Page 99 of Pick Me Up On Tuesdays

Ethan barely had time to react before a glob of frosting smacked him right in the face. Another piece nailed me on the shoulder.

“What the—” Ethan sputtered, wiping cake from his cheek.

“Happy Birthday, dumbass!” Max yelled, hurling another piece.

Ethan blinked, still processing. “Wait. What?”

Joy, laughing uncontrollably, threw her arm around his shoulders. “Did you seriously not realize we were planning something?”

Ethan wiped frosting off his face, staring at the group—at the fire, at the cake-covered disaster zone, at the glowing sea just beyond. “But—Clark said—”

Everyone turned to me.

I, still standing there with a chunk of cake stuck to my hoodie. “I kinda manipulated him.”

Ethan gawked at me. “You what?”

“Get used to it,” I muttered.

Then, before I could react, he grabbed a chunk of cake from his hoodie and smeared it straight across my face.

“Ethan—”

“Oops.” He grinned. “Reflex.”

The others erupted into cheers, laughter, and more cake warfare.

I sighed, wiping frosting off my face. “This is exactly why I don’t do surprise parties.”

Ethan, still grinning, pulled me into the mess anyway.

Chapter 28: Gift Hunt

Ethan was distracted.

For once, it wasn’t by some reckless scheme, his own thoughts, or bad decisions—it was by his own chaotic group of jock friends, who had decided that throwing each other into the glowing sea fully clothed was the ultimate way to celebrate his birthday.

He was laughing, shoving back at them, trying to escape, but I knew how this would end. Ethan was going into that water whether he liked it or not.

Which meant this was my chance.

While everyone’s attention was on the impromptu wrestling match near the shoreline, I quietly stepped back, slipping away from the circle of noise. No one noticed—not even Joy, who usually had a sixth sense for whenever I was trying to disappear.

I walked toward the town.

The quiet hum of distant streetlights replaced the sound of the waves behind me, and the farther I got, the more I could breathe.

The beach had been suffocating in a way—too much energy, too much chaos, too much Ethan.

And yet…

Here I was, sneaking off to find a gift for him.

The realization was annoying.

I was the kind of person to buy birthday presents, but not for someone who spent most of his time making my life miserable. But something about Ethan made me feel like maybe I should do something. Not that I'd ever care to admit.

Worse—I had no clue what to get him.

---