The Best Kind of Forever (Riverside Reapers, #1)(62)

Casen cackles. “I think they mean more like dogs or cats.”

“Not true. According to a lot of scientific articles, observing fish can actually improve mood and anxiety,” Bristol interrupts, amassing some bewildered stares from the group.

“What? I read.”

Gage’s lips twitch into a shit-eating grin. “See? It’s a good investment, trust me. They’re very low maintenance. You’ll barely even know the little dude is there.”

“Uh, thanks,” Hayes says, still analyzing the tank with a squint of his eyes.

“Did you really get him a Peruvian Blue Fin?” I whisper to Gage.

Gage’s chest flutters with a chuckle, and he shakes his head. “God, no. Those things don’t exist. Hayes is going to be feeding absolutely nothing for weeks before he catches on.”

Hayes moves on to a box with an F scribbled on striped wrapping paper. The handwriting is too legible to be Fulton’s.

“Faye, you didn’t have to get me anything,” he says, his gaze softening in tandem with his voice.

“I mean, it’s nothing too fancy. You’re also impossible to shop for,” she says, shrugging. “It was the least I could do for my favorite brother.”

“Your only brother.”

“Uh-huh. That’s what I said.”

He removes the wrapping paper in one fluid motion, revealing a green, velvet box. He cracks it open to find a gold, diamond-encrusted watch perched between two soft cushions.

Hayes brushes his finger over the crystal of the watch. “Faye, I love it. But you didn’t have to get me something so expensive.”

Faye waves him off with a dismissive flap of her hand. “I’ll probably be living off ramen and Capri Suns for the next month, but it was worth it.”

After Hayes gets through the rest of his gifts, ranging from video games to new clothes, I’m the last person to give him his present. I hand him a package wrapped in shiny paper. He told me I didn’t need to get him anything—you know, the usual boyfriend speech—but I was determined to find him something.

He unveils a simple, black frame with a photo of us. It’s a picture of us dancing the night of our first date. When I was scrolling on Instagram, the photo popped up on my feed, and it looked too professional to be taken by some regular ol’ paparazzi. When I clicked on the linked account, it belonged to a photographer. I messaged him and asked if he could send me a copy. Apparently, he’s a local who spends his free time hunting out potential once-in-a-lifetime experiences to memorialize. He told me that he’s never captured a man so obviously in love before, and I didn’t have the heart to correct him.

“I thought you might like it,” I say, a blush brewing underneath my skin.

Hayes’ smile liquifies my insides. “Aeris, this is incredible. Thank you.”

He plants a chaste kiss on my lips before I can respond, but the obnoxious howling of our friends makes us pull apart sooner than I would’ve liked.

Gage cups one hand around his ear. “So, Hayes, you’d say that this birthday party was a success then?”

Hayes rolls his eyes. “Yes, Gage, the party was a success,” he says in exasperation.

Gage hums happily as he pats himself on the back.

“Even though a lot of you”—he fixes a narrowed look a Kit and Gage—“get on my nerves, you’re family. And I’m so grateful for every one of you.”

Family. Not even second family, but family. I haven’t had a family in the longest time, and never in a million years would I have thought it would consist of a group of hockey players. But sharing in this love, being here with everyone, it closes the empty hole inside of me that my parents left when they abandoned me. And there’s a part of me that isn’t so scared of the future anymore.





After we drop Faye off at the airport, Hayes and I start cleaning up. The guys offered to help, but I wasn’t opposed to some alone time with my boyfriend.

I push some of the empty containers into a large trash bag, keeping my eye on Hayes as he reaches up to take down a nest of streamers.

“Did you have fun?” I ask.

Hayes gives me a panty-melting simper. “This was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had.”

“Really?”

He crosses the space between us, his hands on my waist as he pulls me into him. “Really. And it was all because you were here,” he says.

“I think you’re giving me too much credit.”

“Well, I mean, there is something you could do that would make my birthday better.”

I smack my forehead. “Oh, shoot. We never set the chocolate sauce out, did we?”

I strut over to the fridge, deliberately swaying my hips from side to side, and I can feel Hayes’ eyes on my ass the entire time. I dig around to pull out the Saran-wrapped bowl of chocolate sauce that Josie had whipped up from scratch, and I place it on the dining table.

Hayes takes the seat closest to me. Heat thickens across the back of my neck when I glance down at his legs.

“Spoons?”

He doesn’t say anything, so I go ahead and open the drawer, grabbing two spoons.

Instead of sitting beside him, I wrap one arm around his neck and lower myself onto his lap. A low groan makes its way out of him.

Stay cool, Aeris. Stay cool.