Coffee Shop

• 27 •

Brian may not like "buts," but he liked mine.

That was what I wanted to say when we left Jade's, but I held my tongue. Why? I wasn't sure, really. But it had to do with whatever plan they'd made with Brian. His poker face was strong because I had no idea. Theirs was, too, but leave it up to quality time for them to give it up.

I sort of wished they hadn't.

Because when we pulled up to the coffee shop, I noted the pulled-down blinds. The locked front door. The chalkboard sign sat out on the sidewalk, attached with pink and gold balloons. When I stepped out of the backseat, I looked at it, read it, and smiled.

It read: Happy birthday to my sun and moon—Brian.

Once inside, I didn't think I could smile any bigger, but I did. Rianne opened the front door with her shop key, and the faces of everyone I cared about looked back at me. Each held a cupcake in their hands, topped with a candle.

Shawn and Leeny were at the right of the door. Leeny nearly dropped the cupcake in her hands to hug me. Kyle leaned against one booth and waved at me. When I smiled at him, he wiggled his cupcake and pretended to take a bite. His eyes told me he really wanted to. What surprised me was that Mr. Paul was next to him, too. I'd told him eight o'clock, so how...

Shaking my head, I glanced back at Jade and Rianne. After locking the door, they made their way around me to grab their own cupcakes, placing pink candles on their tops. Once lit, they turned and smiled at me, too.

I stood at the door, like a deer in headlights, but it wasn't fear that kept me there. It was happiness. I counted five cupcakes, each in the hands of my five friends. To think they'd gone out of their way, canceled their entire day, to be here with me. They didn't have to, a night party would have been fine.

Then it hit me... the sunlight was blocked out from the shop, with the candles on the cupcakes, the shop's primary source of light. I counted five, but none belonged to Brian.

Then the door to the back opened, and light flooded in. My heart fluttered instantly.

But I squinted my eyes right after. "Jun?"

My brother appeared from the back kitchen. Being overly dressed wasn't his thing, but smiling was. And the smile he gave me was perfect. Not to mention the cupcake in his hands was twice the size of everyone else's.

Unlike everyone else, he walked to me. Stood in front of me. And handed me my cupcake.

"How..." I whispered, glancing down at the blue frosting. "I thought you said you couldn't make it. And I said it was cool, and not to worry, and..."

Jun wrinkled his nose a bit before pulling at the sides of his blazer. "Well, this guy over here—" He looked at Kyle. "—called my phone every five minutes. Reminding me of how important this was. I tried to argue, but, you know these guys..." Jun laughed. "After learning about all these plans, I had to join in."

I glanced over at Kyle, who shrugged and smirked after putting his cupcake down on the table beside him.

"Besides," Jun continued, "I wouldn't want to miss this. You're my sister. I'm supposed to be here for this. It's like my job."

"What? For what?" I asked. "It's just a birthday party, I..."

Still holding onto the cupcake, I stopped thinking as the music came from behind the backdoor. It was muffled, and soft, but I knew what it was; a guitar. Its melody came through in steady waves, a song I'd never heard before, but liked already. Mentally, I wished I could hear it better and inched towards it.