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She scoffs. "That's not possible. You already love me as much as humanly possible."
"Becs!" I whine.
"Okay, fine," she caves. "But you can't get mad if he doesn't win me over. I never have been that fond of Jace, and you know that."
Grinning triumphantly, I wrap my arms around her. "Deal."
I SPEND THE NIGHT with Becca, and so it's nice to feel this close to her again. Jace was really understanding when I told him that Bec surprised me for my birthday, though he did laugh at the fact that I forgot. Apparently, he remembered this whole time, and was just waiting to see if I mentioned it. Jerk.
The next morning, I wake up to my room absolutely filled with pink balloons, and two giant gold ones in the middle. 21. The fact that I'm legally able to drink now is insane to me. Though it doesn't do me much good. The only other one my age is Carter. Jace doesn't turn twenty-one for another three weeks, and Becca still has four more months. Not that being underage has ever stopped either of them from drinking.
"Happy Birthday!" my mom and Becca singsong as they carry in a donut with a lit candle in it.
I close my eyes and make a wish before blowing it out. It may never come true, but a girl can dream, can't she?
"Okay, open my present first," Bec says, handing me an envelope.
My brows furrow as I peel it open and pull out the contents. It's two plane tickets to The Bahamas for next year. She giggles as she snatches the other ticket away from me.
"You got me a vacation?" I ask, amused.
She smirks. "Damn right, I did. Lord knows you need one. And correction, I got us a vacation."
"Of course you did."
Leave it to her to buy me a birthday present that benefits the both of us. Becca's parents are wealthy, as are all the families that send their kids to Haven Grace Prep, but they don't spoil her like most. Instead, Becca has grown up with an allowance and a spending limit. So, if she got her parents?
? permission to spend a lot of money on my birthday, I'm not surprised that she cashed in on it, too.
Still, going on vacation with my best friend seems like a damn good idea to me.
"I love it. Thank you."
I give her a hug and sit back down to start eating the donut when my mom hands me another gift.
"Don't you have enough on your plate?" I softly chastise her.
She nudges me with her elbow. "Too much to get my daughter a birthday present? Your father would divorce me."
I chuckle, mainly because she's right. My dad always treated my birthday like a whole national holiday. He even hired people when I was ten to put on a parade down our street. Half my friends thought it was the coolest thing ever, while the other half were jealous. But me? I was just happy to get a princess tiara.
"Where is Dad?" I'm half surprised he isn't yelling at my mom to bring him here.
She tries to hide her worry, but I can see it on her face. "He's still sleeping. He had a bit of a rough night last night."
I tilt my head to the side as I pull the wrapping paper off the small box. "Why didn't I wake up to it?"
"Because she had soundproofing put against the walls in their bedroom," Becca tattles.
"Rebecca," my mom scolds.
She gives her an apologetically sweet smile. "Sorry."
I'm definitely going to address the fact that she's once again trying to shield me from things, but for now, I'm wondering what in the world is in this box. It's small, and light, but even the wrapping paper looks expensive. And there hasn't been one year of my life where my parents have gone easy for my birthday.
I lift the lid off the box to find a key fob inside with a Mercedes logo on it. My eyes widen as I look at it.
"You didn't."
