Lucky's Real Life Romance Novel

Chapter 29

Acceptance week.

All seniors were a nervous wreck waiting to hear back from the colleges we applied to throughout the year. River and I were even more antsy. Wherever River would be getting a full ride would directly affect our plans for Mia in the future. It also just so happened to be River's birthday at the end of the week as well. As excited as I was to plan a surprise birthday party for River, I was more nervous as the emails started to come. So far, I'd be accepted to a few colleges with partial scholarships and so had River, but we were both still waiting to hear back from Vanderbilt. It was the closest college with the programs we wanted. If we could both get in, we could easily stay at home while attending class.

"You look distracted," Melanie said as I picked at the paper on my desk. I hummed a response before sighing.

"Oh, I'm throwing a surprise birthday party for River this Saturday. Close friends and family only. Are you coming?" I asked, still slightly distracted by Vanderbilt.

"For someone throwing a surprise party, you don't seem all that excited," Melanie noted.

"College acceptance week. I'm about ready to pull my hair out. I'm just hoping we get into the school we wanted," I admitted.

"The royal 'we' huh? You and River are trying to get into the same college, that's cute. What are you going to do if your relationship turns long distance?" She asked.

"It won't," I replied. She only sighed and pat my arm gently.

"It might come to that. You never know what can happen. I think you should prepare yourself for the possibility," she warned wisely. I didn't even want to think about it. I shook the thought away before turning my attention to my class. Now that we were ending the year out, our classes were focusing more on our finals.

By the time the end of the week rolled around, I had everything ready to go. My dad, Mia, Aiden, Trevor, and Melanie were waiting at the house, setting up the party while I gave the excuse of taking River to the mall to pick out a birthday present. We walked around the mall leisurely as River held my hand.

"Any more emails or letters?" I asked.

"The only full ride I've gotten so far is to UC Berkeley for their pre-med program. The other scholarships offered that were to closer colleges only cover part of the tuition. I still haven't heard back from Vanderbilt yet," he replied. I sighed and looked at a passing store. Thinking about River being in California for the next four years with me somewhere else made me anxious. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, I just knew I would miss him.

"Would you take the full ride to Berkeley if Vanderbilt ends up being a bust?" I asked. River hesitated before nodding.

"I would take whatever would be willing to pay the most," he answered. Acceptance week had me stressed out. River smiled lightly before letting go of my hand to put his arm over my shoulders.

"We still have time. Try not to stress out too much just yet," he tried to assure me. After we picked out a present for him, we drove back to the house. As soon as River opened the door, everyone jumped out and yelled a 'happy birthday' to him. He looked genuinely surprised. The decorations were cheesy but still fun. Streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling in various colors, and a simple sheet cake with 'happy birthday' written in icing sat on the coffee table with the candles lit.

"When did you have time to prepare all of this?" He asked them.

"Don't look at us. Lucky is the one going for the 'girlfriend of the year' award here," Melanie joked. River smiled before placing a kiss on my temple.

"It's not much for the big one-eight but I know how you feel about big parties," I explained.

"Lu is the best girlfriend ever. I love it and I was happily surprised. Thank you," he said as he pulled me into a hug. We sang happy birthday before he blew out the candles and cut the cake. We all just hung out and had a good time with the seven of us. It was cozy and small but perfect. Trevor, Melanie, and Aiden even helped us clean up the decorations before leaving for the night. Mia had gone to sleep a while ago and even my dad tapped out to get some rest. River and I were alone watching tv on the couch. We sat close to each other as his arm hung over my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

"Did you have fun?" I asked. He smiled lazily as he nodded.

"It was a nice surprise. I honestly didn't think you would plan anything like this," he admitted.

"I couldn't just let your birthday pass without throwing some kind of party for you," I replied. He kissed my head before sighing.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know that?" He said softly. I smiled and turned my head to kiss him.

"I think we have time for one more present before midnight," I said softly. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh?" He asked, amused. I stood and offered him a hand. I led him up to my room before sitting him on my bed. I went to my closet and pulled out the wrapped box I had hiding in there for a week now. I handed it to him before sitting beside him.

Open it," I smiled. He chuckled before tearing the paper off and opening the box. He stared at the brand new laptop in confusion and amazement.

"When did you have time to get this?" He asked.

"I ordered it online so you wouldn't see me shopping for it. With college coming up, you'll need a laptop to work on for classes. I figured this would be a practical and useful present that would last you a long time and serve many purposes. Do you like it?" I asked anxiously. He set it aside as he smiled at me.

"I love it, Lu. Thank you," he replied. He kissed me gently as he held my cheek in his hand. Our kiss became heated and passionate as our things got knocked to the floor. River hovered over me as I laid down on my bed. River got yet another present from me that night.