Page 63 of Lucky Hit

"I'm not joking. From what I hear, Oakley's sister would move mountains for you," Matt teases, his eyebrows raised as Morgan slaps his arm.

"Shut up. Over my dead body would I let Gracie date a guy like Tyler," I growl.

"Woah, offence taken." Tyler places a hand over his heart, theatrically, pretending to be offended. "Plus, I don't date crazy. Especially not underage crazy."

The thought of my sister even thinking about one of my friends that way makes my skin crawl. No way in hell would I ever let that happen. Not in this lifetime, at least.

"It's just a cute, harmless crush so don't you go teasing her about it. Any of you," Ava threatens, pointing an accusing finger at the guys.

"I agree. I had a crush on Ava's brother for like two years," Morgan says with a shrug.

"You what? Why didn't I know about this?" Matt demands, his eyes narrowed.

Ava laughs, covering for Morgan while she stumbles for an explanation. "I think all of my friends liked Ben. Don't worry, Matt." Ava reaches over Adam and pats Matt on the arm. "Plus, I think he's going to propose to his girlfriend soon."

"Damn, actually? That guy is finally growing up," Adam says, finally deciding to join the conversation. Does he know Ben? Does he know her whole family?

"Is she nice? Do we approve?" Morgan asks from Matt's lap. He doesn't look as happy since the Ben comment.

"I guess. In the two years they've been together, I haven't learned that much about her," Ava shrugs and leans back against me, her arms looped around my neck. "Maybe I should make more of an effort to get to know her?"

"You have time," I remind her reassuringly and rub her thigh.

???

"Open mine first!" Morgan shrieks, shoving a small gift wrapped in neon pink paper in Ava's lap.

"Did you forget it was Christmas or something? What's with the pink paper?" Tyler snorts.

Morgan rolls her eyes and shoves his shoulder. "For your information, Asshat, Ava used all of our festive paper."

"Maybe if you didn't wait until the last minute to wrap your gifts you could have used some." Ava grabs the square box and tears the paper away excitedly. "You didn't!" she squeals, staring down at the two pieces of paper in her lap.

Morgan smiles smugly. "We're going to see Ariana Grande! Good luck beating that, Oakley."

I scoff at her boast, "Watch and learn, Morgan. Watch and learn." I pick up the small square package and offer it to Ava.

Her face flushes just like mine, and with a small, shy smile, she carefully unties the bow. She rips the snowman wrapping paper off, displaying the Pandorabox underneath.

Her eyes meet mine excitedly, almost as if she’s asking for permission to open it.

"Go on," I urge gently, trying hard to fend off my nerves. When the box is opened, I feel my heart rate pick up. Her jaw drops and I hear her gasp.

"Oakley," she whispers, her voice barely audible over the rest of the group's chatter. She beams at me once again, and an unexpected wave of happiness comes over me, lighting me up instantly. She picks up the bracelet and examines the charms dangling from it. With some help from the Sales Assistant, I managed to pick out four charms I thought were perfect for her.

First, I chose a ruby heart to represent not only her birthstone but my love for her. Yeah, I know, gag. The second one I picked out was a Converse shoe because we all know she doesn't go anywhere without those. The third is a bucket of popcorn. That was the hardest to find, but it was worth it. The fourth is a hockey skate with my birthstone in the center.

"Do you like it?" God, I hope she does.

"Are you kidding? It's amazing. Thank you." Ava throws herself onto my lap and clings to me. I twine my arms around her, keeping her in place. She pulls back too soon for my liking, but gives me a quick, gentle kiss.

"Wait here," she whispers and pulls away from me. She climbs off of my lap and heads over to the tree. My eyebrows shoot up as she saunters back over with a giddy expression.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

She chews her bottom lip and slowly pulls the gift from behind her back, revealing a new hockey stick. She did a great job picking it out—Matt must have helped her with the sizing, but I know the colours were all her—our team colours. The crimson accents stand out perfectly against the matte black body.

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