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It struck me how much our relationship had changed that I now trusted these guys enough to let them abscond with me from campus in the middle of the night to an unknown destination.
“You’ll see,” Elijah promised.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know. But I was sort of hoping for some kind of hint before we get there.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?” Mason grinned as we drove through the gates before hooking a left on the street.
Wherever we were going, it didn’t take us long to get there. We drove for about thirty minutes, moving farther and farther from the lights of the area surrounding Roseland. When Mason finally pulled into a small, dimly lit parking lot, I heard waves crashing on a nearby beach as he turned off the engine.
The moon was full, its blue-white light reflecting off the waves in front of us as Finn opened my door for me and we all piled out of the car. As we left the parking lots, grass turned to sand under my feet, and we walked about forty yards until we reached the shoreline. It was dim, but the moon gave enough light to see by.
I glanced around at the four guys. “What is this? What are we doing here?”
Elijah grinned, pulling a small box from behind his back and opening it.
A single cupcake with an unlit candle sat inside.
Cole dug his lighter from his pocket, flicked it open, and lit the wick.
“Happy birthday, Legs,” Mason murmured, watching me carefully.
“I can’t believe you didn’t fucking tell us,” Finn grumbled.
“I…”
My mouth opened and closed, but I couldn’t find the words. I hadn’t told anyone it was my birthday. I’d thought maybe Jacqueline would remember, but she either hadn’t, or I’d hung up on her before she could get around to tacking a birthday wish onto the end of her lecture.
I hadn’t really celebrated my birthday since I was ten years old. The first few years after mom died, dad had tried to keep up appearances and traditions, but he’d eventually abandoned them all.
“How did you know?” I whispered.
Mason just shot me a mysterious smile, and then the four of them launched into an uneven rendition of “Happy Birthday”. The only one who sang on key was Elijah, and he looked like it physically pained him to hear the others butcher the notes. But when they were done, I applauded anyway, because the gesture meant so much more than they could ever know.
Then I took a deep breath and blew out the candle. A little trail of smoke wafted into the air from the still-glowing wick, and I grinned.
Maybe this year, my wish would come true.
“All right.” Finn plucked the cupcake out of the box and handed it to me as Mason produced a bottle of tequila from behind his back. “Let’s get this birthday party started!”
We all did a round of shots from the bottle, and as the second round started, I licked at the frosting on the cupcake. Sugary sweetness exploded on my tongue, and I sighed contentedly, chasing it down with another swig of tequila.
“Do you guys want some?” I held the little cake out after taking a bite.
“Nah.” Finn waved a hand, his dimples popping as he grinned at me. “But eat fast if you don’t want it to get wet.”
“What? Why would it get we—?”
Before I could finish that sentence, he darted toward me, scooping me up in his arms in a fireman’s carry and running toward the water. I shrieked as he kicked off his shoes and waded into the surf. He was wearing low-slung board shorts, and when the water reached his waist, he suddenly loosened his grip like he was going to drop me.
I yelped, wrapping my arms tighter around his neck. I still had the cupcake in my hand, and as I flailed in panic, I smeared frosting over his jaw and neck.
He grimaced, tightening his grip on me. Then he arched an eyebrow. “You know I’m gonna make you lick that off later, right?”
Heat pooled in my belly, and I was suddenly aware of how close he was holding me, of how much of our bodies were touching.
“Want a bite now?” I asked, holding the cupcake closer to his face.
