AERIS
Hayes’ birthday couldn’t have come at a better time. Everything is perfect between us.
His teammates have him and Lila on a wild goose chase to find some sweet and sour potato chips that don’t exist.
Kit claims the party’s going to be lowkey, but streamers and balloons take up every corner of the space, and they’ve even got a table solely dedicated to gifts. I don’t know how Hayes is going to react when he sees…everything. He likes giving surprises, but I don’t know if he’s a fan of receiving them himself.
I’ve been poked, prodded, and nearly blinded by a life-sized cutout of Hayes in his hockey uniform. I’ll need to take that after the celebration…for scientific reasons.
Josie wipes her hands on her skirt. “I put the chocolate sauce in the fridge,” she announces.
Josie’s an incredible baker, which is a skill I’d gladly learn if it meant I could distract myself with cream pastries and a coma-inducing amount of powdered sugar. She even made Hayes’ cake—chocolate mousse with raspberry filling. She owns her own bakery on Fifth Street called More Flour to You.
“Remind me to hire you for a batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies,” I say, salivating at the thought.
“Ooh, what’s the occasion?” she chirps.
“Oh, you know, just some crazy party. With me. At midnight. On the bathroom floor.”
A dainty bubble of laughter pops out of her mouth. “I’d be honored, Aeris.”
“Did someone call for the life of the party?” a very feminine voice asks from the doorway, interrupting our conversation. There’s a gorgeous girl standing in the living room—who looks like she just stepped out of a Vanity Fair photoshoot—and a gift bag dangles from her arm.
“Faye!” Kit leads the dogpile that ensues, flattening the poor girl, and this has to be the first time I’ve ever heard a group of full-grown men giggle like a bunch of teenagers.
Faye? Why does that name sound famili—oh. This must be Hayes’ sister.
He’s mentioned his younger sister a few times before, but I never thought I’d get to meet her this soon. There’s a small oof that comes from the mound of testosterone, and Faye struggles her way out from all the broad chests and mile-long legs.
She dusts off her hoodie—a baggy, gray one that has UPenn across the front of it.
“Okay, we can’t keep doing that if you guys are going to get any heavier,” she says.
Bristol pretends to clutch his heart. “Ouch, hurtful.”
“Truthful,” she corrects, poking his flat stomach.
Casen sneaks up behind Josie and blows a raspberry against her neck. She giggles and swats at him.
They’re so adorable it only sometimes makes me want to roll into oncoming traffic.
“How’s work going?” Casen asks Faye.
Faye flops down onto the couch. “Oh, it’s great, Case. I mean, the job is only temporary until I graduate, but I need the experience. The kids are a handful, but they’re really great. There’s this one girl who has pretty bad separation anxiety. She used to cry every morning when her mother would drop her off, refuse to play with the other kids, and just wait by the door until pickup time. But I think she’s slowly warming up to me. She hasn’t left my side this whole week.”
“And that’s because you’re the best goddamn teacher in all of Pennsylvania,” Kit says, straightening out a baby picture of Hayes that he got from God knows where.
I never knew Kit had a heart, much less a soft side. It’s weird seeing him act all…loving.
Faye chuckles, and I swear it’s almost identical to Hayes’ laugh. They really don’t look anything alike. Hayes is all blond hair and blue eyes, and Faye is brunette in every sense of the word.
Once Faye realizes I’m in the room, she brings me into a bone-shattering hug. “You must be Aeris,” she squeals. “My brother always talks about you. You’re so much prettier in person!”
“Oh, thank you. But look at you! Hayes doesn’t know you’re coming, does he?”
“Nope, it’s a surprise! I’m only staying for a few hours though. My flight takes off at eight tonight.”
“Whatcha get your brother for his birthday?” Fulton asks, setting out five liters of soda and an eighteen-pack of beer.
Faye digs around in her bag, pulling out an index card with a smile and a wrist flick. She shows it off to the guys like one of those game show presenters, oohs and aahs splitting their mouths into open gapes.
“It’s a One Free Hug in Public card,” she explains.
“One Free Hug in Public card?” Gage follows up.
“Whenever Hayes tries to hug me in public, I scream and then accuse him of trying to kiss me, making it very loud and clear that I’m his sister. It’s hilarious. You should see the faces of everyone around us. So, this card gives him one time where he can hug me without any repercussions.”
“That’s…that’s gold,” Kit cries, doubling over in laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. “Please tell me you have it on video.”
Faye pours herself a drink over at the snack table. “Oh, I have a whole album of them.”
“I knew you were my favorite Hollings.”
“I also got him a Rolex, but that’s way less interesting.”
A Rolex. That’s…an expensive gift. Why couldn’t I be born rich? Or a trust-fund baby? The least my parents could have done was saddle me with an insane amount of money in return for all the trauma they’ve given me.
The screech of tires outside arrests everyone’s attention, then it’s followed by the death of an engine.
I really hope Hayes doesn’t have a coronary after seeing all of this.
