Chapter 1 Adela #2
I smooth my dress, adjust the pink pendant, and catch my reflection. I’m glowing, and I’m leaving the closet empty-handed. My parents will question where I disappeared to, and my flushed cheeks might answer the question.
Cody steps closer, brushing one last kiss against my temple.
“Happy Birthday, baby,” he whispers.
I smile and slip toward the door.
My bedroom’s empty of anyone –– thank God –– and the hallway is full of light and distant laughter. My parents are the best hosts I know. I smile to myself at what Cody and I just did.
Then I hear my bedroom door open behind me.
“Cody,” I whisper, scolding him as he steps into the hallway with me. He glances in both directions and shrugs.
“We’re safe.” He grabs my waist, pulling me in. “So, what’re you doing after this?”
I smile up at him. “What do you mean?”
He leans down and says, “Some of the team are getting together.”
I furrow my brows at him and scoff, “That’s far.”
He smiles, looking down the hall. “I can get you back home at a decent time.”
I look up at him, confused. “Why would I want to hang out with the team?”
He shrugs. “There’s a party. It could be fun.”
“And that’s where you’re going after this?”
He nods, leaning in. “Don’t tell your friends.”
I chew my bottom lip. “Maeve could drive me back.”
He calculates that for a moment when she cuts the corner. Wren is elegant with her long neck, narrow shoulders, and a dress that complements her figure.
“There you are,” she scoffs, eyes fluttering. Then she glances at Cody. “What did you do to her?”
Cody ignores her, touching my pink pendant. “Baby? Going once, going twice.”
“They need to sing me Happy Birthday still. Are you really leaving right now?”
He nods, kissing my forehead.
When he walks off, I let out a breath. Wren turns to watch him go.
“Send me the address,” I call out.
He raises his hand and then walks down the stairs.
Wren ignores him and says, “Let’s eat some cake.”
When I’m walking down the steps, I hear Cody’s father trying to convince him to stay. I confess that it’s a bit odd he’s leaving so soon, almost as if he got what he came for and now he’s leaving.
“I have things I need to do. Adela doesn’t mind.”
Maeve and I halt at the middle of the stairs, waiting to hear the front door. When the soft click echoes, the voices resume. When I reach the last step and cut the corner of our second dining room, my mom’s face brightens.
“There she is.”
Maeve smiles. “Found the birthday, girl.”
I flush, embarrassed by the idea that they know why Cody is leaving so suddenly. But there’s no mention of it.
I sit at the head of the table while my dad brings out the cake with twenty-one candles and an extra one for good luck.
When it’s time to blow them out, my mom grabs my shoulder and whispers, “Make a wish.”
I close my eyes and make a wish for the next year of my life.
I want it to be my best year yet, my favorite year, a memorable three-hundred and sixty-five days.
I wish that my transfer from the University of Puget Sound to the University of Washington Seattle will be the best surprise for Cody.
I wish that we only grow closer and start to plan our future together.
I wish my parents would stop holding me to such impossible standards.
I peep over at Maeve, Penelope, Julian, Elena, and Ryan and smile at my favorite people.
I wish for them to remain my best friends, and that nothing changes when I transfer.
After all, they’re the best friends a girl could ever ask for.
Maeve smiles at me like she knows. I force my eyes shut and blow out my candles.
Everyone claps, and I inhale, relaxing my shoulders, as every person I love takes a photo of me. The flash doesn’t hurt my eyes as they all take pictures.
The next thing I know, all six of us are inside of Maeve’s Lexus GX 550 heading to the location that Cody sent to me.
“He’s not going to be happy with me,” I mutter in the passenger seat.
Everyone replies with their own version of: “You could do nothing to make him unhappy.”
We reach a quiet neighborhood on a hill, and when Maeve parks across the street, I stare at the beautiful redbrick home trimmed with black accents. It looks three stories tall, and when I look at the highest window, I see the shadow of a man watching us.
Julian and Penelope are laughing as we step onto the street. Ryan and Elena trail behind them while my blood runs cold with Maeve’s arm wrapped in mine. She opens her umbrella, which makes me chuckle.
“It’s only drizzling.”
“Whose place is this?” she asks, ignoring my teasing.
“Cody didn’t mention.”
I glance up to see if the shadow is still looming in the window. The person’s gone now.
Cody opens the front door, glaring at everyone with disapproval.
“Adela,” he says.
I look up at him.
“What is this?”
“They wanted to come.”
Elena lifts a brow. Penelope says, “Birthday celebrations aren’t over.”
Julian glances at me and then Cody. “We can leave.”
Ryan agrees.
“No,” I mutter. “We’re fed, have our own drinks.” Ryan holds up the champagne we brought from my birthday party. “It’s a party, right?” I flash him a smile.
He steps aside, letting my friends in. I place a hand on his chest and kiss his lips. “Thanks, baby,” I say, kissing him again. He shuts the door behind me and then walks around the party, introducing us to everyone.
“This is what you’ve been hiding from us, Cody?” one of the girls calls out. Her outfit is designer and edgy. Her dark, long-sleeved top shows off her nipples, and the leather barrel pants I recognize from Nour Hammour. I know because I have the same exact pair.
Cody’s brooding and on edge. I gently play with his fingers. I lean in and whisper, “We can leave if you want us to.”
When I pull back, he kisses me. Every single one of my friends catcalls us as we kiss.
Cody leans in and whispers, “I want you to stay.”
Warmth floods me at his undivided attention, even as the party continues around us; he and I are in our own world.
I can’t wait to tell him that I’m transferring to his UW.
Maeve thinks I should wait to tell him. Julian and Ryan warned me that he might not be happy at the surprise, and a piece of me wonders if they spoke about it before.
Cody doesn’t seem keen on socializing with the guys from his team, or maybe it’s because the six of us are here, and he doesn’t want to exclude us.
I hold his hand, hoping that he feels an ounce of what I’m feeling; how it’s nice to have all of us together again.
I’ve ached for this since he transferred.
He kisses my hand like he knows what I’m thinking, and then he pulls me down the hall where no one is and kisses me softly.
“Stay at my place tonight,” he whispers against my lips, pressing his hard cock against me.
My mind flashes with him leaving my birthday party early just to rush here. It doesn’t make sense. I pull away, wetting my lips. He looks down at me, and then a shadow enters the hallway.
“Cody, are you going to introduce us to your friend?”
Cody straightens, turning his head. “She’s my girlfriend.” He turns around, and I look at the guy standing in the hallway. He’s the same one who was looking at us through the window.
“Adela, this is Beckett.”
Beckett glances at me with piercing blue eyes. His dark hair is a stark contrast. “Adela?”
The way he says my name makes my insides twist. All the warmth I felt from Cody dissipates.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Cody looks at me, clearly annoyed. “Beckett wants to take my position.”
I hum, looking over at Beckett. “I’ve heard about you.”
“I’m sure you have,” he mocks.
Serena comes out of nowhere and hugs Beckett from the side. “I see you’ve met the princess.”
Cody inhales impatiently.
I’m not offended by the comment as I look at Beckett, who’s watching me.
“It is my birthday,” I say, lifting a brow at these two who are trying way too hard to make me feel uncomfortable. I smile. A black cat doesn’t fear the dark.
Serena breaks the awkward staring contest between the three of us and says, “Well, let’s get fucking drunk!”
Cody says, “No, I’m taking her home.”
Serena laughs. “You left her shitty party to come here, and now you’re taking her home?”
I look up at Cody, whose face is twisting in anger. I place a hand on his arm, trying to ground him. He grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall to where everyone’s sitting.
“Parties over,” Cody announces.
The temperature in the room drops as they look at Cody and me. I shrug innocently, wishing Cody wouldn’t do this on my birthday. It’s too late for that now. I play with the pendant on my necklace, looking at the few new faces on the couches.
Maeve reads my body language and stands. “Okay. We’re heading out.”
Cody walks with us out the front door and down the driveway. Ryan and Julian aren’t fazed as they continue talking about the yacht they found for sale in Spain. Apparently, Julian thinks it’s a great investment, and Ryan disagrees.
Cody grabs my waist as everyone crosses the street to Maeve’s Lexus.
“Are you coming home with me?” Cody asks.
I shake my head.
He grabs my chin. “Come on. You barely stay the night anymore.”
I grab his hands. “We’ll plan another time, okay?”
He nods and then kisses me.
I look up, noticing Beckett watching us. Cody keeps kissing me goodbye, but my eyes are locked on Beckett, and then Serena looks down at us and laughs.
I pull back. “Okay, I can’t keep them waiting.”
“Call me when you get home.”