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Liv
WegatheratJohn’shouse before we head to the club to celebrate my birthday. Dylan and Mark are loading up their weapons like we’re headed to war, but I let them do their thing. Mark is standing in for Garrett tonight, and I can tell he’s excited to spend time with Vera.
The guys are handsome in their dress shirts and blazers. I walk down the stairs with Vera, and they grin at me. I shove the pang of loneliness aside, wishing for a set of blue eyes I won’t get to see tonight.
“Alright, you handsome devils, outside for a photo,” Vera says, corralling them towards the sliding door. She lines them up in front of the pool, looks around, and sighs. “Hey! Double oh sevens! Chop chop!” she yells into the house, and Dylan and Mark appear and join the guys. Skye and I stand next to her as the guys pose with their arms crossed, trying to look cool. I cross my eyes and stick out my tongue and they all smirk. Skye makes gorilla noises and Vera snaps a few photos as they chuckle.
“Get in there, birthday girl,” Vera says.
I set my clutch down and Jackson, who’s in the middle in between Jordy and Brando, holds his arms out for me. He grabs me by the waist and picks me up as I squeal and hold my dress to keep it from riding up.
Brando holds onto my torso and Jordy gets my legs as they cradle me in their arms like a hammock. I giggle when Jackson touches my ass, and he winces. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t think this through.”
“You get a freebie, but the next one will cost you,” I say, and he grins.
“Oh, how far we’ve come, Sparrow.”
I turn and smile for the camera. They set me on my feet, and I wrap an arm around Jackson and Brando. They wrap their arms around each other’s shoulders, and we smile as Vera takes a few more. She puts her phone on a timer, then she and Skye jump in. Garrett pulls her into him, and Skye stands next to Mark, who puts his arm around her.
We part and the guys glance at each other. Dylan nods, pulling out a rectangular box wrapped in gold paper from his jacket pocket. He hands it to me with a grin as everyone watches me with excitement. “We all pitched in and got you something.”
I take the box, ripping the paper open with uncontained glee. My eyes widen when I flip open the lid. It’s a necklace with a quarter sized charm of a white gold sparrow with its wings spread in flight. “You guys…” I look up at them and press my lips together, but the tears well in my eyes anyway.
“Happy birthday, Sparrow,” Jackson says and grins at me as my lip wobbles.
“It’s beautiful. I love it.”
Garrett takes the box from me and picks up the delicate chain, clasping it around my neck. He steps away, but I pull him in for a hug. He grunts at the impact, and I grab Dylan from next to us and everyone piles in for a group hug.
“I love you guys so much. Thank you.”
Once I’ve made sure I’ve hugged everyone, we pile into the SUVs that were hired for tonight. Vera slides in next to me and I settle in for the pep talk I know is coming.
“Liv, please let loose and have fun. You find a hot guy you want to dance with, do it. You want to dance on your own, do that. But please enjoy yourself. We will not think about or mention you know who. Can you handle that?”
I nod and she hugs me.
The music thumps in my chest cavity as we enter the club. Vera coerced me into my outfit for tonight, but I’m not all that upset about it. The simple black stilettos with ankle straps pair well with my plum-colored dress. The back is open and elegant, not something I would normally wear. Maybe it was facing death, or perhaps Luke had something to do with it, but I can’t seem to find my insecurities lately.
I’ve been working hard since New Year’s Eve, when I realized I had two choices: be miserable and pine after a guy who dumped me or appreciate the time I had with him and try to move on. Almost two months later, I’m leaning towards the latter. I’m about to wrap up bar tending school, and Jackson already has a job lined up for me. Things feel like they’re coming together, and I could never repay the patience and encouragement of the men and women around me tonight.
We head straight for the raised VIP lounge and look out over the crowd. Shots are ready for us, and we all partake. We hold up our glasses and Vera speaks. “To Liv. The hottest 30-year-old badass bitch I know!” The guys cheer while we take our shots.
Skye pulls Jordy onto the dance floor and Garrett and Vera soon follow. I sigh and take in the crowd, swaying where I stand. “Come on, let’s cut a rug,” John says, nudging my shoulder. I throw my head back and laugh at my brother—who once upon a time took ballroom dancing lessons—and hold on to his arm as he guides me to the dance floor.
He grabs my hands and while everyone around us grinds and twerks, he moves me around like we’re in a ballroom, not giving a shit at the weird looks we receive. Sylvie couldn’t come tonight, and he was tight lipped about the reasons. “Are you going to tell me what happened with Sylvie?”
He shrugs. “I made my move, and she turned me down. She just wants to be friends.”
I frown. Why the hell would she turn him down? John is the total package. “It’s her loss. I’m sorry.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. My heart breaks for him all over again. How much more rejection can the poor guy handle? I think about my own circumstances and sigh. He can handle it all because that’s what we do. We’re cursed.
A popular song comes on and we’re jostled together as the crowd swells. He grabs me and moves me off to the side. I follow him towards our VIP area, but I’m pulled to a stop when someone grabs my hand from behind. I frown and turn, ready to throw down, only to relax and grin in surprise. “Brody?”
He smiles and leans in close to my ear so I can hear him. “How are you?”
John appears, his body language tense and ready for battle, but he stops short when he recognizes his idol standing in front of me. He blinks a few times, then keeps staring while Brody eyes him. I lean next to Brody’s ear. “This is John, my brother.”
