“Hello?” I gave my best phone voice though I wasn’t really sure why.
“Hi, um, it’s Luke, the waiter from earlier.”
I closed my eyes listening to his voice. “Oh hi, how’s it going?”
“Good … good. I just talked to my friend. He said he’d be happy to meet up with you two tomorrow. Well, actually he said to tell you that ‘we’ would be happy to meet up with you, I hope that’s okay.”
So he was coming too? Yes! “Of course.” I forced my voice to sound normal. “It’s not going to be anything special, just me and her getting together at her place for dinner and cake. I can text you her address tomorrow, alright?” I didn’t want to give it to him tonight; after all, I didn’t know what kind of guy he was—other than a cute one.
“That’s perfect. Do you have a time in mind?”
“Um, how about 7:00-ish? That way I have time to get over there, and she’ll be even more surprised when you guys show up out of the blue.” I grinned, thinking about her reaction. She was either going to love me for doing it or she was going to kick my ass. Either way, she would never be able to say that I didn’t do anything for her birthday.
“That sounds good.”
“Great.” I paused wondering if I should make small talk. I decided against it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
And that was that. Our phone call was over. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and laying my head down on the pillow. God, his voice was so hot.
***
I arrived at Ashley’s just past 6:00, which meant we still had lots of time before the boys arrived. Luke and his friend.
Dammit, I should have asked his name.
I didn’t bother knocking. “Hey!” I called as I stepped into the living room. I looked her up and down. Pajamas? How the hell was I going to get her out of them without spoiling the surprise? I took a deep breath. “Aren’t you ready yet?”
“Ready for what?” She stared at me.
“Didn’t I tell you to be all dolled up?”
“Um, no.”
“Well, you better hurry.” I pulled her off the couch and into the bedroom. “You get started on your makeup, and I’ll find something for you to wear.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, reaching for her makeup bag. Suspicion seeped from her voice.
I held up a short black dress with glitter on it, my brow furrowing. “Too much,” I muttered before tossing it back into the closet. “Ah, yes, this.” I pulled out her teal dress with kimono sleeves and a square neckline. I tossed it onto the bed. “Dress it down,” I told her. I didn’t want her to be over-dressed. Myself, I wore a brown skirt that hugged my curves as it fell to my knees, an olive green shirt that was neat at the sides to show off my small figure, and a pair of three-inch ankle booties.
I pulled out a pair of black lance stilettos for her and her stockings, set everything on the bed and glanced down at my phone. 6:34. How had that much time already gone by?
I brushed my curled hair to one side as I made my way to her. “I’ll do your hair.” I grabbed it, brushed it carefully as she waited for her mascara to dry and got started on a simple braid.
By 6:47, she had her makeup done, and I’d but her hair into a side braid; she changed into what I’d picked out for her, and we were standing in the living room.
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“No.” I grinned. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
“I never know if that is the smart thing to do or not.” She glared at me, but a smile touched her lips.
My heart skipped a beat as we heard the doorbell ring. She raised an eyebrow at me.
“You better go answer it.” I fought hard not to grin as I followed her to the door.
She opened it and stood there in total shock.
I worked hard not to laugh. When I’d said he was invited to her birthday, I hadn’t expected him to come dressed like a present.
Okay, not quite dressed like a present, but he did have a gift bow on his head. Despite the fact that his cheeks were bright red, he grinned. “Happy birthday!” he exclaimed.
Ashley turned to me. “Um … Jade …” She turned back to them, then to me again. I smiled.
“I hope you don’t mind, I invited some people over.” My eyes flicked over to Luke. He just stood there smiling until he caught sight of me staring at him. He flashed me a smile that made my heart skip a beat.
“Well,” I cleared my throat. “Why don’t you two come in for a while and maybe later we can go grab a bite?” I suggested. As I moved out of the way, I pulled Ashley with me.
“Actually,” Luke held up a white plastic bag. “We figured we’d stop by a Chinese place and grab something for everyone. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course.”
“Jacob, this is Ashley, Ashley this is Jacob.” Luke made the introduction. They shook hands, and I was pretty sure I saw a spark there. I grinned as Luke came to stand beside me. Ashley and Jacob started talking, but I wasn’t paying attention.
“Thank you.” I gave him my best smile.
“Anytime.” He returned my smile as I led the way into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and pointed to the cupboard where Ashley kept her wine glasses. Luke nodded before I could say anything else and made his way over to them.
Ashley started unloading the Chinese food as Jacob searched for plates and cutlery, and once everything was laid out on the table and everyone had wine, we were all ready to start eating. Ashley sat down beside Jacob.
“I’m going to have a smoke before we all settle down, but everyone feel free to get started without me.” Luke smiled as he made his way to the front door. I followed him, deciding it would be best to give Jacob and Ashley a little alone time, after all, that was why I brought him here. “Mind if I join you?” I asked as we reached the door.
“Not at all.” He smiled broadly, looking me over as we stepped outside, the cool, late-summer breeze touching my skin. “You look beautiful by the way.”
“Thank you.” I could feel a blush rise to my cheeks as I took in his appearance. He wore a dark blue button-up shirt with clean jeans, his hair was slicked back out of his face, and I could swear that his beard hair was thicker today.
He stepped closer to me as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. “Do you want one?” he asked, offering me the packet. I shook my head.
“No, thanks.”
“So you just came out here to spend time with me?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” I confessed, casting my eyes downward. “And I wanted to give Ash a little time alone with Jacob.”
Luke rested against the wall as he blew out a puff of smoke. “She seems nice.” It was an odd statement. He eyed me. “She is, right?”
“Yes. Is he?”
“He’s a lot more caring than he looks,” he admitted. “Sorry, I had to ask … I just …”
“Don’t want him getting hurt.” I nodded. “I get it. Ashley is my best friend; she’s more like a sister than anything. I’d do anything for her, and if I introduced her to someone who hurt her …”
“You’d never forgive yourself.” A look passed across his face that I couldn’t quite read.
“Yes.”
We stood there in silence for a while as he finished his smoke. The silence wasn’t bad. It wasn’t awkward, I just couldn’t think of anything to say, and I didn’t think Luke would like small talk. “How did you two meet?”
“We’ve been friends since middle school. You and Ashley?”
“We were homeschooled together.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “Homeschooled? Why?”
I shrugged. “Our parents decided to do it.” I couldn’t say why for sure.
“What was that like?”
“It was alright … I got my high school equivalency four years ago.”
“Wait. How old are you?” His smoke hung in his mouth, mid drag.
I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I hadn’t even thought there might be an age difference. “Um, 21.” Luke stared at me for a couple seconds. He looked me up and down. “You?”
“A little bit older than that.”
My eyes narrowed. So he wasn’t going to actually tell me. “A little or a lot?”
“Depends on who you ask. I’m not past 30. Is Ashley the same age?”
“She’s 25 ... 26 now, I guess. When it comes to homeschooling, you tend to see friends who aren’t the same age since it has more to do with interests than anything else.”
Luke nodded as he pushed himself away from the wall and tossed his smoke onto the ground. “We’d better go check on them. Knowing Jacob, he might already be trying to get her into bed.” He paused. “Not that he wouldn’t call her back the next day,” he added in some attempt to save his friend.
A soft smile touched my lips. “Sounds like Ashley to me,” I said. I wanted him to know that his comment didn’t make me think any less of his friend. “I have to ask, is he much older than Ashley?”
“No.”
So Jacob wasn’t much older than Ashley, and Jacob and Luke met in middle school, so they were close to the same age as each other … maybe the age gap wasn’t that big.
We entered the kitchen just in time to see Jacob whisper something to Ashley. As we approached the table, I noticed how pink her cheeks were. She refused to look at me. Clearly something had happened between them; I just wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.
I reached for the sweet and sour chicken balls as Luke sat down beside me. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt his hand brush against my thigh under the table. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was an accident.
***
I glanced at Jacob. He looked worried; I gave a small shake of my head, and I saw his shoulders relax a little. There was no point in telling him that she was too young, Ashley wasn’t, and she was the one he was here for. I glanced at Jade. She was chewing her food, but I couldn’t read the expression on her face. Her eyes lowered to my hand as I reached for my wine glass, and she stared at my wrist.
It was something I was used to these days. Everyone stared. The scars, the tattoo—how could they not? I tried to shake it off, tried to tell myself I didn’t care what she thought about me now that she’d seen them, but the truth was that I did care. I always cared.
Without realizing it, I’d drained my wine glass.
***
Three hours later, I glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late. I’d better get going.” I pushed myself up from the table.
By now, Ashley had her head on Jacob’s shoulder, his arm wrapped around her and her lipstick slightly smudged on his lips. She jumped to her feet.
“Do you have to leave?”
“Yea, sorry, but I’ve got to be up early.” I made my way to the living room, motioning for her to follow me. “Are you okay here?” I glanced at the two men in the kitchen; they were whispering to each other too.
“I’m fine.” Ashley grinned. She shot Jacob a glance, and then pulled me into a hug. “Thank you so much. This has been the best birthday ever.”
“I’m glad you had fun.” I hugged her tightly before pulling away, making my way back into the kitchen as Luke stood up. He caught my eye.
“Could I get a ride? I’ve got an early shift tomorrow, and I don’t want to drag Jacob home, but we drove together.”
“Um, sure.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about being in a car with him. He didn’t seem interested in me after learning how old I was, and while the conversation was nice the entire night … it had felt awkward after that smoke break.
“Great, thanks.” His hand slipped into his pocket, and he pulled something out. He handed a set of keys to Jacob. “Just drop it off at my place. Put the keys in the tail pipe … and be gentle with her.” For a split second, I didn’t realize he was talking about the car.
“I’ll fill her up too.” Jacob grinned as he took the keys from his friend. “Thanks man.”
Luke said goodbye to Ashley, she thanked him for coming, and we made our way to the car. “Is he staying the night?” I asked as soon as we were outside.
“I’m pretty sure he is.”
I led the way to my car; on the way there, I caught a glimpse of his car. A newer model Challenger. I raised an eyebrow. “Is that yours?”
“Yup.”
“That’s a nice car.”
“I got it for cheap, it needed some work done, and it’s not new enough for everyone to want. The guy selling it was moving and needed it gone right away. I got lucky.” He shrugged a little, but I was pretty sure he was very happy I’d complimented his car.
“I’m glad you came back to the diner,” he said as we came to a stop in front of my car, a modest thing compared to his. “And not just because we were able to hook our friends up,” He added as we slid into the car, and I gunned the engine.
“Then why else?”
“Because it means I got your number.”
My heart skipped a beat as I froze for a fraction of a second. I put the car into drive and pulled out onto the street. At this hour, we were pretty much the only ones on the road. “I thought I was too young for you.”
“You’re younger than I would like,” he admitted. “No offence. You seem like a great woman, it’s just … I don’t normally go for girls seven years younger than me.”