“I know!” She quips back with a wink over her shoulder.
I follow her inside, finding my favorite burrito bowl waiting for me on the counter, alongside a delicious looking cake and some balloons. I roll my eyes, but inside I am grateful for it all.
“I’m starved, and this is perfect. Thank you, seriously.”
She waves me off, “Yeah, yeah. We can be mushy later. Let’s eat.”
I burst out in laughter, already feeling lighter from just being in her company. We dig in, our mouths stuffed too full to have any further conversation. Jace eventually saunters in, grabbing his burrito from a bag on the counter and stalking off with it like he can’t stand to be in the same room with us any longer.
Thanks for the birthday wishes, bud. Honestly, I think it might actually kill him to say something kind.
When I’ve eaten as much as I can, my stomach feeling so full it might burst at the seams, Sal grabs my hand and pulls me to the living room. “Watcha wanna watch? Birthday girl gets to pick.”
“Um,” I say, “I’d rather not. Your choice.”
Her eyes roll so far back into her head I worry they may get stuck there. “You kill me! Okay, fine. At least pick a genre. Horror, romance, thriller?”
“Thriller sounds fun. I can’t do a romance right now.”
She glances back at me, eyes narrowing, but then she leaves it alone. She navigates to some movie calledDon’t Worry Darlingand presses play.
“I watched this one last week. You’re going toloveit,” she says.
I hum under my breath, not always trusting her movie and TV judgement.
My eyes stay glued to the screen from about ten minutes in, I’m completely hooked. I don’t glance even once down at my phone, too enthralled for distractions. When the ending hits, my jaw nearly drops to the floor.
“OH MY GOD. That was so good.”
Sal smirks, “Told you so!”
I slap her playfully on the arm. “Wanna smoke? I’m in the mood to wallow tonight.”
“Nope, not today.”
I quirk an eyebrow, “What? When have you ever turned down a joint?”
“Just not feeling it,” she shrugs. I don’t believe her, though. “Let’s watch someGrey’sand then we can figure out what we are doing for dinner tonight.”
I nod, then check my phone for any texts from Theo. None have come through, and I wonder what he’s up to. I send him a quick message.
Sophie:Hi, miss you.
Theo:Miss you more. Wish I was with you on your birthday.
Sophie:Me too, but it’s not worth the risk.
Theo:I know, Trouble. Next year.
I sigh and Sal glances over at me, then leans in to give me a hug.
“Love you,” she says.
“I love you, too.”
We relax, settling in for some more binge-watching. When Sal’s phone pings around seven, she sits up straight in her seat.
“I’ll be right back.”
