Kieran grumbles something under his breath about how this is stupid and plops down next to Nate and Eli on the couch, tossing the shot back as if it’s nothing.
Jake comes back to sit next to me again, but this time, instead of leaning against the couch, he’s moved so we’re shoulder to shoulder. How have I not noticed his cologne before right now? The scent is warm and summery, like leather mixed with coconut, reminding me of the smell of the wind on a beach.
Snap out of it.
“Hey, Jake, doesn’t Ness look smoking hot with her new hair?” Sydney loves playing devil’s advocate, but I know she’s only saying that to try to distract Jake. It’s one of her go-to tactics—sidetrack your biggest opponent so they don’t get an advantage.
Jake looks me up and down, but his eyes linger on my new hair. “Hell yeah, you look great. I’m really digging those li’l angel wings.”
He brings his hand up to my face and twirls my bangs around his finger. Angel wings?
“You mean my curtain bangs?”
“Sure, but angel wings sounds better.”
Hmm, angel wings, that’s cute. I feel like that’s the only term we should use for curtain bangs now.
“All right, angel girl, ready to get your ass beat?” His new nickname for me throws me off guard and sends a shiver down between my thighs.
I quickly collect myself; I hope he didn’t notice the effect he had on me. “You wish, Shepherd.”
Before I realize it, the race has started, and Jake completely distracted me with his comment. Oh, he’s good . He knew exactly how to distract me so he could get the upper hand.I refocus on the game, intent on winning the final race and declaring myself undefeated, but Jake is making it difficult. Out of all of the guys we’ve played with, Jake seems to be the only one besides Kieran who might be competition for Sydney, Maddie, and I. Jake stays in the lead, constantly getting power-ups at the perfect time to deflect anything that we throw at him. On this track he seems to know every shortcut and exactly where to drift.
It’s the last lap and there’s not much time left to catch up to Jake, and I do not want to lose. I’ve spent all night beating everyone in this house at this colorful cartoon game.
I. Refuse. To. Lose.