Waiting To Exhale

Twenty

   "Oh my gosh, guys. How did you find out?"

   "Your friend Anthony got in touch with us. He told us you hid the fact that you finally turned sixteen from us. When I found out I knew I had to do something." Jen throws an arm around my shoulders.

   "Happy late birthday Olivia." Kenyan and Frankie say in unison. I smile and give them both hugs. I'm really blessed to have such amazing friends in my life right now.

   "Thanks, guys."

   "We're taking you out tonight." Frankie blurts. Jen gives her a funny look. I'm guessing it was supposed to be a surprise. I know exactly what she means by that. The girl loves parties. I don't mind her telling me even though she wasn't suppose to. I'm not too much of a party person. I've only been to one party in my whole life. I know I sound lame but it's the truth. I didn't have money to throw away at a party of my own and I didn't have friends to invite me to their own. "Sorry, Liv. I wasn't suppose to tell you that.

   I wrap an arm around her waist as they do to me. "Its okay girl."

   "I'm going to text Mason about this. I can have him drop you off at our secret location." The fact that Jen wiggle her eyebrows when she said "secret location" has me on full alert. I want to know what she has up her sleeve. If I know Jen like I think I know Jen then I know it'll be something fun so I don't have to worry about that.

   I'll just have to wait until school is over to find out.

                 ***********

   When the final bell, the dismissal bell, rings I release a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. School felt so excruciating since Jen and the girls told me about my late birthday surprise. For the first time in my life, I'm actually excited about something that has to do with my birthday. I feel a little bad for not telling them earlier. I just got so used to no one caring that I forget they do. I need to realize that I'm not alone anymore. I have people that care about me now. I don't have to keep things from them and it's okay for me to get excited about things. Especially my birthday. Gosh, I really hope we can all remain friends for the rest of our lives. That would be so cool.

   As I'm walking down the hallway I feel someone grab hold of my hand. I whip around ready to swing but instead, I stop when I see it's just Frankie. "Jeez, Liv. Why so jumpy?"

   "Nah I just didn't know who that was." I laugh. I'm not use to people coming up to me and grabbing my hand. Just relax Olivia. Just relax.

   "So are you excited about tonight?" Frankie asks, a wide smile plastered across her face.

   I sigh deeply before answering. "I can't stop thinking about it."

   "Well, you're going to like it. Trust me." She twirls a loose strand of her curly hair around her index finger, a habit of her I'm starting to pick up on. She takes some lotion out of her bag and applies it to her light skin. Frankie is really tall and skinny but she does have a nice round butt. She's very pretty. Guys love her. She showed me a baby picture of her once and she was even adorable then.

   "I already do." I'm not sure if I meant the part about liking the party or the part about me trusting her. Either one is good anyway. They are good friends to me.

   "Good. I hope you decided on a cute hairstyle. Brandon is going to hook...you...up." I laugh. I can't wait to see Brandon again. He was so much fun. I really like him. Plus he does good hair and makeup. It's amazing. I haven't really come to a decision about my hair yet. I'm thinking about trying something colorful. Maybe something straight. I don't know. I guess I'll just have to make up my mind when we get to the hair store.

   "Where's Jen?"

   "Her and Kenyan went to go get things set up for tonight. I'm suppose to be taking you out to get you prepared. You can't show up looking like doo-doo," Frankie explains. I can't believe she just said that. Well, actually I can. She's on some type of cleanse where she can't swear or something like that.

   I nod. "Mason is picking me up today. I was just going to hang out with him today."

   "Well, change of plans. Text me. I'll swing by to get you in like an hour. I have to run this errand for my mom."

   I nod. I watch her as she makes her way to her car. She turns around and waves at me before getting in and driving off. Mason pulls up moments later. His dreads are pulled back in two very neat braids and his pearly whites on display. I smile at the sight of him. He gets out and opens my door for me. I greet him with a kiss before getting in. He jogs around to his side and gets in.

   "I got you something," he says smiling.

   I ask him what it is and he tells me to open the glove box. A small black box lay inside. I smile. I take the box out and open it. Inside lay a tiny silver bracelet. The tiny diamonds shimmer under the light of the sun. I can feel the tears building up. The bracelet truly is beautiful. I've never owned anything like it. I love it even more because it came from him.

   I don't have to ask if the diamonds are real because I know Mason has a lot of money and wouldn't waste it on cheap crap. He told me so himself.

   I gently grab his face and plant kisses all over. I really like this bracelet. I hand it to him and let him wrap it around my tiny wrist. It looks like it belongs there. "It's a late birthday gift. And to apologize for ruining your birthday. I've just been under a lot of stress lately with my job. I was being stupid."

   I give him a passionate kiss. I pull away saying, "it's okay Babe. I understand. I do."

   "Good."