Page 71 of Choosing You

I laugh. “Yeah. I think I would know that.”

“Hmm. Okay. See ya.”

I shower then let Harper do her magic on my hair. She has a gazillion hair tools, some of which look like medieval torture devices. She straightens my hair then curls it with giant rollers, making soft waves that look better than my hair’s natural waves. Then I let her do my makeup because she insists I don’t apply it right.

When she’s done I put on my one and only dress and some sparkly earrings Harper let me borrow. As I’m leaving her room, she spritzes me with perfume.

Dinner is at a restaurant two towns over. It’s a small place that overlooks a lake. It’s very expensive and of course none of them will let me pay. Now that I know the other girls actually like me, I’m able to relax around them. I make a mental note to be nicer to them in the future. I could use a few more friends.

After dinner, three short, round Italian guys sing Happy Birthday to me and give me a cake. It’s like I’m living someone else’s life. Nobody’s ever made such a big deal over my birthday.

We get back at 9:30 and Harper and her friends offer to skip the Friday night parties to hang out with me. But I insist they go. I know that’s what they really want to do and I’ve had enough girl time for one night.

I go back to my room and when I open the door I notice a soft glow coming from the ceiling. I look up and see that it’s covered in sparkly blue lights. I slowly walk inside unable to take my eyes off it. It’s beautiful, like I’m looking up at the night sky.

“You like it?”

I turn back. Garret is leaning against the door frame.

“You did this?”

“I did.” He comes inside and shuts the door.

“How did you get in here?”

“I have connections.”

I look at him to explain.

“Jasmine let me in. When Harper told me she was taking you to dinner tonight, I took over your room for a couple hours. And no, I didn’t go through your stuff.”

He stands next to me and looks up at the ceiling as he casually puts his arm around my waist. It causes all kinds of sensations I probably shouldn’t be feeling with someone who’s just a friend. I glance over at him in his low-hung jeans and black t-shirt. His shirt is fitted and shows off his broad shoulders and lean abs. Harper’s right. It’s nearly impossible to be friends with a guy this hot.

He squeezes my waist. “You didn’t answer me. Do you like it or not?”

“Yeah. I love it.” More sensations fire off inside me as his hand slips down and rests on my hip.

“Good. Because I almost fell off the ladder getting that middle section tacked up.” He points at the area above my bed where it looks like he tried to make some type of design with the lights.

“Why did you do all this?”

“It’s your birthday gift. With your insane budget, I had to go to this store that sells everything for a dollar. These lights were so cheap they may not work for very long.”

“I buy stuff at those stores all the time. I’m sure they’ll last.”

“I knew how much you liked mine, so I had to get you your own.” He leans down and kisses my cheek. “Happy Birthday, Jade.”

“Thanks.” I look up at the sparkly lights again. “You see? You really can make someone happy with just a few dollars.”

He turns to face me, placing both arms around my waist. “I made you happy? With these cheap ass lights?”

“Very happy. I love the lights. They’ll make me happy every time I look at them.”

He smiles. “It doesn’t take much with you, does it, Jade?”

“Nope.”

There’s awkward silence. We’re standing very close and his arms are still around me. Is he trying to test my willpower or something? He looks way too good. And he smells incredible. I feel like I should say something but I can’t. I’m too busy trying to keep myself from kissing him.

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