“Oh, shush,” she waved me off. “We’ve all had busy lives, and we live on opposite sides of the country. I wouldn’t expect us to know everything. Plus, I haven’t announced it on social media yet.”
That would make sense as to why I really hadn’t known. Even though we only talked sporadically, I always made sure to keep up with everyone across different media accounts, promoting books and building up the community I already had.
“I’m so glad you’re here, though.” I gave her another hug before another longtime friend, Becca, came up to give their birthday sentiments. It was consistent like this for a good while until suddenly no one else was coming up.
Except for a worried Jemma.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Her brow was furrowed, and Beckett was hot on her tail.
“Ryker isn’t here yet.” She said it quickly, shifting her gaze from Beckett, who’d saddled up next to her, and then back to me.
The moment the words were out of her mouth, I looked around and noticed that he wasn’t there. I’d been so busy that I hadn’t realized it.
“Where is he?” He has a live stream today, but I looked at the clock, and if he left after he was done, he should have been here by now.
“I checked, and apparently his stream ended late, but no one could get in touch with him during his stream, and my calls are going to voicemail,” Beckett interjected.
“When did the stream end?” I asked, pulling out my phone. My hands shook as I tried to open my home screen.
“Thirty minutes ago.”
“He was supposed to be here right when we arrived.” Jemma followed up.
I hit the call button, and just like Beckett had said, it went straight to voicemail.
My heart thudded, and the next breath I took was almost nonexistent.
No.
I would not do this. I took a deep breath in, gathering all the air I could, and looked around. I needed to be rational.
“Maybe his phone died.”
“He always plugs it in while streaming,” Beckett countered.
“You’re not helping, dipshit.” Jemma smacked the back of his head.
“Fuck.” He rubbed it, and Jemma turned her attention back to me.
“You’re right.” She took a step toward me. “Maybe his phone died.”
“Yeah,” I took another breath and straightened myself up, and gave myself a head nod. “His phone died; he’s running late, and he’ll be here soon.”
Ryker was going to be here. He had planned all of this. He wouldn’t not show up. He was just a little late, which was fine. He had a job to do, and he had been doing this because he didn’t want to tip off that the surprise was happening.
“He’s just a little late,” I spoke the words again, but they were shaky this time, my resolve slowly starting to fade. Jemma’s face gave away that she was worried about what I was feeling. Her eyes sank, and her face turned to pity. Pity I did not need.
“Let’s get you a drink, honey.” She grabbed my arm, directing me toward the kitchen. where food and drink were laid out. I took the bottle of water Jemma handed me and grabbed a small sandwich.
Food and water. Grounding. I closed my eyes, taking in my familiar surroundings. This was my safe space.
“Odette.” I opened my eyes to Ember walking toward me. “Wonderful party. I hadn’t even known when your birthday was until your boy reached out and asked if I wanted to come.”
Another breath.
Tears welled in my eyes. The thoughtfulness of Ryker reaching out to everyone himself was beyond what I’d expected.
“Yeah,” I smiled, hoping a tear didn’t slip out. “He’s pretty amazing.”
