All She Wishes | Shawn Mendes | ✔

24. Of Wishes And Dads

▫▫▫

The chilly wind hit me and I tightened my jacket around myself. I was standing on my front porch, waiting for Tanner to pick me up so we could head to Jace's house for Bree's birthday party.

So far, Tanner was still a couple of houses away, but I didn't want to stay inside for long as my parents had already left for dinner at the Mendes' house a few minutes ago.

Just as I was considering going inside to get out of the cold, a pair of headlights shone and I figured it was Tanner. The headlights went dim as he turned off the engine.

He stepped out of his car with jeans, a flannel shirt and his blond hair styled to perfection. He gave me a smile which I returned as I walked to him. He opened the door for me in a chivalrous manner and circled round the car to get into the driver's side. Tanner revved the engine and drove out into the street. He turned on the radio and much to my amusement, he mimed the songs in a non-professional manner.

In a couple of minutes, we were at the front of Jace's house. Tanner pressed the doorbell and it was opened by a smallish woman. She was my height with golden brown locks and a pair of crystal blue eyes that shone as she smiled at us. Due to the striking resemblance between her and Jace, I guessed she was his mother.

"Come in, come in," Her smile grew wider as she ushered us in. "I'm Cathy, Jace's mother and you must be Eiffel and Tanner, Jace's friends,"

I returned her smile and Tanner mirrored the gesture. The house was full of a couple of excited children who danced to the fast-paced song that was being played and there was a handful of conversing adults around.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," I said and Tanner commented on her having a nice house.

I could see a faint blush in her cheeks as she thanked us. I gave her the wrapped present I'd gotten for Bree which was a book of bedtime stories.

Tanner face-palmed, "I attend a birthday party, forgetting to buy a present for the birthday girl,"

"It's okay," Cathy assured him and hugged me, appreciating the book I'd gotten for Bree.

I spotted Jace walking towards us. He was dressed in a pair of chinos and a simple polo. He hugged me and gave Tanner one of those bro handshakes. Cathy left to attend to some other things.

"Where's Lynelle?" I asked Jace, my eyes wandering the living the room in search of her.

"She's in the kitchen with Bree," he answered and led us to the kitchen.

As we made our way to the kitchen, we came across most of his extended family members; his uncles, aunts and most of his cousins. With greetings and a lot of smiles, we arrived at the kitchen where Lynelle was sitting on one of the stools  behind the counter, her cheek smeared with icing sugar while Bree sitting on the counter with a goofy grin her young face.

Bree was a beautiful girl with her silky light blond hair styled in pigtails and adorned with ribbons. Her pink dress was glittery and she indeed looked like a princess with the silver tiara on her head complimenting her princess look.

Jace wiped the blob of icing sugar off Lynelle's cheek and she flushed before turning to smile and Tanner and I.

"Guys, meet my baby sister, Bree." Jace introduced us to the little girl who's head turned in our direction when she heard her name.

"Aww, she's so beautiful," I couldn't fight my smile. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure," Jace picked Bree up from her spot on the counter and she grinned widely at him, revealing her two front teeth.

Jace handed her over to me and I cooed and made her giggled, my friends awwed, saying how I'd make a great mother. I tickled Bree and she giggled so hard that the game with one of her drink kicking a drink that was on the counter and spilling it on my dress.

Tanner took Bree out of my arms and Jace led me to the bathroom so I could get the stain of my dress. We went through the foyer and arrived at the bathroom.

"Thanks," I said to Jace and he replied with a silent nod after which I entered the bathroom.

I did my best to wash off the orange liquid on my dress and succeeded in doing so. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. I found Jace waiting for me outside when I came out of the bathroom.

"Where's your dad?" I asked Jace, curiosity taking its toll on me since I hadn't seen any figure that I could place as his father. "Is he out of town?"

A gloom covered his face and he looked down at the ground. "No, my dad died in a car crash when I was six. My mom married Bree's dad a couple of years later. He's the one who's out of town,"

Suddenly, I regretted asking that question. Jace who's usually cheerful had his spirit dampened now because of my question.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry for bringing up a sensitive topic like that," I began to apologize. "I had no idea-"

"It's okay. You're forgiven," he said, his usual smile returning. "Now tell me what's up with you and Shawn. Got any more drawings of him?"

A laugh made its way out of my mouth and my cheeks turned crimson as I said, "I drew a prince-like picture of him recently,"

"Of course," Jace rolled his eyes, trying to fight back a smile. "But seriously, what's going on?"

I sighed, running my hands down my face. "I'm not sure where to place us right now, but we went on a date last Friday and-"

I was interrupted by the chime of my phone. I looked at the screen and saw that it was my mom. Then, I remembered that I needed to be at the Mendes' house as soon as possible or else I'd miss the dinner.

"What's wrong?" Jace asked after I ended the call with my mother.

"I need to get to Shawn's house like right now. I've got a dinner with his family tonight," I explained.

"I'll just drive you there, then," He offered. "Just give me a second to tell Lynelle where I'm going,"

"No, no, you can't," I said quickly. "Lynelle doesn't know I'm dating Shawn and you telling her that you're driving me to his house is going to raise a lot of questions that I'm not ready to answer,"

"But you do realize that you're going to have to tell her at some point, right?" Jace said. "Even Tanner needs to know,"

"I understand that I have to tell Lynelle, but why Tanner?"

"Because it's getting obvious that he likes you," Jace stated.

I felt my legs wobble and by words came out shaky, "N-no, he doesn't,"

"That's what you think because you don't see the way he looks at you," Jace told me matter-of-factly. "Like when we we were back there in the kitchen and you were carrying Bree, he was watching you the entire time with a goofy grin on his face. And remember when he started those rumors about you being his girlfriend? That was because he wanted it to be true. Different guys have different ways of trying to tell a girl that they like her,"

I was at loss for words at this moment and I felt foolish as I stood there with my mouth hanging open.

Jace sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Let's get you to Shawn's house."

A/N: Vote, comment and share, my loves! Make Sharon happier than she's ever been 😘😘