Page 211 of Cross the Line
“If all artists thought like you, there wouldn’t be any. Personally, I think you’re fantastic.”
“I don’t know. It’s a lot to think about, and there’s so much to take into consideration. Then there’s the financials…”
“And you have a man who is a genius with numbers. What do Eli and Jayden think?”
Oh, man, she’s going to have a field day. “I haven’t told them yet.They’ve been busy with game prep, and with everything else going on, it’s?—”
“An excuse. That’s what it is. Because you know they’d tell you to go for it.”
They would. Eli and JJ would tell me to do anything that makes me happy. It’s one of the many reasons I adore them.
“I’m still thinking about it,” I say, inhaling long and letting the warmth in my back seep deeper, melting the weight that keeps pulling me under. On the exhale, I let the anxiety go, one stubborn thread at a time.
Eyes closed, my mind drifts right back to the giddy start of the day—Jayden’s recording, their posts: Blanca licking my laughing face while I lie on Eli’s lap, and the beach shot of Jayden and me, two blacked-out silhouettes etched against a Florida sunset.
I love them.
I love that I was too lost in the moment to notice either of them taking the photos. But what made my heart swell were the captions?—
elisylkesFate…
A foregone conclusion.
HBD my beautiful
jaydenmorrow74Serendipity.
noun ·formal
1. The fact of finding valuable things by chance.
2. Good fortune; Luck.
HBD
Well,well, well… this isn’t at all embarrassing.
I bury my face in my hands as Christina and the girls stand and clap along to the sudden chorus from the restaurant staff. My cheeks flame while a small white cake is placed in front of me.
In the glow of the candles and sparklers, the thin, gold-painted rim glimmers along with the gold flecks on the buttercream. I can’t stop smiling at the familiar handwriting on top,wishing me aHappy Birthday. One word in Jayden’s scroll, the other in Eli’s block lettering. A tiny golden heart sits below, shimmering either from my tears or the luster of the paint.
As I blow out the candles, my phone vibrates. Eli’s smile fills my screen—another Jayden picture of me kissing his cheek with the Miami sunset behind us—and my heart swells a tad more.
There’ll be no more room left in my chest soon. All this love is going to burst from me.
“Happy Birthday, Angel,” Eli calls over the cheers when Christina answers on loudspeaker.
“Happy Birthday, Lucky,” JJ follows Eli’s upbeat croon.
“How’s dinner with the girls?” Eli asks at the same time Christina tells him, “The best she’s ever had!”
“Pipe down, shorty,” JJ teases her.
“Ugh, asshole,” she glares at my phone when I take it from her.
“Sorry we couldn’t be there to sing with everyone,” Eli says, and my heart pangs even though I tell him, “It’s okay, Love.”
“We’re totally going to make it up to you,” JJ starts, only for Eli to cut him off quickly, “Don’t you dare!”
