Chapter 24
I watched Ryan’s face as my words sunk in, his face changing from confusion to shock, as his eye’s widened.
“You’re going to give him what?” He sputtered.
“You heard me,” I told him. “I think I’m ready; I really do.”
Ryan pulled me closer, putting his hands on either side of my shoulders. “Are you sure about this, Rose? Your first time is going to be the one you will always remember."
“It’s Grant,” I answered simply. “I don’t think I’ll be able to regret anything.”
I watched Ry’s eyes grow softer as he sighed dreamily. “Oh, Rose.” I raised an eyebrow. What had him so sentimental? “My little baby’s growing up.”
“Shut up, Ry,” I chuckled.
He wiped a fake tear from his cheek and pulled me into a tight hug. “I love you, Rose.”
I pulled back. “Jeez, you really have gone soft. But I love you too.”
At that moment, Dynamite by Taio Cruz began to blast through the speakers, making Ryan squeal like a little girl.
“Oh my god, you have got to dance with me now,” he yelled, pulling me into the mass of gyrating bodies.
We swayed our hips to the music, and I danced like nobody was watching
“Saying ayo, gotta let go,” I sang along to the music at the top of my lungs.
The song came to a stop and another one began, even faster than the one before it. Ry stopped to catch his breath. “I’m thirsty,” he told me, tugging me off the makeshift dance floor as quickly as she had dragged me onto it.
“Me too,” I nodded. “Let’s go to the snack table.”
We pushed past everyone until we finally reached our intended destination. Ryan filled two cups with punch, handing the first one over to me like the gentleman he was. I took a sip and instantly made a face.
“This tastes funny,” I complained, my lips still puckered.
“Maybe because someone spiked it,” Ry laughed.
“Oh no,” I chuckled, putting my cup down on the table. “There is no way on this earth that I am getting drunk again, especially not tonight. And this isn’t prom!” I shouted the last part, rolling my eyes and making Ryan chuckle.
Then he bent down slightly to whisper in my ear. “Birthday boy is coming this way,” he whispered. My head snapped up in the direction Ry was staring and, sure enough, I saw Grant walking right towards us.
“Hey, Rose,” Grant greeted casually once he’d reached us. Ryan cleared his throat, obviously hurt that he hadn’t acknowledged his own existence. “And hey, Ryan,” Grant added quickly, chuckling.
“Happy birthday,” I grinned.
Grant nodded. “Thanks, the party’s great,” he smiled back.
I could feel Grant’s blue eyes staring right at me, even though my gaze had travelled to the floor. I was just too chicken to look back at him at the moment, not wanting to get lost in the abyss of his eyes with all these people around.
“Hey! Everyone, listen up!” Trent’s voice shouted over the noise. All the people in the living room stopped what they were doing immediately, starting to gather around where Trent was stood. “Can the birthday boy please step forward?”
I heard Grant laugh slightly before making his way over to his best friend. When he reached him, they gave each other a less than awkward man-hug, and then Grant raised his eyebrows, curiously waiting for what Trent had to say.
“I think it’s time for the birthday boy to open some of his presents,” Trent yelled, making everybody cheer. My brother nodded towards the table, mouthing for me to push the present table over to them.
They were lucky it was on wheels, I thought dryly. I tugged Ryan along with me to the table, and he helped me roll it over to them. Grant’s eyes sparkled when he saw how many present’s he’d been given, and I elbowed him in the stomach discreetly as I took my place next to him.
“Here, open mine first!” Trent insisted, picking up his present and shoved it under Grant’s nose excitedly. He unwrapped the little packet, revealing the new iPod touch Trent had spent hours downloading all of Grant’s favorite tracks onto. “It’s so you stop moaning about all the crap that’s on the radio when we ride to school,” Trent explained, grinning.
“Thanks, man,” Grant laughed. “It’s awesome.” He put the gift down and picked up another. It happened to be the one that I had bought him, and I chuckled under my breath for what was about to come.
Ripping off the paper, Grant lifted up the pair of SpongeBob boxers I had ended up getting. “Uh… it’s some SpongeBob boxers,” he stated, pointing out the obvious.
I smiled. “What? You do like them, don’t you?”
“No,” he scoffed. “What kind of present is this?”
“Excuse me?” I yelled. “Do you know how long it took for me to pick them out?”
Grant laughed. “What, all of five minutes?”
“Oh no you didn’t!” I exclaimed, surprised at how he was acting. “Listen, you selfish little—“
“Shut up, Rose,” Trent hissed, beginning to laugh nervously as he tried to separate the two of us. “We’ll just open the presents later. Let’s bring out the cake!” my brother announced. “Rose, get the cake.”
“Get it your damn self. I’m not your maid!” I countered.
“Fine,” Trent huffed. “Mom, Dad, can you please get the cake?”
My parents nodded obediently and left the room, coming back with another table on wheels. This one was carrying a cake, though, and it probably weighed more than me by the looks of it.
Everyone gasped and clapped at the extravagant cake, but I, however, just rolled my eyes and went to stand near the snack table.