Page 97 of Unbidden

I return her smile. “I remember you talking about how you loved to go ice skating. You mentioned going to Vancouver on vacation, and while everyone else wanted to ski or snowboard, all you wanted to do was ice skate.”

I picked out each and every charm with that memory in mind. A pair of skates. A building that I was assured was located in Vancouver. A snowflake. A mitten. A beanie. A heart. The letter T.

She crushes me in a hug. “This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever bought me. Thank you so much. It means the world to me.”

She takes off her tennis bracelet before twisting to attempt to put the charm bracelet on.

“Help?” she asks.

I laugh but go to help her. “You don’t have to wear it tonight. The other one looks better with your dress.”

“Nonsense. I love it. I want to show it off.”

I try to act like it isn’t a big deal, but inside I’m secretly happy she likes it.

Mom always told me that to give a gift was to give a part of yourself. If you’re giving a gift based on monetary value or because everyone else thinks it’s cool, then you’re saying that material items mean more to you than personal connections. She always urged me to get to know the person I was giving the gift to and pick one that would mean something to them. The newest, coolest thing will fade, but the memory of the feeling the person will get from picking an item specifically for them will last a lifetime.

“You can open my gift later, T. I can’t top that.” V laughs.

“Sorry, V.”

She smiles and brushes it off. “No biggie. Now shots, then party?”

“Yes!” T grabs the glasses and passes one to each of us.

“To Tinsley. You only turn sixteen once, but you can be sweet as long as you want. I hope sixteen is the best yet.” V grins.

“To Tinsley!” I agree.

Then we toss our shots back, each making a face.

“Time to party!” V shouts.

An older song comes on, and it talks about getting it on for your birthday. Soon a wolf whistle catches our attention, and we all turn and find Finley has Tins in the middle of the floor, slowly bumping and grinding to the song while he sings the words.

“What. The. Fuck,” Reed growls.

“Well, he’s taken it to a whole new level now, huh?” V muses, coming up next to Reed and me.

“That would be an understatement,” I say while trying to contain my laughter.

“You have to admit it’s kind of hot. Who knew Tins could move like that?” Sterling teases.

“Watch it,” Reed and V say in unison.

“Like you could deny it, V. I caught you rubbing your thighs together. I bet if I touched your panties right now, they would be wet,” Sterling challenges her.

“Try it. I dare you,” V says while taking a step closer to Sterling.

“With fucking pleasure,” Sterling growls.

“Uh, how about you take this somewhere else first, yeah? We already have one show; we don’t need two,” I tell them.

V grabs Sterling’s hand and drags him through the crowd before stepping into the walk-in pantry and snapping the door shut behind them.

“That's not very sanitary,” I say and feel Reed laugh on the back of my neck.

“Wouldn't be the first time that pantry has seen some action,” he admits.

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