Next Generation (Book 4)

Make a Wish

|Vaughn's POV|

Today is my 16th birthday and the day of my party. To say I'm excited is about understatement! Yet I am nervous because not only is today the day of my party, my parents are meeting Asher for the first time. We're having brunch with everyone so not only is he meeting my parents, he'll be facing my sisters, Zachy, brother-in-law's and my uncles. Why the last minute? He's been on the road. He promised me he'd show up for my party, so I'll hold him to his word.

I heard a knock on my door and before I could say come in, the door opened. It was Izzy, Jamie, Rory, Murphy, and Zach. They're all here!

"Happy Birthday!"

Zach blew some horn, quickly getting looks from all of us.

"My bad."

I laughed and looked at what they had in their hands. There were balloons and gifts. Oh they're starting the festivities already. Looking at my clock, I didn't care what time it was.

"Don't worry grumpy pants, we tried to let you sleep as much as possible. Aunt Steph said not to wake you up until 10," Jamie commented.

"Thanks."

I held out my hands, taking the gifts. As I opened the first gift, Izzy said it was an outfit for me to wear to brunch. It was a two piece set. Does she not realize who our dad is, let alone our uncles who watched me like a hawk? Was it inappropriate, of course not. Still, I knew how they could be.

"Mom approved. Dad and the uncles will just have to deal," Izzy said.

"Yeah, plus with Asher coming for brunch, they won't be focused on your outfit much anyways," Murphy added.

Zach rolled his eyes and Rory hit his arm.

"Now, Zach, we know how protective you are over V, but we made a deal," she said.

I watched as he rolled is eyes at her.

"We had no deal. I just have no choice but to be nice."

"Kylie must've threatened you," I said, chuckling.

"Shut up," he muttered.

"Guys, Asher is just my friend. Mom and dad wanted to meet him before the party. Trust me, I was hoping he met them before this. He's been traveling a lot. He said he'd show up for my party. I haven't heard from him today yet, so we'll see."

"You know when you admit to yourself you like him more than just a friend..."

"Shut up Murphy, I don't. It's not like that between us. Plus, it's not like we could date anyway. He turns 19 at the end of the year."

"Damn right you're not dating him."

"Zach!"

He just shook his head.

"His age is not even that bad. If it ever got to that point, it's a conversation he'd have with mom and dad. That's it," Izzy stated.

"I don't see the big deal I'm your age difference anyways. It's not like the men in this family don't date younger anyway. Uncle Paul is older than Aunt Steph by 7 years and Uncle Mark has over a decade on MiMi," Jamie added.

"V, you have too much going on to be thinking about dating," Zach cut in.

"Didn't you date Kylie in high school?" I quizzed.

"That was..."

"Nothing was different about it. Vaughn has officially reached the age where she can date. Who she dates isn't much of our business. It's her choice and we have to accept and respect it. Got it?" Izzy demanded.