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Nolan*

Well, this was it. My 18th birthday.

I woke up to Mom serving me breakfast in bed, with happy tears in her eyes, and her telling me how much I've grown up. After school, Justin and Kalani arrived to take me to go get my

pictures taken to add to the ones on the wall. Kalani decided to stay with Mom because she of her growing belly. Even pregnant, she was gorgeous. She was giving birth to McKenzie Reeds, a girl.

After the pictures, we went back home to celebrate a little bit and just hang out. I was happy, but I hadn't said a word to Asher all the day. He hadn't even texted me.

Soon, Shane came to pick me up and drive all the way to Jace's house in Louisburg as planned. In the backseat were Tyler and Darren. I knew I'd told Ash there'd be a party, but I was sort of lying. It was more of a little get-together.

"There's my big brother!" Jace exclaimed to me once I entered the house, throwing his arms around me. "Happy birthday! I'm sorry, but if I were you, I'd be at a club right now."

The others came inside, but the oddest thing was, Jace didn't even regard Shane. Knowing the two love birds, they'd forget all about me and go make out somewhere. I didn't say

anything, but I knew something was up.

"Have you had cake yet?" Jace asked, looking worried.

"I had some cupcakes."

"Good, because I couldn't buy you a cake. But, I have a gift for you!"

"We'll just make ourselves at home then," Darren said, sitting down with his arm around Ty's waist.

"Yeah, sure. Turn the TV on please!" Jace called out as he ran upstairs.

"I'll be right back," I informed, going up the stairs to talk to Jace. "Jace, wait up." I slipped into his room and shut the door, watching as he dropped onto his bed with a hopeless

expression on his face. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking down, so I just decided to be there for him before asking questions.

I put an arm around him and he laid his head on my shoulder.

"Something's up, I noticed," I stated.

"I didn't wanna be this sad on your birthday."

"Are you kidding me? You've watched Inside Out. Did you learn nothing?"

He chuckled. "What? Sadness is as important as joy?"

"Well, it is."

"What about depression?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

Jace straightened up and sighed dejectedly. "I don't know what to do. I keep having doubts, Nolan, and it's scaring me."

"Doubts?"

"About Shane," he clarified. "You know how affectionate we usually are, right?"

"Trust me, I know."

"Yeah, well, anytime he tries to like hold my waist or kiss me or something, I don't..." he sucked in a breath, suppressing his tears. "I don't feel any spark, Nolan. I don't, and it's

killing me. It's killing us."

"Why do you think this is happening?"

"I don't know."

It made me sad seeing him so hopeless. "I remember last year, Shane told me you guys had a little argument. Have you been having those a lot lately?"

Jace sniffed. "Not even. We haven't talked to each other for a little while."

"How long is a little while?"

"Um, almost a month."

"What happened the day you stopped talking to each other?" I wanted to get to the bottom of this. If I knew the problem, I could find a solution. I mean, there was just no way that

these two could stop talking just because Jace wasn't feeling the connection.

"My... my Dad brought Joanna over that day. She brought her three kids with her so that we could all hang out, but Shane was there. I just felt weird that day, and I avoided Shane as

much as I could. Spencer is the woman's oldest kid, a year younger than me. I hung out with him more than the others because they're just... not my age, I guess. Shane wasn't too

happy about it and for some really, really stupid reason, I accused him of not loving me anymore. He said I didn't love him either... then left."

I exhaled. "Please tell me, Jace, you didn't lose feelings for Shane because there's someone else." Someone else being this Spencer guy.

"No, there's no one else."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, tears running down his face. "I'm sure."

Then what went wrong? I couldn't point that out.

"I mean," Jace began. "I'm happy for my dad, but I don't want him to marry again. I don't want another mom, but Shane doesn't understand where I'm coming from. We've argued about it more than once because he feels strongly about it. Stupid, childish me, I got mad that he didn't see it my way, and I sort of shut him out. Now I don't know if he even loves me anymore."

So that was it. I knew what to do about this now.

"Jace, I know you stopped talking about a month ago, but when was the last time you said you loved each other?"

"Oh. Um... long before that, probably."

"Okay. Okay, I'll be right back. Stay put."

He nodded obediently, staying right where he was, still crying. I went downstairs and saw Shane sitting on the couch, his chin on his knees. He looked absolutely dejected.

I grabbed his hand. "I need you to do something."

"What?" He let me drag him to the stairs before I stopped, facing him.

"You love Jace, right?" I queried.

"Yeah," he answered immediately.

"So why haven't you told him? Not to blame you, I'm only curious."

"I don't know, because he was so mad at me that I didn't even know how to reach out to him. I didn't mean to piss him off." I could see sadness lurking in his own eyes.

"Okay. I think I know what you can do. Go up there, and remind him why you two fell in love with each other. Remind him why you love him."

"I know he doesn't feel anything when I touch him. Not like he used to. If I kiss him, he pulls away too soon and that's if he even responds. Nothing's gonna work. He doesn't want me anymore."

"Are you really gonna let yourself believe that? Why are two always so eager to let each other go? Whatever obstacle you think you're facing right now is nothing compared to the shit you guys went through before he moved. So, you are going to remind him why Shane Cooper and Jace Makreno belong together. Come on, I'll be there for you." I took him

upstairs and he just followed like a lost puppy until we were at Jace's door. "From your heart, got it?"

He nodded and sighed as I opened the door. Jace looked up, his eyes locking with Shane and he quickly stood up, wiping his tears. I moved to the other side of the room, watching Shane walk up to Jace.

"Hi, Jace," he spoke up.

"Hi, Shane," Jace responded in a much quieter tone.

"I... know some pretty harsh words were thrown at each other the day Joanna and her kids came here. Words that we didn't mean, right?"

"Right," Jace agreed, trying hard not to break again.

Shane hesitated, but realizing this opportunity, he held Jace's hands in his and stepped closer. "Remember when you were deathly sick last year?"

"Yeah." He nodded, not meeting Shane's gaze. "How can I forget?"

"I know, not the best memory, but, there was something I told you. One of those days that you were sick, I skipped school and I raced from Raleigh to here in Louisburg, to you. And you were coughing like crazy, alone in your house, with no one tending to you. You didn't even realize I was there, but I held you in my arms, calming you down. No questions, no

protests, you just relaxed. You asked me why I skipped school and why I would drive an hour to come see you when you were sick and practically of no use."

"You told me..." Jace looked up, tears welling in his eyes. "That if I were across the country, and sick, you'd walk the miles to get to me."

"Then you asked how I could love you so much."

"And you said the sun was meant to light the day, the moon; the night. Same way you and I were meant to love." Jace had the faintest smile on his face, the tears running down his cheeks slowly. "Which, by the way, was very poetic and quite cheesy."

"Cheesy? Maybe I was meant to be a mouse for you."

"A mouse that speaks in rhyme schemes," Jace countered, wrapping his arm around Shane's neck. Shane kissed his tears away.

"I love you, Jace, and I mean it. I never stopped."

"I never stopped either and I'm sorry I was stupid." Jace blushed. "I love you, too. You know, I could kill for you to touch me again."

Shane held his waist and they tenderly kissed each other, taking their time. I was almost swooning at the sight of them, but I figured it would be best to let them do their thing for now.

But I wanted my gift first. "Hey, um, Jace. The gift."

He pulled away from Shane to mumble, "In the closet." Then they went back to sucking each other's face off.

I went to his closet and saw the wrapped up rectangular box and grabbed it. I didn't think it could happen under five seconds, but when I turned around, the two love bunnies were shirtless and on the bed, legs tangled and all.

With wide eyes, I made my way to Jace's door.

"Wait, Nolan!" Jace called out as Shane devoured his neck. "Can you get the lube in the bathroom? Thanks, for everything, you're such a good friend!"

I shut my eyes, leaving his room, closing the door and shaking the image out of my brain.

He wasn't serious. I went to the bathroom and saw the bottle on the sink and sighed.

Groaning, I took it and made my way back to his room, only to hear the moans.

Hell. No. I was not going in there. I dropped the bottle, figuring Jace was just fine without it from what I'd heard, and went downstairs. When Tyler and Darren saw me, Darren immediately started cheering.

"That's ten dollars!" he said as Tyler folded his arms.

"Fuck you, Darren!" he said, bringing out his wallet.

Darren turned to me. "Ty bet me ten dollars you guys were having a threesome."

"I thought I was right! A bed can't make that much noise with just two people!" Ty grumbled, shoving the bucks into his boyfriend's hands.

"Uh, look at us. Yes, it can," Darren opposed, stuffing the money inside his pockets.

I rolled my eyes and dropped onto the couch.

"It's about time those two made up, anyway," Tyler said. "What about you, Nolan? You and your beau got any plans for tonight?"

I stared at the box, my face growing red.

"I knew it! Ugh, I should've bet that! Well, if you need any advice, just... keep your body relaxed and still-"

"UM, I'm sure he'll tell me what I need to do because this is just awkward," I interrupted.

"Uh, it may be awkward but it's helpful. You don't wanna, like, get totally lost and be completely clueless."

"I'm a virgin, Ty, I'm sure he'll understand."

"Anyway, relax and stay still. Prep makes everything hurt less. Oh! The g-spot! We need to talk about this."

I grimaced. "Ty!"

"What? I'm serious, if you wanna reach the best climax you could possibly reach, you'd listen to me."

I huffed, sinking into the chair. "Go on."

"Well, the best way to get it is to ride him and lean back while your hips are slightly upward. I mean, that works for me the most but there are lots of ways to make it feel good."

I buried my face in my hands, hiding the embarrassment. I swear, Tyler had no filter.

"Try your best to meet all his thrusts, and to be honest, if he doesn't have an STD, don't bother with protection. Friction is key. So is communication. If you want harder or faster thrusts, just say so."

"Great, Ty, I'll keep it in mind. Will that be all?" I looked at him, hoping he'd say yes.

"No!" Tyler stood up and grabbed Darren who was busy watching the TV.

"What're you doing?"

"Work with me!" Tyler shoved him onto the floor with a big smirk. "We are gonna teach Nolan some satisfying positions."

"No!" Darren and I shouted as I stood to my feet.

"You, sit!" Tyler commanded me. "Darren, missionary!"

**

Shane dropped me off home early that evening, and I rushed to go freshen myself up. As eager as I was to see Asher, I was extremely nervous. My mind and heart were both racing.

I took my sweet time in the shower, using the best-smelling soaps I could find and scrubbing myself until I was almost transparent.

I took a breath and stood under the water as it rinsed me down. When I got out, I rubbed a scented lotion all over myself and glanced in the mirror. I was such a girl right now. Not to hate on girls, but seriously, scented lotion?

I rolled my eyes, styling my hair so that it was all back and sleek. Then, I walked into my room to dress into nice clothes.

That's when I heard the only voice that would make my heart jolt and jump. I quickly put on a nice, button-up shirt, my dark jeans, and shoes then grabbed my jacket and phone before

walking out of my room. I walked down the short hallway of our smaller house and into the living room where Asher was standing and Mom was giving him some lemonade.

When he saw me, he completely forgot about the drink in his hand and just stared at me.

"Asher's taking you out," Mom informed, looking at my outfit. "You cleaned up nice." She chuckled and went to the kitchen, our dogs all following her as usual.

Asher stepped up to me. "Happy birthday. You look beautiful." He smiled. "Like, you're the only person I know who's so beautiful inside and out."

"Thank you. I was almost convinced you forgot..."

"Yeah, that's never gonna happen. Not with you, anyway."

I grinned. "You look great, too." I gripped the sides of his leather jacket, jerking him forward and kissing him. When we pulled away, he pecked my forehead.

"I like this eager side of you," he commented.

"Where's Zion?"

"At Jonah's for the night. I've been working all day so I could spend the night with you."

"Since it's my birthday..."

"Yes..." he winked at me and I just about died. "I wanted to go somewhere first. To treat you."

"Okay. Where is it?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you." He laced his fingers with mine. "Ready?"

"Mhm." I called out to my mom, telling her goodbye and she told me to have fun and be back tomorrow. I blushed at that. She knew, didn't she?

Asher and I got into his car and I grasped the seat belt. "I really wanna know where we're going," I told him as he backed out of the driveway. He glanced over at me. "Are you panicking?"

I loosened my grip on the seatbelt and sighed. "No, sorry. I... I trust you."

"We're going to a restaurant. It's just a little more fancy than the ones I take you to." He held out his hand to me. "I'll drive steady, I promise. You don't have to panic."

I gazed at his him and completely released the seatbelt before accepting his hand.

I watched out the windows as he drove, watching the cars and lights whizz by. The sun was setting, causing the orange and pink glow to dance throughout the sky. I smiled at it.

Nearly 20 minutes later, the car slowed so I looked ahead and gasped at the bright name of the restaurant we were parked by. The building stood tall, high and mighty in all its grandeur.

"Cherry Garden?"

Asher nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, my god, Ash..."

"Too much?"

I stared at it. "No, well - it's five-star. My girlfriend that passed away always wanted to come here but it was so expensive."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it'd bring back memories..."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. I'm excited to be here." I opened the car door and got out as he followed my lead. "This must be an important night."

"You're eighteen," he reminded.Once we entered the building, I was greeted by a wave of sweet aromas and the chandelier lights.

"I can't believe you're doing this for me," I gasped.

"Are you kidding? I'd walk across a rope stretching from one skyscraper to another in New York for you," Asher replied.

"Yeah, I wouldn't let you do that." I laughed, failing to hide my blush.

We were led to the top floor where there were large windows and a splendid view of the setting sun. I marveled at it, but I didn't want to embarrass myself so I followed Asher to our table.

"We've got this amazing waiter who'll get us some champagne," Asher informed me. "I know I don't drink, but, there are occasions."

"Not just my birthday, huh?" I hinted. A part of me had this gut feeling that he was going to surprise me later on. I didn't exactly know if I was ready for it. "Who is this waiter?" I asked,

squinting at him.

"Actually, she's a waitress." Asher smiled and nodded past me so I turned and saw his sister heading towards us with a tray of champagne in her hands.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted, always so bubbly. She was a fun personality to be around. "Just to be professional, I'm Aria, and I'll be your waitress for tonight." She set out drinks down and

smiled. "Happy birthday, Nolan."

"Thanks, Aria," I appreciated.

"We'll take a minute to look at the menu," Asher informed. "And, Nolan, get whatever you want even if it's expensive."

He knew I'd go for the cheaper things, which I was still going to do. I didn't want him spending so much on me. Soon after we ordered our food, Aria brought it to us, saying that we were her main priority this night. I admired her because of her dedication to the people she cared about. It was so evident. She was nineteen and instead of fleeing off to college like her classmates, she stayed behind to work two jobs to help her Dad. She welcomed her brother, who'd been MIA to her, with open arms. A lady like her deserved as much happiness and love a person could offer.

I ate my delicious meal, sipping on the champagne from time to time and sighing in contentment.

"I love you," I said to him out of the blue, not knowing why. He was a bit perplexed but I could see the happiness on his face.

"I love you, too, Nolan, a lot."

"So you know that... whatever you ask me, I'll say yes."

It was the first time I'd seen him blush. I smiled, hoping my statement was a huge push for him. I knew what he wanted. I wanted it as well. I thought about Zion and how he

spontaneously stopped calling me "Lolan", settling for Daddy instead. It made me feel so special that I couldn't describe it. I was sure he didn't even call Kalani his mom, and she'd been around since he was an infant. Did he notice the affection between his father and me? Did that prompt him to call me that?

"I'm going to New York, Nolan," Asher decided. "You were right; it's a big opportunity that I'd be stupid to pass up. It's just hard not seeing my son, or you, for a little over a week, but...

I'll be okay."

I nodded. "You will," I reassured. "I'm always here for you, remember?"

"Yeah."

I sighed, glancing out at the darkening sky. "One day, I'll have a restaurant that rivals this one."

Asher laughed. "People are gonna kill for your food."

"You can have my food for free." I winked.

"Is that a dirty joke? Nolan, I need to see this side of you more often."

I was about to reply when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. I looked at the person and I was genuinely stunned that she would even be here. Who could she be with,

honestly?

"Ash, isn't that Maya?" I was careful not to point, so he just followed my gaze.

"Yeah, that's her," he confirmed, looking confused. He faced me again and seemed to be searching for a clue as to why she was here. "Please just let this be a coincidence."

"I doubt she followed us here, Ash."

"I know that, but... why here, why now, why the top floor?"

"I think she's with someone."

"Not to be rude, but she kinda has to be. I doubt she can afford to be here on her own. She works, but it's not a good-paying job."

"Have you talked to her lately?"

"No."

"Haven't forgiven her, have you?" I rhetorically asked.

"There are times when I think I can, but..." He shook his head, glancing back at her for a moment. As if she could feel someone's stare, she caught sight of Asher and her eyes lit up. She turned to the man in front of her and from the looks of it, excused herself.

"Great," Asher sighed, looking at me. "Well, it's been a nice night while it lasted."

I rolled my eyes with a chuckle, shoving more food into my mouth.

"Hi, Ash," Maya said when she approached us. Asher looked up at her. She looked pretty, of course, but there was something else about her.

"Maya. You look good tonight."

She smiled and glanced at me. "Oh! I recognize you!"

"I'm Nolan."

"Right, you're the sweet heart I met at Kalani's. Are you two on a date?"

"We are. It's his birthday today," Asher informed.

"Oh. Happy birthday. I didn't mean to interrupt, I just..."

"What're you doing here?" Asher asked her.

"Eating," she deadpanned, but I could tell she didn't mean it rudely.

"Heh, yeah, well I know that, but..."

"But it's not my scene. I know. I'm on a date, too."

"That's good. Does he know you do drugs and the like, too?"

"Ash," I scolded as if he were a child.

Maya's face fell."You'll never let me live it down, will you?" she questioned.

"It's just something you should tell someone when you're in a relationship with them. You know, before you sleep with them." He mumbled the latter sentence but I was sure she'd heard.

"Yes, I know. I get it. But with what you told me about your dad, being a drunk, I couldn't. I was scared. You had the mindset that just because your father drank and was a mean man, so was everyone else who put a beer to their lips. I didn't want you to feel that way about me because I actually liked you."

I took a look at Asher and inferred that he didn't know that was how she felt. "You didn't tell me that was why," he said.

"You didn't let me. You never did because you blew up like a balloon."

He bit his lip and stared at his food.

"I didn't drink while pregnant with Zion, I swear. I don't know why you don't believe me when I say that, but the fact that he is a perfectly healthy child should hint that, you know? Just... putting that out there. I've also been sober since the New Year's. The man I'm with has been helping me with that. So, um... I only wanted to tell you that my resolution was to get

my head outta my ass, sober up, and try to see my son. With Nolan here, I guess I have a bit of an advantage, huh?" She lifted one side of her lips in a unique, pretty smile. I could totally see why Asher fell for her. "Again, I'm sorry to have interrupted. Have a good night - and, Asher, you treat him well or else I'll introduce my foot to your balls, got me?"

"What balls?" he replied as she smirked and left.

I raised an eyebrow. "You don't have balls? I'm sorry, but we're gonna need those if tonight's gonna work."

He stared at me. "That's... not what I meant, but okay. It was nice to know that."

I blushed and threw my napkin at him, laughing. "Think you can forgive her now?"

He considered it and sighed. "If she really cares about Zion, and actually shows it, then... I guess I don't see why not." He took a couple sips of his champagne.

"Good. Because she's having my baby."

******

Important!!!

FOR SMUT LOVERS - Find my book that says 'Mature Scenes', and it'll be in there.

ANTI-SMUTTERS (?) - Read on, you're not gonna miss anything if you do.

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