“You’re going to kill yourself in those,” she tells me.
I ignore her because I’m making these heels work. Heck, I practiced walking in them on the treadmill every chance I could last week. Of course when no one was home because I never would have heard the end of that.
“Like I was saying, I was thinking. Maybe you should come stay here. Get out of your mom’s house.”
“Mags.” I can tell by how she says my name she’s going to say no.
“Hear me out. I live closer to school.”
“One mile.”
“Still closer,” I push, smiling at her. “Also we’re best friends. Think how kickass it would be to live under the same roof. I’ve never had a sibling, and I’m guessing I never will because I can’t get Dad to go on a date to save my life.”
“No, it’s fine, really. Besides, you have Eli. He’s like a brother.” I narrow my eyes at her, and she holds her hands up in an I give gesture. Yeah, she knows my dirty secret.
“Just think about it.”
“I will,” she finally agrees.
I’ll talk to my dad about it later. She might be in high school, but that doesn’t mean she has to live at home. She’s eighteen. I’m sure my dad won’t care. Alice has been staying here more and more, and I know it’s to get away from her mom’s house.
Jumping up from of the bed, I forget about my heels and almost fall over. Alice catches me by my hips and helps steady me.
“This is going to be a long day if you’re wearing these.”
“Well, you’re my best friend, so it’s your job to make sure I don’t fall on my face and embarrass myself.”
“I’ll try my best, but also as your best friend, if you fall on you face after I help you up I’ll have to make fun of you for the rest of our lives.”
“Deal.”
I grab my lip gloss and apply it, then hand it to Alice. She slicks some on, and I drop it back onto my vanity.
“I wanna give you your gift before we go down.” Alice walks over to her bag and pulls out a present and card and hands them to me.
I rip open the present.
“I think you’re supposed to read the card first,” she laughs.
I open the box to find a pair of decorated flats. They are completely covered in gold sparkles, with a gold bow on the top and a diamond in the center. Sunshine is emblazoned on the back.
“You win.” I kick the heels off, not caring how much I practiced walking in them. I slide on my new shoes. “I love them!” I wrap Alice in a hug.
“I thought you might like them.”
“They’re perfect,” I tell her, feeling a little choked up. Alice has come to mean so much to me. I never really got to have a friend like her before, having to move so often. I didn’t know what I was missing.
I release her from the tight hug, and she hands me my card. The picture on the front is of a hot guy standing on the beach, and I open it.
“I’m shocked you went and bought this at the store without blushing to death,” I tease. Not that I’m not an easy blusher, but Alice gets all wiggly and quiet if you talk about sex. I open the card and bark out a laugh at what it says inside.
You’re seventeen. Congratulations! You’re legally allowed to have sex now!
Under the words is a picture of a cherry.
“I can’t believe you got this card,” I squeal through a laugh.
“Well, I kinda got it online.”
“I shall cherish it forever and keep it with me always. If I ever get caught doing the nasty, I can show them my friend Alice told me I could legally do it.” I stuff it in my purse.
We both burst out laughing.
“Ladies!” I hear my dad call from downstairs.
“Coming, Major,” I shout back. “Better get a move on.”
“Did you invite anyone from school?” Alice asks as we make our way downstairs.
“Just the people from my study hall. I knew I had to invite someone or my dad might get disappointed and think I’m not making friends at school. He always worries with how we used to move so much.”
“Cool.”
“I’m not sure any are coming. I didn’t even give a real invite, just kinda told them when and where one day, so who knows.”
When we hit the bottom step, I see I’m wrong. Everyone is here.
“Oh, shit,” Alice mumbles next to me. “You’re going to have to be all social and crap with everyone.”
I let out a sigh, seeing my plan might have backfired. I was hoping the birthday party would be small, but it looks like everyone showed. Even people from Eli’s work, who I’ve been volunteering with. I spot Sherry, and I have to fight an eye-roll. I shouldn’t be shocked everyone from Eli’s work came. I volunteer there every day after school since the first time Eli took me there, and I was planning to do more on winter break and over the summer, too.
Not only that, but it looks like my dad invited people from his work, too. The house is full of people, and the pleasant thought of a quiet party at home with just a few people goes up in flames.
I put on a giant smile, knowing how much this means to my dad.
“Hi everyone!” I yell, waving. Happy birthdays fill the air, and I feel Alice drop back. She hates crowds, and I won’t drag her into them. They aren’t my favorite thing in the world, but they also don’t bother me that much.
I make my way around the room, stopping to talk to people from school.
“Happy birthday,” Sam says, pulling me into a hug. He sits next to me in study hall and we also have a few of the same classes. Sometimes we share notes and help each other. He’s always super nice and it’s hard not to be friendly with him.
“Thanks.” I smile up at him. “I’m happy everyone came.”
“We wouldn’t miss it.” Tyler, another boy from my class, says, pulling me into a hug. Mandy pops up next to him, wishing me a happy birthday, too. I get lost in conversation with them about the upcoming football game. Nick has been playing terribly, which makes me smile inside. We fall into an easy conversation about school gossip and I’m immediately more comfortable.
I can’t help but see Eli standing off to the side out of the corner of my eye. He’s talking to Sherry, but his eyes are on me. I give him a small smile before turning back to talk to everyone.
I pass through the room, talking to people and saying hi. I’m thankful for the flats Alice gave me, knowing I would have never made it in my heels this long.
My dad comes up beside me and pulls me in for a hug. “You ready for your cake and presents?”
“I’m always ready for cake and gifts, Dad.”
“Come on.” He keeps his arm around me as he leads me through the living room. We pass by Eli, and I want to reach out and touch him. I clench my hand to keep from doing it.
“I know Eli has been working hard to teach you how to drive, so I got you a little something.” He opens the front door, and parked in the middle of the yard is a white jeep with a giant red bow on it.