Free Wheeling Summer by Stephanie J. Scott

Author:Stephanie J. Scott [Stephanie J. Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

When I’d told Rob I liked surprises, it hadn’t been a total lie. I liked some surprises. But I preferred to know the circumstances of a situation before diving in. Maybe that was a control thing. Either way, I’d told him yes to liking surprises and proceeded to beg over texts the next day asking him about the surprise.

Me: Please give me a hint!

Rob: No

Me: Just a tiny hint. Surprises make me crazy.

Rob: You should have considered that when you agreed to be surprised

Me: I signed nothing!

Rob: Here’s a hint. It’s not where you work.

Okay, so he wasn’t taking me to Wild Adventure. That hint gave me nothing.

Me: Mini-golf?

Rob: I can do better than mini-golf. Give me some credit.

Me: I like mini-golf. Is it the corn festival?

Rob: Do you want it to be the corn festival?

I really did not want my surprise to be the corn festival.

Me: Trick question. The corn festival is in August.

Rob: You’re trying to trick me when you want hints?

I didn’t mind the drawn-out surprise if it kept us texting.

On my big day, I worked a morning-to-early-day shift at Wild Adventure. Marcus brought in store-bought cupcakes for me and my zone crew, waiting for me in the break room. Standard fare for Wild Adventure birthdays, but frosted cupcakes still made the day a little special.

My phone flooded with birthday wishes from Elena, friends from school, my parents, and grandparents. As busy as my folks had been prepping the house, they’d propped up a card on the kitchen counter by a cereal bowl and spoon laid out for me. One of those puffy, expensive greeting cards with a little slot for cash on the inner flap.

I’d already told them no parties. I’d declared myself done with birthday parties when I was thirteen after a mega-sleepover with thirteen guests and thirteen different snacks. After that, I was cool with a shopping trip with Mom to spend birthday money.

And as much as I loved their birthday messages, I wanted to see a happy birthday text from Rob. After our flurry of messages the previous day, not seeing one from him felt like an intentional missing piece.

He’d told me to text him once I was finished with work. He was making me wait. The nerve!

When my shift ended, I clocked out and headed out of the park with my phone in hand, ready to text once I got to my car.

I stopped short at the park gates.

“What are you doing here?”

Rob waved a small flag. It read Surprise! with confetti pieces decorating the space around it.

Okay, cute. Really too cute.

“It was either this or a giant balloon and I figured you might like less fuss.”

Weird he’d sensed that about me. “Birthdays have always been a mix for me. I like to celebrate, but I also don’t like a ton of attention. So, accurate. Are you…my surprise?”

His mouth formed several shapes before words came out. “Not exactly, but wow, you know how to flatter a guy.” He grinned. “I’m taking you to a second location.

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