I had realized that not only was something wrong with what my mother was doing, but she had thrown this party to get close to that man. Not to me. It was my first and last birthday cake.
Tonight I would make a new memory. Jimmy wanted us to go dancing and eat cake. So we were going to do just that. I would celebrate turning twenty-three with someone who cared about me.
Stepping back and looking into the mirror, I felt like I was pretty. The dress I had on was a soft orange and reminded me of a sunset. It was strapless and belted at my waist with a brown woven belt that fell to mid-thigh. I had slipped on the cowboy boots I’d bought to please Mase. He hadn’t seen them yet, but I used some of my savings to buy them. They were on sale for half-price, so I had only spent a little too much on them instead of a lot.
The knock on the door was followed by an “Open up, birthday girl!”
I smiled and went to let Jimmy inside.
He let out a low whistle and twirled his finger in the air for me to spin around. “I’m gonna have to act straight tonight to keep the men off you. Damn, woman, you clean up fine.”
Laughing, I grabbed the small clutch I’d bought last year at a thrift store but never had a chance to use. It was metallic gold but simple, with a wristlet strap. “Let’s go dance,” I told him, as he took my hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm.
“I got moves, girl. You just wait.”
I had no doubt he did.
We headed into town instead of out of it, but I knew there was nowhere to dance in Rosemary Beach. Frowning, I glanced over at Jimmy, who was singing “Born in the U.S.A.” and tapping his steering wheel like it was drums.
“Where are we dancing?” I asked.
“Ah, some place called FloraBama,” he replied, flashing me a smile that was too big. Something was off.
“But we aren’t headed out of town,” I pointed out.
He nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Gotta drop something off first at the club.”
Well, that made sense. I sat back and watched the small town pass by as we turned into the back entrance of the club where the workers parked. Jimmy drove down toward a shell road that seemed to lead out to the water.
Was he dropping something off at the beach?
“Here we are,” he said, smiling at me as he swung open the door. We had driven down as far as we could go.
“If you’ll just walk down this wooden walkway toward that light up ahead,” Jimmy said, pointing me toward what looked like the top of a small tent from here. There were palm trees in the way.
“Do you need me to drop it off?” I asked, trying to figure out what he was asking me.
“Yep. Only you can drop off you. Happy birthday, Reese. You look amazing. Now, go follow that path,” he said with a wink, then climbed back into his car and drove off. I stood there looking at the path and back to where Jimmy had left.
It was then that it starting sinking in. Jimmy had dropped me off. Me. I turned and headed down the wooden path. Halfway down, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I started to run. I knew who was going to be at the end of this path. I knew who he’d dropped me off to. And I wanted to get there.
Once I broke free out of the palm-lined walkway, I saw him.
He was wearing a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of khaki shorts. He stood inside a white tent illuminated by candlelight, with a three-tiered birthday cake beside him. It was a pretty pale pink and sparkled under the dim lights. Silver balloons filled the tent.
“Happy birthday, Reese,” Mase said, smiling.
I let out a startled laugh, then burst into tears and ran for him.
He met me halfway, picked me up in his arms, and buried his face in my neck. “Surprise.”
I leaned back and kissed him hard. I didn’t know how else to express the emotion that was barreling through me. It was so overwhelming, I felt like I might combust from happiness. He’d done this all for me. A cake and balloons. And most importantly, him.
“How did you know it was my birthday?” I asked, even though the answer was obvious: Jimmy. I had thought about telling Mase but worried he’d think I was asking him to come back again. I didn’t want that, so I’d just kept it to myself.
“You should have been the one to tell me, not Jimmy. I never want to miss your birthday. Ever.”
I wiped the tears from my face and beamed up at this wonderful man who for some reason wanted to be with me. “You and your words,” I said, then kissed him again.