I woke up the next morning with the biggest hangover known to man. My head felt like it was being pulled in a hundred different directions.

As my head throbbed and ached, I tumbled out of bed and got ready for the day. I noticed that Nadia was nowhere to be found. She had probably gone back to wherever that boy she was talking to lived.

I didn't remember a lot from last night. I did remember that I had my first kiss with Daniel, which made me excited. Something I also remembered was being carried inside my dorm by River. I needed to text him a thank him for dealing with drunk me.

Alani: Thank you for taking care of me last night

River: No problem, it was your first party

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Today was my little brother's 8th birthday party. With all the excitement, I had completely forgotten about it. I needed to be there by noon, and it was 9:00 now, which meant that I had to leave at 10:00, leaving me with an hour to get ready. 

I would have to call for an uber driver and pay a fortune for a two-hour drive. 

An idea came to me, though.

Alani: Want to go to my brother's birthday party today?

River: Sure, when do I need to pick you up?

Alani: 10:00

River: See you soon

Having River drive me was the best idea I had come up with in a while. I didn't have to pay any money for the trip, and I would have someone on the drive with me to talk to.

After getting ready, I got a text from River telling me to come down.

"Good morning," He said as I got into the car.

"You're talking too loud," I said.

"Hungover?"

"Yep."

"Gonna have to suck it up for the birthday party."

"I know. I know," I said, giving him the address as we drove.

"Also, I came up with more things for the list."

"More?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yep. We can add going to a waterpark, the zoo, and going to the beach."

"Speaking of the beach, I'm supposed to bring a date to my sister's wedding at the end of the month. It's in Hawaii," I said. 

River stiffened. "Who are you going to bring?"

"Probably, Daniel."

"Why not me?" He asked.

"I'm supposed to bring a date, not a friend."

"Right."

"But, yeah. Let's add going to a waterpark and a zoo to the list."

I ended up falling asleep for the rest of the ride. I had a big day yesterday, and it had made me exhausted.

"We're here," River said, shaking me awake two hours later.

"Are you ready to meet my family? Are you ready for the judgment?" I asked once I got my bearings.

"I think I can handle it."

"Don't do anything too annoying."

"I got it," He said as we walked up to my standard brick house.

I rang the doorbell since I didn't have a key anymore, and my parents came rushing to the door.

"Alani!" They exclaimed.

"Hi!" I said.

"Who is this? Did you finally get a boyfriend?" My mom asked, pointing toward River, looking hopeful.

"No, I'm just a friend," River said, extending his hand. My parents shook his hand before motioning for us to come inside.

"The party's just beginning!" My mom said as we walked out back to where the function was being held.

"Alani!" Landon said, coming up and hugging me.

"Hi," I said.

"I turn eight today!" He exclaimed.

"I know. Happy birthday! I want you to meet one of my friends. This is River."

"Hi," River said.

"That's a cool name. Do you want to see my cake?" He asked River, grabbing River's hand.

"Sure," River said as he was pulled away. Landon had always been a social kid who made friends with every new person he met, so it didn't surprise me that he took an interest in River.

I mingled with some of my extended family members like aunts, uncles, cousins, grandpas, and grandmas. It was mostly family here. Landon had two or three friends that attended, but he wasn't the most popular kid at his school, despite his social skills. A lot of the other kids found him annoying, which made my heart sad. Those kids didn't know what they were missing out on.

I looked around for River and didn't see him at first, but then saw him and Landon kicking a soccer ball around in the grassy part of the backyard.

"Can I play?" I asked, walking up to them.

"No, you suck at soccer," Landon said.

"Excuse you," I scoffed.

"It's true," He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I bet she does suck at soccer," River teased.

"I do not," I said.

"Why don't we let her play so we can make fun of her," River said to Landon.

"Okay," Landon said, kicking me the ball.

We played soccer for the next thirty minutes, and, as they said they would, they made fun of me.

I enjoyed watching Landon and River together. They got along well and became fast friends. I was learning that River was good with kids, and that information warmed my heart. He was going to be a great father and husband one day.

"Is he single?" My cousin Quinn asked me as we all stood around a table watching Landon open his presents after we had finished playing soccer.

"Who?" I asked.

"The boy you came with?"

"River?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, he's single," I said. I didn't necessarily want Quinn to pursue River for the same reasons I didn't want to date him myself. He was flaky and got bored of things and people too quickly, and I didn't want Quinn to get heartbroken. Outside of family events, not much of my time was spent with Quinn, but I had known her forever and did care about her.

"Do you care if I ask him out?"

"No, that's fine. I'm just warning you. He's not looking for a relationship."

"Thanks. I'm going to try, though," Quinn said.

"Okay, good luck," I said, a little annoyed that Quinn would ask out the person I had come with. River and I weren't dating, but she didn't know that at first. Would she still try to get with him even if she thought we were together?

"Thanks," She said before walking over and talking to him. She was hanging off his side as she spoke. He laughed at something she said, and a part of me felt jealous. It's not like I'm the only person who gets to make him laugh, but something didn't feel right.

By the time the party was over, Landon had the biggest smile on his face, and Quinn and River had talked the entire time. I tried to push all thoughts of River to the back of my mind because I shouldn't care that he might want to date somebody.

But a small part of me still did.