I lunge for her, shoving the wet dishtowel in her mouth. She struggles to get away, but I drag her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She trips on the bottom step and falls forward. I let go because about twenty people are staring at us. Staring at me like I’m assaulting their queen, which I sort of am.
She spits the dishtowel out on the stairs. “Ugh! You disgusting little bitch!” She turns to face the crowd. “You all saw that, right? She attacked me!” Two guys reach for Meredith’s arms and pull her to her feet.
I push past them and run through the kitchen, wanting to keep going straight out the door, but I see a girl opening up the bag the cupcake is in. Toby’s cupcake. “Give me that!” I grab it from her and run right into Jeff. The cupcake is crushed between us. “No.” My voice is small, just like I feel. This party is turning out to be a disaster.
Jeff steps back and motions to the bag. “Sorry. What’s in there anyway?”
“Forget it.” I turn and head back through the kitchen. I have no idea what I’m doing or where I’m going.
“Hey,” Toby says, rounding the stairs. “I heard you attacked Meredith. What the hell happened?”
“I…” I can’t explain it here with all these eyes on us. I rush past Toby and upstairs, fully intending to lock myself in the bathroom until everyone leaves. But before I know what I’m doing, I’m in Toby’s room. I sit down on his bed and open the bag. The cupcake is a mess of icing and crumbled bits of cake. Ruined. Just like everything else is going to be.
“Mind if I come in?”
I look up at Toby, standing in the doorway. “It’s your room.”
He steps in and shuts the door behind him. “I know, but if you want to be alone, I’ll go.”
I don’t want to be alone, but I’m afraid I’m going to end up that way anyway. I hand him the bag. “This was supposed to be for you. Well, and me. Mr. Kwan made it for us.”
He looks inside the bag, his forehead lined with confusion. “Mr. Kwan made us a cupcake?”
I shrug. “He saw us in your doorway. The same day Meredith did.”
Toby puts the bag down on the bed and sits next to me. “Crap. It was so stupid of me to kiss you while I was opening the front door. I’m so sorry, Becca.”
“It’s okay. Mr. Kwan is rooting for us. That’s what this is about.” I point to the smashed cupcake.
Toby laughs. “I hope we end up better than the cupcake.”
I know he’s trying to lighten the mood, but his comment does exactly the opposite. “Meredith is here.”
“I know. Remember? I heard all about the incident.” He makes air quotes around incident and smiles at the same time.
“I shoved a wet dishtowel in her mouth and tried to drag her upstairs.”
He stifles a laugh. “Can I ask why?”
“She was talking about how Tori is going to hate me when she finds out about us. I didn’t want her to out us in front of everyone in the kitchen, and all I had in my hands to stop her was the dishtowel I’d just used to clean up the spilled soda.”
He wraps his arms around me. “They’re all going to find out soon enough, and to be honest, I don’t think she would’ve come out and said we were dating. It would make her look bad.”
He’s right. She was probably just going to leave her comment hanging, but I attacked her anyway. “What’s happening to me? This isn’t me.”
He leans back and looks into my eyes. “You’re scared. You don’t want to lose Tori, and it’s making you a little crazy.”
“You think I’m crazy?”
“No. I think you’re acting like anyone would in your situation.”
“You’re not. You seem fine.”
“I’m her brother. And she already doesn’t like me.”
“She likes you.”
He shakes his head. “It’s okay. I know I’m not her favorite person.”
“Yeah, well, I might be joining you very soon.”
He pulls me back in for another hug, and I rest my head on his shoulder. “You want to hide in here for a while? I doubt anyone would notice if we were missing.”
It’s sad that my own best friend probably doesn’t notice I’m gone, but Tori is busy having the time of her life. Everything is going well for her. She has the guy of her dreams, the party of the school year, and the perfect boots to accessorize with, thanks to me. “Yeah, just for a little while.”
“Good, because it’s my birthday too, and I want to spend some time with my girlfriend.”
I love the sound of that word on his lips. I tilt my head up and kiss him. “Have I said happy birthday yet?”
“A few times.”
“Oh, well, how about some birthday cake then?” I reach for the bag. “It’s a little unrecognizable, but I’m sure it still tastes good.”
“Let me go get some forks.” He looks inside the bag. “On second thought, I’ll get some spoons, and maybe a straw or two.”
I laugh because he’s probably right. Still, Mr. Kwan was nice enough to make us this cupcake for two, and I’ll be damned if we’re not eating it. Toby leaves, and I walk over to his guitar. I can’t play or sing if my life depended on it, but I take the guitar in my hands and remember the look on Toby’s face when he sang me my song. I still can’t believe he wrote a song for me. Toby Michaels might not have a lot of experience being in a relationship, but he is romantic as all hell. Not that I’d say that in public. Jeff and Ryder would never let him live it down.
The door opens, and Toby walks in carrying two spoons. “Got them.” He eyes me in his desk chair, holding his guitar on my lap.
“Sorry.” I gently place the guitar back on its stand. “I was careful with it.”
“No. It’s fine. I don’t mind at all. I just didn’t know you played.”
“I don’t.” I stand up, feeling my cheeks turning red. “I was remembering the other night when you played that song for me.”
“Your song.”
My song. I’m glad he thinks of it like that too. “It was so beautiful.”
“Of course, because it was about you.”
If I wasn’t already in love with him, I would be after that comment. Hell, I think I’m falling in love with him all over again. I step toward him and wrap my arms around his waist.
He holds up the spoons. “Still want that cake?”
“In a minute.” I press my body against his. “Or two.”
He tosses the spoons onto the bed and cups my face in his hands. “Make it three.” His lips find mine. He tastes like cherry soda. I’m kind of surprised to find out he wasn’t drinking beer like most of the others at the party. I was never big on beer. At least not the cheap stuff people buy for parties like this one. It tastes like something a skunk would leave behind. He pulls back for a second. “You weren’t licking the icing from the cupcake bag, were you? You taste very sweet.”
“No, that must be from the soda-soaked dishtowel I was sucking on earlier. Oh wait, that was Meredith.”
He laughs. “Wow, Becca, you have some bite in you.”
“What can I say? She threatened my best friend. I don’t like anyone messing with the people I love.” I lower my head. “I’ve been doing a bang up job of that myself lately.”
He raises my chin. “Hey, forget Tori for a second. Forget Meredith. Forget everyone else.” He pulls me closer. “Does any part of this feel wrong to you?”
“No.” I don’t have to even think about it. Toby and I couldn’t feel more right. “But how do we make Tori see that?”
“I’m not sure. But we’ll think of something. Later. For now, let’s enjoy the peace and quiet of this room.”
“And some mashed cupcake?”
He nods. “And some mashed cupcake.” He grabs the spoons off the bed and hands one to me. “Ladies first.”
“No way. It’s your birthday. Make a wish and drink some icing.”
“Sounds delightful.” He smiles and closes his eyes.
“What are you wishing for?”
“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
“That’s what Tori always says. Every year I ask her what she wished for, and she always tells me she can’t say or it won’t come true. You guys are a lot more alike than you think.”
He opens his eyes. “Done. And I know we’re alike. I’m not the one who has a problem with being a twin.”
“Something must have happened to make her this way.” I reach for his hand and lace my fingers through his. “I can’t see how anyone can look at you and not see how amazing you are.”
“You did it for seventeen years.”
“Not true at all. I knew. I was just too shy to tell you.”
“And my sister forbid you from liking me.”
I try to remember a time when we all used to hang out. A time before Tori kept Toby and me separated. “Didn’t we go to some birthday party together in, like, third grade?”
“Yeah, at an arcade downtown.” He scrapes his spoon against the side of the bag, scooping up some icing.
“And didn’t you win a stuffed pink bear for Tori?”
“And a goldfish for you.”
“Oh my God, Mr. Gills! I totally forgot about him.” He was the only pet I’ve ever had because Dad’s allergic to pet hair.
“Tori got upset because she wanted a goldfish too, and I couldn’t win another one.”
“You used all your tokens trying, too.” The memory comes rushing back. “And then Mr. Gills died about a week later, and she still had her stuffed bear.”
He nods. “Open up.” He holds the spoon of icing out to me.
“I told you, birthday boy first.”
“Don’t argue with me on my birthday.”
I open my mouth, and he feeds me the spoonful. Even demolished, the cupcake tastes delicious. “Wow. That’s really good.”
“And you’re still alive, so I guess it’s safe for me to try some.”
I smack his arm. “You were making me test it?”
He smiles and pulls me in for a kiss. “Tastes good to me.”
“What the hell?” I turn to see Tori standing in the doorway, glaring at us.