Page 33 of Coastal Runaway

I expected the team to disperse but everyone stayed seated. Maeve stood and wore a goofy grin that instantly made me think that she was up to no good.

“I think you’re forgetting about something, captain.” She winked at me before pulling out her phone. Suddenly the tune for Happy Birthday came roaring out of the speakers above the practice field and two of the guys approached me with a gift bag.

“You guys didn’t have to do anything.” I blushed, taking the bag.

“Like we’d forget your twenty-first birthday,” Maggie teased with an eye roll, “go on, open it!”

Looking around at the team that I loved so much, I opened the bag and looked down. Inside was a neatly folded piece of material covered in black marker. I unfolded it to reveal the school flag covered in a ton of signatures.

Looking closer, the flag was covered edge to edge with thoughtful and loving messages from the members of the team. One by one, each team member came up to give me a hug and wish me a happy birthday.

I felt the tears before I could register that I was crying. I didn’t deserve this kind of love and respect; the feeling was overwhelming.

“Thank you guys so much. This means a lot to me,” I said while wiping my eyes.

“There's one more thing!” Maeve handed me another bag, this one suspiciously tall and skinny. I reached my hand in and pulled out a bottle of Casa Azul tequila that had a distressed looking blonde barbie doll with smudged makeup wrapped about the neck of the bottle. I burst into laughter at the sight of the hungover doll.

“We better see all of your shining faces tonight! Party starts at 8!” Maeve yelled as everyone started packing their things.

Nolan and I would turn twenty-one at midnight tonight and we were celebrating by throwing a party at the house. At midnight anyone who was of age was going out to an exclusive, invite-only, night club named Anonymous.

You’re given a mask at the entrance that you had to wear to keep your identity hidden. The club was very popular with celebrities due to its exclusive nature and ambiguity. Lucky for us my dad was able to make a call, and the club was more than happy to extend us an invitation and set aside a table for the KavTech dynasty.

After grabbing our bags we left the practice field and headed towards Baby Blue. I went to open the driver side door when Meave stepped in front of me. “Not so fast,” she held out her hand out, “keys, please.”

I scoffed, “and why would you be driving us home?” I tipped an eyebrow and kept the keys tight in my fist. If there was any person in this family that was worse at driving than me, it was Maeve. She had totaled so many cars that dad put her on a two-year ban of getting her a new one.

“Becauseeeee,” she dragged out the word, “we're not going home.” She snatched the keys out of my hand and put her hands on my shoulders, guiding me around to the passenger side door. “We’re going to pamper you and buy you a new outfit for your big LA club debut! Now get in!”

With a reluctant sigh, I got into the car. I knew there was no talking Maeve out of this and besides, I could use a little retail therapy.

Later that night, the party was starting to pick up downstairs while I was still finishing my makeup in my room. As much fun as turning twenty-one was, I couldn’t help but feel a little lost thinking about how different it would be if my mom was around.

I imagined a world where she was downstairs popping the champagne with my dad before sending us off for our first legal drinks. I could feel myself getting emotional so I pushed the thoughts down and locked them away where I knew they were safe.

Happy with my makeup, I stood and looked in the full length Anthropology mirror that leaned against the wall opposite of my bed.

My pale blonde hair was voluminous with a slight curl thanks to our trip to DryBar earlier. If it weren't for Maeve’s weird ability to bend body tape at her will then I would have been convinced that my boobs would fall out of this dress.

I was wearing a black strapless velvet dress that had a U-shaped cutout in the middle which pushed my boobs up, making my cleavage look stunning. It was skin tight and just long enough to cover my ass.

Knowing my feet were going to regret it later, I threw on my Valentino platform pumps and set up my phone to take a few pictures. I posted the cute photo with a cliché Twenty Fun caption and headed down to the party.

As I descended the stairs, all eyes were on me. I looked around at the sheer volume of people currently at the party. Practically every student athlete was here ready to celebrate with me and my brother.

I thought back to the timid seventeen year old girl who shrunk at all of the attention. That girl was nowhere to be found as I confidently strutted through my party with my head held high.

As I made my way into the crowd I was overwhelmed by how many people stopped to wish me a happy birthday. I figured more people were here for Nolan than me.

Off to my right, in the living room, I saw Nolan and Aiden staring at me with a frown. I walked towards them, saying hello to more guests as I passed.

“Where the fuck is the rest of your outfit?” Nolan demanded as I approached. He was clearly pissed off about my lack of respectable clothing and had the inability to hide any emotions from his face.

I smiled, knowing it would piss him off further, “oh I think I actually left it at the store,” I shrugged, “my bad.”

“I’m going to need a lot more to drink if I am going to have to be around you, looking like that all night.” Nolan gestured up and down to my outfit before walking past me towards the full bar that Owen and Aiden stocked in the kitchen.

“Don’t listen to him, you look great.” Aiden reassured while pulling me into a hug, “and Happy Birthday, baby sister.”