Page 68 of Choosing You

“Really? That’s awesome! You should have told me that before. I would have said yes right away.”

He laughs. “I know another place that offers birthday freebies. We’ll go there later tonight.”

“What place?”

“It’s a surprise. You ready to go?”

“Give me a few minutes to change clothes and do something with my hair.”

“Okay. I’ll be down in 10.”

I walk him to the door. “You said you just came down here to say hi, not go out all night. Don’t you have stuff you need to do?”

“This is way more important.” He leans down and kisses my cheek. “It’s your freaking birthday, Jade!”

His excitement over my birthday makes me laugh. It even puts me in a better mood. I decide to forget about my mom’s letter. I’m not letting her ruin another birthday.

Garret takes me to the pancake house where I order the largest stack of pancakes on the menu. Then we go to the movies. I pick a teen horror film, Garret’s least favorite genre. But it’s October. It’s horror movie season. And besides, he made me watch that romantic comedy.

After the movie, we go to the diner we went to when I first arrived on campus.

“Guess what you get free on your birthday?” he asks, as we’re getting out of the car.

“The Boxcar whatever?”

“Jade! You ruined the surprise.”

“You asked me! And it’s the only thing I know on the menu since you never gave me a chance to look at it.”

As we’re eating the huge sundae, which I generously offered to share with him, his phone rings.

“Go ahead and answer it,” I say, devouring the crumbled cookies.

“What do you want, Blake?” Garret leans back in the booth. “Yeah, I’ll be there. But only if you keep your mouth shut.” He looks at me. “It’s her birthday. I’m out with her right now. You got a problem with that?” He listens. “Yeah. See you Friday.” He sets his phone on the table.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“I made a deal with Blake. If I go to some parties with him, he’ll stop telling my dad about us.”

“I thought you weren’t going to worry about your dad anymore.”

“I’m not worrying about him. I’m just trying to make things easier for us. And things will definitely be easier if Blake stops talking to my dad.”

“What about Ava?”

“She has a new boyfriend. She lost interest in me. She won’t say anything.” He leans forward again, grabbing his spoon and scooping some ice cream from the bowl. “So since you neglected to tell me that today was your birthday, I’ll have to give you your present later. Is there anything you want or should I just surprise you?”

“No, don’t get me anything. Really. This was plenty.”

“You ate for free all night. I only paid for the movie. And it was bargain Thursday so I hardly spent any money.”

“Gifts don’t have to cost a lot, Garret.”

“I know. But I like giving gifts and the movie doesn’t count. I want to give you something.”

“Then I’ll let you spend $5. That’s it.”

“I can’t buy anything for $5. That’s nothing.”

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