Brad nods to me and raises his beer in what I’m guessing to be a silent thank you for throwing his brother a birthday party. To this day, Brad still doesn’t understand I would do anything for Ben.
“Elle, we should have been cutting the cake.” Peyton’s voice tears my gaze away from the Miller brothers.
“Otherwise I’m liable to bump into it, and I can’t control what my hand does.” I turn and look at my soon to be brother-in-law who shrugs.
“You wouldn’t.”
He nods and smiles brightly. “I would. I’m hungry.”
“There’s a ton of food here.” I point over his shoulder where the six-foot-long table has everything from pizza, wings, chips, and dips to finger sandwiches.
“Ever since we went cake tasting, it’s all he’s been asking for.” Peyton puts her arms around his waist and pulls him closer, resting her head on his chest.
“You went cake tasting without me?” There’s a definite whine in my voice. Peyton picks her head up and looks away sheepishly. “P?”
“It’s my fault,” Noah says. “There was this bridal expo in town and a few weeks back, and we went.”
“Without me? You didn’t even tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to stress with finals coming up, Elle. I promise.” Peyton pulls away from Noah to take my free hand in hers. I down the rest of my wine before glancing at her. By the look in her eyes, she knows I’m upset. I don’t really want to hurt my sister’s feelings, but I want to be there when she plans her wedding. She’s only dreamed of marrying Noah for as long as I can remember, and I want to help her make her fairy tales come true. “I haven’t planned a single thing. Noah and I went to look, and truthfully, he had to force me to go.”
“Kicking and screaming,” Noah adds.
“Hey, are we going to cut the cake?” Quinn interrupts. Noah gives him a high-five while Peyton giggles and I roll my eyes.
“You too?”
Quinn shrugs. “What am I missing?”
“Nothing, come on.” With my family behind me, we meander through the student body. Every few steps, someone tries to stop Noah and talk football. He’s polite though and tells him he’ll circle back around later. I don’t know how he does it. If it’s not people asking about his dad, they’re on him about football. Growing up in Beaumont, no one really bothered with us, no one really cared. The band was always good to our community, and I think giving us the privacy we needed to grow up normal was their way of thanking them.
Quinn and Noah holler out to the room, asking them to quiet down for me. “Ben, if you could come over here for a second.” Ben makes his way through the crowd. He’s about six inches taller than most of the group, with the exception of Noah and a few other guys. “Everyone, on the count of three we’re going to sing happy birthday to my best friend.” I put my arm around his waist and look at him as I start to sing. For most of the song, he’s staring at me. I can’t ascertain what his expression means. He’s not smiling, but not frowning either. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at reading people. I want to ask him what he’s thinking, but the song is coming to an end, and his attention is no longer focused on me, but at the room full of his friends.
“Thank you. This has literally been the best surprise of my life. And thank you, Elle, for doing this.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s cut the cake.”
“Yes, please!” Noah and Quinn yell out in unison. I turn away from Ben and hand him the knife, while Peyton starts pulling apart the paper plates. Once Ben slices through the cake, I take over and finish, making sure he gets the first piece.
“I know you didn’t make this, but it’s delicious. Thank you.”
Again, I tell him he’s welcome before he disappears into the crowd. Once everyone has cake, Peyton and I rest against the table, eating our slices, and watch as everyone mingles. “I’m going to see if Ben needs anything.” I polish off another glass of wine. I promised myself I wouldn’t drink, but I need the liquid courage to get through the night.
When I finally make it over to him, he’s chatting up one of the girls from his class. I have no idea who she is, but she keeps putting her hand on his arm, and when she laughs, she throws her head back. Instantly, I’m not a fan. She’s trying too hard.
“Hi, I’m Elle,” I say, sticking my hand toward her.
“Bailey,” she says as she reaches for my hand. Her handshake is weak and has no conviction, and her eyes shift back to Ben’s instead of mine. I can tell she likes him. Ben and Bailey. Bailey and Ben. Nope. I don’t like it. I step closer to Ben and hook my finger into his belt loop, pulling him closer to me. He leans toward me, smiling, as I move my finger over his upper lip.
“You have a bit of frosting here.” He doesn’t, but I want to send Bailey a message. My Ben needs someone like me to take care of him.
Ben’s hand rests on my waist. He leans farther
down, so his lips are close to my ear. “Are you drunk?”
I shake my head, hating myself because the lie comes easily. Tonight has to be about Ben and not my issues. The last thing I want is for him to worry about me. He needs to have fun and enjoy his birthday party. He can scold me later after everyone is gone.
“I think you are.”