Strictly Platonic

Chapter 33 in Jace's POV

One of the Guys
Chapter 33 (The End) in Jace's POV

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As soon as we walked through the door, people shouted their 'Happy Birthday!'s to Lexi, catching her off guard.

Once the shock left her system, a large smile played on her lips. I felt butterflies in my stomach (I know, how girly), whether they were from her beautiful smile or the fact that tonight was the night.

It was the night I would tell Lexi I liked her. Loved her, actually. Oh God.

"So what do you think?" I asked Lex, placing my hands on her small shoulders. I needed to get my mind off of the impending moment.

She turned back, that smile still hadn't left her face. I was already smiling largely, and I didn't even realize it.

"This was amazing," her tone was breathy. It was doing things to me. She turned again, looking at all the guests. "Thank you all so much. This means so much to me."

They all laughed and grinned, clearly having a good time. I looked at the crowd too.

Seeing Doug with El pulled tightly against him was sort of weird. Actually, the fact that all our friends were basically in a relationship was just odd.

There were a lot of people and they all seemed to be itching to talk to Lexi. I decided it was probably time to let her talk to everyone, although I just wanted to hold her the way Doug was holding El.

Grow some balls, Jace.

I watched her talk to everyone, a gigantic grin on her lips. God, was she beautiful.

"Dude, you won't even have to tell her if you keep looking at her like that. She'll be able to tell from a mile away." Chris teased, jabbing my ribs lightly.

"Oh, please. Lexi is more oblivious than I would've ever imagined. It's been almost four years." I shook my head in exasperation. I thought I made my affection clear, but Lexi didn't seem to notice.

"She was the first one to find out I was gay. I didn't even have to tell her. Maybe she knows about your feelings." He shrugged. I frowned. If she knew, that meant she was ignoring them and most likely didn't like me back.

"Chris, Doug just fell onto the cake!" Adam said, frantically looking behind him at the table with the food on it. "Cody shoved his face into it!"

"Can he never be civil?" Chris sighed, casting me a somber look. "Just tell her, Jace. You're crazy about her. She deserves to know."

Chris grabbed Adams hand and rushed to the cake. With a glance at Lexi, I could tell she hadn't seen Doug's idiotic moment.

By about midnight, everyone was leaving and Lexi made it her duty to escort them all out. She was clearly exhausted, but she managed smiles for everyone. She was just so sweet.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" I questioned as we got into my car. She nodded sleepily.

"It was amazing. The best birthday I've ever had, honest." I don't know what came over me, but I just had to lean across and kiss her cheek. She inhaled sharply, pushing me away. "You're driving, Jace! Be careful, damn it! I don't want to die at eighteen."

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist." I replied honestly. She rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched slightly.

I drove with the radio on, glancing at her at random times.

She furrowed her eyebrows when I drove past her house. "Um, Jace? You drove past my house." She was extremely confused. "There can't possibly be anymore surprises. It's 11:27, there's hardly anything open right now."