Chapter 31 Chapter Thirty-one
Vanessa POV
Danny and I barely made it three steps toward the hallway before the crowd swallowed us whole.
Hands grabbed at us from every direction—teammates pulling Danny back toward the living room, Bean's sorority sisters dragging me along with them. I tried to hold onto Danny's hand, tried to keep us together, but the tide of bodies was too strong.
"Vanessa!" Bean's voice cut through the chaos, high and excited.
"Come here! It's happening!"
I turned to see her waving frantically from near the cake table, her face flushed with anticipation.
She looked so happy and full of excitement that I couldn't help but move toward her even as I lost sight of Danny in the crowd.
"Bean, what—"
"Shh!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me close, practically bouncing on her toes.
"Watch! This is going to be perfect!"
The living room had been transformed into a proper party space, since Danny and I left the room. String lights hung from the ceiling, casting everything in a warm glow.
The massive cake sat on a table in the center, surrounded by presents wrapped in blue and silver paper. Someone had even hung a banner that read "Happy 22nd Birthday Marco!" in glittery letters.
Bean had really gone all out.
The crowd was thick now, everyone pressing closer to get a good view. I spotted Danny on the other side of the room, caught between Jake and Henry Booker, looking as reluctant as I felt to be part of this spectacle.
Our eyes met across the distance, and he gave me a helpless shrug.
"Okay, everyone!" Ethan's voice boomed from somewhere near the kitchen.
"Quiet down! The birthday boy is coming!"
The room fell into a hushed, giddy silence, like everyone was holding their breath in anticipation.
Bean squeezed my hand so tight it hurt.
"Oh my God, oh my God, this is it," she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement.
I watched as Ethan appeared in the doorway, one hand on Marco's shoulder, guiding him carefully into the room. Marco was blindfolded with what looked like someone's tie, laughing at something Ethan had said, his hands held out in front of him like he was trying to feel his way forward.
"Dude, where are you taking me?" Marco asked, still laughing.
"If this is another one of your stupid pranks—" he muttered
"No pranks, I promise," Ethan said, positioning Marco directly in front of the cake table.
"Just... stand right here. Don't move."
Marco stood there, blindfolded and confused, completely unaware of the dozens of people surrounding him.
The crowd was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat, which was impressive coordination from this many.
Bean's excited breathing beside made up for it though
"Is everyone ready?" Ethan called out, looking around the room with a huge grin.
The crowd nodded, some people already pulling out their phones to record.
"Alright then," Ethan said.
"On my count. Three!"
"Two!" The crowd joined in, voices rising.
"ONE!"
"SURPRISE!"
The word exploded from every corner of the room as Dylan yanked the blindfold off Marco's face.
For a moment, Marco just stood there, blinking in the sudden light. His eyes swept across the room—the decorations, the cake, the banner, the crowd of people all grinning at him. Confusion flickered across his face, then recognition, then something else I couldn't quite identify.
Surprise, yes. But underneath it, there was something that looked almost like... displeasure? Frustration?
It was there for just a second before his expression smoothed out into something more neutral.
But I'd seen it.
"Happy birthday, baby!" Bean launched herself at him before I could process what I'd seen, throwing her arms around his neck with such force that Marco actually stumbled backward a step.
His arms came up automatically to catch her, to hold her, but there was a stiffness to the embrace that made my stomach twist with unease.
"Did we surprise you?" Bean pulled back just enough to look at his face, her eyes shining with hope and love.
"Are you surprised? Tell me you're surprised!"
"Yeah," Marco said, his smile widening but still looking fake.
"Yeah, I'm surprised."
If Bean noticed anything off about his tone, she didn't show it. She was too caught up in the moment, too happy that her weeks of planning had paid off.
"Okay, everyone!" someone shouted—Dylan, I think.
"Let's sing!"
The crowd burst into song, a chaotic and completely off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday" that somehow worked because everyone was laughing and swaying and genuinely enjoying themselves.
Everyone except Marco, he was trying very hard to be excited but he stood there with Bean plastered to his side, her arms still around his waist, looking up at him with absolute adoration with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he looked like he wanted to be literally anywhere else.
The song built to its conclusion—"Happy birthday dear Marcoooo, happy birthday to youuuu!"—and everyone erupted into cheers and applause.
"Make a wish!" Bean said, gesturing to the cake with its twenty-two lit candles.
Marco leaned forward, closing his eyes for a brief moment. What did he wish for? I found myself wondering. And why did I get the feeling it had nothing to do with the girl whose arms were wrapped around him?
He blew out the candles in one breath, and the room exploded with more cheers.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" someone started chanting, and soon the whole room had picked it up.
Marco turned to Bean, and I saw her face light up with anticipation. He leaned down and kissed her, and the crowd went wild.
Bean pulled back with a huge smile, her cheeks flushed, and started directing people toward the cake.
"Come on, everyone grab a slice! There's plenty for everyone!"
The crowd surged forward, the organized moment dissolving back into party chaos. Music started up again, louder than before.
People were laughing, talking, moving around the room in that aimless way drunk people do at parties.
I felt Danny's hand find mine before I saw him. He'd managed to navigate through the crowd back to my side.
"That was..." he started, then trailed off.
"Weird?" I supplied.
"I was going to say intense, but yeah, weird works too." He glanced across the room to where Marco was being mobbed by teammates offering birthday wishes.
"Did you see his face when they took the blindfold off?"
"Yeah," I said quietly.
"He didn't look happy."
"No," Danny agreed. "He really didn't."
Bean appeared beside us, practically glowing with success.
"Wasn't that amazing? Did you see his face? He was so surprised!"
"It was great, Bean," I said, injecting as much genuine enthusiasm into my voice as I could.
"You did an amazing job with all of this."
"I know, right?" She beamed at us.
"I was so worried something would go wrong, but it was perfect. Absolutely perfect." She grabbed both our hands.
"Come on, you guys need to wish him a proper happy birthday. You barely said anything earlier."
Before either of us could protest, she was pulling us through the crowd toward Marco. He was surrounded by teammates—Dylan and Ethan and the Booker twins—all of them talking over each other about the game, about the season, and how it was going that the victory fell on his birthday celebration.
"Marco!" Bean called out, her voice cutting through the noise.
"Look who I brought!"
Marco turned, and when his eyes landed on us—on me and Danny, standing there with our hands still linked—something dark flickered across his expression.
"Hey," he said, his voice carefully neutral.
"Happy birthday, man," Danny said, extending his free hand for a handshake while keeping his other hand firmly in mine.
"Your girl threw one hell of a party." He drawled and Marco looked at Danny's outstretched hand for a long moment before reaching out to shake it.
"Thanks, Cap," Marco said, and there was an edge to his voice that made several people nearby glance over curiously.
"Happy birthday, Marco," I added, trying to keep things light despite the tension I could feel radiating off of him.
Marco's eyes met mine, and what I saw there made me want to take a step back, the intensity in his gaze felt too personal.
"Thanks, Vanessa," he said, and the way he said my name—slow and deliberate—made Danny's hand tighten around mine.
We stood there in awkward silence for a moment, the party raging around us while the four of us existed in our own bubble of weird tension.
"So," Marco said finally, his eyes moving between me and Danny with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"What's the deal with you two tonight?" he asked nodding towards our hands
"What do you mean?" Danny asked, though his voice had gone tight.
"I mean," Marco said finally as he gestured to our joined hands,
"You're joined at the hip. Every single time I turn around—there's Danny and Vanessa. Danny and Vanessa. Can't seem to let go of each other for five minutes." He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace.
"Must be nice, having someone so devoted." he laughed but no one else did, the words landing like stones.