He shook out his newspaper, offering me an apologetic smile.
“You wanted something?” I tried to change the subject, not wanting to get into all the reasons I loathed football.
“Me and Kent have been talking, and since you came to the game with us and Coach Hasson’s dinner afterward,”—she grabbed a white envelope off the table—“Kent pulled a few strings and well, happy early birthday, baby.”
I plucked the envelope from her, excitement dancing in my stomach as I tore into i
t and pulled out the contents. “You got me the tickets,” I shrieked.
“We did.”
“Thank you,” I beamed, leaping down off the stool and throwing my arms around her. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Mom hugged me back, laughing softly. “But—”
“No buts, Mom.” Untangling myself from her, I pouted. “I’m eighteen.”
“You’re still seventeen for another two-and-a-half weeks, Hailee. And New York is a three-and-a-half-hour journey which is…” her voice trailed off as she glanced over at Kent.
“What your mom is trying to say is that we’d feel much better about you going all the way to New York… if Jason goes with you.”
My stomach dropped. “No.”
“Hailee, be reasonable,” Mom chided. “We got four tickets for the exhibition. We thought you could take Flick, and Jason could ask Asher or Cameron.”
“You honestly think they’ll want to hang out at an arts exhibition with me for my birthday?”
This day couldn’t get any worse. First, Cameron ruined what had been one of the best moments of my life, and now my mom and step-dad wanted me to play happy families with Jason—on my eighteenth birthday no less.
“I’d rather not go,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.
“Go where?” Jason breezed into the room and I silently groaned.
“We got Hailee tickets for an exhibition she wants to see at The Met Museum in New York,” Mom said, and he did a double-take.
“You’re letting her go to New York? Alone?”
I bristled, my teeth grinding together.
“Well, no. Felicity would be going with her, and we hoped…” Mom looked to Kent again and he finally put his newspaper down. “We’d like you and one of the guys to accompany them.”
“When is it?”
I don’t know who was more surprised: me, Mom, or Kent. “What?” Jason added as we all stared at him. “I can’t miss a game, but if it’s a bye week, it should be okay.”
“It’s October nineteenth,” Mom said.
“It’s a bye.”
“That settles it then,” she said. “Isn’t that great news, Hailee?”
“Great,” I grumbled, shooting daggers at Jason. His eyes narrowed, but I found no malice there.
What the hell was happening right now?
“I think Asher’s dad has a place we can stay, I’ll ask him.”
“You want to stay over?” I blurted out. This just got better and better.