PARKER

"Wake up my beautiful birthday boy," Brooks yells, jumping onto my bed.

"It's not my birthday, dipshit." I croak, my morning voice in its full glory.

I crack my eyes to see Connor chuckling in the doorway, "it's close enough. But seriously, get up. We're leaving in twenty."

Tomorrow is my twenty-second birthday, and since the weather has eased up a bit, the guys and I are going golfing. They only chose this because they wanted 'bro time' and knew that Dakota and Ellie would turn down the invite.

Brooks pulled out three shots the second we started our round, and I should've known that bad things were probably coming.

"You know, boys," Connor wraps an arm around both of our shoulders. "This could be our only year celebrating Parker's birthday while we're living in the same city."

My head shakes, "why'd you have to point that out, Con? Today's supposed to be happy."

Brooks shakes off his arm to walk over and plop a wet kiss on my cheek, "you'll always remain close to my heart, Cadell."

I wipe off his spit, "thanks, I guess?"

Connor laughs, slapping my back before stepping up to tee off.

His shot is good, and he moves back to my side when Brooks starts his five-minute pre-swing routine. It involves inspecting and cleaning each club, then taking at least three practice swings with two different clubs before actually hitting the ball.

"Did you talk to Kota?" He keeps his voice low.

"Yeah, we're all good. She didn't seem to care," I keep my eyes forward so Brooks doesn't think we're hiding a conversation from him.

"Good. I think you two are really good for each other and didn't want it to fuck things up," he says sincerely.

I can't help but smile, knowing that Connor could have easily hated me for making a move on her, being as protective as he is. "Thanks, man. It really means a lot. Have you heard from any more scouts?"

"I have actually. Brooks, get your ass over here!"

He finishes swinging and then moves back down the hill. "What's up?"

"I got a call from Colorado last night," he smiles. "Said to be prepared for an official call-up by mid-March."

"No fucking way!" We both jump on him, hugging him as tight as we can.

"That's awesome, Con. I'm super happy for you," Brooks' eyes start to redden.

"Just don't tell Kota yet, I want her to find out with my family over Christmas," he eyes me.

I pat his back, "secret's safe with me." I even fake-zip my lips to prove my point.

I'm really happy for Connor, but a part of me is also hurting because they have no interest in me. Meaning, that no matter what happens with my career, I only have a few more months of being with both of these guys full-time.

Right now, I don't know where I'll end up. I also don't know where Dakota will, either.

I'll worry about that later.

"Anyone wanna golf-cart race?" Brooks asks, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes as he drives alone alongside Connor and me.

"Oh, you're on, fucker," Connor steps on the gas.

I hold onto the roof tight as he takes a sharp turn, the cart slightly lifting onto only two wheels. Brooks is close behind us, hitting our bumper every few seconds.

As we come to a long, straight portion of the path, he tries to overtake us but hits a bump, causing his cart to collide with ours. The force sends both of the carts sideways, tipping over and my body hits the grass harshly, only a fraction of a second before Connor falls on top of me.

"Well, shit," we hear Brooks say, and we all break out into laughter that quickly stops when we hear sirens.

~

My body shrivels further back into the wall as I watch some cracked-out guy piss only a few feet away from me.

Destruction of property. We got arrested for mother fucking destruction of property.

The manager didn't care that Brooks was willing to write a check for the golf carts right then and there. He took the money, but still wanted us arrested and removed from the property. That's not all. The officers want us to sit here for at least two hours before they let one of us make a call.

The entire time we've been arguing, and it's been decided that I have to be the one who calls Dakota. Both of the guys say that I'm the one she's least likely to murder because she 'needs my body' and I'm the birthday boy.

Fuckers.

There's a loud buzz, and an officer walks into the holding cell, narrowing in on the three of us hiding in the corner. "Who's making the call?"

"Me, sir." I stand, letting him walk me out and over to the phone on the wall.

Luckily, I memorized Dakota's number, so getting ahold of her should be easy. The phone rings three times before she finally picks up.

"Hello?" She sounds nervous, I wonder if it told her someone was calling from jail.

"Uh, hey love," my voice is also nervous, but for more obvious reasons.

"Parker? Why are you calling from an unknown number?"

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, the guys and I kind of need your help."

"Are you okay?" It comes out panicked.

"We're fine," I quickly state, listening as she lets out a sigh of relief. "Can you just come and pick us up from somewhere?" I rattle off the address of the station.

"I'll be there soon," she pauses, "wait, where even are you?"

I suck in a breath before mumbling, "sheriff's office."

Silence.

Then the line clicks. She hung up on me.

Turning back to face the guys, my eyes are wide.

"Is she coming?" Brooks speaks up, eager to get out and shower.

"No idea," I tell him truthfully.

~

We sit here for another five hours, watching through the small window as the sun begins to go down before our names are finally called.

"Hunt, Cadell, Willard," the guard yells. "Someone's here for you. Good luck, boys, she looks pissed."

We scramble out of the cell but stop in our tracks at the door when we see Dakota standing in front of the building. He was right, she looks like she's gonna rip our balls clean off and feed them to the lions.

"Cadell, you go first," Connor whispers.

"Hell no," I push him. "I made the call, you go first."

This goes on for another few minutes until the guard tells us we need to leave or go back to the holding cell until we're ready. Then Brooks pushes Connor through the door.

"Hey, Kota," he waves at her. "You look beautiful today."

"Car. Now." If looks could kill, we'd be goners.

As Brooks and Connor scramble to the backseat of her small car, I approach her slowly, arms widened for a hug. "Thank you for coming."

She places a solid hand on my chest, halting me. "You smell like shit, sit in the back with them."

I nod, getting the feeling she's not in the mood, and squish my big body in the small backseat.

Not even ten minutes into the drive home, Connor opens his big ass mouth. "You're kind of like our mom right now, Kota."

She throws a pack of gum at his face, and Brooks and I both punch him hard.

"Tough crowd," he mumbles.

The rest of the drive is silent, and when Dakota pulls into the driveway, the car isn't even in park yet while the three of us jump out and race inside to shower.

I do my usual shower routine three times through. I don't know if Dakota stuck around, but if she did, there's no chance in hell she'll let me within five feet of her if the holding cell scent still lingers. Finishing up, I expected the other guys to already be downstairs, but they're waiting for me at the top of the staircase.

"What now?"

Brooks covers my mouth with a hand. "Shh, she just answered the door, it sounded like the pizza delivery guy."

"Then go downstairs," my voice is muffled through his fingers.

"You first," Connor whispers, pushing me forward.

Rolling my eyes, I descend quickly and see her standing by the kitchen island, filling up four plates with pizza. Clearing my throat, I get her attention.

She eyes the three of us before speaking, "tell me why I picked you up from jail, then you can eat."

"It was Brooks," Connor and I yell simultaneously, pointing at the boy cowering behind us.

"Speak," she urges.

Brooks remains behind my body but tells Dakota everything that happened at the course.

"They arrested you even though you paid for the damages on the spot?"

She looks cute when she's confused.

"Yes. Can we eat now?" Connor pleads, dropping to his knees. "I watched multiple guys shit only two feet in front of me, have mercy on me."

She rolls her eyes, pushing the plates in our direction. I ignore mine, rounding the island where she finally lets me wrap her up in a hug. We stand like this for a few moments, and she lightly scratches my back, relaxing my muscles.

"I'm sorry," I whisper into her hair.

Lifting up onto her toes, she quickly presses her lips onto mine. "I have a feeling it was more their fault than yours."

Shrugging my shoulders in response, I remove one arm from her and grab a piece of pizza so that I can continue to hold her to me. "Not that I'm not grateful you picked us up, but what took so long?"

"I had to wait for Ellie to get out of class so we could go grab Connor's truck from the course, then because I was pissed, I wanted to let you all rot for a little longer," she smiles sweetly.

"Fair enough," I chuckle, leaning down once more to kiss her waiting lips.

We all eat in silence, the three of us not wanting to push our luck any more than we already have. Dakota stays tucked under my tattooed arm, keeping her fingers laced with mine that rests over her shoulder. When my phone starts to ring, she grabs it from the front pocket of my sweats and lights up when she sees my mom calling.

"Hi, Harper!"

"Dakota, my sweet girl. How are you, lovey?" My mom sounds like a kid on Christmas when she realizes it's not me on the other end of the phone.

Brooks, Connor, and I stare at Dakota, jaws on the ground. Last we knew, she was terrified by the thought of even being near my parents, and here she is, excited to have a conversation with my mom.

"Have you done the thing yet?" My mom asks.

Dakota turns to me, smirking. "No ma'am, I'm going to do it tomorrow. I'll text you after and let you know how it goes."

"Sounds perfect, just have Parker call me afterward."

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow," she smiles, hanging up the phone after exchanging goodbyes with my mom.

I stare at Dakota, unblinking.

"What?" She asks, feigning innocence.

"Twelve years later and you still confuse the hell out of me," Connor chuckles.

In two minutes, I'll officially be twenty-two. It'd be nice if my girlfriend would get her ass out of the bathroom and join me in celebrating, though.

She's been in there, door closed, for ten minutes and keeps telling me to hold on when I call her name.

"What are you even doing in there?"

"I'm getting your present ready," she yells back, and I can see the shadow of her feet as if she's standing up against the door.

Normally, I'm a pretty patient guy, but when midnight strikes and my girl is still hiding away, I don't hesitate to open that door myself.

"Holy fucking shit," I whisper, not believing what I'm seeing.

Dakota is leaned over, grabbing something out of a small bag and giving me a great view of her ass, thanks to the lacy green lingerie she's wearing. I want to reach out and grab her waist but my body is frozen in place, and I only watch as she stands straight, turning towards me while smirking.

"You ruined the surprise," she's not even shocked.

"I- you," I try hard to speak, but my brain is failing me.

She does a twirl, and I openly check her out, feeling my cock harden more with every passing second. She places something in my hand, and I glance down to see a strip of condoms.

Fuck.

My head stops swimming in the clouds, and I grab her waist, hauling her body to mine as I kiss her hard. She responds immediately, wrapping her arms around my neck and moaning into my mouth.

"Bed," she mumbles against my lips.

Yes, ma'am.