“That’s great, Josh.” I’m glad that he has found someone that makes him happy.
“Yeah, all that begging paid off,” he jokes, making all of us laugh. Then he gets serious. “At first she had been kind of apprehensive to trust me but one night everything just came out, stuff about her past, regarding her dad. Then she told me she has wanted to find him for a long time. I told her I would help her out.” He shrugs. “She didn’t want to involve me, but I told her there was no way I was going to let her do it without my help.”
I remember her telling Angel the night after their fight that she had decided to locate him. “Yeah, Angel says she’s always had a problem with all the stuff her mother fills her head with about men,” I say, bouncing my left leg as I continue to lean up against the wall.
“Something wrong?” Tate asks, eyeing my bouncing leg.
I stop the movement. “I don’t like Angel being out without me,” I admit shamelessly.
He chuckles and Josh starts laughing at me as well.
“She has to have a life, Slade,” Micah says, positioning himself in front of the pool table.
“I know that,” I snap. “I just don’t like her going out drinking without me. What if something were to happen to her? There are still so many unanswered questions.” Ever since the break-in and her being attacked, I have not wanted to let her out of my sight.
Micah frowns. “Drinking? Since when did the movie theater start serving alcohol?”
I push off the wall and look at him with my head tilted. “What do you mean the movie theater?”
“They went to see that new chick flick,” Josh chimes in. “I offered to go, but she said it was a girls’ night only. I think Missy even went with them.”
Tate hangs his head as he shakes it. “I knew this was going to happen. Missy will be their best friend before the night is over.”
“She seems like a good kid,” I say, pulling out my phone and sending Angel a text.
Me: Movies?
Is all I send. She texts me back before I can even lay my phone on the pool table.
Angel: J Yes! Sorry to disappoint you. My ass shaking is only for when you are around.
I chuckle.
Me: Better be.
“Exactly. A kid,” Tate counters my previous statement. “She’s not even twenty-one yet.”
“That’s right,” Micah says, snapping his fingers. “That’s why they went to the movies. Holly had mentioned that Missy wasn’t old enough to get into a bar.”
I don’t mention that the first time we all met her was in a bar. That’s the thing about the bars around here; they are not hard to get into when you are underage.
Tate nods his head. I look at Micah as he lifts his beer and throws back half of it. “Are you doing okay?” We have been busy at work, so I have not had a chance to speak to him much lately.
He sets his drink down, shaking his head. “I just needed this guys’ night, is all.”
“Why? Are you and Holly having problems?” I ask.
“Yeah. Well, no, not really,” he sighs out. “It’s just all this wedding stuff. We’re not fighting, but she’s fighting with her mother. And it puts her in a bad mood.”
I lean back against the wall and take a swig of my beer.
“Maybe you should get a wedding planner. Let someone else do it all for you,” Josh suggests.
Micah and I both look over at him as Tate smirks. “What?” He shrugs. “Courtney likes to watch this wedding show and they all have wedding planners,” he defends.
I laugh as Micah continues to stare at him. “Hey, I’m not the only one in the room that does stupid shit to get laid.”
“So true,” I agree before taking another sip of my beer.
“How are you and Sam doing?” Micah asks.
“We’re doing great.” I smile. “Things finally seem to be back on track.”
Tate leans his pool stick up against the wall and walks over to the mini bar. “I think we all need to do a shot,” he says, picking up the bottle of Crown.
“What’s the occasion?” Josh asks.
“Well, I figured since it is just us guys tonight that we could celebrate Slade’s birthday.”
I let out a groan making them all laugh. “You’re turning thirty, not fifty,” Josh teases.
I lean back against the wall and my mind wonders how my life will be in twenty years. The only thing that matters is that Angel is by my side.
“Slade,” Tate says, getting my attention. I look over to him. “Celebrate it. It’s the first birthday you have that you get to share with someone special.”
I grin over at him.
“Aren’t you the romantic?” Micah says, laughing at him.
“I’m the furthest thing from that,” he responds seriously. “Believe me,” he adds looking down at the shot glasses as he fills one at a time.
“Speaking of romantic,” Josh starts, “I know tomorrow is your birthday, but your ring will be ready in the morning. I will bring it with me to the golf course.”
“Can’t wait to see it. Thank you.” I tip my bottle to him.
“When are you going to pop the question?” Tate asks, putting the Crown down.
“I have not thought that far yet.” I shrug. “I guess when she’s in a good mood,” I joke, giving them all a big smile.
They all stare at me with a straight face. “You’re kidding right?” my brother questions.
“Well, I wouldn’t ask her if she was pissed off about something,” I say, obviously. I watch as they just continue to stare at me like I’m a fucking idiot. “I’m just joking guys. I’m also not a romantic, but I’m sure as hell not a fucking moron.” I laugh as I see their faces relax. “I’m still thinking about doing it on Thanksgiving.”
“That would be a good time,” Micah agrees. “You could do it at Mom and Dad’s house like I did with Holly.”
I think back to when he proposed to Holly. I like how everyone was able to witness it, but I think I would like it to be a little more romantic for Angel, like out on the bridge where I gave her the heart shaped necklace.
Tate steps away from the bar and passes out the shots. We start to play pool as the game comes on.
Oklahoma scores within the first three minutes and Tate smiles, walking back over to the bar. “Another round?” he asks.
I shake my head at him. “I’m done.”
“I’ll have one,” Josh pipes in, hanging his head. “I’m afraid Oklahoma is going to kick Alabama’s ass,” he admits.
“Afraid you’re going to have to pay me twenty bucks?” I taunt him.
“No. I’m afraid of all the shit talking Courtney is going to dish out if they win.”
We play several more rounds of pool as we continue to watch the game. It’s third quarter when Angel walks downstairs.
“You guys having fun?” she asks as she wraps her arm around me.
“No.” Josh sighs. “I’m getting my ass kicked.” He gestures to the pool table.
“Just like Alabama,” I say, looking at the TV.
“I had to keep nudging Courtney during the movie because she kept checking the score on her phone,” Angel tells us, pulling away from me.
Josh smiles before he lays his pool stick on the table. “I’m going to head home.”
“Me too,” Tate agrees, doing the same.
“Guess that means I’ll go home as well,” Micah says, sounding like he would rather stay.
Angel and I follow them to the front door. They all walk out to their cars and Angel walks outside with a scowl on her face. “Tate, isn’t it too cold out for you to be riding your bike? And where is your helmet?” She places her hands on her hips.
“I like the cold air,” he replies, getting onto his bike. “And I already told you. I don’t wear a helmet.”
She begins to speak but he revs the engine and waves before driving off. I grab her by the hand and pull her inside before she starts screaming at him over the sound of his bike.
; “How was the movie?” I ask, shutting the front door.
“It was fantastic.” She gets a dreamy smile on her face.
“Oh yeah? Tell me about it.”
“It was about this man who falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend. She ends up cheating on her boyfriend with his brother. The boyfriend finds out about it and beats the shit out of the brother. Then the original brother goes out and gets drunk and ends up driving his car into a creek, where he drowns. Then, come to find out the girl is pregnant and she doesn’t know who the daddy is.” She smiles. “They left it open for a sequel,” she adds excitedly.
I stare at her as she recalls the movie. “That sounds like the shittiest story I have ever heard,” I finally say. “And depressing.”
“Oh, I cried my eyes out,” she admits, giving me a smile before she walks off toward our bedroom.
I shake my head. I swear, I will never figure out how a woman’s mind works or why they want to watch such sad shit.
I head downstairs to pick up all the trash and turn off the TV. Once done with that, I walk into our bedroom. “Angel?” I say as I face the foot of our bed and start to unbutton my shirt.
“Happy early birthday, baby.”
I turn around and see her standing in the doorway to the bathroom. She’s wearing a white pair of high-heels and a white bra with diamonds along the edges with a matching lace thong.
Her hair is up in a bun with a few stray pieces down around her face.
“What are you doing?” I can’t help but ask as she stands there with a naughty smile on her face.
“I thought we could celebrate your birthday as we break in the new bed,” she says before she starts walking toward me. “How do you feel about that?”
I place my hands on her hips and pull her toward me. “I think that sounds like a fantastic idea as long as you don’t say the word birthday,” I reply, leaning down to kiss her. I’m in the mood to make love to her tonight.
“Whatever you want.” She pushes her body into mine.
“What I want is to make love to you on our new bed.” She grabs my hand and leads me over it.
She lies down and I position myself on top of her. “Show me,” she whispers. “Show me how much you love me.”
My eyes roam her beautiful face and bright green eyes. I don’t think I could ever put how much I really love her into words or actions. But I think asking for her hand in marriage will be a great start.
I wake up and quietly get out of bed so I don’t wake Angel. I make my way to the kitchen and start some coffee. I lean back against the countertop as I let out a long sigh. I already feel older. My back hurts, which could just be from the sex we had last night. I don’t know how we managed it, but we ended up rolling off the bed. Good thing my body saved Angel from hitting the floor. That also probably contributed to the pounding headache I have right now.
I push off the counter and turn around to pour myself a cup of coffee. Angel gets my attention when she all but runs into the kitchen. “Happy birthday!”
I groan as I lean back against the sink. She stands in front of me with a little smile on her soft lips. “Did you notice I didn’t say thirt—?”
I place my hand over her mouth to quiet her before the entire word gets out. She looks up at me and I feel a smile on the palm of my hand.
Taking my hand away, I wrap my arms around her lower back. “Okay, I won’t say it.”
“That naughty smile you have on your lips says otherwise.”
She pulls back and looks at me as if offended. “No faith.”
I laugh and pull her closer to me. “Oh, I have faith.”
“You know what the best thing about a birthday is?”
I shake my head no.
“Birthday morning sex.” She bites her bottom lip seductively. I reach down with both of my hands and grab her ass. I lift her up and she wraps her legs around me as I step away from the counter.
Walking backward, I sit her on top of the island. I lean down, shoving my head in the crook of her neck, and inhale her scent. “That sounds like a great idea.” I place my hands on her thighs and run them up her soft tan legs. Reaching the hem of my shirt, I raise it up over her head.
“I love it when you wear my shirts,” I mumble into the crook of her neck as my hand wanders and I discover she has no panties on. “And only my shirts.” I reach up with the other hand, pulling her neck back.
“I love it when I can smell you on me,” she whispers.
I growl before I lightly nibble on her collarbone. I push my now hard cock against her and she whimpers.
Her hands go to my waistband and she starts to push down my sweatpants.
My phone interrupts us. “You should get that,” she suggests as it continues to ring.
“No. They can call back later.” Just as I finish speaking my cell quits ringing. I smash my lips to hers and the house phone starts.
She giggles. “Get the phone. You can meet me in the shower,” she says, pushing me back then jumping down from the counter. I slap her on the ass as she walks away. I pick up the phone when I see it’s my mother. Let the birthday calls begin.
“It’s finished,” I announce, pulling Slade’s birthday cake out of Vivian’s oven.
“How long will it take you to decorate?” Holly asks, looking at the clock on the stove.
I shrug. “I don’t know. This is my first time to try this, so there is still a possibility it will end up in the trash,” I joke, making Missy laugh.
“Well, hopefully it doesn’t take too long. The guys will be back in two hours,” Vivian reminds me, placing everything I need onto the island before she walks out of the kitchen.
I guess it is a family tradition for Mark to take Slade to hit golf balls on his birthday. When I first heard of this last week, I thought they were crazy. Who plays golf in November? Then I was informed that there is an indoor golf simulator driving range somewhere in the city. So Slade, Mark, Micah and Josh went to practice their swing with pretend golf balls. They invited Tate but he had to help me get Slade’s birthday present this morning. He promised me he would be at the game tonight though. The game where I am having Slade’s surprise party.
“Where did you find this recipe at?” Missy inclines her head, gesturing to the cake in my hands.
“I just started Googling cake with beer recipes and found it.”
“I bet it will taste fantastic,” Courtney says excitedly.
“Well, of course you would since you’re an alcoholic,” Holly pipes in, smirking.
Courtney places her hand on her hip as if offended. “I am not,” she retorts with a smile on her face.
Slade’s favorite beer is Bud Light. I wanted to do something different for his birthday cake. So I did some research on cakes and found a Bud Light cake recipe, where you add the beer to the batter. I made it in the shape of a football, and now I am about to decorate it with Rams’ colors.
“I’m surprised he hasn’t found out about tonight,” Vivian says.
“Me too,” I agree. “I left the Rams’ schedule out on purpose for him to see it was a home game. He told me that he wanted to go and I brushed it off, but I am just so excited that my plan worked.”
“How are you going to get him there without knowing about the surprise party?” Missy asks.
I frown because I have yet to figure that part out. “I’m going to wing it,” I tell them, because that is the best that I can come up with right now.
All of us girls laugh and start talking about our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas as I decorate the cake. It makes me think about my parents. I used to spend half of the day on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with my father. The last five years had been torture during the holidays, being on my own. But I am looking forward to spending it with my new friends that I have come to love as if they are my family, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
“That is amazing,” Missy praises, leaning over the counter, looking down at the football shaped cake as I a
m inspecting my icing job.
“I should have tried a piece of it.” I frown. “What if it tastes like ass?”
Missy looks up at me. “Well, I’ve never tasted ass, so I will not be able to make that comparison.”
Everyone laughs out loud at how serious she is. Courtney walks up behind her and places a hand on her shoulder. “One day a guy will come along and leave that taste in your mouth,” she says, still laughing. “Just wait.”
Missy’s blue eyes get big as she stares at me for clarification. “She means a man will make you want to vomit,” I explain before I lick icing off of my finger.
Missy smiles as she pushes her black rimmed glasses up on her nose.
“I once felt that way about Slade,” I say with a smile on my face. “All the women.” I shudder. “Man, he drove me nuts. Well, he still does, just for different reasons now.”
Vivian smiles as she enters the kitchen. “I just spoke with Mark. The boys are still hitting balls.” She looks down to the cake. “Wow. That is amazing, Samantha. You should quit the bar and work at a bakery.”
Everyone gets quiet as I stare over at Holly then to Courtney.
“Actually. My last day at the bar is next weekend.” I beam up at Vivian.
“Oh my gosh. Why didn’t Slade tell me you were quitting Larry’s?”
“Because I haven’t told him yet,” I state simply.
She lets out a little laugh. “Well, I want to be there when you tell him.”
“What am I going to do without you?” Holly sighs dramatically. “I’m going to be so lonely.”
“That’s right, bitch,” Courtney taunts with a smile on her face. “Now I get her all to myself. Be very jealous.”
“Oh, I am.” Holly nods.
I hear someone’s ringer chime and I see Missy look down at her phone. “Hey, what are our plans after the game?” she wonders aloud, looking up from her phone.
I shrug. “I guess whatever Slade wants to do. Why?”
“Because my brother is in a band and they’re playing tonight if you guys want to go out afterward.”
“Oh.” Courtney sits down next to her. “What does he play?”
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