His Slave

35. Party

I glance around the room which has been decorated with teal and gold ribbons and balloons, and an enormous happy birthday banner. Alternative music plays in the background and there is a table set up against one wall with several presents and my heart swells at the sight.

They brought me birthday presents? Adelaide used to make everyone a little cake on their birthday, but I can't remember the last time I actually received a birthday present. This is too much. I don't deserve all this.

"Hey." I turn towards my brother, smiling at him.

"Hey," I reply softly. "You guys didn't have to do all this for me, you know?" I say, shaking my head. "This... it's too much."

"Tell that to your boyfriend," Toby retorts, making me blush. "He's the one who planned this whole thing out."

I'm about to tell my brother that James isn't my boyfriend but I stop myself. If I deny that James isn't my boyfriend, that will prompt Toby to ask me what James is to me then, and that question would be far too embarrassing to answer, especially with my brother. But I'm also not exactly sure what James is to me yet, so I let Toby's word stand.

"You know, I guess I have no choice but to take back what I said. He can't be all that bad," he says, irritation lacing his words.

"He's not," I reply absently, searching the crowd until my eyes fall on him a few feet away, laughing with Emily and Daniel.

My heart swells at the sight of him, dressed in his usual leather jacket and skinny jeans, running his fingers through his thick black hair as he listens to Daniel talk.

He threw a birthday party just for me. He got all my friends and family together. He did all of this for me. Nobody has ever made my birthday this special. Nobody has ever made me feel as special as he does. And suddenly, I feel like my heart is so full it's going to burst.

I continue to watch as Julietta returns to the group, having found some vodka and she's drinking straight from the bottle. Emily glares at her and attempts to snatch the bottle from her girlfriend but Julietta holds it out of her reach, backing away as Emily prepares to chase her down. Daniel, Kylie, and James watch their antics, laughing.

I'm laughing too. I'm still not entirely comfortable around James' friends, but they're growing on me, and they've all been kind to me, except for that one comment Emily made over a month ago. The next time I saw her, James made her apologize to me and she's been better about making degrading comments about debtors. At least to my face.

"You love him, don't you?" Toby asks me.

The question catches me by surprise and I snap my head back towards my brother. "Uh... well," I stutter, shaking my head. My heart is pounding in my chest.

"No... I'm not really sure about that... yet. Um, I mean," I reply, struggling to get the words out. I can feel the heat burning on my cheeks. God, what the fuck am I even saying?

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves. "But if I were?" I prompt, wondering what his response would be. I'm expecting him to explode and tell me I'm being delusional.

Instead, Toby shrugs, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I wouldn't blame you," he says, meeting my gaze.

My eyes get wide. "Really?" I ask.

"If he's willing to throw a party like this for your birthday, he must really care about you," he replies seriously.

"No, really? I was unaware that James had glaringly obvious feelings for me," I tease, rolling my eyes before giving my brother a small smile. "He does care about me," I reply matter-of-factly.