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"Bye, birthday boy," my brother yelled before hanging up.
The call ended, and I did what I looked forward to most. I exited the couch and entered my nice comfy California King bed. With my tall frame, I needed as much bed space as possible.
I laid the scrapbook on my dresser and stared at my ceiling, thinking about the phone call. My family seemed excited about the vacation, which was a good thing. But I was annoyed with Scott.
Why did he have to bring up Erica like that?
My parents and Scott knew Erica, and I were just best friends, but they made it seem like there was potential between us when there wasn't.
While I was a single guy with a remarkable career, I did not need to have bygone thoughts about my best friend returning to my mind. Those days of pining were over. High school was over. Erica and I would have happened already if anything was going to happen, and since we had not become involved with one another, it looked like that was how things would stay.
I was still thinking about Erica and how much I missed her, and I wanted to know if it would be a good idea to invite her on this family vacation. She had always wanted to go to where our secret vacation would be, so I knew she would enjoy it, but I didn't want my family to think something was going on between us when nothing was.
It had been a long time since I last saw her, and it would be fun to have her along. I had a lot to think about regarding this trip.
Chapter Four
Erica
Ifinallycavedandagreed to a family dinner with my parents, so I had to pick out a lovely dress and go to their house. They had promised no guys there for me; it would just be the three of us, and I appreciated that.
If they lied and this was another setup, I would walk out. I believed my mother knew that, so she wouldn't try anything.
I stared into my closet, trying to find something girly enough that my mother would be proud of. I tried on a cute black dress that was too low-cut in the front. My mother would never approve. Next, I tried on some tight black jeans and a pink crop top. I looked adorable, but my mother would hate seeing my mid-drift.
Settling on a light blue, knee-length dress, I went to my bathroom to do my makeup. I put on gold eyeshadow and pink lip gloss. I looked like a little girl playing dress-up, but my mom loved how I looked.
My mom cared about appearances and didn't care how you felt as long as you looked mature, put together, and rich. That is what I hoped I gave off as I got into my tiny, silver, compact car. It was a graduation gift from my parents for getting my bachelor's degree in music theory. It was a gorgeous car but relatively small. I still loved it, though.
Driving from my condo to my parents' house took about fifteen minutes. They lived in a big three-story mansion. My dad was an architect and made a good living, and they had been well-off my whole life.
Growing up, I resented them, but as I got older, I realized how much they had done for me: sending me to the best schools, paying for my education, buying me a car, and helping me with money whenever needed. I loved both of my parents dearly, even if we were not as close as I wished we were.
Once I arrived at my parent's home, I parked in their U-shaped driveway and walked to the front door. The front door was double my size, and two opened in the middle. I knocked once, and my mother opened the doors.
My mother wore a pink blouse with a matching pink skirt that reached her ankles. She was barely showing any skin, like usual. I had to admit she did look adorable, almost like a doll.
"Why, don't you look marvelous, my dear," my mother said as she ushered me inside with a warm smile, which I couldn't help but return.
The ceilings were as high as I remembered as she led me into the dining area. The walls were painted a warm beige tone, and there was a mahogany table in the middle of the room with three chairs on each long side and one on each end.
I remember having many long and tedious dinners at this table. While I loved my family, I wasn't close to them like Aaron and his family, especially concerning my mother and me. There had always been tension between us, like there was some unspoken secret we each had and didn't trust each other enough to share.
"We are so happy you are joining us," my mother said before walking away into the kitchen.
I went toward my father, who was sitting at the head of the table. He was dressed the most casually of the three of us. He had on a dark green polo and black jeans. I was surprised that my mother allowed him to wear jeans, but I was not about to make a scene by asking. His thinning hair was combed back, but he wore it well.
"Hi, Dad," I said as I sat to his left, knowing the seat to his right was for Mother.
"Erica, sweety, it's so good to see you." My father grinned. "It's been long since we all had dinner together."
He was right. It had been months. I had a good reason for constantly evading their invites, but my mother promised that it would just be the three of us tonight, and I hoped she would keep that promise on everything.
"Yeah, Dad, it has been. But I'm here now. How is work going?"
My father brightened at the question and detailed his latest project. He was designing a small but modern building for a new tech start-up in the next town. We talked about his work and how he was the lead manager on the project, even though he was close to retiring.
"How is Aaron? I heard it was his birthday yesterday; did he like his present?" my father asked as he took my hand.
