Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
Abby
“Are you ready yet?” Riley asks from where I’m guessing she’s still perched on the side of my bed. She can’t see me, but I roll my eyes anyway.
She came over to get ready with me before my birthday dinner with the girls and Cole. He grumbled about being the only man in attendance, but Riley quickly put a stop to it. I have no desire to know what tactics she used.
I poke my head out of the bathroom. “Hey…. It’s my birthday. I can take as long as I want.”
She groans, flopping back onto the mattress. I chuckle and go back to putting the last touches on my makeup.
Riley’s still lying down with her arms out at her sides when I walk back into my room. “Okay, Ms. Dramatic. I’m ready.”
“Finally,” she groans, pulling herself up to stand. She has to partially roll onto her side to make it happen. “I’m not even that big yet, and my abs have forgotten how to work.”
“Pregnancy is such a beautiful time,” I say sarcastically, but the words ring true. There are a lot of difficult things about pregnancy, but at the end of the journey, you’re given a tiny person you love more than anything.
On our way out of the house, I grab the bracelet Mav gave me for my birthday. It’s a bunch of silver chains strung together with pink stones in different shades scattered about.
It’s perfect. The thing I love about it most, though, is that he picked it out. I’ll think of him every time I look at it.
As soon as I climb into the front seat, Riley hands me a blindfold and a pair of noise-canceling headphones. “What the fuck is this for?” I ask, confused.
“Just put it on.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
“I’m the birthday girl. You have to tell me,” I say, cocking my head to the side.
“I’m pregnant. That trumps birthday every time.”
I glare at her for a minute but give in.
“I don’t get why this is necessary, since I know where we’re going for dinner… but whatever.” I slide the black silk over my eyes, then pause. “Do you use this for sexy time?”
Her silence echoes around the car’s interior.
I pull the fabric up to peek at her. “Riley?”
“I washed it,” she says, smirking.
“Fuck my life,” I groan, letting it fall back over my eyes.
The headphones snap into place, drowning out the sound of her laughter. With nothing else to do, I let my head sink into the headrest as she starts to drive.
My mind wanders to the same place it always does recently. Kane. Linc. Wyatt.
The night with Linc was almost a week ago, and I still can’t get a single second of it out of my mind. It’s ingrained in my very being, just like every other moment I’ve spent with them.
I’m excited about tonight, but I’m a little disappointed I won’t get to spend any of my birthday with the three of them. Even if it would just be as friends, it feels wrong to not see them today.
They all texted me at some point throughout the day, but I can’t fight the voice inside me saying it isn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
Pulling in a deep breath, I try my best to let it go. I’m going to just appreciate a fun night with some of my favorite people.
If I wasn’t so lost in my thoughts, I might have realized the car had come to a stop, and my door was pulled open.
I yelp, jerking back into the seat when a hand rests on my forearm. It isn’t Riley’s hand, that’s for damn sure.
Too big… and rough.
The headphones are moved an inch from my ear. “It’s me.” Cole’s voice rings through my ears before the headphones snap back into place.
I relax, knowing it’s him. He helps me step from the car. As soon as I’m steady on the ground, I smack his chest. I can feel him vibrating with laughter.
He just wraps his arm around me, guiding me forward. I have no idea where we are, but I trust Cole not to steer me straight into oncoming traffic.
He helps me up a few steps, then stops me. The headphones are removed. The sound rushing back in at once is almost dizzying.
A faint rock song. Clinking glasses. Quiet voices.
Gentle hands that I’m assuming are Riley’s pull the blindfold free. I have to squint as the brightness assaults my eyes.
Confusion settles in first as I realize we’re not at the steakhouse. We’re at Benny’s.
An explosion of “surprise” and “happy birthday” rings out around me. A sea of familiar faces smiles back at me, but I can only focus on the three men standing behind the bar.
Their eyes are locked on me, and despite the chaos in the room, I can’t look anywhere else.
I’m quickly engulfed in hugs from people who I am genuinely happy to see, but I don’t feel like I can actually breathe until I’m standing in front of them.
Wyatt is the first one to pull me in for a hug. “Happy birthday,” he says, smacking a kiss to my forehead.
I hold him close, trying to absorb a bit of the sunshiny happiness he always seems to radiate.
I’m shuffled over to his brother next. I haven’t been face-to-face with Linc since he walked me to my door in the wee hours of the morning.
The intensity in his eyes matches the energy radiating from the memories of that night.
His lips brush over the shell of my ear. “Happy birthday, angel.”
There are a million things I want to say to him, but I settle for, “Thank you.” It isn’t the time or the place, but even if the setting was different, I don’t know if the things floating through my mind should even be said.
His hand ghosts down my back, setting shivers loose in my extremities.
Kane pulls me against his chest in a hug that is pure comfort. He has the ability to set my nerves alive with desire and settle my soul with his unflappable presence.
“I can’t believe you guys did this,” I say.
“Of course we did. It’s your birthday, and you’re…” He pauses for a second. “It’s you.”
He doesn’t need to elaborate. I’m pretty sure I get what he means because I feel the same way about each of them.
The eighties pop song plays through the speakers, sending electricity through my veins. I can’t keep the smile from my face as I spin in a circle, surrounded by my girlfriends.
Linc grumbled about my poor music choices, but he said he would let it go tonight since it was my birthday. He did firmly promise to teach me to appreciate good music, whatever that means.
If he’s the one teaching, though, I won’t resist.
I catch Wyatt’s eye from across the room, and I use my finger to motion him toward me. His grin is devilish as he crosses the room.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Dance with me?” I ask, a little out of breath.
He doesn’t use words to answer, just grabs one of my hands in his. He extends my arms over my head, spinning me in a circle, then jumps around with all of us, singing the lyrics.
The feeling inside my chest threatens to explode, and everyone is going to see exactly how I feel about this man who is unabashedly dancing his heart out just to make me smile.
The song morphs into something slower and more sensual. His fingertips graze down the inside of my arms that are still extended over my head.
They continue their perusal, landing on my hips. His grip is gentle as he pulls me into him, so nearly every part of us is touching.
I rest my hands on his shoulders, sliding my fingers through his hair. I lose track of the song and the people moving around us. He and I are the only ones that exist in this moment.
Being this obvious with Wyatt is probably a horrible idea, but I’m sure everyone here tonight has already seen through the facade of our friendship, to some degree.
“Are you having a good birthday?” he asks against my ear.
“The best.”