Her Selection : A Selection Story

Chapter 17

Smoothing out the purple material of my dress once more, I begin my descent down the stairs. I hear people talking and laughing, along with the beautiful sounds of violins, cellos, and a piano. I catch the sound of Rowan laughing, which calms me. There were over one hundred people here to celebrate my birthday which made me nervous, but the boys kept me sane. As I walk past people outside the grand room they all tell me "Happy birthday" and express their "best wishes." I politely thank them, and smile when Rowan sees me.

I greet him with a kiss on the cheek and his brother, Bronson, bows to me. "Happy birthday, my sweet," Rowan says quietly. I admire his grey suit, and poke his purple bow tie.

"Nice color."

"Well, it is your favorite."

I tell him I will meet up with him later as I go to speak with the others. If they had done what Rowan did with their own outfits, I would be very pleased. I had hinted at my want for purple on everyone today.

Owen is the next boy I see and a smile covers his face when I do. His deep purple tie catches my eye. I kiss his cheek when I get to him, and he wraps his arm around my waist.

"I have a present for you, but it will come later," he whispers to me.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"Technically I didn't get you anything. But it is your birthday, you deserve everything. This was the closest I could get to that."

I smile and kiss his cheek once more before promising to find him later. I wink playfully at his younger brother before walking away. Max was basically Owen but twelve years younger, and he blushed whenever I looked at him. It was adorable.

Lukas and Zak are together of course, and with their families. I immediately look over them and clarify that neither are wearing my favorite color. Lukas seems to have coordinated with his parents in a red, white, and blue fashion, while Zak settled for a tan suit. They both tell me happy birthday, but other than that their conversation is limited.

Stopping to talk with my mother who is speaking with Gran, Lesly, and Claire, I get another peppering of birthday wishes. Little does everyone know that my greatest present is sitting in front of me. Gran making it to my nineteenth birthday was all I had wished for; having everyone else was just the icing on the cake.

Speaking of cake, I wonder when mine will be brought out. With so many people here I can only imagine how big an beautiful it will be compared to last years. While speaking with their moms, Xander and Jesse find me, both sporting lilac shirts under their black and white suits respectively. I kiss them both on the cheek before excusing myself to speak with Jade and Dawson.

Seeing them side by side brings a smile to my face. He did look like his mother quite a bit, but mostly in his eyes; which seemed more bright against his blue jacket and purple shirt. He seems to be in a pleasant mood so of course then brightens my own. Maybe it was just him radiating his mother's cheery attitude. She was like a ball of sunshine and I loved it.

I scan the room repeatedly, searching for the final two, but it's impossible. Flynn is nowhere to be found and I conclude he is not in the room because he would be hard to miss. Cullen's family seems upset when I ask if they have seen him. I try not to worry but instead decide to talk with Weston and Olivia. Their happiness over no longer having to hide their relationship gives me a new hope for my own. Before long the calm sound of music picks up and I hear someone cheer. Everyone looks to the sound, and I see Cullen and Flynn standing at the kitchen doors.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in celebrating the birthday of our wonderful and beautiful Princess Selene Larie Ellington," Flynn announces before Cullen begins leading everyone in song. As they sing, the kitchen staff wheel out my giant cake.