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“Geez,” Tully laughs. “Look who’s got their panties in a twist. You can sit through hours getting tattooed, but you bitch about a little rock. I thought you were tougher than that.”
“I’d like to see you tied to this fucking tree.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I groan, closing one eye and aiming again. “Both of you bitches shut up. I’m trying to concentrate.”
Tully rolls her eyes beside me as Noah zips his lips. Finally, a little peace and quiet so I can focus on not hitting my boyfriend in the balls.
I pull back on the slingshot and the rock instantly sails through the air. A grin rips across my face as I watch it fly straight towards the balloon on his chest. Noah jumps as the balloon bursts and I throw myself in the air. “Fuck, yeah,” I cheer before racing forward and scrambling around in the dirt for the little slip of paper.
My fingers curl around it and I pull it up to read. “What?” I scoff, looking back over my shoulder at Tully. “Are you kidding?”
She laughs out. “Which one is it?”
“Your undivided attention.”
Tully bursts into uncontrollable laughter as Noah shakes his head beside me. “Did I seriously just get hit with three fucking rocks for your undivided attention?”
“You sure did, and you’re about to get hit with two more, so man the fuck up.”
I lean in and press a kiss to his lips before flicking the balloon on his upper thigh. “I’ll be going for this one next.”
“Fuck.”
Precisely three minutes later, I’ve earned myself Tully’s undivided attention, a new tub of fish food for Frog, and my very own Kindle.
I give Tully a massive hug while Noah demands that he be released. I hurry over to him and enjoy ripping the tape off and love it, even more, when he sucks in a sharp breath and groans. The second his arms are finally free, he pulls me in, holding me tight against his chest. “Happy birthday, Spitfire.”
I instantly melt into him, wrapping my arms around his body and burying my head into his warm chest. “Thank you,” I murmur as my smile completely overtakes me.
This might just be the best birthday I’ve ever had.
“Alright,” dad says, drawing my attention away from my boyfriend. “Now that we’re all positively freezing, can we head back inside and eat?”
Seeing as though Noah didn’t get the chance to put a shirt on, he’s the first to agree and drags me inside with Tully, Aiden, and Aria following behind. Noah grabs a blanket off the couch and wraps it around himself before continuing in to the kitchen.
Dad, Tully, and Aiden get busy cooking breakfast while Aria runs around trying to steal Noah’s attention. Aria hasn’t mentioned the fact that Rivers is missing and despite her absolutely adoring him, I get the feeling that she’s used to people walking out of her life.
We get breakfast over and done with and before I know it, dad is hauling me up out of my chair and dragging me through the house. “What are you doing?” I demand, tugging back on my arm.
“Would you shut up and come with me?” he throws back over his shoulder, hardly sparing me a second glance as everyone at the table seems to get up and follow along.
I roll my eyes and reluctantly follow him. “You realize that if I don’t start getting ready for school, I’m going to be late, right?”
“And how’s that any different from any other day?” he grumbles. “It’s not like you ever ‘remember’ to go.”
Noah chuckles behind me and I roll my eyes. Dad has a point. “Yeah, but…it’s my birthday,” I whine.
“Man up, Squish,” he tells me as a proud grin lights up his eyes.
Dad leads me towards the front door and I start wondering what the hell this is about when he stops and turns to face me. “Alright, kid,” he starts as Noah comes to a stop behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. “You only turn eighteen once and I want it to be a memorable day for you. You’ve been not only an asshole but an absolute joy to raise and despite all the times you gave me hell, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I love you, kid.”
I walk forward and wrap my dad up in my arms as tears sting my eyes. “I love you too,” I murmur into his chest.
“Hey,” he scolds, taking me by the shoulders and pushing me off him. “Cut that shit out. There’s no room for your sappy, girl bullshit. Today is about celebrating.”
My friends chuckle behind me and just when I think dad is about to reach for the handle of the front door, he shuffles me across a few steps to the internal entry for the garage.
My heart starts pounding. Why the fuck is he going for the garage?
