Page 83 of Evil Villain (The Royal Court)

Cherri giggled. “Happy birthday toyouthen.”

She was just bending over to kiss me when there was a knock on the door. “Enough already! There aremorepeople that want to celebrate you, you know!” Colette screeched.

“Yeah, Cherri, come on out! We've got presents!”

Cherri looked down at me with a frown and I tapped her ass a couple of times. “Don’t make such a frustrated face. They put in a lot of work. Besides, we can pick up from where we left off later,” I said. “Maybe with the handcuffs?”

"Ooh, on you or me?" she asked.

I sat up to kiss her. “However you want it, baby.”

Cherri squeaked with happiness. “Deal.” She finally climbed down off of me, grabbing the blanket to wrap around herself, then she went over to the bedroom door and cracked it. “This better be good. You just interrupted some amazing fucking sex.”

“Itwillbe. Just get dressed and come downstairs,” Avery replied.

I heard a party horn, then a rain of glitter burst through the door and sprinkled down over Cherri. She laughed and closed the door and I couldn’t help but stare at her a little bit.

“Nope, no. Don't look at me that way. You were the one who convinced me to stop, so just avert your eyes.”

“Why did we stop again?” I crossed the room towards her. “I can't remember.”

“It’s because we have a whole fucking party planned!” Nikita screeched, then there was a hard bang on the door. “Knock it off and get down here!”

Cherri and I shared a silent chuckle, then I yelled, “Alright, we're coming!”

I pecked Cherri on the cheek and then turned my back to her before I really did lose my resolve and drag her back to bed.

We took separate showers for obvious reasons, and then each got dressed and went downstairs. At the bottom, I clasped my hands over Cherri’s eyes and guided her outside and down the path to the pool. The entire area was decorated with lime, pink, and sky-blue balloons and streamers, and the pool had been adorned with brand new floaties to match the color scheme. I smiled at some of the faces standing around, and the table piled high with presents. It made me feel guilty for monopolizing so much of Cherri’s time that morning.

Finally, I pulled my hands from around her eyes and everyone screamed, “Surprise!”

Cherri’s hands came up to her mouth. “Oh wow!”

Cherri’s mom, dad, and brother were standing near the shallow end of the pool, each with hats on and horns in their mouths which they were blowing excitedly. Back by the bar, Felicity, Anisa, Cobalt, and my mom were standing, with drinks in their hands that they held up to cheers to Cherri. Standing closest to us were all the members of The Royal Court, all dressed in nice clothes, wearing party hats and holding a mix of horns and blowers in their mouths.

“Happy birthday!” Nathan said.

“Honestly,” Avery said. “I didn’t think you were going to make it out until Ali and I were leaving for New Haven.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. You still have a week,” Cherri replied.

“No. Kyle and I have been in school for a whole semester now,” Colette said.

Cherri put her hands on her hips. “Alright. Enough with the drama. I’m ready for my party!” She looked over towards her parents and Gus. “Hi, Mama! Hi, Daddy! Gus!”

“Happy Birthday, baby!” Rebeccah, Cherri’s mom, said. “In all seriousness though, if you and Deon have so much trouble waking up in the morning, you should set an alarm.”

All the murmurs of voices went silent as all gazes shifted to Rebeccah. “Y-yeah, mom,” Cherri said. “That’s a really good idea. Let’s have cake!”

Nathan led us over to a table that had been set up between the bar and the pool, where there was a tiered cake and platters of food. There was a tiny model of Cherri, with her short brown, fading-to-blond hair, wearing a leather jacket and jean shorts sitting on top of the cake.

“It’s so cute,” Cherri said. “I love this so much.”

“It’s white cake, with raspberry filling and lemon buttercream,” Avery said. “Made from scratch, by your personal baking crew, me, Ali, and Brayden.”

“That’s awesome. Thank you guys so much!”

“Happy birthday to you!” Sicily randomly started singing.

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