"Granny? Papa?" I say, my eyes growing wide with surprise as the two of them beam at me from the doorway of my kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, with your mum taking it easy like she is, someone had to come and make you your birthday dinner," my granny replies. "Now, come here, you. Give your dear old granny a hug." I don't waste another second as I rush to her and throw my arms around her. "Oof. Careful, there dearie."

I giggle. "Sorry. I'm just... I'm shocked. I didn't think—"

"Oh, what?" my papa says, a smile curling his lips. "You didn't think we'd all just let your eighteenth birthday go by without a proper celebration down, did you?" He opens his arms for me, and I hug him too. Softer though, as I don't want to knock him over with his bad knee. He pats my back gently. "Happy birthday, love."

"I can't believe this," I say as I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. "This is... you guys are here. How... when...?"

"Your mum and dad has been planning this for weeks," my granny answers as she beams at me. "They bought us the plane tickets and handled all the checking in business. All we had to do was board it. They just wanted to make sure you had a nice birthday gift. Originally, we were supposed to meet at a restaurant. But when your mum went to the hospital, we decided to have a nice dinner at home."

I smile. "Is that shepherd's pie I smell?" I ask, and she nods her head. "Oh man. This is such a great surprise. The best."

"I'm glad you like it," a voice says behind me, and when I turn around I see my mom standing a few feet away, her hand resting protectively on her belly. I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her, trying to be gentle because I'm still worried about her and the baby. "I love you, sweetheart. Happy birthday."

"Thanks, mom," I whisper. Then I look up at my dad. "And you... sneaky, sneaky," I say, waggling my finger at him.

He chuckles. "Someone had to pull you out of the house while your grandparents got settled in the guest room." His eyes flit up to my grandparents. "Thank you for coming, Ginny. Pete." They nod their heads at him in response, both smiling. "Oh, there's another surprise too," he says.

My eyes widen. "Another one? This is already shaping up to be the best birthday ever! I got a bunch of new books. My grandparents are here to visit. Shepherd's pie! What else is there?"

"We may have invited Beth," my mom says. "Because it wouldn't be a birthday party without Beth, right?"

"Right," I agree, still smiling. "Oh my God. You guys, this is... this is just... I can't even say what this all is. It's just the best. We didn't have to do anything for my birthday, you know. I was okay with it passing by. I just want you to be safe, mom."

She gives me a sympathetic smile as she presses her hand softly to my cheek. "Oh, honey. I know. But this is a big one. You're an adult now. We couldn't just let it go by without any kind of celebration. You deserve to be celebrated." Just then the doorbell rings, and my mom's eyes light up. "And there she is. You want to get it, sweetheart?"

I nod as I run to the front door and swing it open. Beth is standing in the doorway holding a balloon and a birthday cake. "Hey bestie," she says, smiling. "Happy birthday!" She steps forward and gives me a hug before handing me the balloon and walking into the house. "Hey Bert. Ashley. How are you feeling?"

My mom rubs her pregnant belly. "Better. No more bleeding. I'm hoping I'll be off bed rest soon. Kind of miss going to work."

Beth nods her head. "I can imagine. Oh, here," she hands my dad the cake. "Stopped and got this like you asked." Then she spots my grandparents, and she steps forward, holding out her hand to introduce herself. 'Hello. I'm Beth. Summer's only friend."

I roll my eyes as my granny reaches forward and shakes her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, dear. Thank you for coming tonight." My papa shakes her hand too, and all of us step into the kitchen together. My grandparents talk to Beth for a while, asking her questions about me that only she would know. Beth, to her credit, does her best not to embarrass me. But it doesn't take long for the party to become all about sharing stories about my life.

Just as my granny is putting the finishing touches on the shepherd's pie, I hear another knock on the front door. My parents look at each other, a bit confused as to who it could be. But Beth just grins as she looks at them apologetically and says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention... I invited someone else here. I hope you don't mind."

My dad shakes his head, still smiling as he walks over to the door. "Not at all. The more the merrier." Then he walks over to the front door and swings it open. I stand in the kitchen for a minute as I wonder who it could be. Finally, curiosity gets the better of me as I walk into the kitchen to see who it is.

My heart leaps into my throat at the sight of Baker and Ian. Another shock, but this time my dad doesn't seem to be in on the surprise. Beth moves to stand beside me and leans close to my ear, whispering so that only I can hear, "Happy birthday, bitch. Enjoy your present."

I turn and glare at her. "You did this?" I ask, and she nods her head. "I hate you."

She laughs softly as she shakes her head. "You don't," she says. "Now go say hi."

I suck in a deep breath as I walk over to him. He's wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, of course, and his hair looks slightly windswept, like he's been outside all day. His gray eyes light up when he sees me. But before he can say anything, Ian jumps ahead of him. "Happy birthday, Summer!" he exclaims as he hands me a small card.

"Thank you," I reply, giving him a quick side hug. "It's good to see you, bud. I've missed you. Your brother tells me you've been killing it with your baseball practice."

He smiles. "Yeah, I'm getting really good with the bat. Only missed a few throws today, right Baker?" he asks, looking up at his brother.

"Right," Baker replies, smiling down at him and ruffling his hair. "You're doing great." Then he looks at me and his face softens. "Long time no see," he says, and I nod my head, suddenly losing the ability to speak. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," I say, my voice hoarse with nerves. I clear my throat. "I mean... yeah. Thank you. Um... we're just about to have dinner. My... my grandparents are here. My granny made shepherd's pie."

"Wait, your grandparents?" he asks, and I nod my head. "Those grandparents?" Another nods. "Wow. That's so cool that they came all this way to see you for your birthday. Did you know they were coming?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I didn't. It was a surprise. Apparently they were all in on it." I gesture toward the kitchen. "Do you want to... you know... meet them?" This is weird. I feel like I've had two lives this whole time, one with my family and Beth, and the other with Baker. And now they're colliding, sending me spinning and making me dizzy.

He nods his head. "I would love to," he replies, and the three of us make our way into the kitchen, where Beth is laughing with my granny as she pulls dinner out of the oven and my parents are sitting at the table, my dad with an arm wrapped around my mom. They all look at us when we walk into the kitchen, and my face burns with embarrassment.

"Hey guys," I say, trying to maintain my composure. "This is my friend Baker and his little brother Ian. Baker, Ian... this is my family. My Granny Ginny and my Papa Pete. My mom... Ashley. And of course you know my dad and Beth."

Baker waves his hand up in greeting as Ian stands shyly beside him. "Hey everyone. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for letting us crash the party."

My mom smiles. "You are very welcome," she says. Then her eyes hyper focus on Ian. "Hey Ian. I hear my husband has been bragging about his truck again?"

Ian nods his head, suddenly forgetting to be shy. "It was the coolest truck I've ever seen! I didn't even know they made them like that. My dad has a truck too, but it's not like that. It's old and always falling apart. Sometimes it doesn't even run."

"Cars can be expensive," my dad says politely. "That's actually how I ended up with the truck. My old one broke down, and I thought I'd get myself something a little flashier." Then he gestures toward the kitchen table. "Come on in, you guys. You don't have to just stand there. I think Ginny is plating dinner now."

"Thank you," Baker says as he takes a seat at the table with Ian. "Man, that smells so good. I can't say I've ever had shepherd's pie before, Mrs.... uh...."

My granny laughs. "Call me Ginny, dearie," she says as she sets a couple plates down on the table. "And thank you. I hope you enjoy it. I made it for Summer when she was in Surrey earlier this year, and she loved it. Thought it would make a lovely birthday dinner."

She sets the rest of the plates on the table, and we all take are seats. I sit in the open one beside Baker, feeling my body temperature increase by about ten degrees as his fingers lightly brush mine under the table. We say a little prayer over dinner, which seems to only happen on birthdays, before we dig in. And it's just as good as I remember. The potatoes are thick, like starchy clouds of buttery goodness. And the beef and vegetable mixture are to die for.

Dinner conversation is pretty casual, and I'm so thankful everyone got all the embarrassing stories about me out of their systems earlier. They ask me about the schools I've applied for, and I list them off one by one. But the big one, of course, is Columbia. My grandparents ask me about my future plans for after graduation, and I tell them about how I intend to get my undergrad degree before I work on my law degree. They seem impressed by this, which warms my soul. Beth tells them that she's hoping to get an athletic scholarship to the University of Idaho. Baker tells them about his Stanford goals, saying how he's considering being an engineer.

"What about you, bud?" my dad asks Ian, who has devoured his first serving of shepherd's pie and is now almost finished with this second. "You got any big plans for your future?"

Ian nods his head. "Yup. Baseball. Going to be in the major leagues someday. My brother and I practice all the time. Every day at the park. Summer comes with us too sometimes."

My dad grins. "Baseball, huh? You know, I used to play too. A long time ago. Back when I was in high school. It actually got me a scholarship."

Ian's eyes grow wide. "Really? Why didn't you go pro?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. I liked the sport a lot. Love to watch it. But I really wanted to teach. So that's what I ended up doing. And I love it. But I think that's so great that you love to play."

"We didn't get to practice too much today," Ian says as he takes another bite. "When we heard about Summer's birthday, we cut practice off early."

"Do you have your gear?" my dad asks, and he nods his head. "Great! If you want, and if your brother is okay with it, we can practice some in a few minutes. I'm sure I'm not as good as I used to be, but I'd love to toss the ball around a bit. Sound fun?"

"Hell yes!" Ian says excitedly, and Baker nudges him in the shoulder. "I mean... yes, sir. That sounds great."

My dad throws his head back and laughs. "Great! Let's hurry up and finish then so we can get started." Ian nods his head as he scarfs down his last few bites before running outside to grab his gear. Meanwhile, my dad heads out to the backyard, clearly excited to help Ian.

I pat my stomach. "That was the best birthday dinner I've ever had, granny," I say, smiling. "Ugh, I'm so full. But thank you!"

She grins. "It was my pleasure, love. Glad you enjoyed it. Now, why don't you kids run off and do whatever you kids do while your papa and I clear the table for your mum?"

I turn to look at Beth, about to ask her if she wants to stay over for the night, when she stands up and says, "Let me help you." My jaw hits the floor as she turns and looks at me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she gestures toward Baker. I glare at her.

Baker leans in and whispers, "I'm beginning to think there's some conspiracy going on here."

I roll my eyes teasingly. "Gee, you think?"

He laughs softly before turning to me and saying, "Well, I'd hate to disappoint them. Wanna show me around?" I nod my head, and the two of us stand up from the table, feeling the eyes of my mom, granny, and Beth on us as we leave the kitchen behind and move into the living room. I give him a brief tour of the house, showing him every room one by one. He lingers for a bit in my room as he takes in all my belongings. I'm just glad it's clean.

When we get outside to the deck overlooking the backyard, he leans against the rail and asks, "So home come you didn't tell me it was your birthday?"

I suck in a breath of air, purposefully avoid looking at him so he can't see how red my face is. "I don't know. With everything going on with my mom and little brother, I didn't really want to make a big deal of it. My parents are the ones who planned all this, not me."

He grins. "As they should. It's a special day to celebrate a special person." Oh God. I don't think I've ever felt this warm. Almost feverish. "So what do you usually do for your birthday?"

I shrug. "Not much. I mean, Beth's my only friend. Well, aside from you. Usually the two of us just get together and have a sleepover. We might go to a movie or have a nice dinner out. But I'm not one for big parties. If you haven't already figured that out."

"Big parties don't seem to do you well," he replies, and I nod my head. "But I'm glad Beth told me about this one. It was fun. And my brother loves your dad." We both look out and watch for a moment as my dad and Ian toss the ball around, chatting away like they're lifelong friends and didn't just meet a week or so ago. "Your parents are really cool."

A smile tugs on my lips. "Yeah, they're pretty okay. Gues I got lucky." He nods his head, staring wistfully at my dad and his brother. And it just occurs to me that he didn't list his parents as one of his favorite things on his list. "Can I ask you a question?" I ask, feeling suddenly nervous.

"You just did," he replies, and I nudge his shoulder. "Sure. Ask me anything."

"Why did you put me on your list of favorite things?" I ask. He sucks in his bottom lip as he ponders the question. "I mean, we just met last year. And you put me on the list above your own family. Well, not about Ian. But the rest of your family."

He smiles and shakes his head. "Why do you think?" he asks, finally turning to look at me. My heart almost stops in my chest at the way his gray eyes are practically glowing in the twilight. "Also, we didn't just meet this year. We've met before."

My eyes widen. "We have?"

"Yeah," he replies, nodding. "You've been in at least ten classes with me since middle school, Summer. We were in a group project together in the 7th grade."

"We were not!" I exclaim, surprised. He nods his head again. "Why don't I remember then?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "There were other kids in the group with us, and I didn't talk much back then. But we had to do a project on a country in Africa, and we all collectively chose Egypt because we thought it would be fun to talk about mummies."

"I remember that," I say, smiling. "God, that was so long ago. But I don't really remember you."

"I was nothing special," he says, as if justifying my memory lapse.

I swallow hard and turn to look at him. "You're special to me now."

His breath hitches as he turns to face me. "You're special to me too." Then he lifts his hand and caresses my flaming red cheek. "You really are beautiful, Summer. Lumen-escent." I laugh at the wordplay, but it dies in my throat a moment later as he leans in. And just like last time, I'm drawn to him. My heart is racing in the best kind of way, enjoying every second of this magical moment.

"Did you see that, Baker?" Ian calls from down below, and the two of us jump apart as if struck by lightning. "Bert just showed me how to throw a curve ball!"

"That's great, bud!" he replies, his voice slightly hoarse. Then his phone buzzes in his pocket, and when he pulls it out I see the smile fall from his face. He swears under his breath as he looks at me again, his eyes suddenly sad. "I have to go. I didn't realize how late it was."

Disappointment fills my chest. "Really? But you haven't even had cake yet."

He sighs as he runs his fingers through is hair. "I know. I'm sorry. It's my dad. He texted me about half an hour ago, and now he's calling me. So I really do have to go." I nod my head, frowning. He brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes. "Eat a second piece for me, yeah?"

I nod. "Sure," I reply. He calls for Ian, waving his phone around so he can see their dad is calling. Ian nods his head in understanding and gives my dad a hug. He's clearly caught off guard by the action, but he returns it anyway. Then Ian makes his way up the steps and runs into the house to say goodbye. And just as I'm thinking that this is the most disappointing part of the whole night, Baker leans down and presses a quick kiss to my cheek.

"Happy birthday, Lumen," he whispers, and my heart comes to a full stop. I nod my head, barely able to breathe as he goes back inside, leaving me stunned into silence as he thanks everyone for having him before leaving. And despite the fact that our kiss was interrupted again, I can't deny that that kiss on the cheek was the best birthday present he could've given me.

Author's Note:

I try to keep my chapters at medium length, just because I know that's what I prefer when I'm reading. This one is a bit on the longer side of things, but I hope it's worth it. Next chapter is coming out as soon as I can write it. Stay safe and healthy until then, my dears!
XOXO,
~Aly