Page 39 of Forever Golden

He heads to the living room with the first round of drinks, and I hear the door open. I get there just as Dane and Joss are being let in and she’s obviously been crying—red-rimmed eyes, flushed cheeks. Our eyes lock for a moment and she forces a tight smile, but she’s definitely not okay.

Dane’s at her side like the loyal friend I’ve seen him be to her, but whatever family drama she has going on looks heavy. Still, she seems determined not to let it ruin her night, and I can definitely relate to that.

If she needs tips on how to fake being okay, I’m her girl.

* * *

Between pizza, chips, and cake, I think we all ate more than we probably should’ve. Hence the reason we each struggled to keep our eyes open through the second movie. Things livened up, though, when it came time for Scar to open presents—the phone case I promised, a sweater from Jules, earrings from Joss, and a $300 gift card from the triplets for new video games to go with her system.

All in all, it was a great night thanks to the help of these five.

“I’m gonna catch a ride home with Ruiz,” Jules announces, peeling herself off the couch when a horn honks once outside. She and Shane both get to their feet and I stand to walk them to the door.

As soon as she’s in her boots, I squeeze her tight. “Thank you so much. I would’ve passed out halfway through the cleaning if it weren’t for you.”

She squeezes back. “Anything for you, BJ. Always.”

I let go so she can shrug into her coat, then watch as she and Shane take careful steps down the icy porch and sidewalk.

“We should take off, too,” West announces. “Joss can’t be out all night.”

I glance at her when her name’s mentioned. She doesn’t look as broken as when she first walked in, but I still see it—the sadness, the disappointment.

“Call you when I make it in.” West’s words are muffled against my neck when he draws me close.

“Don’t forget.”

My collarbone tingles when he kisses me there. “Like I’d ever fucking forget you.”

With Scar completely engaged in conversation with his brothers, he kisses me deep this time, squeezing my ass tight with both hands, making me wish we were alone, and he didn’t have anywhere he needed to be.

“Set the alarm when I’m gone.”

I nod, letting him know I will, then Scar and I watch as the last of our guests file out the door.

I’m shocked when her head rests on my shoulder. She hasn’t been this sweet to me in a long time, but I’m guessing today was the dose of‘normal’she’s been in need of.

“Happy birthday, kid.”

I ruffle her hair and kiss her forehead.

“Thanks,” she says sweetly, adding words I really needed to hear coming from her. “Love you.”

Yeah, she can be a major pain in the ass sometimes, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change a thing about her.

Chapter 14

BLUE

Scar tries to help me clean, but I insist that she go enjoy the last fifteen minutes of her birthday, before the clock strikes midnight. Besides, there isn’t much to do.

I toss the leftover pizza in the fridge, tie up the garbage, and round up all the balloons to store them in the laundry room. I’ve just blown out the last candle when an angry knock hits the door.

It’s funny how I can tell such a thing—that the person on the other side of the door is angry.

My steps are quiet as I creep to the window to peek out, only to find it’s Ricky whose nearly given me a heart attack. Well, at least that explains the angry part.

Our last communication was a string of frustrated text messages after he took his sweet-ass time getting Scar and Shane from school. It ended on a bad note and neither of us had reached out to fix it. So now, I have a pissed Ruiz on my porch, rattling the security door with his fist again.

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