Together We Heal (31 page)

No mention of my birthday, which was the next day. Either they forgot (the most unlikely) or they were planning something and pretending they’d forgotten (the most likely). I just went along with it because it made them happy to think I was in the dark.

“See you tomorrow,” Stryker said with a wink as we were leaving.

“Why tomorrow? We don’t have plans tomorrow,” I said, playing innocent.

He winked.

“See you tomorrow.”

“YOU KNOW THERE’S
a party tomorrow, right?” I asked her on the way back to the dorms.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not that dim,” she said with a snort.

“I figured. It’s nothing huge. I know you didn’t want a big deal.” I was lying a little. I didn’t think it was huge, but she would probably think we’d done too much. Oh well. I liked spoiling her. She deserved it.

“No, you’re not dim in any respect.”

She huffed a little, but she was going to have a birthday and like it.

I PICKED HER
up from classes with the car full of balloons.

“You’re an asshole,” she said, pushing them aside so she could squeeze into the passenger seat. “How can you see to drive?”

“Oh, it’s not that hard,” I said, pushing a few of them out of my way so I could see out the windshield. I was lying. It was a bitch driving a car full of balloons.

“I hate you,” Trish said, but she was smiling.

“No, you love me.”

She sighed heavily.

“Fine. I do love you.”

“Oh, and Trish?” I turned and had to push a few balloons out of her face.

“Yeah?”

“Happy birthday, hun.” She wiggled around to try to get more comfortable, which wasn’t easy.

“Yeah, yeah. Just drive and try not to get pulled over. Although, I would pay money to see a cop’s face when you try to explain this shit.”

Yeah, that might even be worth having to pay the fine.

Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any cops on our way.

“Roller rink? Could you be more cliché?” Trish said when I parked the car outside of Happy Skates.

“Shut up. You’re going to roller skate and you’re going to enjoy it. Come on,” I said, going over to the passenger side. She sat in the car and refused to get out until I grabbed her arms and actually pulled her out.

“I told you it wasn’t going to go over well,” Stryker yelled from across the lot where everyone else was waiting.

“You’re all assholes,” Trish yelled.

“But you love us anyway!” Lottie yelled back.

“How about we go inside so we don’t have to yell anymore?” Will yelled.

“Good idea!” I yelled back and we all headed for the entrance.

I told the bored-looking dude behind the counter we were here for Trish’s party and he motioned us over to where we could rent skates.

Now it was time for my first present. I motioned to Stryker and he ran out to the car. We’d actually had to have a planning session to get all this shit organized.

“Hey, I don’t think they have your size,” I said when she tried to ask for skates.

“What are you talking about? I’m a seven-and-a-half,” she said, looking at me like I’d lost all my brain cells.

“Nope, they don’t have your size.” I said, dragging her away and making her sit on one of the benches as everyone else went and got their skates.

Stryker came back with the first wrapped box and handed it to Trish.

“What the hell, Max?” she said, getting pissed.

“Just open the present.” I had never met anyone who disliked presents this much.

She opened the box to find a brand new pair of black roller skates with bright orange wheels and neon polka dots. They were super cool and they just screamed
Trish
at me when I found them online. I had to have them rush-shipped overnight for a cost that was more than the skates were worth to get them here in time.

“What do you think?” I asked when she didn’t say anything.

“They’re awesome,” she said in a hushed voice.

“Show us,” Lottie said, rolling over with her skates on. Trish wiped her eyes and then held the box out.

“Those are rad,” Katie said. Stryker was reluctantly allowing her to skate, but only as long as he was allowed to hover within two feet of her with his arms out at all times.

“Put them on,” I said and she did. I crossed my fingers and hoped they would fit. She stood up and rolled a few steps.

“Good?” I asked. She beamed at me.

“Perfect.” I breathed a sigh of relief and then went to get my own skates.

IT WAS SUCH
a dorky present, but that was what made it so great. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d been roller-skating. I was a bit unsteady at first, but then it came back to me. My friends were all good sports and it turned out that Will was a natural. Surprise, surprise, the athletic guy was good on skates.

My skates were the brightest in the place and I felt a little smug about that. There was a disco ball and flashing lights and they played terrible retro songs, but it didn’t matter. We all skated and tried tricks and chased each other around like we were kids again. Not that I’d ever done anything like this when I was a kid.

“Having fun?” Max said as we held hands during one of the couples’ skates to a Celine Dion song that made me want to tear my eardrums out.

“Yeah, I am. Your dating game is strong, Max Greene.” He kissed my hand.

“I’m glad you think so. It’s all for you.” Mine. All mine. I liked hearing that.

AFTER A ROUND
of the chicken dance, which Max forced me to do, we rolled into a private room where there was a cake waiting for me in the shape of a roller skate. I was probably the oldest person who’d had a party in there. All our friends sang to me even though I begged them not to and then I had to blow out the candles and make a wish.

I looked up at Max and he was looking at me in a way that made my heart go all poundy and jumpy. God, I loved him so much. I really, really did.

Oh, right. I was supposed to be making a wish right now.

I pulled in a huge breath and got all the candles out in one go. That felt even more lucky.

More presents were brought out from everyone and I was quickly overwhelmed. My favorite was a CD from Stryker with a bunch of my favorite songs on it that he’d played on various instruments. He always did something really nice for me and it was always something you couldn’t get in a store.

“To birthdays and roller skates and cars filled with balloons and sealing deals and ice cream in parking lots and blue hair and new apartments,” I said, winking at Max. Only he would know about a few of those things, but that was par for the course. We all toasted a million times when we went out.

Cake and pizza and soda were consumed and we all took off our skates. Unlike the others I got to put mine back in the box and take them with me. I almost couldn’t wait to try them out again. Maybe Max and I could go skating in a parking lot or something when we weren’t working. Because we’d be working our asses off this summer to pay for the apartment and then for tuition for next year.

After the roller rink, we headed back to Stryker’s, where there was a banner that said:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRISH, YOU AWESOME BISEXUAL.

I just gave Simon a look.

“I’m just so happy about it,” he said, giving me a huge hug and whirling me around.

“Okay, okay,” I said. “Put me down.” He did and we had the second round of the party with movies and popcorn and lots of blankets and couples cuddling.

It was a sweet end to my birthday.

“You look like the happiest girl in the world,” Max said when we beat our way into the car again. He was going to have to pop those fucking balloons ASAP.

“I think I might be the happiest girl in the world. Never thought that would fucking happen.” I didn’t generally think of myself as a happy person, but it was getting better. It made me think of what Beth said to me. To not let the bad stuff kill all the good stuff in my life.

“It’s a good look for you. I intend to make it my life’s mission to keep you that way.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said.