Birthday Dinner

Everyone was getting ready for dinner when we arrived at my house. The parents were putting the last of the food on the table when we arrived with the cake. Mom looked especially relieved when she saw the cake. My guess is she tried to make one and it didn’t turn out.

Again.

I swear. Our family must have angered the god of baking or something. Even the simplest of things ended in disaster when it came to baking.

What surprised me was Paige. Mom had told us to invite our special ones over, but the guy with her was someone I’d never seen before. After finding a spot for the cake, I wandered over to where my sister was where she started to introduce me.

“This is my brother, Scott,” she said with a gesture. Wow. Such an enthusiastic introduction. A presentation on paint drying would garner more enthusiasm. I gave him a nod as I took his offered hand. It was a firm grip, one I easily equaled. “And this is his girlfriend—”

“Kaylee,” he said, face lighting up with a broad smile.

I turned my head to find my girlfriend giving him a huge smile as well. “Caleb.”

“You know each other?” I asked, still eyeing Kaylee.

“Sure do,” Caleb said. “We were close for… six months?”

“Eight,” Kaylee corrected softly as she gave me a quick side look.

He chuckled softly. “An amazing eight months.”

I watched as my girlfriend blushed. “Yeah…” Reaching up, she brushed her hair back. I glanced back at Caleb and took a second look at him. I immediately saw it then. The dude was smack dab in Kaylee’s strike zone. Well-toned, tall, classically handsome, piercing gaze and charming smile, there was zero chance this guy had escaped her interest. Apparently, he’d had it. For eight months.

Eight months! That was a frighteningly long time to hold Kaylee’s interest. Even counting the time before our relationship reset, we weren't even half that.

Before anything else could be said, Mom called us all to dinner. I watched as Paige clamped onto his muscular arm, pulling him away from us and towards the table. I turned to shuffle after them only to have a hand slide into mine. Turning my head, I found Kaylee’s blue eyes locking on me.

“I didn’t know he would be here,” she whispered.

“I’m as surprised as you are. What about William?”

Kaylee fidgeted in place. “Full disclosure? Caleb and I—”

“Used to fuck,” I interrupted, matching her soft volume. “Kinda obvious.”

Her cheeks were still flushed from my blunt statement. “Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I didn’t mean to make this awkward.”

“The only thing that could make this awkward is you mounting him at the table.” I paused for comedic timing. “And just to be clear—you aren’t going to do that… right?”

“Fucking ass,” she said with a playful slap.

“And just to let you know, I’m fine.” She continued to stare at me like she was deciding on whether to believe me or not. “Really. I am. This was before we dated, right?” She nodded. “Then it doesn’t matter.” She let out a relieved breath, nodding. A grin formed as I decided to tease her a little more. “But eight months? Damn.”

She rolled her eyes. “Shut it,” she said with a playful tap at my chest.

“Seriously though. That has to be a record.”

The confident Kaylee was back, a smug smile on her face. “Oh, he set all sorts of records.” Leaning forward, she pressed her face against mine as I felt her hot breath against my ear. “He’s the one who set the bar so high.” Kissing my cheek, she pulled away. With that smug grin still on her face, she winked at me before heading to the table.

Ah, when was I going to learn? It was like fighting a kung-fu master. Every attack I sent her way was effortlessly countered and thrown back at me. But her comment clicked with me as I realized I recognized the name. Caleb. He was the guy who she listed as her, “Top Five Best.” My eyes went to Paige with a new understanding.

That fucking little goblin… That was why he was here. She was treating herself on her birthday! That selfish little—

“Scott?” Hearing my mom’s voice snapped me out of my daze. “Going to join us?”

Shaking off my embarrassment, I headed to the table.