Page 25 of Brick Wall
Chapter Twelve
Annie
“Hey! How did camp go?” Goldie questions with a mouthful of watermelon as I open the door to our apartment with my duffel bag over my shoulder. She’s wearing comfy pajama shorts and an oversized T-shirt, sitting at the countertop, and having some chips and salsa.
It’s Saturday morning, and I’m finally returning home after a long week away helping my brothers coach at their nonprofit summer camp. I decided to stay over one more night since I ended up staying longer than I planned last night. I’ll be doing it again next week, but it’s nice to be home for now to catch up with Goldie.
“Good!” I say, throwing the duffel in the corner, joining Goldie on a stool by the kitchen counter. I waste no time and steal a piece of watermelon from her plate. “Except my brother was trying to play matchmaker, of course.” I roll my eyes when I share the tidbit with Goldie.
She turns on her stool to make eye contact, and her attentionis one hundred percent focused on me. “Ryan?” she accurately guesses, and I simply nod as my reply. “How did that go?”
“Poorly, as expected. Sebastian ignored it.”
“Did he ignore you?”
“Sebastian?” I clarify, and she confirms my question. “No, not really,” I admit. “He was polite, but not really interested.”
“Interested in you or the matchmaking?”
“Both, I think?” I say with some uncertainty, but I’m pretty sure he’s just not interested in me, which is fine. He’s a very talented football player and an awesome person. He can get any woman that comes his way. Why would he be interested in me? It also doesn’t help that I have the world’s most annoying brothers to bring to the table.
“Well, he’s an idiot,” my gorgeous and loyal friend firmly states.
“Thank you.”
Goldie nods as she takes a sip of her drink.
“I should probably warn you…” Goldie says ominously. “Your brothers invited Sebastian to your thirtieth surprise party.”
I arch one eyebrow in surprise. Yes, I’m surprised he’s invited, and no, I’m not surprised about my upcoming surprise party.
I hate surprise parties, and Goldie told me in advance like a good friend. Don’t worry, I have my surprise face all planned out, but I like to mentally prepare for the unknown when possible. Plus, there’s a concert on the night of my surprise party that I wanted to go to, and I didn’t understand why Goldie wouldn’t go with me. That’s probably the real reason she caved, because she was afraid I’d still go to the concert, anyway.
“Is he coming?”
“I’m not sure. I know Bryce is coming, and a few of his teammates will be there. The party is near the stadium, and it starts shortly after practice gets out.”
“Is Finn coming too?” I ask Goldie, referring to my youngest brother, who is a year older than me but is currently on the opposite coast. He works heavily in the summer, but with my brothers, you never know.
“I’m not sure about that either. I guess we will find out next week.”
* * *
“How about this face?” I say to Goldie as I make a look of extreme shock, and she just scrunches up her nose in distaste.
“Too dramatic. Keep it simple. I don’t think any big facial expressions are needed. Cover your face with your hands if you are concerned,” Goldie advises as we open the door to a little cantina in the Seaport District a week later for my “surprise” party.
I pull down my black dress because it was riding up a little, and I’m not always comfortable with short dresses since I don’t wear them often. I’m also not comfortable being the primary source of attention, for that matter, but it’s too late now, and my fate has been sealed. We push open the heavy doors that lead to the back area of the bar, typically reserved for private groups.
“Surprise!” I hear everyone shout.
I automatically cover my face in shock.
Goldie was right. I didn’t need to practice because I’m genuinely surprised how many people showed up tonight to celebrate me.
“Oh my God! Thank you so much!” I honestly say to a crowd of people, most of whom I recognize but some I can’t place. I start to hug my friends and family as I go around the room and thank everyone for coming and to see how everyone is doing.
One of my friends hands me a margarita while I’m chatting with a few cousins, and I happily take a sip. I edge closer to the bar with each person I talk to until I’m conveniently at the bar and in need of a fresh drink.
