“Happy Birthday,” they yelled in perfect unison.
“Thank you,” I wheezed, my lungs crushed by Amy’s little arms of steel.
Jet, of course, couldn't stand being left out of the spotlight. He ran over and captured all of us in his arms while humping my leg. Van, Kill, and D came over too, and we became one massive clump. After they’d released me, we lounged in the living room with a box of Voodoo doughnuts, planning what we were going to do.
After breakfast, I went to get ready for the day and call my dad. I deftly avoided talking about Jason.
D gave everyone the day off from practice, and all of us went to the Lloyd center to ice skate. We ended up receiving plenty of dirty looks from the other ice skaters as we linked hands and formed a train around the rink.
Jet skated around, performing in the center of the rink while we cheered him on, making fools out of ourselves along with him. We decided to hang up our skates when the angry stares were notched up to glares. While we walked around the mall, Kill insisted on buying me two amazing pairs of shoes.
We attempted to get away from our well-meaning friends, but they thwarted our effort. I lost count of how many times I reached out to grab his hand, only to pull it away at the last second.
At home, I barely had time to get ready for work, removing any chance I had with Kill until later that night.
Kill was alone on the couch, his eyes lighting up when he spied the new shoes he’d bought me on my feet. He stalked over, but before he reached me, Jet and Amy came in, plopping down on the couch.
Kill ran his hand through his hair in frustration, making me giggle. He glanced up with naughtiness in his eyes.
“You're going to get it. Twenty-four spankings tonight?” he whispered.
My breath hitched, and I could feel the heat flood my cheeks. "Twenty-three," I answered breathlessly.
"Twenty-four. You need one to grow on." He winked and went back to the couch.
A shiver rippled over my skin, his words assaulting every nerve ending. I knew we’d agreed to be friends until I could be truthful with both myself and my family, but I couldn't stop the response I had to him.
Amy hopped onto Jet's lap, putting a gummy bear in her teeth for him to retrieve with his own.
“Ready to go, Slick?” Kill asked, pulling my eyes away from the two candy lovebirds, and onto his mesmerizing ones.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” I said embarrassed by the huskiness in my voice.
I glanced at Jet and Amy, but turned away quickly when I saw Jet’s hand crawl under her shirt.
“I’m going to take you tonight,” Kill said with mischief in his eyes.
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you,” he replied, walking toward me.
Just then, Jessie came downstairs with Van trailing behind her. “Ready to go, Faith?” she asked.
Kill's jaw clenched tightly. I couldn't really tell Jessie no, since we had the same shift, and the boys didn’t normally get there until later. I shot Kill my most apologetic expression as I nodded yes to Jessie.
Van moved in to give Jessie a kiss. She deftly sidestepped his advance. I now understood why Jessie had changed their plans. She must have talked to her parents at some point that day.
Kill nodded his head toward Van, silently telling me he would stay and cheer him up. With no one paying attention, I chanced another look at Kill, shooting him a wink which caught him off guard. My birthday had just become a thousand times better with the knowledge I was able to shock him.
Jessie drove to work with a brooding look on her face.
"Are you and Van fighting?"
She pretended to ignore me for a moment before sighing. "I wish he would just give up on me. It would be so much easier if he would get frustrated and break up with me."
"If you keep this up, he will. You need to either talk to him or let him go, Jess," I told her for what felt like the hundredth time.
She shot me an evil look, but it didn't stop me. It was my birthday, and I was going to give her the gift of my wisdom. "If you would just tell him about your past, he would understand."