He shifts on the bed, and I feel my pulse in my ears. He’s twenty-two. In Hollywood that’s close to forty.
“It’d be nice to give it to you on your actual birthday,” Rainer says, nodding toward the box. “Any day now you can open it.”
I take a deep breath. My hands shake as they pop up the lid. Inside is a ring, but it’s not an engagement ring. It’s a gold cowrie shell, just like my necklace, except this one is encrusted with tiny diamonds.
I exhale all the air I’ve been holding. I reach up and put a hand through his hair. “I love it,” I say.
Rainer covers my fingers with his own. “Good.” He leans down and kisses me, but it’s brief. “Here,” he says. He takes the ring out of its case and slips it onto my middle finger.
“Perfect fit,” I say.
“Like us.”
I make a face, and he laughs. “This is why I don’t write my own dialogue,” he says. “Come on, your party awaits.”
“Party?”
“PG,” he says, running a thumb over my cheek. “It’s your eighteenth. You didn’t really think you’d escape without a party.”
“Please tell me you didn’t,” I say.
Rainer plants a quick kiss on my cheek. “Unfortunately, babe, I did.”
We have some champagne in the limo, and by the time we pull up to the restaurant, the bubbles are creating a hazy, sunset-y feel in my stomach. My head is light and airy, and I slip my hand into Rainer’s as we step out into the night.
They’ve shut down the back of Via Alloro, an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills that Rainer loves. I feel giddy; I’m getting to see some of his L.A. life on my birthday.
The back of the restaurant is all open air, and it’s a gorgeous night. They have heat lamps going, and the trees are lit up with tiny twinkle lights. There are delicious things everywhere—trays of champagne and miniature appetizers. And I see a giant cake sitting on a table—spiraled words spelling outHappy Birthday, PG.
“You’re way too much,” I tell Rainer.
“Just wait.” He takes my hand and winds me to a table in the very back of the space where people are gathered. But not just any people.Mypeople. Cassandra and Jake.
“Happy birthday!” Cassandra says, launching herself into my arms. I hold her tight, breathing in the familiar smell of my best friend.
“Happy b-day,” Jake says. He tries to go in for a hug but is instantly squashed by Cassandra, who still won’t let go.
“Sorry I didn’t call,” Cassandra says, pulling back briefly. “I was on a plane.”
She grins at me. She has on a floral-print dress, leggings, and giant red sunglasses that keep sliding down her nose. I look at Rainer, who is smiling, his arms folded across his chest. “Told you,” he says. “I give the best gifts.”
I toss him anOMGglance, and then I yelp and squeeze Cassandra close again. “You’re here!” I say, still not believing it.
“Duh.”
I pull back and hold her at arm’s length. She smiles wide, and my heart feels like it’s going to burst.
“Glad to see I’ve flown all this way to come in a clear second.” Jake knocks my shoulder, and then he’s opening his arms wide and hugging both of us.
“C’mon,” Cassandra says into his chest. “Like it was going to be another way.”
Jake shrugs, releasing us. “I’ll take it. Hey, you look great.” He says it offhand, and for the briefest of moments I remember Jake and me kissing in my living room. But it’s such a distant memory, it feels as if it belongs to someone else.
I put my hands on his shoulders. “Thanks for coming,” I say.
He wraps his arms around me, and even though Cassandra and Rainer are right next to us, I pull him in even tighter. He’s family. In some ways even more so than my own. Joanna and my parents came out for the premiere, but I haven’t seen my brothers since the last time I was home.
“You may suffocate him,” Cassandra says when I finally let Jake go. I glance over at her, but she’s smiling, unconcerned. “He’d probably let you. He’s experiencing so much guilt about thatplane ride.” She mouths the last two words to me.
