Page 101 of Like You Want It

CHAPTER NINETEEN

FIN

My parents and Noah show up at seven, and the pizza shows up just a few minutes later. It feels like everything is going to fall together perfectly when Carly gets a text from Dina that they’re just a few minutes away.

“Alright, everyone! They should be pulling up in just a minute or two.”

“You don’t have to yell in my ear,” Noah pipes out, pulling on his ear lobe. “There are literally four people in this room.”

Carly giggles, but she tries to hide it by taking a sip of her wine.

“Honey, I’m sure everything will be perfect,” my mom says, giving me a condescending tap on the shoulder. Then she turns to everyone else. “He’s so nervous.”

“I can hear you.”

She turns back to me. “Yes I know.”

Carly snorts.

“Alright, lushy. Outside.” My comment to Carly is teasing, and she narrows her eyes at me before leading the crew into the backyard.

Dina is picking up Susie, who has been told by both Dina and Carly that tonight is girl’s night. Dina has been given strict instructions not to share any details with Susie except that they just need to pick up Carly at my place first.

Once they get here, Dina will lead her around the back, and that’s where all of us will be waiting to surprise her.

I’ve never thrown someone a birthday party before that consisted of anything more than showing up at a bar and chipping in for the tab. So my mom wasn’t kidding when she said I was nervous.

“They’re here!” Carly whispers loudly, and everyone goes silent, getting organized behind the gate that leads from the front yard to the back.

Even Maxie seems in on it. She sits quietly, her mouth open, tongue lolling to the side. Her tail wags as she looks around, trying to figure out what’s going on.

We hover for what feels like forever, with Nell babbling in my mom’s arms.

“Shit. I forgot the horns,” Carly whispers to me, then waddles off in a stooped run towards the sliding door, as if crouching will make her less noisy.

I shake my head and stifle my laughter.

Finally, we hear the crunch of footsteps and the murmur of voices that become steadily clearer on the other side of the fence.

“I’m not sure why Carly’s here,” Dina says.

“I bet I can guess,” comes Susie’s reply.

Noah glances at me, but then turns away quickly. There’s a pause from the other side of the fence.

“Does it bother you? That something might be going on between them?”

At this point, their voices are loud enough that I can tell they’re right on the other side of the fence. I look around and see my family’s eyes on me. I shrug.

“I don’t know,” is all Susie says in reply. And there’s another pause before she adds, “I guess I’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Carly appears at my side, a huge, giddy smile on her face. She waves at me, mouthingfor you,then hands me a horn.She passes the rest of them around quickly for everyone just as Dina opens the back gate.

Susie rounds the corner, and we all shout at her.

“Surprise!”

And then Carly is blowing into her horn like a total maniac. My dad and mom and Noah follow suit, but I break into laughter when I see Carly blow so hard into the horn that it flies out of her mouth.