“How about that birthday cake?” She tilts her head to the side, a smile playing on her lips.
“Sure, baby,” I respond and place a deliberate kiss on her full lips.
When I pull away, her eyes shine. She skips off to the picnic table and starts motioning people around her.
“Let’s go.” I bump Matt’s arm, breaking him out of his stare off with Calvin. Matt blinks once before he starts to move.
We walk away and head toward my girl. She’s wearing the biggest smile and holds up a huge chocolate cake with fudge frosting, my favorite. Happy 17th Birthday rests in the middle in white letters. This girl never forgets. She’s been getting my cakes for the past four years now and the fact that she loves doing it makes me even crazier about her. Everyone sings the birthday song, Kelly and Lo are the loudest, of course, and I blow out all seventeen candles easily.
The rest of the evening, I keep Kelly next to me. She’s content to sit there and interacts when people come up to us. Lo sits on her other side and Matt and Erika are next to me. Every so often, I keep track of Calvin. He hasn’t moved from his position by the fire, holding a Solo cup and glaring at the flames. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that I’m aware every time his eyes snap up to look at Kelly. Matt notices too, his body stiffening even when he’s carrying on a normal conversation.
“He’s so dreamy,” I hear Lo whisper to Kelly, their heads bent together.
Kelly laughs lightly. “I thought he’d be your type. He’s a nice enough guy.”
Lo lights up. “Should I offer to bring him back? I know you have plans.” Her head nods in my direction. We do? Kelly must answer her because soon Lo is heading toward Calvin, ready to drive him back to the Morrison’s.
“We have plans?” I murmur in Kelly’s ear, noticing the way she shivers from it.
“I’m staying with you tonight,” she tells me, her eyes meeting mine, a hint of shyness in the frosty green orbs. My brows rise and her cheeks turn pink the longer I stare at her. “Is that okay?”
I can’t get my voice to work. All I can do is nod my head yes and be thankful that she decided it was something she wanted. I have the biggest smirk on my face when I turn back to the crowd, only to find Calvin staring daggers at me.
“I think we have a problem.” Matt leans into me again, and I agree. Calvin’s stare is heated, hostility rolling off him in waves, even from across the space. I keep my eyes on him, giving him hell right back.
A few people decide to stay the night and more tents pop up all over. Matt, Kelly and I are the last ones up, watching the fire simmer out, and like always, Matt is already making plans for the rest of our weekend.
“We need to stop up in Carson,” he argues with Kelly, whose plan is a lot simpler and has less room for error.
“No,” she shakes her head again, “you need to invite them here, on our turf, where we won’t be outnumbered. I’m all about teaching the little shit a lesson but not where we’ll be sitting ducks.”
“I can go alone.” Matt shrugs her off. I laugh, knowing he’s only being like this because he’s blood thirsty and wants to shed blood on their stomping grounds.
Kelly scoffs. “Of course you do. You’d take the chance to go rogue at any opportunity.”
“You guys don’t always need to be in my beef if you don’t want to,” Matt responds and then it’s my turn to argue.
“Right, like we’re just going to let you go off and possibly take on his little crew by yourself.” My eyes narrow.
“Invite him here,” Kelly says again, while she walks through a very detailed plan on where we can meet and how everything will look. I eye my girl with appreciation, totally amazed by what her scheming brain can cook up. It’s almost scary how easy she makes it sound.
“Exactly what she said,” I tell Matt, pointing at him, while still staring at Kelly. Her eyes shine with mischief, and damn, it’s hot.
“You would side with her.” Matt rolls his eye, and after a few minutes of thinking about it, he nods, “Fine, we’ll do it that way.”
Matt gets up from the log, his eyes trailing over to the only single tent where Erika is sleeping, before he stomps off to his own tent farther down. In some ways, I feel bad for him. I know what he wants and everything he’s willing to do to get it, if only the girl was that receptive. Erika is one of the most closed-off people I know, not that I blame her. It’s an uphill battle for my best friend and he tries his hardest every day.
Kelly shifts next to me and it dawns on me that we’re finally alone, and she’s spending the night with me.
“Are you cold?” I ask her, feeling unsure all of a sudden. My brain questions if I should throw another log on the fire or if it’s unnecessary because we’ll be heading into the tent soon.
“No,” she shakes her head, “there is something I wanted to talk to you about though.”
My head turns, giving her my full attention. The minute I do, she flushes again, her eyes trying to stay on mine but needing to look away. I feel a nervous energy race up my chest and panic starts to set in. Is she breaking up with me? “What is it, baby?”
“I, ah…” She laughs a little and it sounds like it gets stuck in her throat. “This was so much easier at home in front of my mirror.” Her eyes gaze up toward the sky like the moon can help her.
She’s beautiful. Her heart, her mind, everything. Ever since I asked her to be mine, I’ve never wavered in those feelings. I want Kelly now, in the future, always. Until my last breath, it will be her eyes I see and her voice I listen to. Age is just a number. I know I just turned seventeen. But Kelly’s name has been written on my soul since I was thirteen, maybe even before that when we first met in second grade. I stand and use my hands to guide her to her feet. She’s less sure moving, like she wants to keep sitting, and I take her with me anyway. The intensity on my face takes her words away, as her mouth parts slightly and her eyes widen.
My hands cradle her face and I bring her as close to me as I can. “Thank you for being everything I need. You’re so fucking beautiful. Inside and out. You are mine.”
“Jason,” she mutters my name against my lips, her eyes fluttering.
“I love you,” I tell her with so much conviction, her eyes pop open and a smile lights up her face.
“I love you, too.” She half-laughs, her body vibrating with energy as she bounces on her toes and swings her arms around my neck.
Not waiting any longer, I pull her into me, bending to bring her mouth to mine. Kissing her feels like finding where I belong, like being home. She’s mine and I’m hers. She owns my heart and controls all my thoughts.
“Tent,” she whispers, her voice breathy.
I growl, kissing her deeply, before picking her up off her feet and walking over to the tent. We have to crouch down to climb in, which forces me to let her go and puts space between us. Neither of which I like. Kelly scoots back farther into the tent while I make sure the screen and opening are completely closed up. She’s already stripped down to her bra and panties when I turn back around to face her. A flush starts at my neck and I feel the heat travel down my torso and straight to my dick. Kelly Morrison is the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen. I take off my own shirt and jeans, kicking them to the side. She watches, her eyes widening as I move closer to her.